UPDATE 6/15/2020
Volunteer Park Conservatory will remain closed until end of Phase 2 or beginning of Phase 3. There is no date tied to the Phases. A notice from the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department below:
On Friday (6/5), the State approved King County’s Safe Start plan for a Modified Phase 1. Under this plan, outdoor recreation and gatherings of up to five people outside the household are permitted but some activities, facilities, and events remain restricted. Additionally, social distancing is still required. This guidance remains in place through Phase 2.
In place of “Keep It Moving” messaging, Seattle Parks and Recreation will be asking park goers to “Keep It Small and Simple.” The public is encouraged to visit parks and enjoy trails, walking paths, and lawns, but must refrain from large gatherings, large sport games, or parties.
Popular parks will close early, at sunset, and parking restrictions will continue to limit crowding. Additionally, the Seward Park and Green Lake loops will continue to be pedestrian only, and Green Lake will continue to be one-way.
Seattle Parks and Recreation will begin taking reservations for athletic field practices starting on June 17 for select fields, with permitted practices starting July 1 for organizations committed to operating consistent with the Governor’s guidance, a prerequisite for reserving fields. Several fields throughout the city will be reserved for informal drop-in use by the public throughout the summer.
All boat ramps will be open to the public by June 20. Social distancing at boat ramps and when out on the water is still critical. Additional details on boat ramps here.
Select swimming areas will reopen with lifeguards present daily, starting on July 1, at: Pritchard Beach, West Green Lake, Matthews Beach, Madison Beach, and Mt. Baker Beach. We strongly encourage the public to only swim at lifeguarded beaches. Indoor and outdoor pools, wading pools and spray parks will remain closed for the summer. While the Governor has permitted pool use in phase 1.5 with very limited capacity, Seattle Parks and Recreation previously decided to focus staff resources to provide outdoor lifeguarded swimming areas for summer 2020. Fall aquatic programming will be announced in August.
Outdoor tennis and basketball courts, disc golf, community gardens and skate parks are now open for public use. Maintenance crews will be reinstalling nets and hoops over the next few weeks. No more than five people should be on the court at a time, players should refrain from sharing sports equipment, and give each other six-feet of social distance while recreating.
Outdoor amenities that are OPEN to groups of five or less with social distancing:
Amenities that remain CLOSED:
Social Distancing Ambassadors will still have a presence in parks to give daily reports on park usage, and to remind the public of the need to refrain from larger gatherings or pick-up games.
While many of the closed amenities cannot be fully secured or locked, Seattle Parks and Recreation is asking the public to honor the closures as part of the community’s collective response and individual responsibility to keep everyone safe. We are all responsible for making our parks a safe place for people to enjoy with adequate social distance to keep our communities healthy: Stay home if sick, visit parks closer to home, visit parks when they are less busy, keep gatherings very small, and wash your hands frequently.
Thank you for your patience,
Rachel Schulkin, Communications Manager
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UPDATE 5/5/2020
The closure of Volunteer Park Conservatory has extended and will run until further notice.
For updated information, please visit the Seattle Parks Department website at www.seattle.gov/parks.
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UPDATE 4/6/2020
The Conservatory's closure has been extended through May 4, 2020 following Governor Inslee's extension of the 'Stay Home, Stay Healthy' order.
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Following the public announcement (below) made by the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department late on Thursday, March 12, the FOC will extend postponement of events, programs and volunteer activity until at least April 13, 2020.
For questions regarding Friends of the Conservatory programming, contact Khue Tran at khue@volunteerparkconservatory.org.
From the City of Seattle's Parks and Recreation Department public announcement on March 12:
As health officials and scientists have noted, we likely had 1,100 active COVID-19 infections as of March 10 in our region. If we do not act, there could be more than 25,000 cases by early April. As you likely heard, yesterday, the State and County announced additional measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, including a prohibition of events with more than 250 people, and a prohibition on events with less than 250 people, if they don’t meet public health guidance on social distancing and hygiene. We have been working round-the-clock to assess what that guidance means for Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR).
SPR continues to be in communication with, and following the guidance of, Public Health—Seattle & King County (PHSKC), the City’s Office of Emergency Management, and Washington Department of Health regarding COVID-19. Except for the purposes of preschool programs or hygiene services, Seattle Parks and Recreation will cancel all programming, rentals, and permitted events and will close all community centers, pools, and environmental learning centers to the public. This will take effect at 6 p.m. tomorrow, March 13, and will last until at least April 13. We will be in continued contact with public health officials to evaluate our facilities beyond this timeline.
Details on licensed school-age care programs (including before- and after-school care as well as preschool programs) will be published soon and available here: https://parkways.seattle.gov/
Please see the list below for an overview of SPR impacts, and please see the full press release at the end of this post for more details. For questions or information on refunds, please contact your local community center or pool.
**Starting at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 13**
TEMPORARILY CLOSED:
CURRENTLY OPEN:
SPR staff is dedicated to supporting Healthy People, a Healthy Environment, and Strong Communities, and we are exploring ways for the community to continue to engage with us via virtual community and fitness programming during these temporary impacts. Please expect to see more information about these opportunities in the near future, and I encourage everyone to check the following resources for updates about SPR operations and facilities.
Stay informed:
Please check the following resources for updates about SPR operations and facilities:
Khue Tran
Program Director
Khue Tran
March 12, 2020
