A row of poles now stands in the middle of Broadway Hill Park. It is a dog agility station, set slalom-style for a leashed dog to weave through, and it is one stop on a 3.1-mile circuit that Seattle Parks and Recreation finished across South Capitol Hill this fall.
The city calls it the Healthy Capitol Hill Hike. Parks announced it on October 7, and CHS Capitol Hill Seattle published photos of the equipment the following day. It is easy to read as an outdoor gym with a pet-friendly label. Walk the stations, though, and the plan points the other way. The equipment for dogs outnumbers the equipment for people, so the route works best as a better version of the walk you already take every evening.
Count the stations and the dog comes first
The hike covers eight parks: Broadway Hill Park, Seven Hills Park, Tashkent Park, Thomas Street Mini-Park, Summit Slope Park, T.T. Minor Playground, McGilvra Place, and Williams Place. The city's online map gives a dog exercise at seven of them. Four parks have heavy-duty human machines of the kind found in public parks around the country.
| Park | For you | For the dog |
|---|---|---|
| Cal Anderson Park, the start | Bike crunches, planks | None labeled |
| Broadway Hill Park | Seated leg press | Weave poles |
| Seven Hills Park | Seated chest press | Log jumps |
| Tashkent Park | Back extensions and dips, Y-T-W | Inclined A-frame |
| Williams Place | Seated vertical press | Hoop jump |
| Thomas Street Mini-Park | None labeled | Tunnel |
| T.T. Minor Playground | None labeled | Sit-stands |
| McGilvra Place | None labeled | Bows |
| Summit Slope Park | A stop on the route | None labeled |
The human side also has cardio bursts on the map: stair climbs, hill climbs and quick-feet drills. These suit Capitol Hill's grades well and need no equipment at all.
The dog list shows the intent. Sit-stands and bows are training cues, the kind of thing a dog already does on a walk with a treat in your pocket. When Parks first presented the idea in February, CHS reported that officials described the dog and human installations as "natural features" like stumps and logs, part of a circuit of low-cost, low-maintenance stations linking the area's parks. The log jumps at Seven Hills follow that brief exactly.
What links eight small parks into one route
According to CHS, one of the city's goals was to get people moving between these parks. The hike gives each one a reason to stop, and it gives you a reason to keep walking to the next.
Both loops begin in Cal Anderson Park at 1635 11th Ave, one block from Capitol Hill light rail station. The 1.6-mile loop pairs with upper-body exercises and the 1.5-mile loop with lower-body ones. Walk both and you have a 5K. Starting by the station means the route also works for a friend who rides in from the Eastside or the University District with a dog in tow.
Colorful markers on the sidewalk, which the project calls breadcrumbs, show the way between parks. Each carries a QR code that opens the hike page, where the map can be switched to show the loop lines, the parks, restrooms, bodyweight exercises and each named station. Signs at the equipment explain how to use it. Putting down the markers took coordination with SDOT's Public Space Management team.
The project page also names nine intersections along the loops where curb ramps are missing or may not meet everyone's needs. If you push a stroller or walk with someone using a mobility aid, check that list on the map before choosing a loop.
A few of the stops are worth knowing on their own
Knowing what each park already offers can turn the hike into something you shape to the day.
Tashkent Park has an arbor, picnic tables, benches and sculpture. It takes its name from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, one of Seattle's international sister cities. With the A-frame, a back-extension and dip station, and Y-T-W shoulder work, it is one of the fullest stops for both of you.
Seven Hills Park reopened February 26 and was the first park to get equipment when installation began on June 16. Its seven boulders stand for Seattle's seven hills. The log jumps and a seated chest press now share the park with them. According to CHS, the park first opened in September 2010.
Summit Slope Park has a skate-bench feature, a landscaped garden, a grill and picnic tables. A community-led East John Street improvement, finished in 2018, added a bioswale, planting area and better pedestrian connections. It counts as a stop with no labeled station, which makes it a natural place to cool down on a rest day.
The leash stays on, even at the agility stations
Weave poles and hoop jumps look like off-leash gear, but the Healthy Capitol Hill Hike does not create an off-leash area. Under Seattle Parks' rules and regulations, dogs must be leashed in parks outside designated off-leash areas. Dogs are also not allowed on organized athletic fields, on beaches, or in children's play areas. That last rule matters at T.T. Minor Playground, where the sit-stand station is part of the route and the play equipment is not. This is a summary of a city rule, not legal advice, so the linked page is the place to confirm the details.
In practice, the leash shapes how you use each station:
- Weave poles and the tunnel work at a walk, with you moving beside the dog instead of sending it ahead.
- Log jumps and the hoop jump suit a short leash and a low height for older dogs or dogs new to agility.
- Sit-stands and bows need nothing but the leash and a treat, so they fit any dog at any stop.
- The A-frame at Tashkent is inclined, so a slow climb on a loose leash is safer than a run at it.
For off-leash time, the city's list of dog off-leash areas includes Plymouth Pillars Park, a 0.2-acre site at 1050 Pike St.
Building it into a week
Splitting the hike into an upper-body loop and a lower-body loop makes it easy to alternate. One loop can fill a weekday walk and the other the next day, and linking both into the full 5K works for a longer weekend outing. The hike page's map shows which parks fall on each loop.
Seattle Parks has said the project grew out of community feedback and that it continues to work with neighbors, businesses and organizations on these parks. Earlier this year, CHS named the 15th Ave Business Improvement Area as a possible partner for community events. For questions about the route or the equipment, the Parkways announcement lists a project contact at Seattle Parks and points to the hike page for maps and suggested exercises.
The first visit is easy to plan. Start at Cal Anderson, scan the first breadcrumb, and let the map take you from there.
At Mary Nelson, I enjoy hearing how people put Seattle's parks to work in their daily routines. If a walk on this new route sets you thinking about life on Capitol Hill or anywhere else across the city and the Eastside, I'd be glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.
