Seattle with Kids
June 30, 2017 6:02 AM Subscribe
I'm taking my wife and kids ( 6 and 8 ) to Seattle for a 4 day vacation in late July. I'd like to spend a few days in the city a hopefully 1 or 2 outside of the city. Help us have an awesome vacation in the greater Seattle area.
Everyone is telling me to stay near Pike's Place and do all the things around that area but I want to hear more suggestions, particularly for things outside of the city. I'd love to take the kids on some short hikes / swims and see some awesome nature. I considered Olympic National Park but the time frame is too short and I don't want to spend 8 hours in a car.
Help me plan an awesome vacation for 2 adventurous kids in Seattle. I am open to ideas on where to stay, eat, play, etc.
Everyone is telling me to stay near Pike's Place and do all the things around that area but I want to hear more suggestions, particularly for things outside of the city. I'd love to take the kids on some short hikes / swims and see some awesome nature. I considered Olympic National Park but the time frame is too short and I don't want to spend 8 hours in a car.
Help me plan an awesome vacation for 2 adventurous kids in Seattle. I am open to ideas on where to stay, eat, play, etc.
"kid-friendly" is an option (although I don't know what it means) when you do a search on WTA's hike finder. There's a ton close to Seattle. Go on a weekday to miss the crowds.
posted by quaking fajita at 7:32 AM on June 30, 2017
posted by quaking fajita at 7:32 AM on June 30, 2017
These are some suggestions of things I did with my family or other kids while I lived in Seattle.
The Woodland Park Zoo is a great zoo! Moreso, it's really close to Green Lake, which is a beautiful park and is a popular local spot for a walk and people watching. There's paddle boat and other rentals there too if you want to get out on the water.
If you're going to be in town on Sunday, check out the Fremont Ice Cream cruise. It putts around Lake Union and is a really fun little trip (though it's been a couple years since I've done it so I don't know how crowded it would be). Fremont is also a fun place to explore with its cool draw bridge, troll, and bike trail along the canal.
For shorter day-hiking trips I would recommend the Ice Caves. It's about two hours north and a really easy, beautiful hike. Once you get up to the viewing area for the titular caves there's a wonderful open area that's fun to explore.
If you want to make it an entire day, you can leave early, drive up to Anacortes, and take the ferry to Orcas Island. I believe that all ferry ticketing is now purchased in advance so you should be able to buy your tickets and get on the ferry without any troubles. The ride from Anacortes to Orcas is absolutely stunning and so much fun for kids. Once you're on Orcas Island you can spend some time in Deer Harbor, putz around some beaches, and take a hike up to Mount Constitution.
I don't live in Seattle any more but Orcas Island is one of my favorite places on earth and just typing this description makes me wish I could visit! It's truly beautiful.
If you don't want to take quite so long, I would recommend a ferry ride over
That would be a full day trip, though. If you want to get a ferry but not spend so much time travelling, you could drive a little ways up to Edmonds, take the ferry up to Whidbey Island, drive up to Anacortes, and then back down to Seattle. This is a terrific day trip. You can get some beautiful water views, you can hike on Ebey's Landing (Puget Sound's most underrated hike IMO), Fort Casey is an old military facility that has an awesome lighthouse and some very cool installations to explore, Coupeville is your standard quaint Washington Seaside Town, and Deception Pass on the North Island is beautiful at high tide.
There's literally so much to do, I have about a dozen or so other ideas but don't want to take up the oxygen in the thread. If you'd like help planning details or have any other questions please feel free to MeMail.
posted by Tevin at 7:47 AM on June 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
The Woodland Park Zoo is a great zoo! Moreso, it's really close to Green Lake, which is a beautiful park and is a popular local spot for a walk and people watching. There's paddle boat and other rentals there too if you want to get out on the water.
