101 Things to Do in Seattle with Kids

If a visit to the Emerald City is on your bucket list, I have put together this comprehensive list of 101 Things to Do in Seattle with Kids so you can stop clicking your heels together wishing for the perfect excuse to go – and just do it! Seattle offers so many wonderful attractions to families, there’s no reason to wait until the kids are older to enjoy it.

Visit Seattle/Alabastro Photography

Seattle is a unique and dynamic city that offers a mass of cultural, quirky, mainstream, and totally unique experiences for families – it’s one of my favorites places to visit!

Don’t let the rain get you down, instead, really get to know this city and see how many of these 101 places you can check off your travel bucket list.

For more details on some of our favorites, check out our 10 Foodie Family-Friendly Restaurants in Seattle.

Also, if you’re looking at doing three or more of the attractions covered in the Seattle CityPass (Space Needle, Seattle Aquarium, Argosy Cruise Harbour Tour, Museum of Pop Culture OR Woodland Park Zoo, and the Chihuly Garden and Glass OR Pacific Science Centre) I highly recommend looking into getting CityPasses for at least the adults in your party. (Many of the locations are free for ages 3 and under, or have different children’s pricing so look into specific details for the locations you’re planning to visit before adding on the kid passes.)

The Seattle Centre also has a “4-pack ticket” that gets you access to the Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass, Pacific Science Center, and a round-trip ticket on the Seattle Center Monorail to explore Downtown Seattle.

Pin this list of 101 Things to do in Seattle for your future travel planning:

101 Things to Do in Seattle with Kids

1. Browse, eat and shop Pike’s Place Market
2. Watch sea planes with a picnic at Lake Union Park
3. Visit the Seattle Children’s Museum
4. Explore the MoPop (Museum of Pop Culture)
5. Shop Archie McPhee’s
6. Play pinball at the Seattle Pinball Museum
7. Chittenden Locks and the Fish Ladder – a combination of botanical gardens and aquarium!
8. Check out the Ballard Farmers Market
9. Try Barack and Michelle Obama’s favorite Fran’s Chocolates
10. There are always so many events happening at the Seattle Center – from games, to festivals, and art performances!
11. See the sights at the Space Needle
12. See the glass sculpture at the Chihuly Museum
13. Artists at Play playground
14. Take a tour on an Argosy Locks Cruise
15. Borrow a boat for free at the Center for Wooden Boats
16. Pan for gold at Klondike Gold Rush Historic National Park
17. See a family-friendly show at the Seattle Children’s Theater
18. Play at Soundbridge, the Seattle Symphony’s Musical Discovery Center
19. Visit the Argosy Tillicum Village on Blake Island
20. Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park

Visit Seattle/Alabastro Photography

• 21. Go hiking at Cherry Creek Falls
• 22. Ride the Ferris Wheel at Pier 57
• 23. Take the ferry to Bainbridge Island
• 24. On Bainbridge Island, visit the Bloedel Reserve
• 25. Pop in for story time or to check out the exhibits at the Nordic Heritage Museum
• 26. Explore the quirky Freemont neighborhood (including the troll!)
• 27. Take a Bellevue Zip Tour
• 28. Eat at family friendly Café El Diablo
• 29. Water taxi over to West Seattle
• 30. Satisfy a sweet craving at Top Pot Donuts – and gear up for your trip by whipping up some treats from their cookbook!
• 31. Take the coveted Chocolate Indulgence Tour
• 32. Visit Volunteer Park
• 33. Go tidepooling in Puget sound
• 34. Swim at Alki Beach Park
• 35. Learn about cheesemaking at Beecher’s Handmade Cheese (don’t forget to eat their stunning dishes too!)
• 36. Hike Seward’s Park
• 37. View Snoqualmie Falls
• 38. Marvel at the Living Computer Museum
• 39. Recreate on Lake Washington
• 40. Visit Smith Tower, Seattle’s first skyscrapper whose art deco heritage has been pristinely restored.

