The PlayGarden Story

A Garden for Everyone

Seattle PlayGarden is a 1-acre fully-fenced garden in the heart of Seattle.
The mission of the Seattle PlayGarden is to support people with disabilities through inclusive recreation, socialization, employment and community education.

Summer Camp

The PlayGarden offers a fully inclusive nature-based summer camp experience for children with disabilities and their typically developing peers, ages 3.5-21.

Preschool

PlayGarden preschool blends the best of outdoor education with the warmth and security of an indoor classroom. For children of all abilities ages 3 to 5.

Connections

Connections is the PlayGarden’s newest 8 week program for young adults with and without disabilities in our community ages 18 and up. Apply today!

Free Play

Free Play is an opportunity for children of all ages and abilities to play in our beautiful, inclusive park with friendly staff on site to offer support as needed. No fees. No registration. Just come PLAY!

Fridays + Saturdays

9:30am – 1:30pm

Running 6/27 – 8/23

 

Junior Counselors at camp

Junior Counselor

The program provides an opportunity for young leaders ages 13-16 to learn what it is like to  work as a camp counselor at the PlayGarden. Junior Counselors learn how to set-up camp  activities, how to support and play with kids of all ages and abilities, and how to work  collaboratively in a team environment while having fun!

 

Youth Leadership

The PlayGarden is committed to elevating youth voices and empowering youth with the skills they need to be confident, compassionate and social-justice oriented leaders in our community.

Looking at the year ahead… 

We are so excited to splash into 2026  through snow, raindrops, rainbows and sunshine! It is a big big year for us at the PlayGarden.

This year we will… 

  • Celebrate our 15th year of PlayGarden Preschool!

  • Launch  three more seasonal sessions of our young adult program, Connections! 

  • Celebrate our 20th year of Summer Camp! 

  • Offer thousands of hours of free play to the public 

  • Provide meaningful employment for over 25 teens and young adults, with and without disabilities

  • Mentor more youth service providers on best practices for inclusion

  • And as always, continue to dream up more ways to foster inclusion, disability pride, access and belonging

October 29, 2025

Introducing The PlayGarden Review, Fall 2025!!

Introducing The PlayGarden Review, Fall 2025!! We are excited to announce the publication of the second edition of our zine, The PlayGarden Review. This edition of our zine highlights the stories behind some of the cornerstones of PlayGarden. From interviews with our groundskeeper on how he rebuilt the coop to our most iconic recipes, this...
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September 16, 2025

Welcome Our New Employees

Welcome Our New Employees We are excited to announce that in the past month, we have added two new people to our PlayGarden team, Margot Bell and Mike Bernatovicz.  Margot Bell is joining PlayGarden as our new Supported Employment Job Coach. Margot is a Seattle native, moving back after spending four years at Vanderbilt University,...
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July 28, 2025

Big Plans to Expand: Adaptive Playfield Project

The Seattle PlayGarden and Seattle Parks are working to expand accessible playspace for people with disabilities! This project, titled “Adaptive Playfield at Colman Playground” meets a significant unmet need in the disability community for physical activity, sports and unstructured active play. “As a parent of children with disabilities, having an adaptive playfield would provide my...
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Say Yes! to Kids with Disabilities

An online learning hub of lessons, stories, and resources

Inclusion Learning Hub

Lessons, Workshops and Trainings
Cover of the PlayGarden's Inclusion Toolkit

Inclusion Toolkit, A Community Resource

Say Yes! to Kids with Disabilities: Stories and Strategies for including ALL Kids.

Visiting Hours

The PlayGarden is open everyday from dawn until dusk. Our preschool program will be in session Monday-Friday from 9am-1pm, but the park is still open during this time. We ask that you please distance yourself from our preschool class.

If you would like to visit with a group, please plan for after 2pm and email us at info@seattleplaygarden.org to schedule your visit. 

There is access to a public bathroom on the south side of the Garden House. It’s maintained by Seattle Parks & Recreation, and may be locked. There is accessible load and unload parking in front of the main gate.

The chickens and ducks are out in their coop during the day to visit. Please do not feed the animals.

Private Parties and Events

The PlayGarden’s mission is to provide a space for children with disabilities. If your family is able to enjoy another park or playground, we ask that you consider a different venue so that families with disabilities have the PlayGarden available. 

Before planning an event at the PlayGarden, please make sure to:

  1. Check our calendar to make sure there are no other events happening. 
  2. Email our administrator to request to book an event: Info@seattleplaygarden.org 
  3. Make a donation to the PlayGarden to offset the maintenance costs. The PlayGarden is a small non-profit and we pay the maintenance costs for the park.
  4. Limit your use of the picnic tables to one per party. Please clean up decorations. No confetti.
  5. Pack out all of your trash, recycling, and composting.
  6. Keep the Load/Unload zone free of cars.