If you're going to be in town on Sunday, check out the Fremont Ice Cream cruise. It putts around Lake Union and is a really fun little trip (though it's been a couple years since I've done it so I don't know how crowded it would be). Fremont is also a fun place to explore with its cool draw bridge, troll, and bike trail along the canal.
For shorter day-hiking trips I would recommend the Ice Caves. It's about two hours north and a really easy, beautiful hike. Once you get up to the viewing area for the titular caves there's a wonderful open area that's fun to explore.
If you want to make it an entire day, you can leave early, drive up to Anacortes, and take the ferry to Orcas Island. I believe that all ferry ticketing is now purchased in advance so you should be able to buy your tickets and get on the ferry without any troubles. The ride from Anacortes to Orcas is absolutely stunning and so much fun for kids. Once you're on Orcas Island you can spend some time in Deer Harbor, putz around some beaches, and take a hike up to Mount Constitution.
I don't live in Seattle any more but Orcas Island is one of my favorite places on earth and just typing this description makes me wish I could visit! It's truly beautiful.
If you don't want to take quite so long, I would recommend a ferry ride over
That would be a full day trip, though. If you want to get a ferry but not spend so much time travelling, you could drive a little ways up to Edmonds, take the ferry up to Whidbey Island, drive up to Anacortes, and then back down to Seattle. This is a terrific day trip. You can get some beautiful water views, you can hike on Ebey's Landing (Puget Sound's most underrated hike IMO), Fort Casey is an old military facility that has an awesome lighthouse and some very cool installations to explore, Coupeville is your standard quaint Washington Seaside Town, and Deception Pass on the North Island is beautiful at high tide.
There's literally so much to do, I have about a dozen or so other ideas but don't want to take up the oxygen in the thread. If you'd like help planning details or have any other questions please feel free to MeMail.
posted by Tevin at 7:47 AM on June 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Oh yes, seconding the ice caves! I was there at the end of June last year. The trail is very flat and wide, and the ice caves themselves are impressively large for June. Cool mountain scenery without the climb. (Do obey the numerous signs telling you not to go inside or climb on top of the ice caves. People have died.)
posted by quaking fajita at 8:18 AM on June 30, 2017
posted by quaking fajita at 8:18 AM on June 30, 2017
The Science Fiction museum is pretty great.
The Ballard Locks have a fish ladder that you can watch Salmon through past the counting station. This might be seasonal. Beautiful park there too and boats going by.
Archie McPhee has a great weird store that kids would love.
posted by nickggully at 8:18 AM on June 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
The Ballard Locks have a fish ladder that you can watch Salmon through past the counting station. This might be seasonal. Beautiful park there too and boats going by.
Archie McPhee has a great weird store that kids would love.
posted by nickggully at 8:18 AM on June 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Definitely rent a boat somewhere if you're comfortable with it...it's such a good way to see the city. The University of Washington rents canoes and rowboats for reasonable rates. Ferries, too, are SO fun and they can take you to all kinds of cool places.
If you find yourself out near the Tacoma area, the Museum of Glass is awesome - live glassblowing (with commentary!) all day. Tacoma in general is an interesting, history-steeped city.
Speaking of history, the underground tour is awesome and great for (patient, since it's a walking tour) kids.
Whidbey island is a pretty gorgeous area if you want some classic PNW scenery.
The salmon ladder at the locks is really popular with kids. In fact, the locks at all are surprisingly fun.
posted by R a c h e l at 8:32 AM on June 30, 2017
If you find yourself out near the Tacoma area, the Museum of Glass is awesome - live glassblowing (with commentary!) all day. Tacoma in general is an interesting, history-steeped city.
Speaking of history, the underground tour is awesome and great for (patient, since it's a walking tour) kids.
Whidbey island is a pretty gorgeous area if you want some classic PNW scenery.
