Things to Do with Kids in Seattle, Washington

Seattle is definitely a city I’d love to visit with my family one day. My last visit was spent with my sisters eating waffles, ice cream and donuts.

I recently connected with Terumi (thank you Twitter!) from Emerald City Kids and asked her about things to do with kids in Seattle.

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Where should families with young children go for affordable fun and food?

1. Ballard

A neighborhood I frequent is Ballard.  Ballard Avenue has so many cute little cafes and stores. I love Hotcakes for desserts, Fresh Flours for pastries and coffee, and Bastille for a more spendy but lovely atmosphere.

If you go on a Sunday market day there’s so much to see and do.  My guys love the Clover Toy Store and the Ballard Locks nearby.

2. Seattle Center

Seattle Center provides such an easy ‘home-base’ for tourists and locals. We’re there at least once a week.

If you’re visitng the Space Needle (which is on almost everyone’s Seattle list), stop by the Seattle Center Armory – a family friendly food court.

The Armory makes it so easy now to experience a little bit of what I love about the city along with something for the kids.

I love that so many of my favorite street food trucks have been turned into a delicious easy access dining area right near some great kid-friendly haunts like the Children’s Museum, Pacific Science Center, EMP (Experience Music Project) and Children’s Theatre.

If you want to make a shopping trip seem like more of an adventure for kids, ride the monorail from Seattle Center to Nordstroms.

3. South Lake Union

I also love the Center for Wooden Boats (year round sail and rowboat rentals) and the new MOHAI (Museum of History & Industry) in South Lake Union.

Lake Union Park (near the Center for Wooden Boats and MOHAI) is fun to explore with kids. You can even hop on the streetcar that connects downtown Seattle to South Lake Union from the park.

I love Ride the Ducks Tours (touring Seattle by land and water) because they’re so energetic.

 

I couldn’t let you leave Seattle without making you go to Theo Chocolates factory tour (the only organic, fair trade, bean to bar chocolate factory in North America) followed by a trip to Woodland Park Zoo to walk it off.

For parents with children in strollers, how would you recommend getting around Seattle?

I get around Seattle in my minivan and in the early days, our strollers were so huge I didn’t know how to put them on a bus. Personally, we enjoy being independent on vacation and having a vehicle seems to be the easiest way for us.

But, if you do things in the city, the bus system is quite easy to use with the One Bus Away app and we have a few neat options like the Monorail streetcar and light-rail too.

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Terumi is a stay-at-home mom in Seattle who likes to adventure through the city and beyond with her two 4-year old twins looking for good places to eat, shop and play.  She writes about her explorations at Emerald City Kids. She also has a running list of her family’s favorite restaurants. You can connect with Terumi on Twitter and Facebook too.