Why on earth is this Seattle list only for May to October? Is it the weather? Is it school holidays? Or is it because this is the time when all the cruise ships come to our city? From May to October in Seattle, our city feels like we get a little more packed. And I realize I don’t actually have a good list of places we like to visit in our city so I’m putting all our favorite Seattle places here for when I get asked by people traveling here for the summer.
Where we stay in Seattle
Because we live here, this one is always SO tough for me. But I’ve stayed in a few places in the city and one of my favorites was the Hyatt Regency downtown and my family also really enjoyed the Motif and Hotel 1000 too. Because cruise ships dock here from May-October it might also be worth your time to think about staying outside of the city in Bellevue, or Tukwila during these months. The Cedarbrook Lodge near the airport feels like it’s in a forest and has a really great restaurant. It’s easier to think of places if I can include places beyond Seattle.
Where we eat in Seattle
The other night we dined on the patio on Seattle’s Waterfront at Aqua by El Gaucho and had a smoky drink prepared table-side. This was a splurgy night out-the kids were at camp-and not a regular Seattle thing for us and Fisherman’s Restaurant and Ivar’s are also on the waterfront and pretty delicious too. As locals we also dine near where our daily lives (our kids’ soccer and school) take us and that usually means coffee, bakeries and places to eat where dining with 4 people won’t decimate our wallets. I have a list of Seattle Restaurants you can eat at with kids. My kids are 14 now and some spots aren’t as trendy as they used to be, but it’s still a pretty comprehensive list. I used to look for restaurants with play areas too and if any of these are outdated please let me know. And we have a robot coffee machine in Seattle now that is really cool too.
Seattle Coffee
I am a Seattleite and I still visit the original Starbucks when I go to Pike Place market so no it’s not too touristy if you visit, I just might not wait in line if there are more than 10 people. I go super early but in cruise ship season, super early might still mean a line. And please, if you’re in Seattle, can you help our city by calling Pike Place Market by its actual given name. There is no “s” on the Pike part of Pike Place Market, it is not plural, there is only one Pike Place Market in the world. We Seattleites do cringe when we hear the “s” being added to our beloved market.
I also insist that you go to the Starbucks Seattle Roastery if you’re in the city and have never been. This is the most perfect coffee shop I’ve ever been to and even now after it’s been in the city for years, I still haven’t found a better shop anywhere in the world.
Some of our favorite coffee shops that are not Starbucks though are Espresso Vivace (by the REI flagship), Boon Boona Coffee near Seattle University, Caffe Umbria or Cafe D’arte near Pioneer Square, Red Arrow near Woodland Park Zoo and if you’re in another area and are dying for coffee feel free to reach out via instagram and I’l try to help ASAP. We have so many delicious coffee shops so you don’t really need to drive very far to get to a specific shop. My most recent coffee adventure was sponsored by Toyota (and they helped me buy coffee for nearly 60 fellow Seattle coffee lovers too!)
Seattle Parks to visit because the weather is so nice
I’m such a fan of the Beach at Expedia Group Park because it has parking and Scout loves it and the views from the park are pretty gorgeous as well. It’s also close to Fuji Bakery if you’re wanting to make this a walk and a treat. We often bike through this park on our way to the Waterfront, or Pike Place Market or the stadiums for sports games and biking along this whole waterfront area is an easy, flat right in comparison to so many other parts of the city and it’s a beautiful ride as well.
Kerry Park is a great park for Space Needle Views and Ella Bailey Park has a great playground and iconic Seattle views as well. Going early in the day is usually better than the afternoon if you want less crowds. We also like to hang around South Lake Union where there are usually summer pop-ups and a park-like feel in the city. And while it’s not a park, we really like to visit Woodland Park Zoo first thing when it opens in the summer and we have a membership so we don’t need to go for that long to make it feel “worth it”.
The Seattle Waterfront is also a favorite of ours in the summer, especially if we visit by bike. There is a lot of construction and change happening on the waterfront and hopefully everything will be finished in a year or so. And even though my kids are older now, I’m excited to see what the new playground there will end up looking like too.
Wanting to find out what is happening in Seattle today?
If you’re looking for daily Seattle activities I have a monthly post (this one links to June) and you can find daily activities in Seattle through this post too.
Also if you’re using public transit to get around Seattle and beyond in our state, youth ride transit for free and you can find more about that here.
What should you wear if you are visiting Seattle from May to October?
Make sure you check the weather because you never know what you’re going to need to wear in the city. Is it going to be a torrential downpour? Are you going to have sweltering heat? Will there be wildfires that force you to stay inside? Checking the weather daily is mandatory in Seattle to be prepared- sometimes the morning and the afternoon in the same day have their own weather ideas too.
Adventures from Seattle that you can do in a day trip
We spend a lot of time in Snoqualmie Pass throughout the year and May through October is the easiest time to visit because there is no snow. By May, there is usually no snow on the Lodge Lake Trail and by mid-summer you’ll start to see flowers. Make sure you check conditions before you go. And if you need a place to eat before or after your hike there are great food options at the Commonwealth Cafe, the food truck at Dru Bru and Laconia Market too.
And my mom and I recently visited Camano Island and it’s only about an hour from Seattle too. We stayed overnight but it could easily be a day trip and Camano Commons had great food and was fun to explore.
Now that I know that my teenagers are free on Washington State ferries, we are definitely going to try to bike to Bainbridge Island this summer for ice cream as well. And if you just want to ride a boat for a bit without getting off, Argosy has some really great cruises in Seattle too (and we especially love the locks cruise!)
Do you have any other questions about visiting Seattle?
Please let me know in the comments below or find me through instagram as well.
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
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