The salmon ladder at the locks is really popular with kids. In fact, the locks at all are surprisingly fun.
posted by R a c h e l at 8:32 AM on June 30, 2017
As far as eating, Din Tai Fung is my family's newest obsession. Dumplings that literally everyone loves regardless of dietary preference. The Hong Kong location even has a Michelin star!
posted by R a c h e l at 8:34 AM on June 30, 2017
posted by R a c h e l at 8:34 AM on June 30, 2017
Best answer: We just got back from 2.5 days in Seattle with a 6 yr old and 4.5 yr old. Your kids are a little bit bigger than mine obviously, but here are my thoughts:
- Seattle Center (Space needle, etc. ) was cooler than I thought it would be and worth the visit. The children's museum was a bit on the young side for my oldest. We didn't do the sci center due to limited time there, but if we had more time we would have checked it out. We also skipped the Chihuly as we've been places with big exhibits of his and my kids aren't old enough to be appreciative of it. Riding the monorail was a fun quick thing to do even though it only goes 1 place (your kids might be too old). We took it over to a mall next to the Westlake Station, where we had lunch, making it sort of a destination trip.
- We did the ferris wheel on Mariner's landing and everyone enjoyed that. We did it at evening time, there was no line and the light was beautiful. It's rather pricey, though. Another morning we walked around the Pike Place Market, I love public markets but my 6yr old would have been bored there. I took the youngest with me and frequently carried her on my shoulders.
- My partner took our 6 year old to the Flight Museum, they both loved it and said they didn't see nearly all of it in the half day they were there.
- We did the locks cruise through Ballard, it was great for the adults but too long on the boat for the kids. If we had had more time on our last day, I wanted us to drive over to the locks and walk around, it's beautiful (and free). I think the ice cream cruise (by the same company) would be fun, or a 1 hr harbor cruise. Argosy Cruises
My biggest regret was that we spent too much of our time in the touristy areas and didn't get out to a beach or an island, which had been my original goal. The cruise sort of made up for that, but next time I'd definitely take a ferry someplace. Or a seaplane if my son had his way :) Discovery Park looked really cool from the boat. The boat departed from Lake Union which also seemed like a great place to hang out on a beach, etc.
We also spent a couple days in Olympia which is absolutely beautiful. We were there for an event so not a ton of time to explore but a lot of similar attributes (beautiful scenery, water, etc.) in a much smaller city.
Traffic seems to be a nightmare, so give yourself plenty of time if you are driving. Our hotel (in Belltown) had a free 24hr shuttle around the main tourist attractions, which was great, but is was amazing to me how long it always took to get back to the hotel. (I'm not linking to them, b/c our car was broken into in their 'secured' garage while we were there, which put a damper on our stay)
posted by littlerockgetaway at 3:35 PM on June 30, 2017
- Seattle Center (Space needle, etc. ) was cooler than I thought it would be and worth the visit. The children's museum was a bit on the young side for my oldest. We didn't do the sci center due to limited time there, but if we had more time we would have checked it out. We also skipped the Chihuly as we've been places with big exhibits of his and my kids aren't old enough to be appreciative of it. Riding the monorail was a fun quick thing to do even though it only goes 1 place (your kids might be too old). We took it over to a mall next to the Westlake Station, where we had lunch, making it sort of a destination trip.
- We did the ferris wheel on Mariner's landing and everyone enjoyed that. We did it at evening time, there was no line and the light was beautiful. It's rather pricey, though. Another morning we walked around the Pike Place Market, I love public markets but my 6yr old would have been bored there. I took the youngest with me and frequently carried her on my shoulders.
- My partner took our 6 year old to the Flight Museum, they both loved it and said they didn't see nearly all of it in the half day they were there.
