Doris Cooper Houghton Beach Park is a 3.8-acre waterfront park run by the City of Kirkland Parks and Community Services Department on the east shore of Lake Washington, in the Lakeview neighborhood south of downtown Kirkland. Most people still call it Houghton Beach. The 2012 renaming honors Doris Cooper, Kirkland's first woman mayor, who helped win the federal money that bought the shoreline from two oil companies in the early 1970s. It is one of three lifeguarded swimming beaches the city operates, along with Waverly Beach and Juanita Beach.

The address is 5811 Lake Washington Blvd NE, a little over a mile south of the downtown waterfront and just north of Carillon Point. The park lot has a little over 30 spaces, including accessible stalls, and fills fast on warm afternoons; the city posts a pilot real-time parking map for it. King County Metro route 250 stops on Lakeview Drive at NE 59th Street, a short walk from the beach.

The swim area sits in front of a short strip of sand between two docks: a long pier on the north side and a large dock to the south. Inside the buoy line the water is shallow and suits small children. Out by the dock it drops off into deep water, and Houghton is the only one of Kirkland's three beaches where diving is allowed, in designated spots only. Spins, flips and back dives are banned, and the city may suspend diving when the lake level gets too low. Children 12 and under have to pass a 25-yard deep-water swim test, taken the same day, before going past chest depth. Lifeguards work daily from noon to 6 p.m. between July 1 and September 7 (roughly Labor Day), and they do not come out in bad weather or when the air is below 65 degrees. Loaner life jackets are free at the lifeguard office. The lake stays chilly well into June.

Entry is free. The city lists no admission or day-use fee for the park or the beach, and its page says nothing about a parking charge. The park is open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the restrooms are open seasonally from March through October. Groups of more than 15 are asked to notify the city 48 hours ahead.

Water quality is the main thing to check before you go. King County samples the beach weekly from mid-May to late September, and Public Health Seattle and King County closes the swim area when bacteria counts run high. Houghton has been closed this way several times: from late August into early September 2024, from July 7, 2026 through at least mid-July, and again from August 18, 2026. When that happens the rest of the park stays open but people and pets are told to stay out of the water. Outside the lifeguard season and after 6 p.m. nobody is watching the water. In July 2025 an 18-year-old swimming at night between the north and south docks went under and was pulled from the bottom by rescue crews, so swim with someone and stay out of the deep water if you are not a strong swimmer.

Away from the water there is a playground, a sand volleyball court, a lawn, picnic tables, barbecues, an outdoor rinse shower and a picnic area that can be rented. Kayaks and paddleboards can be launched by hand from the park. Three sculptures stand along the shore path: First Romance by Prince Monyo Mihailescu-Nasturel and Spring and Winter by Peter Skinner. The Lake Washington public access walkway continues south from the park toward Carillon Point.