Seattle
Colman Playground
Judkins Park and Playfield
Miller Playfield Soccer Field
Observatory Courts
Occidental Square
295 3rd Ave S
Cal Anderson Park
Discovery Park
Green Lake Park
Washington
August 2024
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For this month, I’m going to do something a bit different.
Usually, I focus on playing pickup basketball at a single court, but my blog’s analytics have shown me something interesting: my most popular post by far is about Austin. What sets the Austin post apart is that I explored various courts throughout the city, giving readers a comprehensive look into different courts. It seems that people searching for my blog are interested in discovering a range of pickup basketball options, rather than listening to me ramble about my own experiences playing basketball on a single court.
With that in mind, I’m excited to launch a three-part mini-series featuring the basketball courts I visited over the course of a month in three different cities: Montreal, Seattle, and Vancouver.
I landed in Seattle, and the first notification I got on my phone was that T-Mobile Tuesday was giving away pickleball paddles. While the most typical thing to do after landing would be to grab food or check in at the hotel, the first place I went was a T-Mobile store to pick up these paddles. It seems the pickleball craze I encountered in Honolulu and Chicago had a lasting impact on me.
Picklemania
I’ll embarrassingly admit that I played more pickleball on this trip than basketball.
Maybe I should just change my blog to worldpickleballer(dot)com…
After a couple of pickleball games, I snapped out of the phase and went back to exploring basketball courts. My friend told me that the Seattle outdoor pickup basketball scene "sucks because it rains too much," so I naturally took that as a challenge to look for as many basketball courts as possible. Fortunately for me, I visited Seattle during its best months of no rain, between June and August, so there were plenty of outdoor pickup pickleball basketball courts to check out.
The basketball courts I visited were (map)
Colman Playground
Judkins Park and Playfield
Miller Playfield Soccer Field
Observatory Courts
Occidental Square
295 3rd Ave S
Cal Anderson Park
Discovery Park
Green Lake Park
Colman Playground
I must be very unlucky with my first basketball choices. Similar to Montreal, the first court I visited was right next to the Seattle Children's PlayGarden, and the court had signs around it stating that it was reserved for children's events during the day. I can't imagine this court being a big pickup basketball scene with small kids running around.
Kids playground
Judkins Park and Playfield
A very large park with lots of greenery, a skatepark, other recreational areas, and of course, basketball courts. With two full courts in an area that seems to be very popular in the evenings, I can only imagine this place being a great spot to play some pickup basketball.
Miller Playfield Basketball Courts
Another potentially popular basketball court. Surrounded by tennis, pickleball, and soccer fields, this place looks like a very busy athletic park. While it only has one outdoor basketball court, I’ll bet this place is packed each night, with every sport imaginable being played.
Observatory Courts
My bad…I actually walked here without doing enough research, only to realize when I arrived that it was just a tennis court and pickleball court. If you Google "basketball courts," this area will pop up, but please note that there is no basketball court. While you might enjoy a great view, you might also end up with a very annoyed significant other for making them walk up the Comstock Kissing Stairs (no love on these stairs).
Occidental Square
I tried hard to find a basketball court in the Seattle downtown tourist areas, but that proved to be a difficult task. It didn’t seem like there were many basketball courts downtown. I did happen to stumble upon Occidental Square, where there was a basketball hoop, but let me tell you this: it looks like one of those hoops you see in people’s driveways. The city maintains it by bringing it out each morning (unknown time) and taking it down each evening (around 7 p.m.). It’s nice to see locals taking advantage of the half-court hoop in the downtown area (I believe you can check out a basketball to play here), but there’s no way for a full 5-on-5 game here.
295 3rd Ave S
I noticed a basketball hoop here. Play at your own risk
Cal Anderson Park
A basketball court in the middle of a large open field, this place seems like a great spot for pickup basketball. It even had several basketballs available to use. While I didn't encounter any 5-on-5 games, it seems like a perfect place to pick up a ball and shoot around for a quick break during the day!
Discovery Park
A hidden basketball court located in a scenic forest, and of course, near a tennis/pickleball court. I feel like this court is so deep in the forest that most basketball players won’t make the trek to play 5-on-5.
Green Lake Park
If I had to choose a place to play pickup basketball, this would be it. Surrounded by a ton of greenery, parks, athletic fields, walking/biking paths, and a lake, it checks all the boxes for a vibrant pickup basketball scene. This was also the only place where I noticed a constant 5-on-5 game. There’s even a half-court for people to shoot around on while they wait for their turn in the 5-on-5 game. Bring your A game, as you’ll likely have a small crowd watching at all times.
Conclusion
I must have gotten lucky because the weather was perfect for pickup pickleball basketball. I can’t imagine what it would be like during the other months of the season when it rains every other day. While I was disappointed by the lack of easily accessible outdoor courts in downtown Seattle, there were plenty of basketball courts in the suburban areas of Seattle.
Travel Tip from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) into the downtown area
It’s actually fairly simple and I don’t think you can mess this up as there is really only 1 line here from the airport.
Grab a ORCA card from the machine
Take the 1 line from the airport into the city
Done
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