Waterfront Trail Restoration Project: Construction Starting in June

The Waterfront Trail is one of the Arboretum’s most popular attractions. (Photo by Niall Dunne)

BY KAREN O’CONNOR

Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) and our partners, the Arboretum Foundation and University of Washington Botanic Gardens, are excited to announce the beginning of Phase 1 construction for the Washington Park Arboretum Waterfront Trail restoration project. SPR has contracted with Redside Construction, who will mobilize at the site by June 2026. We anticipate opening Phase 1 of the project in early 2027.

Phase 1 construction will focus on the Foster Island section of the floating walkway, and it will include new overwater structural support piles, floats, walers, gangways, and railings to improve trail accessibility and year-round use. During construction, a portion of the trail (see highlighted map below) will be closed to public access.

Map showing the trail closure on Foster Island (red highlight). Courtesy Seattle Parks and Recreation.

Thank you to the community for your patience as we have worked diligently over the past years on design, permitting, and funding hurdles. We are still working to secure funding to renovate the entire trail and plan to make improvements in phases as the budget allows. The design portion of Phase 2 is underway, and it focuses on improvements to the Marsh Island sections of the trail.

Together with our Arboretum partners, we are thrilled to be moving into the construction portion of Phase 1 of the project to preserve this popular public amenity. The Waterfront Trail offers scenic views of Union Bay and amazing opportunities to encounter wetland plant and wildlife biodiversity in the heart of the city.

The popular floating boardwalk on Foster Islands will get a much needed facelift. (Photo by Niall Dunne)

This project is guided by the 2001 Arboretum Master Plan. For more information, please visit the Waterfront Trail project page on the Seattle Parks and Recreation website or contact Jonathan Pagán, Project Manager at Jonathan.Pagan@seattle.gov.

Reprinted with permission from the Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Parkways blog.

Karen O’Connor is the Communications Strategic Advisor at Seattle Parks and Recreation.