Seattle judge keeps Denny Blaine nude
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Still clothing optional. Photo: Courtesy of the City of Seattle
Denny Blaine isn't covering up.
Why it matters: A King County judge rejected an effort to close Seattle's longtime clothing-optional beach, but ordered the city to step up management after finding illegal sexual activity had become a public nuisance.
Driving the news: Wednesday's ruling keeps nudity legal on the park's lower beach and toplessness legal throughout the 2-acre area on Lake Washington. But the judge ordered the city to:
- Create a park-specific code of conduct.
- Increase staffing and maintenance.
- Improve landscaping, signs and buffers between the park and bordering homes to discourage illegal behavior.
Catch up quick: Denny Blaine Park has been a magnet for nudists and the LGBTQ+ community since the 1980s, but testimony at trial described a sharp increase in lewd behavior after the COVID-19 pandemic began.
- In 2023, a privately funded proposal to build a children's playground at the site — widely seen as a way to limit nudity — sparked mass backlash and was scrapped.
- The fight shifted to the courts in 2025 when neighbors sued the city, saying they couldn't leave their houses without an eyeful, that kids were being traumatized, and that property values had taken a hit.
Judge Samuel Chung found the city's enforcement efforts often fell short, with delayed police responses and few prosecutions.
- He agreed that illegal conduct at the park amounted to a nuisance — but said closing the park went too far.
What they're saying: Friends of Denny Blaine, which intervened in the case, celebrated that part of the decision, saying, "The park remains open to everyone."
- Lee Keller, a spokesperson for the neighbors, told KUOW the ruling confirms the city must do more to stop illegal activity at the park.
- What the city has been doing is "not working for anybody," Keller said.
The bottom line: You can still leave your swimsuit at home. Just keep it PG.