Seattle, Washington Ocean Cruise Port

Washington has no law against being naked as such. RCW 9A.88.010 makes it indecent exposure to make an open and obscene exposure knowing it is likely to cause reasonable affront or alarm. Both elements matter, so quiet non-sexual nudity where people expect it is generally not an offence. State parks are different and ban it outright, but Denny Blaine is a City of Seattle park, which is why the two rules do not collide.

Denny Blaine Park, on Lake Washington about five miles from the downtown piers, is a long-established clothing-optional beach rather than a rumour. Seattle Police have said nudity itself is legal in city parks while lewd conduct is not, and the Parks Department's own guidelines for this park state that nudity not amounting to indecent exposure is not prohibited.

It now runs under court-supervised rules. Neighbours sued the city in 2025; a King County judge refused to close the beach and ordered an abatement plan instead, which from August 2025 divided the park into zones — two of them clothing-optional — with screening, signage, ranger presence and posted hours. In May 2026 the court confirmed toplessness is allowed throughout the park, and in July 2026 ruled it stays open and nude while ordering a park-specific code of conduct. Practically: use the marked zones and cover up moving to the street side.

The litigation was driven by complaints about conduct, not nudity, and none of that conduct is protected. Photographing other people at a nude beach is a fast way to attract enforcement. Nowhere in Washington is a beach formally designated clothing-optional by statute; Denny Blaine's zoning is a city operational plan. This is general information rather than legal advice, current as of August 2026.