S E A T T L E    &    S U R R O U N D S

Downtown Seattle

You can find just about everything here. All the shopping you could possibly want, all the restaurants, hotels, attractions, you name it. This is where you can find the Pike Place Market. You can get fresh seafood and vegetables, gifts, flowers, whatever. Have you ever heard about some guys who throw fish to each other? Yep, that's right here at the Pike Place Market. They probably talk about that on their website. There are just too many places to talk about, so you'll just have to find out for yourself when you get here. At Westlake Center, you can catch the famous Monorail to Seattle Center (see below).  Try Seattle Attractions before you come; the site often has printable discounts for many of the area's more popular attractions.

Seattle Center ( see Kids' POV )

Everyone knows about the Space Needle. This is where you can find it. Seattle Center is a complex of rides, games, food, and culture. The Space Needle is almost a required stop for first-time visitors to Seattle. It's a bit costly, but the ride is free if you dine up top in the Needle's revolving restaurant.  We've done that twice, but the food wasn't so great. Still, you can't beat the view. The photos at the top of the page were taken from (and of) the Space Needle, and below you'll find a few more.

You can also find the Pacific Science Center (we recommend it) and the Children's Museum (it was OK), Key Arena, and the Monorail station. Right in front of Key Arena is the International Fountain, a popular spot with children. Kids love to run around while being sprayed by bursts of water set to music. You might have also heard of the EMP, or Experience Music Project. It is a music museum with a very abstract look (it's often been called "the Blob"). We haven't been inside yet. Supposedly it's very nice, but a bit expensive to get in.

Seattle Center's website has information on what events are currently happening at Seattle Center, or soon will be.

 Snoqualmie Falls ( see Kids' POV )

If you hop onto Interstate 90 and head east, you'll be on your way to Snoqualmie Falls. About a hundred feet higher than Niagara, Snoqualmie Falls emanates power and beauty. From the observation deck you can watch the roaring water and feel spray on your face. For those with a bit of daring, you can also hike down a trail to the fall's bottom. The trail actually ends at another observation deck, but all you have to do is climb down and scramble over rocks to get really close. Trust us, it's not too difficult. At the time, we had a 1-year-old strapped to my back and a 2½-year-old in tow. At the bottom, the sound almost drowns out conversation, but that's OK. We just sat back and watched for a while. Just remember that the climb back up is much tougher than walking down.

Japanese Garden, Seattle Arboretum ( see Kids' POV )

We first saw a photo of this garden in a book on Japanese gardens years ago, before we moved to Washington. It wasn't until later that we realized it was in Seattle. The book included the photo as an example of a well-thought-out garden. The garden has all the elements of a typical Japanese garden: water (both running and still), stones, trees, flowers and lanterns. It is especially beautiful in spring, when the flowers bloom. The garden is utterly peaceful. The breeze rustling through the trees and the sound of running water washes away everything except contentment.

The garden is located near the University of Washington, just to the north and east of downtown. It is inexpensive and well worth the trip, if you enjoy Japanese gardens. However, it is closed during the winter and reopens in March. Look below and enjoy a few shots of Seattle's wonderful Japanese Garden.

Alki Beach

We don't have many photos from Alki Beach, in West Seattle. The times we went there were usually spur-of-the-moment. In other words, our camera was sitting at home. Alki sort of juts out into Puget Sound in such a way that you can see a perfect view of Seattle on one side and the Olympic mountains on the other. This makes for a beautiful spot with perfectly situated (read expensive) condos. From the beach itself, only the mountains are visible, but it's not like that's disappointing. You simply have to walk a bit to get the spectacular city view.

We don't know if this is much of a swimming beach, since the water is usually pretty darn cold, but hey, that's up to you. We'd rather head for one of the slightly-warmer lakes around Seattle, some of which also have some great views. Lake Sammamish State Park is not very far and has a swimming area, but that's only one of many. And there's always the hotel pool.

Mt. St. Helens Volcanic Monument ( see Kids' POV )

Everyone has heard of Mount St. Helens, so we won't bother telling you stuff you already know. We've been there 3 times now, and each visit was different.

It's about a 2-hour drive from Seattle to get to the Silver Lake Visitor Center, and about another hour to get really close to the crater. Silver Lake is really just a mini-museum, filled with exhibits, a movie theater and a walk-through volcano. Its does, however, have a distant view of Mt. St. Helens, assuming the sky is clear enough to see it.

Trip 1: The closest viewpoint in the park was not open yet (we were about two weeks early) but still, we were pretty darn close at the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center. It's got all the usual stuff: exhibits, photos, gift shops, snack bar, observation deck, friendly informative rangers. It looks out across a green-blue lake and some blasted ridges to the crater. From this angle, you're just about facing the section of mountain that exploded. It's a bit humbling.

We were also amazed at the number of deer we saw during the drive from Silver Lake to Coldwater Ridge. It was a bit difficult to take a photo while driving, but we managed. Also, we didn't expect to be high enough to be seeing any snow, but the hills and road's shoulder had plenty. As we were leaving the park, we stopped one last time at a roadside viewpoint, and it very lightly began to snow.

