Apparently, their are constraints on the height of the swings based on the distance kids could “jump off” from the swings. You’ll notice cobblestones and a wall on each side. Taller swings would require a pretty substantial redesign of the swing area and probably require pushing out the “swing area” quite a bit into the open grass / swamp area near the tennis courts. I just don’t think it is going to happen, so I give up. 7 years ago

The other day my four-year-old threw a flag on the Mt. Baker swings, and I have to agree. We just returned to Seattle after a year of living off the grid in southwest Oregon’s Rogue River Canyon, so maybe the general lack of bears running around the neighborhood or absence of cliff-jumping opportunites at Baker Beach somewhat colored my boy’s appreciation of this otherwise excellent city playground, but when it comes to swings even a four-year-old knows that higher is better. Until you get sick. Maybe I’ll call Parks & Rec and speak to the phone tree about this abomination. 8 years ago

I completely agree the Mt. Baker Park swings are lame. Not only are they short, the metal cross bars the swings attach to are improperly installed. The damn things rotate back and forth with the swing. Looks like some parts were left out or it’s just a poor design.

Seems like they must have designated the north section of the playground for “little little people”, complete with bouncing riding toys, low gravel table, and small slide, while the south section is for “big little people”, thus, the taller spiral slide and sliding swing.

Too bad they totally skimped on the swings, however. Here’s a list of all Seattle Parks playgrounds and what kind of equipment they offer. 8 years ago

Mt. Baker Park must be one of the most heavily used parks in Seattle. The park often has 20-30 kids playing in it. The park is well maintained, and except for the totally scary bathroom, is a great park. But the swing set is pathetically lame. It’s only about 7 ft high, which means short chains and lots of pushes. My daughter often asks to go to Lakewood or Seward Park to get some real swinging accomplished. How does the city of Seattle choose which sort of play equipment to install? They took down a wooden swing set last year and we were excited for real swinging – but the set that went in is so disappointing! 8 years ago