Sometimes you need a pool bigger than a bathtub, a troll taller than your teenagers, and a park that makes everyone forget they’re technically exercising. If you’re searching for Coleman Pool at Lincoln Park, you’ve found exactly the kind of spot that delivers on all three.
The Great Pool Quest At Lincoln Park
One thing I’ve learned since moving to Washington: public pools are apparently as rare as sunny days in January. Our apartment pool is nice enough, but it’s about as deep as a pudding cup. Great for standing around, terrible for actual swimming or any dreams of Olympic diving glory.
This led us on a quest for something bigger, something deeper, something that wouldn’t make us feel like giants in a kiddie pool. Enter Lincoln Park and its crown jewel: Coleman Pool.
Lincoln Park: The Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Playground
Lincoln Park is like the Swiss Army knife of parks – it’s got everything. A spiderweb of trails winds through the forest. There are at least three playgrounds (because apparently one is never enough), a wading pool for the tiny humans, several baseball fields — and the star of the show: Coleman Pool.
Pro tip: Arrive early if you want decent parking and to beat the crowds. We used our extra time wisely by working up a pre-swim sweat exploring the trails while the boys played wiffle ball. Nothing like earning your pool time through strategic exercise!
The Coleman Pool Experience at Lincoln Park
Here’s the thing about Coleman Pool – it’s not exactly poolside parking. You’ll need to hike about 10-15 minutes to reach the pool, which isn’t bad on the way down. Coming back up? Well, those stairs and hills will remind you why you needed the pool in the first place. Pack accordingly and maybe reconsider bringing half your garage.
The pool is cleverly divided: half for serious lap swimmers (about 4 lanes of determined athletes) and half for recreational chaos – I mean, swimming. They’ve organized the rec area by depth, marked with helpful buoys. There’s 3-4 feet for the cautious, 4-6 feet for the confident, and 8-12 feet of deep-end glory for diving enthusiasts.
There’s a slide that only opens on Fridays (because apparently slides need weekends too). The pool also a diving board — closed during our visit, but normally open. Standard pool rules apply: no running, no jumping off the sides, no flipping. Regular jumping and diving in the deep end are fine, though — as my boys learned the hard way — shoulder rides in the deep end are not. The lifeguards are watching!
Food situation: Small snacks and drinks are welcome, but don’t plan a full thanksgiving feast poolside. Sessions last about 1.5 hours. We found it better to spend our time in the water than picnicking beside it.
Meet Bruun Idun: The Friendly Giant At Lincoln Park
One of the park’s most Instagram-worthy residents is Bruun Idun, the “Way of the Bird King” troll. It’s one of six massive trolls that artist Thomas Dambo scattered around the Seattle area. Thomas Dambo crafts these sculptures from recycled materials and are significantly larger than you’d expect. We’re talking “crane your neck to see the top” big. The artistry and craftsmanship are genuinely stunning, and tracking down all six trolls has become our unofficial family quest.
The Trolls Adventure Lab is a perfect way to explore key areas of the park. It makes you feel like you’re on a treasure hunt, not just wandering aimlessly.
Lincoln Park’s Hidden Gems Along the Way
The Accidental Art Walk: While strolling the trail that hugs the bay, I admired all the driftwood scattered around. Then I realized we’d stumbled onto the actual Driftwood Sculpture Walk. Take a close look – someone carefully arranged the pieces along the rocky beach as art installations that blend seamlessly with the natural landscape.
Wildlife Spotting: We didn’t spot any whales during our visit, though they do make appearances in the area. We did catch a glimpse of a small seal swimming far offshore. The kids were convinced it was following us, which added some extra magic to our beach walk.
Geocaching Paradise in Lincoln Park
For fellow treasure hunters, Lincoln Park is basically geocaching Disney World. The park hosts at least 3 adventure labs (including one paired with the troll). There are also 7 traditional caches, 2 mystery caches, a virtual cache, a letterbox cache, and a wherigo cache. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t clear the entire park in one visit – looks like we’ve got a built-in excuse for a return trip!
- Traditional –Slow Goings
- Traditional –Beer, video game & jeeps?👎 Orcas & trolls! 🐳🧌👍
- Virtual –Northwest Trolls: Bruun Idun
- Mystery –Mystery at Lincoln Park
- Traditional –Boring secret
- Traditional –Obfuscated I v.2.0
- Multi-Valentine’s a Grandson’s Love & Coffee Pot o’ Beer
- Traditional –“Quiet Queen” quits quirky Qaz’s quarters quickly
- Multi-TIDE POOL
- Letterbox –L-Box shakes cow’s egg yoke with kiwi & 35 bananas
- Traditional –Welcome to Nano 2024, NT’s nephew; now dash, boy!
- Wherigo –A Needful 15 Wherigo Nano Balanced in West Seattle
- Traditional –ZZabbyy’s Mint Lime Crickets Rock a Quiet Sparkle
Complete the adventure labs at https://www.geocaching.com/play/search .
The Beach Life at Lincoln Park (Sort Of)
The beach area offers rocky shores perfect for beachcombing rather than beach lounging. We don’t recommend swimming in the wate (we didn’t see a single brave soul venture in), but the shoreline was packed with dedicated fishermen trying their luck. The real treasure here is rock and shell hunting – the kids found some genuinely cool specimens to add to their collections.
Family Logistics for Coleman Pool at Lincoln Park
Best for: Families wanting a full day of varied activities Pool sessions: About 1.5 hours, check schedule for recreational swim times Parking strategy: Arrive early or prepare for a treasure hunt What to bring: Pool gear, hiking stamina, camera for the troll, and patience for the uphill return journey. Whether you’re coming for the trails, the troll, or just Coleman Pool at Lincoln Park itself, plan for a full day — those return stairs are no joke.
Family rating: 5/5 stars for variety, 4/5 stars for convenience (those stairs!)
Lincoln Park delivers that perfect combination of exercise disguised as fun, art that makes you feel cultured, and a pool deep enough for actual swimming. Plus, any place with a friendly giant troll automatically gets bonus points in my book.
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