Seattle Park Dispute Over Topless Sunbathing

“Is topless sunbathing allowed in the clothing-required section?”

That is the heart of a new hurdle in a legal battle for Denny Blaine Park on Lake Washington in Seattle. Looking at this case, the smart aleck thought in my head is, ‘Man, I’m glad these are the worst problems we’re facing in the Emerald City!’

The Legal Troubles With Denny Blaine Park

The problem seems to be between people who love the beach and the amount of clothing they wear, versus nearby neighbors, and this back and forth has reportedly been going on for years.

According to AXIOS.com, the group, Friends of Denny Blaine (the birthday suit-loving beach goers), filed a motion in court for a judge to clarify the rules when it comes to being topless in a clothing-required area of the beach.

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Private security hired by homeowners near the beach are confronting beachgoers to cover up or face a violation and be reported to the police. Whereas Denny Blaine Friends argues that toplessness is okay under Seattle’s rules, as the 2025 court order focused on “nakedness associated with public sex acts and masturbation,” not toplessness.

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This back and forth between the beach goers and nearby homeowners has been brewing since 2023, when a proposal for a children’s playground, which was believed to force patrons to cover up and limit the nudity on the beach.

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There was some shady stuff behind the scenes of the project, which the city scrapped later that year.

Last year, neighbors started suing the city, wanting them to address the area as they felt it had become a ‘public nuisance.’

We’ll see what happens when this case is heard in May.

READ MORE: Oregon Has One Of The TOP Nude Beaches In The World!