Alki Beach Park - here's the official website - is a nice long strip of beach that runs from Alki Point to Duwamish Head on Elliott Bay. It's a lovely summer park destination in Seattle, Washington and a great spot for a 2.5 mile walk any time of year.
The beach overlooks the Puget Sound and the city of Seattle with a great view of the Space Needle in the distance making this a perfect spot for a family photo.
The main street is Alki Ave. SW. And it's loaded with several casual beachy restaurants and cafés. We had a yummy seafood dinner at Dukes Restaurant twice during our two week visit.
This is a great beach for a long walk, getting a bite to eat or just to relax on the sand.
It reminded me of The Strand in Manhattan Beach, California with its long path which was like a freeway for biking, skating and walking.
Rainbows, sea glass and fresh Seattle coffee, smells like vacation.
History of Alki Beach
Alki Beach Park was quite popular in 1902 and used to be called Luna Park after its Coney Island, New York namesake. It boasted an elaborate amusement park on pilings that are still visable at low tide at Duwamish Head.
The park was completed in 1907, and included the Alki Bathhouse, it was the first of its kind, with several heated saltwater pools, a huge German carousel, a Ferris wheel, a roller coaster, a restaurant, and a boat chute into a "tub" of water.
The beach was so popular that it became the destination of the new electric street railway line, all the way from Seattle.
Is there sea glass at Alki Beach?
With a past history of dumping garbage off Alki Point in West Seattle, plus the currents of Puget Sound, Alki Beach is a great and very easily accessible beach to find sea glass in Seattle.
Although many of Seattle's beaches may be protected from the ocean waves and therefore have limited wave action, we still managed to find several small pieces of nicely frosted craft quality sea glass and one piece of blue sea pottery in less than an hour - as you can see below.
Alki Beach has nice soft sand and piles of small pebbles which is perfect for catching the many dime sized and frosted pieces of sea glass washing up with each wave.
The best time to find sea glass is early in the morning about an hour before and during low tide.
You will also likely find more sea glass during morning low tide times after a storm.
Beaches near bluffs and rocky beaches with coarse sand are usually better for sea glass hunting.
Nice long beach full of dime size pieces of sea glass
This shell made a great container for all my sea glass.
Interesting...
There is a miniature Statue of Liberty at Alki Beach. The statue has become a place to mourn, reflect, and to leave mementos after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Image courtesy of Alki News
Directions and Amenities
There's plenty of parking along Alki Ave. SW. though it was November and I imagine that the summer months are much busier. I did notice regular bus stops, so that might be a good option.
There are picnic tables and modern, clean restrooms (which is always a relief!) and the whole stretch offers spectacular views of Puget Sound, the Olympic Mountains and various ferry boats.
You won't go hungry either with so many restaurants, catering for every taste and budget.
In Summary...
I definitely recommend this beach for sea glass hunting. You will find plenty of nuggets washed up along the entire stretch, which certainly isn't always the case on busy beaches like this one.
Grab yourself a Starbucks and get down there!
