Pathways Park, previously known as the Burke-Gilman Playground, opened for play in June 2024 after an extensive seven-year planning process and multimillion-dollar renovation. True to its vision of including everyone in this new space, park planners engaged more than 800 community members in the park’s development.
However, the project’s initial impetus came from one little boy. His name is Eli, and his superpower is inclusion.
Bronze ‘telephone’ at Pathway Park. Photo by Krista Tsai
A place for everyone
Eli was born with Down syndrome and lived a full life, inspiring others with his hugs and smiles. He was just shy of four years old when he died. Eli’s mom, Paige Reischl, spearheaded Eli’s Park Project to honor her son after seeing a need for more inclusive play spaces in Seattle.
The new inclusive nature-based park is full of curiosities, options for challenges, spaces for play, and places for respite. Reischl says it is the perfect homage to Eli.
“I can totally picture him piling on the big disk swing, sitting on his brothers’ laps on the merry-go-round, and barreling down the wide slide with his friends,” says Reischl. “He would’ve been delighted by all the little surprises like the bronze worm and the tadpoles and talking tubes. I would’ve chased him up and down the roly-poly path and rocked him to sleep in the porch swing.
Equally important, says Reischl, Eli “would’ve been seen, heard, included, and loved in a beautifully diverse community. These are the kinds of experiences I hope many, many others have when they come to play.”
Designed for every ability
Upon your arrival, you’ll notice the welcoming “rainbow snags” that mark the outer edges of the park.
The calmer areas, where visitors can observe, rest, and immerse themselves in nature, are closest to those outer edges. A treehouse overlook, Reischl’s favorite park feature, allows visitors to experience the feeling of being in a treehouse without the barriers to getting there. The railing is adorned in a braille poem written by the community describing the ravine view. A sign reads, “You belong here.” That, says Reischl, is the park’s overarching theme.
Curious art awaits discovery throughout the park. My children enjoyed playing telephone through bronze talking tubes, with creatures popping out of them, including a sleeping bat and nesting birds. My kids love fish and adored the tall lily pad and tadpole sculpture entitled “Beyond the Surface,” which follows the mesmerizing metamorphosis from egg to frog.
Park schematic courtesy Seattle Parks an Recreation
The paths at Pathway Park
Paths meander throughout the park, offering different challenges for different abilities. Each is designed for kids of differing abilities to engage in parallel play as well as play together. We took advice from some of my mom friends and enjoyed our scooters on the roly-poly path.
Other paths lead to a sensory garden, the treehouse overlook, bench seating atop a play hill and its interactive art display, a small boardwalk bridge, and “The Nest,” a spot where you’ll find more bronze creatures.
Where to find respite from the sun
While shade is minimal at this park, the hillside cave with built-in benches is a cozy shelter. The park also includes a covered picnic gazebo in the center, which offers a shady spot for a bite to eat. Several barbeques are also available.
The day we visited was particularly hot and sunny, and we found two of the blue swing options (the single adaptive swing and saucer swing) too hot to use. But we did see another family enjoying the friendship-style accessible swing. My kids enjoyed spinning the water pump at the park’s water table and digging with the slew of community beach toys found at the sand pit.
Water table play at Pathways Park. Photo by Krista Tsai
The little details of inclusion
The Pathways Park merry-go-round sits at ground level for more inclusive access, and a roller slide and polished concrete slide are large enough for kids to enjoy together.
My kids loved the fun and fast concrete slide—and its soft landing on the turf. Parents of young toddlers may want to test it out side-by-side with their tots first. The roller slide is bumpier and slower going down.
Plan your visit
Like any new park, Pathways Park has been popular and busy since opening, but its large turf playfield and myriad paths mean there’s ample space to sit quietly, spread out, or play with others.
To maximize your time at Pathways Park, invite friends and consider bringing a scooter and a ball. If you plan to play at the water table, bring an extra set of clothes and a towel.
Pathways Park has gender-neutral bathrooms with universal changing tables. There is also a free parking lot with ADA spaces and bike racks.
Reischl’s says her greatest hope for Pathways Park is “that every person who visits can show up as their whole, authentic self and be loved and welcomed exactly as they are.”
She adds: “Eli would’ve loved that every single element is available to every single person and they are all intended to be used together.”
Climbing logs at Pathways Park. Photo by Krista Tsai
Read more:
Puget Sound is part of inclusive playground movement
