7 Super Fun Things To Do In Seattle With Kids – We Rocked It!
While our family trip to Seattle got off to kind of a rocky start, we were able to regroup and pull it together on the second day. Thank God. Here is a list of the 7 super fun things we did; I highly recommend all of them.
1) Check Out Pike Place Market
This is where we started our day. We had already enjoyed a lavish breakfast courtesy of Hyatt, but the market would be a great place to pick up fresh pastries and coffee if you wanted to do that. There are lots of little stands selling everything from lavender and honey, to nuts and dried fruit, to fresh seafood, freshly baked bread, produce, and flowers.
Another good thing about Pike Place Market is that it is a covered space, which means that it would be fun in any kind of weather. What exactly did we do? We watched people throw fish, the kids each chose a little Seattle souvenir, and we did a ton of peoplewatching.
2) Go To The Gum Wall
Next we walked down the stairs behind Pike Place Fish market and visited the infamous gum wall – gross! If you have never heard of the gum wall, it is perfect for school age kids, who are appropriately scandalized and delighted to find hundreds of thousands of disgusting blobs of gum stuck along fifty feet of of a brick wall. In some places, the gum is piled up several inches thick, and reaches 15 feet high.
3) Pop Into A Park
Because Josh and I used to live on Capitol Hill, just around the corner from Volunteer Park, we couldn’t resist popping in for a quick game of hide and seek with the kids. One of the things I love about Seattle is that it has so many amazing parks…you really can’t go very far without running into one.
We love the Noguchi sculpture in Volunteer Park. My kids just couldn’t get over some parts of it, so it was good for a long giggle.
4) Grab A Burger
For lunch, we stopped at Dick’s Burgers. This is a perfect place to grab a bite if you want to experience some real local flavor. Dick’s is cash only, there are exactly 3 items on the menu (burgers, shakes, and fries), and don’t even ask for a variation on the way the burgers are made: you get what you get.
5) Rent A Motorboat And Explore
Since it was a beautiful day, we headed over to West Seattle, rented a motorboat from Alki Kayak Tours and zipped over to a rocky beach a ways away.
This was SO MUCH FUN. The kids searched for sea glass and shells, watched jellyfish, and waded in the water. Josh dove in completely.
6) Rent A Rowboat To Relax And Enjoy
Because one boat was not enough, we drove back across town to Lake Washington, where we rented a rowboat from the University of Washington Rec Sports.
This was a completely different kind of boat ride: quiet, peaceful, and filled with bird and turtle sightings. The perfect way to end the day.
Seattle really is packed with great things to do. If you’ve been to Seattle, what are some of your favorites?
I have visited Seattle twice and thoroughly enjoyed my visits. I have been to the Pike Place Market and thankfully had never heard of the Gum Wall until your post! I enjoyed the Space Needle and, though not in Seattle per se, I enjoyed Snoqualmie Falls (30 mins. east of Seattle*) and Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery (15 miles NE of Seattle*). My Bestie drove us across the Floating Bridge and I must admit I was very afraid. I even did a ferry ride.
*Per Google.
ElleX – We seem to be following each other across the United States 🙂 I’d definitely like to go back to Snoqualmie. Beautiful! And dang it – we forgot about the floating bridge! My kids would have loved that as well. Next time…
sounds like a great trip with lots to do! I never thought to do the boating adventures so thanks for the info.
PS I ran across the floating bridge once and you can too if you sign up for the Seattle Marathon (I think it’s only part of the full course)