Doris Cooper Houghton Beach Park

Donating funds to a park is a wonderful way to show appreciation for Kirkland, to honor someone special, or to commemorate a milestone. Park benches and tables are the most popular items to donate, however other donations are possible as well, like those for trees or landscape, for general park maintenance, towards public art or other site amenities (i.e. water fountains), and even towards the tools and equipment needed to keep Kirkland’s parks beautiful.

Learn more about park donations

This park is named after Doris Cooper, Kirkland's first woman mayor, who helped lead the effort to preserve the city's waterfront parks. In 1969 Doris Cooper, Judy Frolich, and Delores Teutsch organized a telegram campaign to U.S. congressman Tom Pelly to obtain federal funding to purchase Houghton Beach Park land from the Shell and Standard Oil companies. The successful campaign brought federal grant funding to purchase, design and develop Kirkland's beloved Houghton Beach park.

In 1973 Doris Cooper was elected to the Kirkland City Council and successfully elected to five terms on the Council before retiring at the end of her term in 1993. She was the city’s first woman mayor in 1984, a position she held for three consecutive two-year terms.

Houghton Beach Park was renamed Doris Cooper Houghton Beach Park in July 2012.

Photo of Delores Teutsch, US Congressman Tom Pelly, Doris Copper and Judy Frolich taken by The Eastside Journal on August 19, 1970.

Houghton Beach Park has a picnic area available for rent. It includes two uncovered picnic tables. When the picnic area is not being rented, it is available for use on a first-come, first-serve basis. There are additional picnic tables throughout the park that are not part of the picnic area. They are available for first-come, first-serve use.

Learn more about renting the picnic area at Houghton Beach Park

Houghton Beach features three public art pieces including:

First Romance by Prince Monyo Mihailescu-Nasturel

Spring by Peter Skinner

Winter by Peter Skinner

Houghton Beach has a shallow swimming area for smaller children. It also has a deep water swimming area where diving off the dock is allowed. You can launch your personal watercraft (kayak, paddleboard, etc.) from the park.

The swimming beach has lifeguards on duty during the summer, typically from July through Labor Day in September. If there is inclement weather, or the air temperature is under 65 degrees, lifeguards will not report to the beaches.

Beaches are tested weekly by King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, if a beach tests high for bacteria, the beach will be closed for swimming. For testing information please visit www.kingcounty.gov/swimbeach.

Loaner lifejackets are available at the lifeguard office. If a lifejacket is needed, please speak with any of the lifeguards on duty in the lifeguard office to check out a lifejacket.

Learn more about lifeguarded beaches in Kirkland