There is now a row of poles in the middle of Broadway Hill Park. They are dog weave poles. A few steps away is a seated leg press for the person holding the leash.
The weave poles are not meant to be used on their own. They are one stop on the Healthy Capitol Hill Hike. Seattle Parks and Recreation marked the project complete in a September 21, 2026 update and announced it widely in early October. Spread across South Capitol Hill, the equipment works more like a route than a set of upgrades. Each park has only part of the workout. Walk the loop and the parts add up.
The Trailhead Is Cal Anderson
Both loops begin at Cal Anderson Park, 1635 11th Ave, one block from the Capitol Hill light rail station. Seattle Parks laid out two options. The 1.6-mile loop focuses on upper-body exercises, and the 1.5-mile loop focuses on lower-body work. Connected, the two come to 3.1 miles, a full 5K.
Cal Anderson has no new machines of its own. Instead, the city's route guide marks bodyweight stops there, with labels like Bike Crunch, Planks, stairs, hill climb and quick feet. You warm up at the trailhead, and the gear is waiting further out.
The interactive Healthy Capitol Hill Hike map shows the order of the stops and the streets each loop follows. Clicking an icon brings up the suggested exercises for that stop, so pull it up on your phone before you leave the park.
What's at Each Stop
The route takes in eight neighborhood sites beyond Cal Anderson. Five got new equipment. The other three are bodyweight stops built around benches, slopes and open ground.
| Stop | Address | For people | For dogs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadway Hill Park | 500 Federal Ave E, at E Republican St | Seated leg press | Weave poles |
| Tashkent Park | 511 Boylston Ave E | Back extension and dips, plus a Y-T-W stop | Inclined A-frame |
| Seven Hills Park | 1514 E Howell St | Seated chest press | Listed as human equipment only by Seattle Parks; the route guide and CHS show dog log jumps |
| Thomas Street Mini Park | 306 Bellevue Ave E | None | Tunnel |
| Williams Place | 199 15th Ave E | Seated vertical press | Hoop jump |
| Summit Slope Park | 200 Summit Ave E | Bodyweight step-ups | Foot stabilization |
| T.T. Minor Playground | 1698 E Union St | Bodyweight stop | Sit stands |
| McGilvra Place | 1425 E Madison St | Bodyweight stop | Dog bows |
McGilvra Place is the small triangle where E Madison St, E Pike St and 15th Ave meet, at the Pike/Pine end of the route. Williams Place is up on 15th Ave E. Thomas Street Mini Park sits on Bellevue Ave E, on the western side of the Hill.
Why No Single Park Has the Whole Workout
The table shows how the gear is spread out. A leg press sits in one park and a chest press in another. The vertical press is on 15th, and the dips station is at Tashkent. Upper-body and lower-body work fall on separate loops, so a full-body session means walking both, and that is how the route reaches 5K.
The dog side is split the same way. Weave poles, an A-frame, a tunnel and a hoop jump stand in four different parks. Seattle Parks' project page lists Thomas Street Mini Park as dog equipment only, so the person on the other end of the leash gets nothing to lift there.
Seven Hills Park works the other way, with one detail to know before you go. The city's project page lists it as human equipment only. The route guide and the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog's walk-through of the new equipment both show dog log jumps there. Plan on the chest press, and treat the log jumps as a bonus if you find them.
The spacing seems to be deliberate. The Capitol Hill Seattle Blog reported in April that Seattle Parks presented the project as a low-cost way to encourage more circulation through neighborhood parks. The city hasn't said what the installations cost in total. It said only that it planned to keep costs low and draw on existing resources. If a few pieces of equipment are going to draw people through eight parks, putting each piece in a different park is the way to do it.
Neighbors Asked for Some of This
The equipment followed a round of outreach. Seattle Parks says the initiative came out of outreach sessions in late 2025 and early 2026 and was built with community input. The city's November 2025 feedback summary draws on online surveys and in-person meetings. Parts of it read like an early sketch of what now stands in these parks.
- Tashkent Park. People asked for adult exercise equipment, dog amenities, better lighting and landscaping, and spoke against fencing. The park now has a dips station and an A-frame.
- Broadway Hill Park. Feedback also opposed fencing and listed gardening, outdoor furniture, fitness classes, markets and movies among its preferences. The leg press and weave poles cover the fitness part of that list.
- Seven Hills Park. Input leaned toward community gardening, outdoor furniture, youth play and family programming such as park movies, markets, fitness classes and food trucks.
The equipment covers only part of that wish list. Seattle Parks' project page invites ideas for more activation and partnerships, through a form that connects people with the Parks Activation Coordinator. If you'd like a fitness class at Broadway Hill or a movie night at Seven Hills, the South Capitol Hill Parks Activation page is where to send the idea.
Seven Hills Park also had separate attention in the 2026 city budget. As the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog reported in November 2025, Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth's budget proposals included a $50,000 increase for Seven Hills Park improvements, with a proviso attached. The report did not say what that money would pay for.
The Agility Poles Don't Make These Off-Leash Parks
A weave pole looks like an invitation to unclip the leash. The rules haven't changed. Under Seattle Parks' rules and regulations, dogs must be leashed everywhere outside designated off-leash areas. Owners have to keep their dogs under control and clean up after them. Dogs are also not allowed on organized athletic fields, beaches or children's play areas. That last rule applies at T.T. Minor Playground, where the route guide marks a dog sit-stand stop.
So the agility stops are for leashed dogs. The hoop jump and tunnel work at a walking pace, with you alongside.
For off-leash time near the route, the city's list of off-leash areas includes Plymouth Pillars Park at 1050 Pike St and the I-5 Colonnade at 1701 Lakeview Blvd E. Park rules can change, so check the city's current pages before you head out.
Where the Loop Lets Out
The route starts and ends near Broadway, and some of the Hill's newest cafes sit at its edges. Cha Chak, a Thai tea and dessert cafe, opened at 118 Broadway E, next to the Capitol Hill Station plaza and a block from the Cal Anderson trailhead. At the eastern end of the route, Ha Ha Coffee and Tea at 324 15th Ave E serves milk tea, smoothies and coffee. It is up the street from Williams Place and its vertical press and hoop jump. The Capitol Hill Seattle Blog's cafe roundup has details on both.
Two easy ways to try it are the 1.5-mile lower-body loop on a weekday morning or the full 5K on a dry weekend. Either way, you end up a short walk from a warm drink.
If you'd like to talk through Capitol Hill at this level of detail, from the triangle at Madison and Pike to the mini park on Bellevue Ave E, whether or not a move is in the picture, Andrea Korican is glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.
