Upper Hamlin Park is almost finished. As of September 2026, the City of Shoreline says the project is nearing completion and expects to open the park before the end of the year. The feature getting the most attention is the spray park. Shoreline Area News calls it the city's first splash pad. On the City's timeline, though, it opens just as the weather turns, so its first full summer won't come until 2027.
That changes what this reopening offers this winter. The pieces you can use in November and December are the loop path, the picnic shelter, the improved trail, and the new play area. The forest around all of it is being restored by volunteer crews this month. The busiest stretch of Shoreline's fall calendar happens around this site, at the lower park on 15th Avenue NE and along the Ridgecrest blocks of NE 165th Street.
What the fencing will reveal
Upper Hamlin sits at 25th Avenue NE and NE 160th Street. It is one of eight parks in the Proposition 1 bond that Shoreline voters passed in February 2022. The City's approved list of improvements mixes new amenities with less visible infrastructure. Several things on the site are staying as they are.
| New with this project | Staying or changing |
|---|---|
| Spray park | Existing restrooms remain |
| All-ages play area | Existing ballfields remain, with Ballfield 5 in service throughout |
| Small picnic shelter | Area around Ballfield 6 permanently closed |
| Walkways and improvements to the existing trail | 25th Avenue NE parking lot reopening with new lighting |
| Rockery retaining wall, concrete seat wall | Accessible ramp area at the south end of the lot rebuilt |
| Benches, bike racks, plantings |
There is no new ballfield or new restroom building. The design drawing marks the existing restrooms "to remain." For anyone who used the Ballfield 6 area before construction, that space is gone for good.
A splash pad with a year-end opening date
The original schedule had a different season in mind. A City notice from March 10, 2025, set construction to begin on March 24 and expected the closure to last through spring 2026. That estimate would have ended the closure before summer 2026. The September 2026 update moved the opening to before year-end. The City's park directory still says "through winter 2026," so the exact week is still open.
The splash pad will also have company sooner than some people expect. Hillwood Park, at 19001 3rd Avenue NW, is getting its own spray park, plus a loop path, multi-sport court, play area, and picnic shelter. Construction there started in August 2026, and the City expects to finish in summer 2027. That means Upper Hamlin's spray park may be Shoreline's only splash pad for less than a year. It also means its first warm-weather season and Hillwood's opening could arrive close together.
For now, Upper Hamlin is the sixth stop in a series of reopenings that has been running since 2024. Kruckeberg Botanic Garden's new boardwalk reopened in August 2024, Ridgecrest Park in June 2024, Shoreview Park in January 2025, Richmond Highlands Park in September 2025, and James Keough Park in May 2026. The City expects to substantially complete every bond park by summer 2027.
The forest work happens before the opening
The Upper Hamlin work this fall isn't only contractor work. Green Shoreline Partnership has two Hamlin Upper Forest Restoration Project work parties on its calendar, on October 16 and October 30, both from noon to 3 p.m. Volunteers will remove invasive plants, work on soil health, and plant native trees, shrubs, and ground cover. The partnership's October through November calendar shows no Hamlin work party in November. That leaves those two Fridays as the only scheduled chances this fall to put plants in the ground before the park reopens.
October 16 is a full day at Hamlin. The Hamlin Halloween Haunt runs that evening from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Hamlin Park, 16006 15th Ave. NE, with campfire stories and songs, a hay wagon, a costume photo booth, and games. The first half hour is set aside for reduced-sensory activities. A volunteer could finish planting at 3 p.m. and return a few hours later for the Haunt.
Getting in while the 25th Avenue lot is closed
The parking lot along 25th Avenue NE has been closed since July 2025 and stays closed through fall 2026. The City's access guidance comes down to three points:
- Parking: available along Hamlin Park Road.
- Not parking: there is no public parking on School District property.
- Walking in: the 25th Avenue NE sidewalk stays open, with signs marking pedestrian access to the park.
The lower park's trails make walking in an easy choice. The City's facility listing includes unpaved trails at Hamlin. A City-advertised double-loop walk covers 2.5 miles of forest trail in about two hours, with steep hills and stairways that have no railings. For that route, plan on good shoes and a dry afternoon.
For a guided version, the free Ridgecrest and North City Neighborhoods Walk on Saturday, October 24, covers 3.1 miles at a moderate pace from 10 to 11:30 a.m., and the route includes Hamlin Park. Walkers meet in the east parking lot of Ridgecrest Elementary, entering from NE 165th St., at 16516 10th Ave. NE. That meeting point is on the same street as Ridgecrest's small commercial strip, which makes it the obvious place to end up afterward.
NE 165th Street is the other half of the outing
The Ridgecrest business district runs along NE 165th Street between 5th and 8th Avenues NE. Its anchors sit within a few doors of each other, and each has something on the calendar in the coming weeks.
Drumlin, at 522 NE 165th St., is a daytime café serving espresso, tea, pastries, and breakfast food made in-house. It's open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Those hours fit the October 24 walk well, since the group finishes at 11:30.
Ridgecrest Books, at 512 NE 165th St., is the neighborhood bookstore. It has a story time on Sunday, October 18. Next door to Drumlin, Ridgecrest Public House at 520 NE 165th St. keeps a running calendar of food trucks and has a trivia night on Monday, October 5. Around the corner, Landmark Crest Cinema Center, the four-screen theater at 16505 5th Ave. NE, has a $5 Secret Movie the same night.
ShoreLake Arts lists its gallery and office at 521 NE 165th St. Its contact page says the office is temporarily closed for renovations. The organization is still hosting the strip's biggest late-fall event. The Outdoor Arts Market on November 21 runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on NE 165th between 5th and 8th Avenues. Drumlin and Ridgecrest Books are co-hosts, and the City's listing says local shops are expected to be open. If Upper Hamlin's year-end target holds, that market will be one of the last big Ridgecrest gatherings before the park reopens.
The dates between now and the reopening
- Monday, October 5: trivia at Ridgecrest Public House and the $5 Secret Movie at Crest Cinema.
- Friday, October 16: Upper Hamlin forest work party from noon to 3 p.m., then the Hamlin Halloween Haunt from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
- Sunday, October 18: story time at Ridgecrest Books.
- Saturday, October 24: Ridgecrest and North City Neighborhoods Walk from 10 to 11:30 a.m., through Hamlin Park.
- Friday, October 30: second Upper Hamlin forest work party, noon to 3 p.m.
- Saturday, November 21: ShoreLake Arts Outdoor Arts Market on NE 165th, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Before year-end, per the City: Upper Hamlin reopens with its play area, picnic shelter, loop path, and Shoreline's first splash pad.
Updates on the opening date will most likely come from the City's 2022 Park Bond Projects page, which carried the September status, and from Shoreline Area News, which reported it.
Rebecca and Tom pay close attention to what Shoreline's park bond projects are adding to the neighborhoods around them, from the Upper Hamlin shelter to the trail work along 25th Avenue NE. If you'd like to talk about what these changes mean for your own corner of Shoreline, the team at Rebecca Mitsui would be glad to hear from you. Contact Us.
