Seattle Tourist Information - Sightseeing at Seattle Parks

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Seattle tourist information - Sightseeing at Seattle Parks

Seattle has an abundance of beautiful parks. Listed here is just a sampling, all within 10 minutes of downtown.

*Note: This page contains quite a few photos, please allow time to load.

Find Particular Seattle Parks:
Myrtle Edwards (downtown), Greenlake (N. Seattle), Ballard Locks/Shilshole (N.W. Seattle),
Alki Beach (W. Seattle), Wa. Pk. Arboretum (E. Seattle)
Seattle Attractions Day trips

North of the piers along the water downtown, is Myrtle Edwards Park,

Tourist information - Seattle waterfront

Tourist information - Seattle downtown park

- a beautiful park with a paved path displaying city views on one side and views of the bay on the other.

One of Seattle's most popular parks surrounds Green Lake. With a 2.8 mile paved path completely around the lake, Green Lake, a few miles north of downtown, attracts walkers, joggers, roller blade skaters, and families on bikes.

Tourist information - Greenlake, popular with Seattle residents

The surrounding park offers a large wading pool, tennis courts, soccer field, basket ball court, baseball diamond, a small golf course, a playground, and an indoor pool.

Tourist information - Greenlake, wading pool & swimming pool

Beautiful grassy banks are perfect for picnicing or tanning. The lake offers a beach area, paddle boat rentals, and the opportunity to watch team rowing practices.

Tourist information - walk, jog, picnic

The surrounding business district offers a variety of restaurants and coffee shops.

Not far from Green Lake, is the Woodland Park Zoo, one of the 10 best zoological parks in the country. Seattle's zoo offers the opportunity to view animals in re-creations of their natural habitats.

West from Greenlake, toward the sound, is the Ballard Locks.

Tourist information - Seattle locks

The locks control the difference in water levels between the sound and the much higher Lake Washington. More than 100,000 pleasure and commercial boats go through the locks per year.

Tourist information - boats at the locks

Tourist information - locks: from lake to Puget Sound

Windows at the far side of the locks allow visitors to watch the progress of spawning salmon.

Just down the road from the locks is a marina with several waterfront restaurants.
	At the end of the road is Shilshole Beach, a nice sand beach with a walking path.

Another great beach area is Alki. With
western views toward the mountains as well as views looking across the water toward downtown.

Tourist information - west seattle waterfront

Located in West Seattle, Alki beach offers a paved path for walking, jogging, or skating,...
	as well as a grassy picnic area for enjoying lunch or playing frisbee. Alki offers a resort feel and is home to several great fish & chips eateries.
The sandy beach is perhaps Seattle's finest.

Click here for a virtual tour of Alki Beach and more information.

The West Seattle neighborhood offers some exceptional views of downtown Seattle looking back over the bay and great views of the water traffic into downtown as well.

Tourist information - looking back toward downtown

Tourist information - views from west seattle

Tourist information - canoeing on the lake

One of Seattle's larger parks is the 200 acre Washington Park Arboretum. The park doubles as a botanical research facility for the University of Washington, located nearby. More than 5000 varieties of plants are arranged here by family with guide maps available to find specific plants. The park includes frontage on Lake Washington and a Japanese Garden.

Not far from the Arboretum, is Montlake Park on the shores of the inlet from Lake Washington to Lake Union. Fishing, canoeing, or boat watching can be enjoyed here or nearby.

Tourist information - canoe and kayak rentals

Tourist information - view boats at montlake cut

Tourist information - neighborhood park on the lake