How could I have missed this hidden gem of a park for the 12 years my son, who is on the autism spectrum, lived for large moving vehicles — trains, trucks, forklifts, buses, Winnebagoes, anything that loaded, lifted, vroomed?
Perhaps it was a merciful act of God, because had we — especially he — known about Jack Block Park, I am pretty sure we would have been driving our gas-guzzling minivan (whom my son named Mable for reasons we could never discern) from our Shoreline home to the eastern, city-facing side of West Seattle where the park is located, if not every weekend than a whole lot of them. He was very determined. Instead, he had to settle for endless weekend outings to truck and car lots.
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Unbeatable Port Views for Kids Who Love Machines
Jack Block Park is one of the city’s best (and really the only) places where kids can get an up-close view of the working port. Standing atop the eastern-most park overlook or peeking over the chainlink fencing that secures the port’s shipping container operations, your vehicle-loving kid will be giddy with exposure. Given the chance, mine would have parked himself on that overlook for hours. I would have brought a picnic blanket and food, unable to peel him away.
So, working port views are the number one reason to bring your kids to Jack Block Park.
A stroll along Jack Block Park’s rocky shoreline offers up-close waterfront views and quiet moments together. (Image: Cheryl Murfin)
Why Jack Block Park is a Hidden Gem
This park is beautifully curated, with long ramps curving up and down and around the grounds. That means rather than stroller and wheelchair access being an ugly gray sidebar to the lush plantings, it’s integrated throughout. The path is easy and rewarding. On a recent visit, bright and inviting Blackeyed Susans danced in the wind as perfectly trimmed trees — Douglas fir, western hemlock, western red cedar, bigleaf maple, and red alder — waved nearby and overhead. In the park’s nooks and crannies, I found a mom reading as a baby napped, a family lazily picnicking, and a handful of kids strolling the park’s long rocky beach, skipping stones and pondering what the giant deteriorating barge out on the water once did for a living.
“It’s like it’s a secret,” a dad told me, spending the afternoon with his 6-year-old daughter. He preferred not to be named. “Especially in good weather.”
Bright Black-eyed Susans sway in the breeze along the park’s scenic paths. (Image: Cheryl Murfin)
Accessible Trails and Scenic Shoreline
Jack Block, which opened in 1998 and is named after a former Port of Seattle Commissioner, has a decidedly nautical theme, starting with a sculpture of marine floats at the entrance and old-time big-ship pier ties throughout the park. Its unique design includes a raised walkway that leads to the port overlook that hints at being the bow of a ship.
Don’t be fooled by the less attractive, fenced lot of campers and access vans on the right as you head over a bridge overpass to the bow. It’s just a passing flaw. But honestly, my kid would have been all over that: there were at least 50 vans in there. When a kid is as into wheels as he is, those count.
Nautical-themed marine floats greet visitors at the entrance to Jack Block Park. (Image: Cheryl Murfin)
A Hill Made for Rolling
Do you have hill rollers in your crew? When my kids were young, we hunted hills like bears hunt salmon. You’d think Gasworks was the roll-down bomb. But no, hill-rolling doesn’t work with that design.
Go to Jack Block, where the hill at the park’s center is perfect — and I mean perfect — for a good summertime or dry-weather grass roll. It’s steep at the top and widens for a slow end.
The park’s wide, grassy hill is ideal for kids who love to roll and play. (Image: Cheryl Murfin)
Jack Block is a park you want to make time for, rather than a quick run-through. There are no playgrounds. The park itself is the playground. Bathrooms are kept clean. Bring a blanket, a good book, and let your little one marvel at the inner machinery of a world-renowned port, hunt rocks, or play captain of the ship.
Then don’t tell your friends about it — let’s keep it a secret just between us.
