Push for park ranger reignites tensions at Denny Blaine
Neighbors claim misconduct, while parkgoers say it’s an attempt to police nudity
Seattle’s Denny Blaine Park is once again the center of a dispute over its status as a nude, queer-friendly beach. After failing to install a children’s playground last year, some wealthy neighbors—led by developer Stuart Sloan—are now pushing for a city-appointed park ranger, citing concerns over public behavior. But Friends of Denny Blaine (FODB), the queer-led group formed to protect the park, argues that misconduct is rare and best handled by the community.
This latest push for enforcement has raised concerns about equity and influence. Records show that city officials, including Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, have met with Sloan and other neighbors to discuss their grievances. Meanwhile, FODB leaders say they have had to fight for equal consideration from city officials, despite their official partnership with Seattle Parks and Recreation.
A pattern of wealthy interference
The debate follows last year’s playground controversy, which was abandoned after widespread opposition. Later, it was revealed that the effort was part of Sloan’s personal campaign to curb nudity at Denny Blaine. Text messages between Sloan and Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell showed Sloan sending the mayor photos of naked beachgoers—images he had censored himself—while calling the nudity “disgusting.” Harrell responded, “If you are disgusted, I share your disgust.”
Public backlash was swift, with hundreds of community members attending a city meeting in December 2023 to protest the playground, arguing that it was never about providing amenities for children, but rather an effort to disrupt a longtime queer and nude space. Facing overwhelming opposition, the city abandoned the plan.
One of the groups advocating for stricter oversight is Denny Blaine Park for All, a neighborhood association formed after the playground debate by local homeowners seeking greater influence over the park’s future. The group says it is working with Seattle Parks and Recreation and Friends of Denny Blaine to develop a formal park policy with stricter behavioral guidelines, educational signage, and increased enforcement. It has also expressed interest in partnering with the Seattle Police Department and the Seattle Parks ranger program to monitor conduct and ensure compliance with park rules.
Seattle City Councilmember Tanya Woo Hollingsworth recently said neighbors had approached her with concerns about public urination and lewd behavior. She estimated that 10% of visitors were engaging in misconduct but later admitted the number was just a guess and could be much lower.
FODB argues that inappropriate behavior is rare and that parkgoers already intervene when needed. A survey conducted by FODB found that while some visitors had witnessed misconduct, most believed the community—not city officials—should handle such issues.
Concerns over surveillance
FODB co-organizer Colleen Kimseylove has advocated for a non-policing approach, organizing intervention trainings to help beachgoers respond to inappropriate behavior. “Naked public people know naked public behavior best,” she told The Stranger, emphasizing that longtime visitors are already effective at keeping the space safe.1
The Seattle Parks Department has not committed to placing a park ranger at Denny Blaine but says the program is intended to de-escalate conflicts without police involvement. However, some worry that an official ranger presence could lead to more policing of nudity.
FODB remains focused on long-term improvements at the park, including increased trash collection, expanded facilities, and better accessibility—changes they argue would meaningfully address concerns like public urination.
Planet Nude is in contact with Friends of Denny Blaine but did not receive a direct comment by the time of publication.
For now, the fight over Denny Blaine continues, with community organizers pushing to ensure that enforcement measures don’t become a backdoor way to restrict the park’s culture. 🪐
How to support Friends of Denny Blaine
Friends of Denny Blaine is actively working to preserve and improve the park while advocating for its community. To learn more about their efforts or contribute to their initiatives, visit friendsofdennyblaine.org.
More reading on Denny Blaine
McCall, V. (2025, March 7). Neighbors want a park ranger at Denny Blaine; the park’s stewardship group really does not. The Stranger. https://www.thestranger.com/news/2025/03/07/79956893/city-hall-is-back-on-denny-blaine
Disclosure: This article was assisted by AI-generative text.
Why is this dude talking pictures of beach goers? That’s beyond creepy.
FWIW, Hippie Hollow Park in Austin (which charges a fee to enter) is patrolled periodically by park rangers in addition to the monitoring by regular users who engage with the rangers when inappropriate behavior gets out of hand, nipping it in the bud, so to speak. Even more so with Haulover Beach in north Miami (which is free to enter) which has the user Beach Ambassador program, plus lifeguards, plus park rangers, plus Miami Dade police. In neither place is nude use threatened, though that may be due to the local government's official designation of clothing optional with "warning" signage - warning of both nude use and lewd activity being illegal.