Dahl Playfield

Oh Dahl Field, the field and playground of my childhood: I would trek across this park almost daily when going to nearby Eckstein Middle School, and in my later high school years practiced pulling in, parking, reversing, and doing it all over again in preparation for my license test. Having not gone for several years, I was aware of the recent revocation (skate park, new vegetation, and new playground equipment) but had not yet seen it in the flesh. Low and behold, the facelift proved to make the park feel a bit more energized without loosing the feeling it had when i was a kid (looking at you, weird concrete turtle… thing). Now, as a full fledged adult doing adult like activities, I’ve started coming back to use, abuse, and swear at the baseball diamonds, which are in pretty good shape and have always been clean when I’ve come by to use them. There’s plenty of field reserved parking, and enough residential parking a block or two away that hauling kids to and from shouldn’t be too difficult if you have them.

I drive about 15 minutes to bring my 3yo here. He likes the play house and merry-​go-​round. I like that there are a ton of benches to perch on, and the play structures are moderately different than other parks we frequent. The big polished rocks are fun for him, as is gawking at big kids on skateboards. While sometimes the skaters are a little rough-​edged or are smoking, they inspire mine to drag his scooter out to play so he can copy them. Haven’t tried the wading pool or the bathrooms.

We checked on the internet for the best parks in Seattle. This park came up as one of the top parks. So, we made it a point to check it out, especially since it was rated high on Unilocal too!
What we found out was the following:
Limited playground equipment. Also, the playground equipment was varied in age. For example, the swings were difficult for our 1^st grader to get up on since they sat so high up. However, they have a mini-​slide too for much younger kids. So, this is great if you have multiple age kids, but also further limits the selection of things to play on.
The thing my daughter liked the best was the other kids playing there and they have a group of shrubs, trees and bushes that kids use to hide in like a mini-​forrest. This area is really great for kids and really distressful for parents since you can’t see where your kids are once they enter into this area.
The park overall is pretty with a large field and a restroom, although not very clean inside when we went in there. There are a lot of middle age kids doing skating on their skate board area. They came across as possible trouble makers. I saw a sign posted by a kid who had his bike taken there and one of the skate boarding kids ripped the sign down. I then saw another kid on a skate board open up some food and drop his trash on the ground. There is some graffiti and lots of shoes dangling overhead on shoestrings.
So, overall, some great younger kids at the park, limited playground equipment and scary bushes and other things going on.

Dear Dahl Playfield Engineer People:
Thank you for the new swings and really neat toys to play on. My toddler always enjoys the variety of activities available.
Dear Dumbass Young Adults Smoking Next to the New Swings:
I was once a dumbass young adult, too, and nobody told me that smoking directly next to a children’s park is a bone-​headed thing to do, so maybe you just don’t know. I see (and smell) you there on most days, and I wonder if you were, in fact, born in a barn. Anyway, knock it off.
Thank you.

I love the big, empty space, but please stick to the paved or gravel walkways after a heavy rain as the grass gets really soggy and mucky. The skate park seems to get a fair bit of use; it’s good for the kids to have a place like this in the neighourhood. And the play area seems to be very popular in on sunny spring and summer afternoons.

This is a great park. I have a one-​year-​old, and I see us coming here for years, either to play soccer or to swing or to wade in the pool. We moved to the neighborhood a couple months ago and I stumbled upon the park while out walking — and trying to get the aforementioned toddler to sleep. Since he wouldn’t sleep, we played on the grass and swung. Now that he is bigger, he likes to walk around, sit on the granite chunks (what are those all about?), and watch the big kids. They have really neat playground equipment made by a Danish company. It’s very cool and makes me want to climb all over everything, too.
The point is, there is a lot to do at this park. It seems to have things for all ages. There are definitely regulars here, and there is a definite busy time in the late afternoon. I look forward to spending time over the next dozen or so years hanging out at Dahl with my son.

This is a nice little neighborhood park. There’s a huge field for games, a playground for the kids, and a bathroom for someone in need of one.
If you’re in the neighborhood, it’s also a pretty cool spot to visit when you just want to feel like a kid on the swings or when it’s been snowing hardcore.
Not really my preferred kind of park, but definitely a great place for sports and/​or playground fun.