Summer in Seattle
- Naomi
- Nov 23, 2018
- 7 min read
Updated: Jul 6, 2019
“Seattle is beautiful in the summer!” That’s what everyone told me, but it wasn’t until I moved there for my MBA internship at Amazon that I saw the city’s beauty for myself. Honestly, it made me scared for what Seattle looks like in the non-summer months, like the dual meaning when people say “Chicago is beautiful in the summer” (translation: there’s absolutely NO way you’ll catch me in a Chi-town winter). I hear it’s wet, but I’ll stick to my areas of expertise, which are how to spend a summer soaking up the sun, devouring the best cheap eats, and exploring Seattle city, which was friendly even with my temporary peg leg (thanks, iWalkFree).
How long to stay:
A week or even more if you want to get out of the city to explore Bainbridge Island, the San Juan Islands, and hike
What to bring:
Bathing suit: there are tons of water activities
Sunscreen: lots of summertime sun
Things to do:
Skyline Views
Gas Works Park: a MUST-SEE size-able park distinguished by its giant metal gas equipment with one main rolling green hill offering an amazing view of the skyline against Lake Union. Bring a picnic blanket and chill for an hour or two.
Kerry Park: tiny little park at the top of a hill in Queen Anne with a spectacular view of the Seattle skyline during day and night. Very Instagrammable.
Water and Parks
Greenlake: a beautiful lake in the northern part of the city that’s a perfect way to spend a day laying out, running, swimming, floating, paddle boating, or paddle boarding. Alcoholic beverages aren’t allowed, but unmarked containers are a-okay.
Electric Boat Company: spend a couple hours cruising around Lake Union on a slow-moving, covered electric boat with up to 9 friends taking in views of the skyline and Gas Works Park. Definitely bring snacks and drinks and reserve in advance.
Alki Beach: large beach in the Southwestern part of the city with beautiful views of snow-capped mountains and the skyline. Rent a kayak or standup paddle board, but be warned that the latter is really hard to navigate against the strong current!
Golden Gardens Beach: huge, sandy beach in the Norhwest with tons of people soaking up the sun. Beware, though, the water is freezing!
Madison Park Beach: much smaller than Alki and Golden Gardens and with grass instead of sand, but the water is warmer so you can actually take a jump off of the diving board and float around. Madison Park is located in the East.
Discovery Park: walk or uber to the edge of the park where you’ll find a sandy area with a lighthouse and tons of blackberry bushes. Bring a bucket, then sit by the shore eating fresh blackberries while staring at the unreal mountain view. You can also take a stroll through the park if that’s your style and you aren’t on a peg leg.
Shopping
Ballard Consignment: a massive store filled with a lot of random antiques (typewriter, anyone?) and junk, but also sweet furniture. It’s a fun store to roam around and discover things you didn’t know were cool.
Ballard Farmers Markets: fresh produce, food stalls, and live music on Sundays
Pike Place Market: touristy, yes, but also a good spot to buy cheap, gorgeous flowers, and specialty foods like flavored honey and truffle salt
Touristy
Gum Wall: Seattle’s grossest tourist attraction. Take pictures in front of a colorful wall of used chewing gum, and contribute your own to the mural. Mmm.
Fremont Troll: a large, concrete/dirt troll located under the Aurora bridge
Ballard Locks: watch salmon swimming upstream from mid-June through October
Seattle Public Library: awesome modern architecture worth seeing if you’re nearby. Don’t miss the floor that’s entirely painted red!
Starbucks Reserve Roastery: see where Starbucks’ specialty reserve coffee is made in a trendy space offering coffee cocktails, pastries, and souvenirs. Not worth going out of your way to visit, but a fair spot to check out on a rainy day since Starbucks was born in Seattle.
Space Needle: you can visit the top for a 360 degree view of the Seattle skyline. I chose not to since it was under construction, I think that the coolest part of the Seattle skyline is seeing the needle, and I’d rather spend the cost of admission on Seattle’s yummy food scene.
Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum: great tourist attraction for a rainy day. It would have been a pain to walk around with my peg leg, but I’d like to check out their Sunday morning yoga (schedule here).
Seattle Sounders Soccer Game: I can’t believe I have a sporting event on my recommendations list, but if you are into soccer or are traveling with a friend who’s a fan, Sounders soccer games are incredibly fun!
Annual Events
Solstice Parade: Seattle’s annual naked bike parade in June, when people paint their bodies and ride nude through the streets of the Fremont neighborhood
Ballard Seafood Fest: annual celebration of Ballard and seafood held the week after July 4. I didn’t go, but wish I had!
Seafair Skyplane Show: find a friend’s rooftop or boat to watch this air spectacle
Tour de Amazon
Amazon Go Store: Seattle’s and the U.S.’s first cashier-less store. Pretty cool to experience simply putting things in your back and carrying them out, human-interaction-free. Their selection is small but solid, including local Seattle chocolate-maker, Theo, and their prepared food actually tastes good (get the lamb sandwich).
Spheres: multi-story indoor rainforest and office space for Amazon employees. Guests are allowed from 10 AM – 6 PM weekdays with an Amazon employee, or you can schedule a tour months in advance online. Visit the Understory to learn more about the project without a reservation or employee, but there are so many Amazonians around, you should befriend one to see inside!