Trip 2: We brought the kids' grandparents to see the volcano. For something so well-known, we felt we had to take them. The weather was much better than our first visit, but there were still some clouds keeping us from viewing the entire crater. Still, the view was way more impressive than our first trip. We did stop at Coldwater Ridge again, but this time we were able to go all the way to Johnston Ridge Observatory. It was simply awesome.

Trip 3: Each trip got better and better. It was a beautiful day in Washington, and we decided on the spur of the moment to drive there once again, hoping to get an even better view. We weren't disappointed at all. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The view was just unbelievable, absolutely spectacular. It's a moment in which you simply stare, because words don't really do it justice. On the way back, we pulled over at a spot where several people were parasailing. At the end of a short trail was the cliff from which they were taking off. The sun was setting, and men and women floated off the cliff with incredible grace.

Here is the National Monument's website. It's got a live webcam, if you're interested, from the Johnston Ridge Observatory, that 'closest viewpoint' mentioned earlier.

Point Defiance Zoo, Aquarium & Park

Point Defiance is listed as one of the top zoos in the country. Do you really need to know anything else? If you do, there's always the zoo's website.

Well, OK. How about this? The zoo is on a spit of land looking out over Puget Sound and toward the Olympic mountains, with a view of Mount Rainier as well. Near the entrance there's access to a pebble beach and walkway that can take you to a ferry to Vashon Island. There's a park at the front entrance that has a pond, tennis courts, a very small Japanese garden, and lots of open grass to have yourself a merry little picnic. Oh, yeah, Point Defiance is on the northwest tip of Tacoma, a 45-minute (if you're lucky) drive away. Seattle has its own zoo, Woodland Park Zoo, which is also well-regarded and now has a baby elephant. We haven't gone there yet, though, so we don't know much about it.

Franklin Falls

There are two ways to get to Franklin Falls. They both start the same way: head east from Seattle on Interstate 5 and turn off not too far from Snoqualmie Pass. This is where the routes differ. The first is to pull into a trailhead and hike about a mile or two to the falls. The other is to stay on the road a bit longer, then pull over and walk about ten minutes. We planned to go the easy way (we do have young children, after all), but the snow on the road kept us from that option. So, we decided to try the hike. We were told by someone that it wasn't so bad. Mostly, she was right. The only thing that made it tricky was the snow on the trail. It was slick--and thick--in some areas. And this was in mid-May.

Still, we managed, although next time we're going to get some trekking poles. We think that would've made a big difference, to have that 'third leg' (and maybe a fourth) for balance. It was fun, in a tiring sort of way, and the falls were nice, but we're not sure it was worth such a struggle. The kids did like the view, not to mention seeing all the snow and the rushing river.

Saltwater State Park ( see Kids' POV )

This is a small park in Federal Way, about 25-45 minutes away from Seattle (depending on when you try to get there). It's a waterside park, with a small beach and several picnic tables. A path runs alongside the waters of Puget Sound for a short distance, and at low tide the water leaves behind tide pools you can explore, if you don't mind getting your feet wet. As you stand in the park facing west, you can see the Olympic mountains across the Sound, starting almost straight ahead and extending far to your right. Not a bad view.

Kerry Park

If you've ever seen a view of Seattle with the Space Needle nearby and downtown behind it, with Mt. Rainier behind that, it was probably taken from this park.  It's perhaps the most famous view of Seattle.

Seattle Center
Our kids love the International Fountain, the Pacific Science Center, the Children's Museum, and more. This place has lots to do for kids both big and small, and lots of places to sit and rest if you're a tired parent.  We've also seen the circus and Disney on Ice at Key Arena.

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Snoqualmie Falls
The fall's roar and the mist's kisses are what mainly caught their attention. They like the view from the observation deck, but being at the base of the falls seems to impress them more.

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Japanese Garden
Though gardens like this have a lot of 'off-limits' areas, something kids don't like, there is still much for them to enjoy. Wandering the paths is a simple pleasure, but more than anything else, they like the fish in the pond.

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Mount St. Helens
We never expected our little boy to be so enthusiastic about the volcano video. He was only 3 when we first visited, but he was absolutely entranced by the scenes of exploding rock and leaping fire. After that, when he'd see mountains, he would say, "Volcano!"

There are lots of chipmunks all over the place. Whenever we would pull over, a few would show up. They obviously expected handouts. They are fun to watch, but not to touch, of course.

The paragliders also grabbed his attention. You will likely see them before you get to their parking area. The trail is very short, maybe five minutes. The clifftop was large and open, quite safe as long as you stay far enough away from the edge. Even then, the edge sloped down; it was not a drop-off. Still, we were probably two thousand feet above the valley floor, so be careful.

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Saltwater State Park
Kids can spot a playground a mile away, and the one here was no exception. The equipment is mostly for older kids (monkey bars and the like) but there was still enough to keep younger kids happy.

The tide pools were fun for them, too, although we didn't see much sea life. The tide was coming in, too, so we weren't able to stay long. Still, they enjoyed wading through the water and getting wet.

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