Lincoln Park in West Seattle


Lincoln Park in West Seattle is such an awesome park! This park spans 135 acres which means there's a little bit of everything to see. The forested trails, rocky beach, playgrounds, troll and wide open spaces means it's not very crowded, even on week-ends. It's the perfect spot for spring family photos, with nearby neighborhood streets in bloom and even a few cherry blossom trees scattered throughout the park.

Posed family portrait amongst a flowering neighborhood street.
Mom kissing child.
Dad swinging child while the other child jumps.
Family cuddling together in Seattle.

Lincoln Park gives off true Pacific Northwest vibes.


Lincoln Park has almost 5 miles of heavily wooded trails with lots of lush greenery. The tall evergreen trees soften the harsh light, making it a good spot for family photos at any time of day. This is great for little ones and their sleep schedules as I've done photos on cloudy days at noon, bright sunny days in the afternoon and golden hour in the evening. Because the park is so big, you can find a quiet spot to blow bubbles, run around in the meadows or play a great game of hide and seek amongst the trees. Less crowds = a more relaxed family photo session.

Family walking together in a forested path in Lincoln Park.
Dad throwing child into air in a Seattle Park.
Family tickling each other and smiling.
Parents swinging child in the air at Lincoln Park.

Lincoln Park has an awesome rocky beach.


Sandy beaches, what is that? We are in the Pacific Northwest and have awesome rocky beaches! The beach is a 10 minute walk from the parking lot, over gently sloped paved pathways, making it great for little legs to walk. The beach has views of the ferries, cargo ships and even seals! There's lots of driftwood to climb and rocks to throw, making it very entertaining for kids (and parents). Lincoln Park also has amazing low tides, with minus tides (-1 to -3) providing the coolest opportunity to view sea life (anemones, crabs, sea stars, etc. The tide schedule can be found here. In the spring, there's also beautiful daffodils and cherry blossom trees by the beach.

Family walking paved pathway with rail providing leading line.
Children playing on a rocky beach.
Mom and child throwing rocks while father and child look on in the distance.
Mom kissing child amongst backdrop of cherry blossom trees in Seattle.

Lincoln Park keeps kids engaged.


Lincoln Park is perfect for kids! There's so many things to do which keeps kids engaged the entire time. Kids have shorter attention spans so the opportunity to collect treasures (sticks, leaves, pine cones, etc), explore winding trails and even play on the playground provides lots of authentic smiles and candid moments during your family photo session.

Posed portrait of siblings.
Younger sibling kissing older sibling.
Child playing on playground at Lincoln Park.
Father helping child down the slide.
Husband kissing wife's forehead as they cuddle amongst cherry blossoms in Seattle.

Lincoln Park is great anytime of the year.


Lincoln Park is great anytime of the year. In the spring, there's flowering trees. In the summer, there's warmth and beautiful sunsets. In the fall, there's colorful foliage. And even in the winter, there's enough evergreen trees that you won't miss the bare deciduous trees. Lincoln Park offers a ton of backdrop variety, meaning you'll get a diverse and well rounded gallery. A couple of things to note:

  • Lincoln Park is less crowded and offers more variety than Alki Beach.
  • There's multiple public restrooms scattered throughout the park.
  • If your kids love playgrounds and will be grumps if they can't go immediately, let me know and we'll take paths to avoid them until the end.


Even if you don't want family photos here, Lincoln Park is a great park to explore on a lazy week-end. Thanks so much for reading!