On the rare occasions that Washington gifts us a beautiful day, one might wonder which sights to hurriedly visit before the next gray cloud hovers over Rain City. Aside from the one and only icon — Seattle’s Space Needle. This article will cover seven recommended gems, for visitors and residents to check out.

Pike Place Market
The classic Pike Place Market is a historic tourist destination, equipped with antique stores, thrift bookstores, and fresh baked goods across the market vendors. The crowd chatter and jazz ambience during the slower days are a perfect stop for visitors and residents to grab a bite whilst looking over the vast horizon across Elliot Bay’s Puget Sound. Some prominent vendors to visit would be the First Starbucks, Beechers Handmade Cheese, the authors’ favorite would be grilled cheese or mac n cheese, and any of 13 Pike Place Clam Chowder vendors for a warm and comforting creamy clam chowder.

If you were to venture deeper into the market, thou might discover another classic sticky situation. The Gum Wall. An alleyway dating back from the 1990s, this attraction may not be for the weaker stomach but best bet it would make a great picture for influencers in social media.

(Interactive Map – Seattle Waterfront)

Seattle Pier
If one were to walk further towards the edge from Pike Place Market, cheaper options for shopping may be found by the pier, specifically dotted along Pier 54-62. Seattle’s Walkable Waterfront connects all the piers lined across the body of water. Seattle’s seafood is a must-have! One would find seafood by Ivar’s Seafood Bar on Pier 54 to fuel up for more shopping across the waterfront.

Walking up from Pier 54, one should stop by Seattle’s Aquarium near Pier 58. In addition to various fishes, harbor seals, and touching sea anemones; most residents would visit the aquarium for one particular animal…the otters. Although people would need to purchase tickets to enter the aquarium, visitors could also circle to the side of the aquarium building to capture the Ferris wheel.

Amazon Spheres
This next destination is a newer addition in Downtown Seattle. Located around the Denny Triangle area, Amazon’s attraction The Spheres emulates an oasis amid the urban desert of skyscrapers. Inside The Spheres, houses a diverse selection of flora, visitors get to walk around the ramps and circle staircases within the connected spheres, exploring cloud forest plant species originating from various parts of the world. Inside the dome, temperatures are much warmer compared to Seattle’s winter weather. Visitors would need to book in advance without any fees to visit the site. Amazon Spheres opens every first and third Saturday, the link to book a visitor slot can be found at: The Spheres weekend public visits (seattlespheres.com)

In front of the spheres, there’s an open green space where children and young adults can lounge and enjoy the outside weather. If you’re lucky, the “Banistas” might show up filling in the community banana stands. They provide free bananas to visitors and the community until they run out. The banana stands usually close earlier than The Spheres, so be sure to grab one while you still can!

Snoqualmie Falls

Driving away from downtown, Snoqualmie Falls stood high and mighty above the cloud of misty water. Throughout different times of the year, this waterfall would have varying amounts of water, enriching the mystery of the lands even more. Visitors would drive up to the waterfall, and stare in awe at the grand nature before going down several choices of trails which take visitors to various viewing platforms. Once visitors are pleased, they’d be able to visit two different gift shops within walking distance of the waterfall. One of which displays art and a documentary of indigenous people from the area, commemorating their traditions embedded into the land of Snoqualmie Falls.

Driving down from the Snoqualmie Falls. Visitors get to explore Snoqualmie’s charming Historic Downtown featuring various cuisines from steaks, Mexican, Italian, and the best of all lots of ice cream. Visitors get to walk
around window-shopping through antique stores, vintage clothing stores and a wide selection of Pacific Northwest Merchandise stores dotted in between the line of restaurants.

Gas Works Park

Driving back to Seattle, Gas Works Public Park is one of the best spots to visit during the summer, especially on the Fourth of July. Looking over Lake Union, the park is a great spot to spread your picnic dishes with friends, families, and dogs. Towering over the grassy landscape, an old bronze plant featured as the centerpiece of the park, bringing forth its “Gas Works” name.

This coming summer, Amazon Seafair Summer Fourth is coming to Gas Works Park. A wide selection of fair foods, interactive displays, and even a glow-in-the-dark dance party before the blast of ceremony. Visitors would have to pay to enjoy the extravagant activities, but there is also a free option for those who only wish to watch the fireworks and buy comforting calorie-heavy fair foods.

Carkeek Park

A visit to Washington isn’t complete without going for a hike through some forestry trail. The Carkeek Park is one of the resident favorites as it includes informative wetlands, meadows, creeks, and higher-land trails that look over the Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains. Visitors could follow the built-in paths taking one to see various trees and across bridges with couple’s lockets stuck into them. Perhaps one might even sit down after a hike to eat snacks looking over the blue waters and mountainous skyline.

Around November to early December, various species of Pacific Salmon return to the rivers of King County including Piper’s Creek in Carkeek Park. Community volunteers may provide Salmon Search Programs providing youth and schools the opportunity to educate students about the environment. Salmon Stewards are also available to regular park visitors, during the weekends around the same time.

Kerry Park

The final gem is considered to be the best place to capture photos of the City of Seattle. Kerry Park looks over Elliott Bay and the Central City of Seattle. During a clear day, one might capture Mount Rainer against the Space Needle skyline. During sunsets, the gradient skies glowed against the reflected windows from the city’s skyscrapers. By nighttime, flourishing lights glowed on one side, while glowing ferries can often be seen floating around the darker land of water.

During New Year’s Celebration, Kerry Park is a resident favorite to witness the firework festival displayed by the Space Needle. Like many other spots, visitors must come early, as the park packs up quickly making it rather difficult to find parking spots and the perfect viewing point.

Washington State is home to a vast selection of preserved forests and parks scattered commemorating hiking as the state’s classic leisure activity. It is important to note, there are still countless more gems in Washington to collect from the high peaks of Mount Rainer, Fremont Troll inhabitants, Alki Beach, Olympic National Park, Skagit Valley’s tulips in Spring and even the scattered islands across the bay, one of which is Bainbridge Island and its enchanting downtown. Although beauty is in the eye of the beholder, nature’s beauty would be the most agreeable one for us all.