Geotechnical
FoDP hires geotechnical consultant, Shannon & Wilson, Inc. to perform a preliminary evaluation of the existing trail conditions and potential new routes for the South Beach Trail.
South Beach Trail improvements
Other than the iconic Loop Trail, the South Beach Trail (SBT) in Discovery Park is the most popular trail segment in the park. Each year, more than 250,000 people hike the SBT. Upon entering it, you feel as if you are in the mixed hardwood and coniferous forests of the Cascades, except you also have periodic views of Puget Sound and the Olympic mountains. Visitors descend through forest and bluff to the spectacular South beach. As wonderful as this experience is, it won’t be there forever without revisions to the trail. Parts of the trail have fallen into disrepair, and other parts are threatened by slope instability.
Recognizing the deteriorating conditions, in 2018, Friends of Discovery Park (FoDP) initiated evaluations of the South Beach Trail. In 2024 FoDP offered to donate $50,000 of our own funds toward improving trail safety, including rerouting portions of the trail to more stable terrain and bypassing the badly eroded stairs that were built more than 50 years ago. The SBT is one of many popular pathways at Discovery Park—learn more about the Park’s trail system.
Project updates will be posted here as they become available. SPR plans for construction in 2027.
The following is a timeline of the South Beach Trail evaluations, reroute design, construction, and grant applications.
March 2018
Spring 2019
Public meetings
J.A. Brennan Associates and SPR hold two public meetings about the new trail routes at the ELC.
October / November 2020
Phase 1 construction
EarthCorps, under contract to SPR, completes construction of Phase 1, the upper 400 feet of the new trail alignment. This includes 25 steps at the upper trailhead.
May 2024
FoDP pledges $50,000
Friends of Discovery Park sends a letter to SPR pledging $50,000 toward the completion of the new South Beach Trail, with the condition that the money would be transmitted upon SPR’s official project approval and SPR’s consummation of a contract for construction of the South Beach Trail Relocation Project.
June 2025
Trail layouts and routes
SPR hires J.A. Brennan Associates to confirm the trail layout and prepare design documents for the remainder of the new trail (Phases 2, 3a, and 3b), and to flag the new route in the field with SPR. See a larger view of routes below.
January 2026
Project funded
SPR has told FoDP that “The project is fully funded, and we (SPR) are working on permits in the coming months to plan for construction in 2027.”
The South Beach Trail at Discovery Park is one of Seattle’s most iconic outdoor experiences. Each year, more than 250,000 people hike this trail, descending through forest and bluff to a spectacular public beach.