Myrtle Edwards and Centennial Parks reopened this summer with bigger beaches, separate walking and biking paths, and a new café. The fishing pier at the north end of Centennial Park did not reopen. It is still fenced off, and it sits about a dozen feet out from the shoreline. The rebuild never included it. The pier belongs to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and in September the agency put a specific construction funding request for it into its next state budget ask. Until that money arrives, after-dark fishing on the Seattle waterfront works the same way it did before the parks reopened, and the nighttime options run on two different clocks.
Why the Pier Missed the Rebuild
The squid pier didn't close during the recent construction. WDFW says the pier was built in 1980 and has been closed since 2016, after structural engineers found it unsafe and in need of full replacement. By the time park construction started in March 2025, the pier had already been shut for about nine years. The parks stayed partly open during the work, with a shared multi-use trail kept open from March 2025 to June 2026.
The parks project ran on a separate track. Elliott Bay Connections was paid for entirely by private donors: Melinda French Gates, MacKenzie Scott, the Diller-Von Furstenberg Family Foundation, and Expedia Group. The Downtown Seattle Association served as implementation partner. The project was announced in August 2023 with one goal: finish in time for Seattle's World Cup matches in June 2026. Here is how it went:
- February 2025: Greenway construction starts with the removal of the old waterfront trolley trestles.
- March 2025: Park construction starts with the demolition of the old cinderblock restroom building.
- April 21, 2026: The three-quarter-mile greenway opens along Alaskan Way between Waterfront Park at Pier 62 and the Olympic Sculpture Park.
- June 4, 2026: Myrtle Edwards Park and Centennial Park reopen together, with 16 acres and more than a mile of shoreline.
Seattle Bike Blog reported that the project needed 60 permits and finished construction in a single year. Even so, the team had to set concrete footings deep, because much of the ground is unstable fill left over from I-5 excavation about 70 years ago.
The pier depended on state money, and that money never came. WDFW requested construction funding for the 2025–2027 budget, and local legislators backed the request, but the pier wasn't funded. The agency says that's why construction couldn't start before the World Cup. Here is the current wording on the agency's page:
"The Elliott Bay Fishing Pier remains closed. Efforts to replace the pier are underway. The final design for the new pier will be published in 2026. Unfortunately, the legislature has not funded construction of the new pier due to state budget challenges."
What the September Budget Request Says
WDFW's 2027–29 capital budget request, published September 23, 2026, lists the Elliott Bay Fishing Pier as project number 40000270. It asks for $14,219,000 in state building construction funds for the 2027–29 period. This is a request, and the Legislature hasn't approved it. The agency's pier page still describes funding as something it is "exploring" through the capital budget and possible private partnerships, so the page doesn't seem to reflect the new request yet.
The numbers match up. WDFW estimates the full project, which includes removing the old pier and building the new one, at $15 million. A $1.7 million grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce has already helped pay for design. The September request covers most of what remains. Public comment, tribal consultation, and the state environmental review wrapped up in 2024 and 2025. WDFW expects construction permits in 2027. If the money comes through in the 2027–29 budget, permits and funding would line up in the same cycle. Without it, the pier stays where it is.
The planned design shows who the pier is meant for. The replacement would go in the old footprint and include benches, rod holders, fish cleaning stations, and shore power outlets for squid fishing lights. The project would also remove about 0.6 acres of old tire piles from the seabed around the pier. Those outlets are the feature that matters most for squid. Squid jigging is a night activity built around light, and few public piers downtown offer power.
Why Squid Anglers Feel the Gap Most
WDFW explains the timing simply. Squid feed mostly at night and are drawn to light, so they hang in the dark edges around a lit patch of water and dart in after small fish. Their seasonal route through Puget Sound shows up first near the Edmonds waterfront around September, then in Elliott Bay and along the Seattle shoreline, and then in Des Moines and Tacoma in late November and December. That puts October in Seattle's part of the run.
The old pier was built for this. A 2020 Cascade PBS retrospective described fall and winter night crowds jigging for squid there. The pier had cleaning stations and railings that worked well for rods. The new parks around it added beaches, play areas, bike parking with repair stands, and the haʔłali building. The parks didn't add a lit spot over deep water to fish from at night.
Where You Can Fish After Dark This Season
Two public options are documented, and each closes at a different time.
Waterfront Park, Piers 62 and 58. The Waterfront Park rules allow recreational fishing as long as it follows local, state, and federal rules, closures, and license requirements. Friends of Waterfront Park's Pier 62 page specifically lists fishing off the pier as something visitors can do. Both piers are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. The promenade is open 24 hours, but that doesn't keep the piers open all night. The rules also include a few specifics:
- Gear has to stay attended, and gear left alone or attached to park property can be removed and thrown away.
- Fishing isn't allowed at the Washington Street Boat Landing or Pioneer Square Habitat Beach.
- Using an outdoor electrical outlet, or running cables in or over the park, requires written authorization.
That last rule matters for squid. A plug-in light rig that the new Elliott Bay pier is designed to support needs permission at Waterfront Park. WDFW recommends a camping lantern or a large flashlight for locations without lights. Our research turned up no reporting on squid jigging at Pier 58 or Pier 62 since they opened, so the rules allow it, but there's no record of how it has gone.
Seacrest Park Pier, West Seattle. WDFW lists Seacrest as a good squid jigging pier, with lights, railings, restrooms, ADA access, parking, and a fish cleaning station. It sits south of the Don Armeni boat ramp. Seattle Parks lists the park's hours as 4 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. The Elliott Bay closure doesn't affect it.
| Elliott Bay Fishing Pier | Waterfront Park, Piers 62 & 58 | Seacrest Park Pier | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Closed since 2016 | Open | Open |
| Hours | None | 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. | Park open 4 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. |
| Lighting for squid | Shore power planned in new design | Bring your own; outlets need written authorization | Lights listed by WDFW |
| Fish cleaning station | Planned | Not listed in park rules | Yes |
| Who runs or lists it | WDFW with Port of Seattle | Seattle Parks and Friends of Waterfront Park | Listed by WDFW, in King County; Seattle Parks site |
Whichever pier you use, you need a valid Washington shellfish/seaweed license to jig for squid. Recreational squid fishing is open year-round, apart from certain marine preserves. WDFW also notes that access to each pier is set by whoever owns or manages it.
The Stop Halfway Up the Trail
If your route runs north from Pier 62 on the new greenway, the haʔłali building in Centennial Park is where the pier's absence feels like a trade. The name is Lushootseed for "the good place," and the Port of Seattle says it's pronounced "HAHT-sah-lee." The building has a ring of sitting stones, a covered picnic area, public restrooms, and Café Hagen. The café posts a winter schedule with shorter weekday hours, and the Port's park page lists different hours, so check before you count on it for an evening coffee.
Past the café, the closed pier and WDFW's project sign sit next to the Elliott Bay Trail, north of the Pier 86 grain terminal. The nearest public parking is in Centennial Park or across the Helix Pedestrian Bridge off Elliott Avenue West. Hourly parking is also available about 1,000 feet north off 16th Avenue West. The donors who paid for the parks are also covering five years of maintenance and plant care after opening. The parks have their upkeep covered through the early 2030s, while the pier next to them is still waiting on its construction money.
The next step for the pier comes in 2027. That's when WDFW expects construction permits, when it says it hopes to share more news, and when the state's 2027–29 budget will either include the $14,219,000 request or leave it out.
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This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
