Parks, gardens, trails and waterfronts, plus outdoor events.
📍 Belltown waterfront · Seattle Central
Seattle Art Museum's outdoor park of large-scale sculptures on the waterfront, looking out over the Salish Sea. SAM lists it as free and open every day of the year.
Details Official site ↗📍 Seattle · Seattle South & West
Large Beacon Hill park with Olmsted-inspired paths, city and Olympic Mountain views, playgrounds, spray park, skate park, athletic fields, and the Bill Wright Golf Complex on site.
Details Official site ↗📍 Seattle · Seattle South & West
About 300 acres on Bailey Peninsula with old-growth forest, a 2.4-mile paved shoreline path, hiking trails, swimming beach, amphitheater, art studio, and hand-carry boat launches.
Details Official site ↗📍 Seattle · Seattle Central
Downtown park built as a lid over Interstate 5 between First Hill and the financial district, with gardens, sculpture, and fountains. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places; Seattle Parks notes it as the first freeway-lid park of its kind.
Details Official site ↗📍 Edmonds · Snohomish County
Edmonds beach park with playground, picnic tables, BBQ stands, sand volleyball, hand-carried boat launch, pathways, portable restrooms, and parking along the marine sanctuary waterfront.
Details Official site ↗📍 Bellevue · Eastside
Fifty-three acres of cultivated gardens, restored woodlands, and wetlands showcasing thousands of Pacific Northwest plant varieties. Operated as a City of Bellevue Parks partnership with the Bellevue Botanical Garden Foundation.
Details Official site ↗📍 Snohomish · Snohomish County
1,463-acre Snohomish County upland nature preserve with more than 30 miles of hiking, mountain-bike, and equestrian trails, picnic areas, viewpoints over the Snohomish River valley, and horse-trailer parking.
Details Official site ↗📍 Snohomish · Snohomish County
Eighty-four-acre Snohomish County community park east of Mill Creek with trails, playground, picnic shelters, athletic fields, amphitheater, nearly eight acres of off-leash dog area, and a seasonal splash pad. County Parks administration offices are on site.
Details Official site ↗📍 Auburn · South King County
Auburn community park along the White River emphasizing native woodland with trails, picnic shelter, restroom, play area, and an 18-hole disc golf course. White River Trail continues along the river north of the park.
Details Official site ↗📍 Seattle · Seattle North
Seattle's largest city park (~560 acres on Magnolia Bluff) with meadows, forests, sea cliffs, and about two miles of protected tidal beach plus mountain and Sound views. Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center sits on park grounds under a long-term lease.
Details Official site ↗📍 Seattle · Seattle South & West
Twenty-acre historic Japanese-influenced landscape in south Seattle with streams, ponds, bridges, and mixed Northwest plantings, acquired by the city in 1987 from the estate of Fujitaro Kubota.
Details Official site ↗📍 Lynnwood · Snohomish County
About 11.8 miles of paved multi-use trail jointly managed by Snohomish County, Everett, Lynnwood, and the PUD along the historic Seattle–Everett Interurban trolley corridor. County oversees the section south of 112th St SE and north of Butternut Road near I-405.
Details Official site ↗📍 Edmonds · Snohomish County
Edmonds waterfront beach park with fishing pier and Beach Ranger Station, pathways, picnic tables, public art, restroom, viewing scope, hand-carried boat launch, and parking.
Details Official site ↗📍 Redmond · Eastside
Large King County park at the north end of Lake Sammamish with trails, athletic fields, community garden, velodrome, climbing wall, playgrounds, and a ~40-acre off-leash dog area. Reachable via Marymoor Village light rail station and new connector trails.
Details Official site ↗📍 Seattle · Seattle Central
Queen Anne viewpoint park overlooking Elliott Bay, downtown Seattle, and often Mount Rainier. Popular for daytime and evening skyline views; amenities include a play area and drinking fountains.
Details Official site ↗📍 Bellevue · Eastside
Twenty-one-acre downtown Bellevue park with a half-mile tree-lined promenade, canal, 240-foot waterfall into a reflecting pond, large lawn, formal gardens, and Inspiration Playground.
Details Official site ↗📍 Seattle · Seattle South & West
West Seattle multi-use park on a Puget Sound bluff north of the Fauntleroy ferry with miles of trails, picnic shelters, playfields, seawall/beach access, and an inclusive renovated north play area.
Details Official site ↗📍 Seattle · Seattle North
Urban lake park with a 2.8-mile paved multi-use path, athletic fields, beaches, and non-motorized boating access points. Draws heavy daily use for walking, running, and recreation.
Details Official site ↗📍 Bellevue · Eastside
329-acre Bellevue nature park around Lake Washington’s largest remaining wetland, with boardwalk and gravel trails for walking, biking, and wildlife observation plus an on-site environmental education center.
Details Official site ↗📍 Seattle · Seattle North
North Lake Union park with preserved gas-plant structures, kite hill, play barn, sundial, and city views. Burke-Gilman Trail runs past the parking lot.
Details Official site ↗📍 Seattle · Seattle South & West
Long West Seattle beach strip from near Alki Point toward Duwamish Head with paved path, picnic sites, volleyball courts, and Sound/Olympic views. Historic settler landing site; hand-carry boat access at designated shoreline segments.
Details Official site ↗📍 Edmonds · Snohomish County
Edmonds waterfront marine sanctuary park with pathways, picnic tables, restroom, parking, and the Edmonds Underwater Park for scuba diving. No watercraft within 200 feet of the dive park except diver inflatables.
Details Official site ↗📍 Issaquah · Eastside
Washington State Parks day-use park on Lake Sammamish with swimming beaches, trails, fields, and picnic areas near Issaquah. Dogs on leash allowed except in designated swim areas.
Details Official site ↗📍 Des Moines · South King County
137-acre Washington State Park in Des Moines with forested shoreline, tide pools, driftwood beach, trails, and an artificial underwater reef popular for scuba diving. Fishing/harvesting prohibited in the artificial reef area.
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