Amazon South Lake Union Complex: if you’re truly bored or a die-hard Amazon fan person, you can schedule a walking tour of Amazon’s campus. They book up weeks in advance here.
Get in my belly:
Frankie and Jo’s: vegan, plant-based ice cream that as a dairy-lover I will proudly say is in the top two best ice creams I’ve ever eaten. Their flavors are unique and creative, like Salty Caramel Ash and Tahini Chocolate, my two favorites. It’s so good that I visited nearly every week and even started buying pints…
Anchorhead Coffee: OMG, Anchorhead’s pistachio milk matcha is one of the world’s most delicious drinks, and I will fight you if you disagree. It’s actually dairy free pistachio milk, not pistachio-flavored milk, and I love it over ice. 100% worth traveling out of your way to visit the coffee shop in Belltown.
Porkchop & Co.: yummy Korean and Southern food fusion. Their poached egg, grits, and kimchi brunch dish was out of this world. Don’t forget to check in on Yelp to receive a free, generous portion colorful beet toast.
Due’ Cucina Italiana (formerly Dueminuti Healthy Pasta): healthy pasta?! Well, healthier, anyway. Fantastic-tasting carbs that are better for you, but more importantly, are delicious and cheap. ~$10 will get you a fresh plate of flavorful pasta, including the super-basic versions without butter, cheese, or meat.
Musashi’s: affordable, delicious chirashi and sushi with a few locations scattered throughout the city
Shiro’s Sushi: one of Seattle’s best sushi restaurants with a chef trained by Jiro. You won’t regret ordering the reasonably-priced omakase ($75).
Kedai Makan: trendy, upscale, flavorful Malaysian food. No reservations, so show up early to avoid the line.
Walrus and the Carpenter: cute and trendy spot in Ballard for a date or meal with friends, reminiscent of oyster restaurants in Manhattan’s East or West Village. Go during the week for their oyster happy hour from 4 – 6PM Monday through Thursday. No reservations.
Seattle Dog: a hot dog with cream cheese, the most delicious of which is sold from a stand outside the Shell gas station in Capitol Hill. Recommend for a late-night bite rather than sober meal.
Biscuit Bitch or one of the city’s many other biscuit restaurants or trailers: I was surprised to discover that biscuits are everywhere in Seattle, just like my Nashville home. I only tried Biscuit Bitch because most of the time I was in the company of a non-dairy eater, but others on my list are Biscuit and Bean and Wandering Goose.
Kati Vegan Thai: I was skeptical, but Kati won me over for a few reasons: 1) they have khao soi, my favorite Thai dish, combining curry and noodles; 2) they have a weekday buffet so I could try all the dishes without suffering from decision paralysis; and 3) it was conveniently located between my apartment and office. Check, check, check.
Pike Place Market
Pike Place Chowder: get the sampler and try four varieties! Wait in line to choose any flavors you like, or order online for pick up and they’ll they choose the four flavors for you, but they’re all amazing.
Piroshky Piroshky: doughy, cheesy, meaty Russian pastries worth waiting in line for. Highly recommend the cheese pinwheel and smoked salmon pate.
Country Dough: hand pulled noodles a la NYC’s Xi’an Famous Foods, plus other Chinese favorites like jian bing (Chinese egg pancake) and you tiao (savory fried Chinese donut)
Ellenos: Greek yogurt so rich and think, it might as well be a dessert. Top it off with lemon curd, marionberries, or season flavors like pumpkin. Multiple locations throughout city, in grocery stores, and coffee shops.
Rachel’s Ginger Beer: lots of flavors of ginger beer, including ginger beer cocktails and slushies. NOM.
The Crumpet Shop: who knew lemon curd could taste so good?! I don’t think I’ve ever had a crumpet before, but I’m glad I tried these and will gladly take you.
Turn Up:
Seattle has a couple main going out areas: Capitol Hill and Ballard, with Capitol Hill catering more to the recent grad crowd.
Fremont Brewing (and secret bar in the back room !! code named the Black Heron Project): my favorite brewery in Seattle, the perfect way to spend a sunny afternoon (outside of the beach) since Fremont has tons of outdoor (and indoor) seating. They have two bars with a bunch of rotating beers, sometimes offering different beers at each bar, and even have a secret pop-up bar behind the original brewery with even more creative flavors and sours. Bring food from outside to enjoy and you have a picture-perfect outing.
Schilling Cider House: an indoor bar dedicated exclusively to ciders, with tons of interesting flavors ranging from sweet like blackberry to spicy jalapeno. Enjoy a flight while playing one of their many board games. It’s located a couple blocks from Fremont Brewing.
Unicorn Bar: a funky bar in Capitol Hill known for its sugary cocktails and outlandish décor. There’s often a line but it moves quickly.
Hula Hula: karaoke bar in Capitol Hill—the kind where you sing in front of the entire bar rather than in a private room. Huzzah!
Get out:
Hiking: tons of amazing hikes around Seattle, but none that I've tried yet #brokenfoot
Bainbridge Island: hop on the ferry for $8.50 round trip to spend a day wine and beer tasting on Bainbridge island. You can bring bikes on the ferry, but it’s a hilly island, so not really worth doing since Ubers are easy to find.
San Juan Islands: located Northwest of Seattle a four-hour drive or short plan ride, the San Juan Islands are on my list to visit next summer. I hear the whale watching is top-notch.
