Hillwood Park Improvements Will Begin in Fall 2025

*Due to complex drainage challenges within the park, construction may not begin until November unless permits are issued prior to then.

From the City of Shoreline Website ‘2022 Park Bond Projects’:

“The park is currently undergoing design development and permitting. Our new anticipated construction date is fall 2025.

Voter approved improvements at Hillwood Park will include the following:”

  • Frontage improvements

  • Walkways

  • Loop path

  • Multi-sport court

  • Play area 

  • Spray park

  • Small picnic shelter

  • Benches

  • Bike rack

  • Plantings

Hillwood Neighborhood celebrates the addition of a second street access from 8th NW to Hillwood park (the narrow extension on the left side of the design plan). This new access will include a paved path through what was previously private property. The purchase of the property was funded separately from 2022 Proposition 1, and was primarily funded through North King County’s Select Parks, Recreation and Open Space investment funds.

Hillwood Park Volunteer Restoration Effort

The City of Shoreline maintains a program called the Green Shoreline Partnership, also called the Urban Forest Steward program, which coordinates volunteers to work on restorations projects in city parks. The program currently has permanent volunteer groups working year-round in 15 Shoreline parks, including Hillwood park.

Restoration work is led by a volunteer trained Forest Steward (usually someone who lives in the same neighborhood as the park), and anyone is welcome to volunteer for restoration work! Most parks in Shoreline have areas with uncontrolled invasive plants. The main invasive plants in Hillwood park are English Ivy, Holly, Himalayan Blackberry, Spurge Laurel, and vinca (periwinkle). The most effective way to remove invasive plants is to manually remove them. Volunteers are the only scalable way to make progress on invasive plant removal in our parks, since it is so time consuming to keep them contained.

Hillwood park Forest Stewards are Dorianne and Chris DeRuvo, and Rachel and Riley Turben. They are always happy to get new volunteers, so please join them if you’re interested! Most events are kid friendly. It’s also a fun way to get to know your local park, and city parks employees.

Register for a restoration work party in Hillwood at this link! Or email myhillwoodmail@gmail.com to be connected to the Hillwood Forest Stewards.

Visit Green Shoreline Partnership to learn more about the program

View the City of Shoreline Urban Forest Strategic Plan

Before and after photos from restoration work at Hillwood park showing underbrush removed from the entrance to the 8th Ave extension cut through

Hillwood is Getting a Second Park - Hemlock Park!

Hillwood neighborhood also received funds to purchase what will become a second park in our neighborhood, currently called Hemlock Park (temporary name). The Hemlock park property is located west of the Park & Ride lot at N. 192nd and Aurora Ave N and is a densely forested area.

Hemlock park was purchased with special authorization from Shoreline City Council with a fund allocated for public space acquisition. The initial designs for Hemlock park were paid for with the 2022 Proposition 1 funding.

More information on park property acquisition

Initial design plans for Hemlock Park

Initial design sketches of Hemlock park show a naturalistic walking path beneath the existing tree canopy

History of the Hillwood Park Property

1891 - John W. Baker purchases 160 acres of land in “Township 26” from the U.S. Land Patent Office for $1.25 per acre. Hillwood Park currently occupies 22 acres of this property.

1912 - A hand drawn map of the as-yet unoccupied land clearly shows the creek that still runs through this property that will become today’s Hillwood Creek Wetland Meadow.

1919 - Home built on 2.28 acre land parcel at 193rd and 3rd NW. The land use now consists of nursery stock, fruit trees, and an acre of pasture with residence, barn, and outbuildings.

1926-1939 - Six platted properties are now owned and will become, either in full or in part, Hillwood Park. These were most likely used as subsistence farms.

1934 - Tax records show continued use of 1.14 acres of the property being utilized as fruit tree orchards and pasture with a barn and outbuildings.

1953 - “Hillwood Terrace” Division located between N 191st and N 193rd is named and platted. 

1954 - Hillwood School named by the Shoreline School District.

1961 - King County completes purchase of 22 acres of land for a joint County/School-owned park.

1977 - Hillwood Park inventoried by King County Parks

1997 - City of Shoreline (incorporated in 1995) takes over administration of parks from King County.

No major renovations to Hillwood park, or new park acquisitions in the Hillwood neighborhood since Shoreline incorporation.

2011 - Hillwood neighborhood volunteers led the effort to restore the wetland creek in Hillwood that feeds into Boeing Creek Park (see HNA Past Projects).

Hillwood parks’ only update in the past 30 years was the volunteer led restoration of the wetland meadow