This year Seattle lengthened Alki's summer, and the beach is giving it back in stages. Summer hours and patrols started May 1 and ran through Sept. 30. The West Seattle Water Taxi had its biggest summer in close to a decade. Since then the summer setup has come down piece by piece. The fire pits closed first, then the evening closing hour changed, then the late boats stopped. The holiday season comes back on a single date. On Friday, Nov. 27, the Argosy Christmas Ship makes its only two Alki stops of the season, on the same night the Alki Community Council lights up Alki Avenue.

The summer ran past Labor Day this year

In recent years, Alki's summer hours and patrols started around Memorial Day and ended around Labor Day. For 2026 the city moved both ends, so the season ran from May 1 through Sept. 30, as the West Seattle Blog reported in March. The change was part of the city's "Summer of Safety" plan. That plan added Park Ranger, police and Animal Control patrols, larger policy signs and a social media campaign. In its April announcement, Seattle Parks and Recreation said the seasonal hours support safe, enjoyable use during peak visitation while matching staffing and safety resources.

That's why the beach looked like summer for most of September. Labor Day came and went, and the 10:30 p.m. closing time stayed in place for more than three weeks.

The water traffic was heavy too. King County's "Make it a Boat Day" summer added sailings for weekday evening Mariners games and the World Cup on top of the usual extended Friday and Saturday service to West Seattle. On June 19, the day of the U.S. vs. Australia World Cup match, the West Seattle Water Taxi carried 8,552 boardings. The single-day record it broke, 7,721, had stood since 2018. Metro says both water taxi routes had their biggest ridership in close to a decade.

The wind-down came in three steps

Each piece of the summer setup had its own end date, and the last one passed Oct. 10.

The fire pits closed first, and they ran on their own calendar. Seattle Parks set the 2026 beach fire season from May 22 to Sept. 7. Fires were limited to the provided pits and had to be out by 10 p.m. That left about three weeks in September when the summer closing hour was still in effect but no fires were allowed.

The closing hour changed next. The West Seattle Blog noted on Sept. 30 that it was the last night of the 10:30 p.m. close at Alki and Don Armeni. Starting the next day, Alki moved back to 11:30 p.m., and Don Armeni was scheduled to return to 24-hour operation.

The boats changed last. The fall/winter timetable started Saturday, Oct. 10. According to King County's West Seattle Water Taxi page, the schedule is now 17 weekday round trips, ending with the 6:45 p.m. departure from Pier 50, and 11 weekend round trips through 6:30 p.m. This timetable runs through April 9, 2027. The extra summer service was mostly evening service, and none of it remains.

What changes on the ground before the holidays

The quieter months are also when the city scheduled its road work. SDOT plans to install seven more speed cushions on Harbor Avenue SW between California Way SW and SW Spokane Street, which runs from Seacrest to the bridge. Five of them will sit east and south of Jack Block Park, according to the West Seattle Blog's September report. The SDOT notice mailed to nearby residents describes several changes:

• Speed cushions with wheel cutouts so buses and emergency vehicles can pass
• Narrower vehicle lanes and a wider parking lane
• Painted medians
• Vegetation trimming so street lights and signs are easier to see

SDOT plans to finish the work by the end of 2026 over a couple of weekends, depending on the weather. During that work, expect lane reductions, short-term driveway impacts and some parking restrictions. The project is paid for by the Seattle Transportation Levy that voters approved in 2024. Harbor Avenue is also the way to Salty's at Alki Beach, which is one of the Christmas Ship's two stops on Nov. 27. That means the striping weekends and the holiday traffic will both land on the same stretch of road late in the year.

At the other end of the beach, SDOT's Alki Point Healthy Street page, last updated in May 2026, describes work at Beach Drive SW and 63rd Avenue SW. The work covers accessible curb ramps and a flashing crossing sign, with temporary changes to access, lanes, sidewalks and crosswalks while it's underway. SDOT also lists more planned upgrades: a path extension, a mural, two accessible parking spaces and two passenger loading zones.

Some places along the beach keep their own off-season schedules. Sunfish, at 2800 Alki Ave SW, takes a winter break each year. The Infatuation's May 2026 Alki guide says it closes for most of the winter. This year it reopened on Feb. 18, according to the West Seattle Blog. A few blocks inland, the Log House Museum is open Thursday and Friday from noon to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's a good indoor stop on a gray weekday afternoon.

November 27 is when the holiday season starts on the beach

The 2026 Argosy Christmas Ship Festival runs from Nov. 27 through Dec. 23. On the published schedule, the ship's Alki shoreline performances all fall on the festival's first night. The full schedule lists no other Alki-area stop for the rest of the season. If you miss the ship on Nov. 27, you'll have to watch it from a different shoreline.

The Alki Community Council scheduled Alki Holiday Lights for the same Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. The event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. on Alki Avenue between 57th and 63rd, with treats and games. The council calls the Argosy performance the highlight of the evening. Here's the evening in order:

1. 5:00 p.m. The first Christmas Ship sailing of 2026 leaves Pier 55 on the Seattle waterfront.
2. 5:35 to 5:55 p.m. The ship performs from the water at Salty's at Alki Beach.
3. 6:00 p.m. Alki Holiday Lights begins on Alki Avenue between 57th and 63rd.
4. 8:35 to 8:55 p.m. On the 8:00 p.m. sailing, the ship returns for its shoreline performance at Alki Beach.
5. 9:00 p.m. Holiday Lights wraps up.

According to Argosy, the Dickens Carolers perform on board for the opening sailings, with shoreline performances at both Salty's at Alki Beach and Alki Beach. The ship passes once on the Harbor Avenue side before the lights event starts and comes back to the main beach about 25 minutes before it ends. The council is also asking for volunteers to help set up lights, hand out treats and clean up, and you can sign up through the event page.

A few practical details follow from the dates above. The fall/winter water taxi timetable is already in effect that night, and its last weekday departure from Pier 50 is at 6:45 p.m. The late Friday and Saturday sailings of summer ended Oct. 10, so the water taxi offers no evening crossing that lines up with the 8:35 p.m. performance. The beach is open until 11:30 p.m. under winter hours. The 2026 beach fire season ended Sept. 7, so the fire pits are not part of the evening. And if SDOT is still working on Harbor Avenue by late November, lane reductions and parking restrictions could affect the stretch near Salty's.

On the night of Nov. 27, Alki Holiday Lights runs on Alki Avenue between 57th and 63rd until 9 p.m., and the Christmas Ship makes the last of its two Alki stops at 8:35 p.m.

Homes along Alki's shoreline, including the residences at Infinity Shore Club, are shaped by this kind of seasonal calendar. If you're thinking about the value of a home on the beach, or about when to bring one to market, The Gray Team can help you plan around the waterfront's seasons. Request a confidential valuation and private consultation.