Greg McCormick Allen and Richard Gray | Photo by Elise Bakketun

• 41. Have espresso at Café Allegro
• 42. Eat brunch at the Portage Bay Café
• 43. Breathe easy at the Seattle Arboretum
• 44. Eat local at Local 360
• 45. Appreciate the views at Discovery Park
• 46. Visit Dick’s Drive-In for dinner
• 47. Take a Seattle Underground Tour
• 48. Savor ice cream at Molly Moons
• 49. Ride the South Lake Union Trolley
• 50. Discover the views at Kerry Park
• 51. See historical Seattle at Pioneer Square
• 52. Shop, eat and play in the Chinatown International District
• 53. Stop in at the Starbucks Reserve and Roasting Tour
• 54. Museum of History and Industry
• 55. Don’t miss the Theo Chocolate Factory Tour
• 56. Overwhelm the kids at the Magic Mouse Toy Store
• 57. Mountain bike at Duthie Hill
• 58. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center
• 59. Get your tasting on at the Metropolitan Market
• 60. Participate in Seattle’s Bicycle Sunday

Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo

• 61. Check out the unique playground at Gas Works Park
• 62. Stop in for an Out to Lunch Concert
• 63. Visit the iconic Hat and Boots
• 64. See Brown’s Point Lighthouse
• 65. Read and relax at Elliot Bay Book Company
• 66. Appreciate a Seattle Symphony Organ Recital
• 67. Discover the Woodland Park Zoo Rose Garden for free!
• 68. The Seattle by Foot Kid’s tour caters to kid interests – and tiny feet!
• 69. Learn the unique history of the UPS Waterfall Garden Park
• 70. Enjoy a cup at the Seattle Meowtropolitican Cat Café
• 71. Kubota Gardens is both soothing and stunning
• 72. See Bruce Lee’s grave at Lake View Cemetery (this might seem weird to some, but people travel from all over the world to visit)
• 73. Feed your inner kid at Full Tilt Ice cream and Pinball Arcade
• 74. Check out Belfry Oddities
• 75. Magnuson Park Fin Art (if you can manage to drive past or stop by on your way en route to somewhere else)
• 76. Practice your culinary skills at Eat Seattle
• 77. Future of Flight Boeing Factory Tour
• 78. Don’t miss pizza and a cookie at Delancey
• 79. Fall in love with Edith Macefield’s House
• 80. Herbert Warrick Jr’s Museum of Communications

Visit Seattle/Howard Frisk Photography

• 81. See a Berlin Wall relic at Café Turko
• 82. Admire Seattle activism at Freeway Park
• 83. Get free museum admissions at these locations on First Thursday of every month.
• 84. Hike the Howe Street Stairs
• 85. Go retro at Pac Man Park
• 86. Eat in a railway car once used by FDR at the Orient Express Restaurant
• 87. Visit Mt. Rainer National Park
• 88. Plan a trip to the Seattle Asian Art Museum when it reopens in 2019
• 89. Plan a trip to one of Seattle’s music festivals
• 90. Take a class at the Seattle Glassblowing Studio
• 91. Washington State History Museum
• 92. Ooh and ah at the Museum of Glass
• 93. Kick back at the Pike Brewing Company
• 94. Explore Alchemy Goods
• 95. Explore all the details of the Seattle Public Library
• 96. Canoe or Kayak at WAC at the University of Washington
• 97. Visit Uwajimaya Village and the Kinokuniya Bookstore
• 98. Play board games at Raygun Lounge
• 99. Devour steamed mussels at Maximilien
• 100. Sleep in a tree house at Tree House Point
• 101. Savor unexpected flavors at Cupcake Royale

Do you have a must-do Seattle attraction that we forgot to include on this list? Or please feel free to share in the comments any opinions/experiences about the attractions listed here!

For more details on some of our favorites, check out our 10 Foodie Family-Friendly Restaurants in Seattle.