Magnuson Park Swimming Beach is the City of Seattle's lifeguarded swim beach on the east shore of Warren G. Magnuson Park, on Lake Washington in the Sand Point area of northeast Seattle. Seattle Parks and Recreation runs it as one of up to nine summer guarded beaches on Lake Washington and Green Lake. The 350-acre park around it was Naval Air Station Seattle until the Navy handed the land over in 1975, and the city renamed it for Senator Warren G. Magnuson in 1977. From the sand you look south down the lake toward Mount Rainier on a clear day, with Kirkland and the Eastside shoreline straight across the water.

The park address is 7400 Sand Point Way NE. Enter at NE 65th St., turn left at the stop sign, and follow the road to its end by the Fin Project, a row of black submarine dive fins set up as public art. There is a lot at the end of the road plus parking along Lake Shore Drive, and the lots are free. Beach parking keeps the boat ramp's hours, and the gate serving lots E1 through E4 locks at 10 pm and reopens at 6 am.

The swim area is a roped section of water off a gravel and pebble shoreline, with a fixed swim platform anchored offshore. The city says the water there is too shallow for a diving board, so there isn't one. A bathhouse right behind the beach has restrooms and an outdoor shower, and Picnic Shelter 2 sits on the lawn next to the water. Lifeguards work only in summer. In 2026 the guarded season ran June 27 to August 23, weekdays noon to 7 pm and weekends and holidays 11 am to 7 pm, which is shorter than at most other city beaches. Dates are set each spring. Lake Washington is cold in June and usually warms into the upper 60s or low 70s F by late July. Free swim lessons for ages 6 to 16 are offered at the beach during the guarded season.

Swimming here is free, with no entry or parking fee. Park grounds are open 4 am to 11:30 pm, and the beach promenade, boat ramp and Kite Hill are open 6 am to 10 pm. Seattle Parks discourages swimming when no guards are on duty, and city code limits swimmers to designated areas within 50 feet of shore unless a boat is escorting them. Dogs are not allowed on the swim beach. They have their own off-leash area with lake access elsewhere in the park.

Public Health, Seattle and King County samples the beach about weekly from mid-May to mid-September for E. coli and toxic algae, and the beach is closed when counts run high. That happened in May 2019 after a sharp E. coli spike. In 2023 a lifeguard shortage kept the beach unguarded at the start of summer until the city moved staff over from Matthews Beach in July. Seattle's busiest public boat launch is just south of the beach, so expect motorboat traffic. By city code, powered boats must stay 300 feet from a swimming beach. As of October 2026 the guarded season is over and lifeguards return in summer 2027.

The rest of the park is worth the trip. There are walking trails, restored wetlands, Kite Hill, sports fields, Seattle's largest playground, and a hand-launch for kayaks and other non-motorized boats at the North Shore Recreation Area.