- We did the locks cruise through Ballard, it was great for the adults but too long on the boat for the kids. If we had had more time on our last day, I wanted us to drive over to the locks and walk around, it's beautiful (and free). I think the ice cream cruise (by the same company) would be fun, or a 1 hr harbor cruise. Argosy Cruises
My biggest regret was that we spent too much of our time in the touristy areas and didn't get out to a beach or an island, which had been my original goal. The cruise sort of made up for that, but next time I'd definitely take a ferry someplace. Or a seaplane if my son had his way :) Discovery Park looked really cool from the boat. The boat departed from Lake Union which also seemed like a great place to hang out on a beach, etc.
We also spent a couple days in Olympia which is absolutely beautiful. We were there for an event so not a ton of time to explore but a lot of similar attributes (beautiful scenery, water, etc.) in a much smaller city.
Traffic seems to be a nightmare, so give yourself plenty of time if you are driving. Our hotel (in Belltown) had a free 24hr shuttle around the main tourist attractions, which was great, but is was amazing to me how long it always took to get back to the hotel. (I'm not linking to them, b/c our car was broken into in their 'secured' garage while we were there, which put a damper on our stay)
posted by littlerockgetaway at 3:35 PM on June 30, 2017
If your kids are into Scifi or fantasy at all, the MOPOP museum is excellent and recently remodeled. It is located at the Seattle Center which is a lot of fun. The Space Needle is there too. The children's museum will be too young for your kids. Chihuly is cool but I wouldn't bring kids. The science center is good. You can also tour kexp. My kid likes that. There is a massive fountain kids play in. There is an awesome playground next to MOPOP.
There aren't a ton of swimming beaches but I'm partial to Golden Garden. In fact I'm there right now as I type.
Greenlake is OK but not for swimming.
Lake Union is great. Check out the wooden boat center and gasworks park. The MOHAI museum there is good too. On Sundays there are free sails.
Further away I like Whigbey Island.
I'm not sure if your youngest is old enough but the Boeing tour is cool.
I wouldn't stay downtown. There isn't that much to do outside of Pike Place which isn't that fun for my kid. It is OK. I'd suggest Ballard, Phinney, or Greenlake and bus downtown or Seattle Center. There will also be many more kid friendly food options in neighborhoods. Neighborhood dining is totally kid friendly while downtown is decidedly not except for PF chang and the like.
posted by k8t at 4:01 PM on June 30, 2017
There aren't a ton of swimming beaches but I'm partial to Golden Garden. In fact I'm there right now as I type.
Greenlake is OK but not for swimming.
Lake Union is great. Check out the wooden boat center and gasworks park. The MOHAI museum there is good too. On Sundays there are free sails.
Further away I like Whigbey Island.
I'm not sure if your youngest is old enough but the Boeing tour is cool.
I wouldn't stay downtown. There isn't that much to do outside of Pike Place which isn't that fun for my kid. It is OK. I'd suggest Ballard, Phinney, or Greenlake and bus downtown or Seattle Center. There will also be many more kid friendly food options in neighborhoods. Neighborhood dining is totally kid friendly while downtown is decidedly not except for PF chang and the like.
posted by k8t at 4:01 PM on June 30, 2017
Fun for kids and adults:
1. Ride the ferry to Bainbridge Island, get off and get ice cream on the other side, then ride back.
2. When we were kids, we loved visiting the Tolt River Suspension Bridge. It's in the Carnation Valley, which is just a gorgeous place, and there are nice short hikes on the opposite side of the bridge.
posted by MrBobinski at 7:07 PM on June 30, 2017
1. Ride the ferry to Bainbridge Island, get off and get ice cream on the other side, then ride back.
2. When we were kids, we loved visiting the Tolt River Suspension Bridge. It's in the Carnation Valley, which is just a gorgeous place, and there are nice short hikes on the opposite side of the bridge.
posted by MrBobinski at 7:07 PM on June 30, 2017
The museum of flight is also great, especially if your eyes looking for something to do near the airport!
posted by R a c h e l at 8:05 AM on July 1, 2017
posted by R a c h e l at 8:05 AM on July 1, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by brujita at 6:20 AM on June 30, 2017 [1 favorite]