Warren G Magnuson Park

The second largest park in Seattle is Warren G Magnuson Park. It sits along the shore of Lake Washington in northeast Seattle. Because it was once a Navy instillation, it was not developed with homes. Much of the park has been developed for walking, sports fields, boaters, swimmers, picknicking and water access. There is a huge boat ramp with lots of parking for trailers. A large piece of the park is devoted as a dog park. The last part of the park is devoted to natural areas, which have nice walking trails passing in and around them. The entire park is on the Sand Point peninsula of Lake Washington, which is also shared with NOAA. The Naval station shut down in the early 70's and in 1975, land was given to the City of Seattle and to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The park was named Sand Point Park but renamed in 1977 as Magnuson Park in honor of longtime U.S. Senator Warren Magnuson, a former naval officer from Seattle. The airfield runways were demolished in the late 1970s. The ballfields are on top of the old runway and runoff from the athletic fields feeds the wetlands area. The habitat provides the second richest bird habitat of any park in Seattle, with 170 species reported.

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