Tonya’s Seattle Summer Bucket List
Tonya here! I wanted to piggyback on Johnine’s list of summer activities in Seattle, and share some of my own favorites! Sometimes we forget all of the hidden gems around us when we get caught in day-to-day life. Seeing and hearing what others are up to can serve as a reminder, or even give you something new to do and explore in your own ‘backyard’! Not to mention just shedding a little more light on what makes living in Seattle so special.
Favorite Beach: Alki Beach
My favorite beach to hang out at is Alki. When you think of Seattle in the summertime, I bet this beach is one of the first that comes to mind! So many memories, specifically being a kid and enjoying all the people watching and fun things to do. They offer so much throughout the summer now as well, to enjoy the community or just hangout in the sand and watch the boats or the sunsets. It is pretty incredible to be in the “city” but have this kind of terrain just minutes from downtown. We are lucky to get to experience a lot of that, living in the PNW!
Favorite Activity/Event: West Seattle Summerfest
West Seattle Summer Fest and Ballard Seafood Fest – both of these bring lots of fun activities to take part of and enjoy. Ballard Seafood fest features live music, family fun, arts, crafts, and the best seafood around. Celebrate our vibrant community at each of these events! This year, it looks like they might be on the same weekend so you can pick a day or two to enjoy each, which sounds like a pretty great weekend to me!
Favorite Staycation: Olympic National Park
All things Olympic National Park. Hoh Rain Forest and Devils Punchbowl are two of my favorites. These are pretty far away for a day trip (although we have done the Punchbowl and it made for a super long, fun day!) If you would rather stay even closer to town, and do some things that are tourist-ish then, I would definitely recommend visiting Marrowstone/Chimicum/Pt Townsend. They have lots of amazing food & drinks, beautiful trails to hike, & lovely strolls in town. Two of my favorite stops in particular are Finnriver Farm and Cidery & Marrowstone Vineyards. Finistere also has an amazing happy hour! We also love to visit our local farms that offer U-pick berries, depending on what’s in season – we will travel north or south depending on what we are going to pick.
Best Restaurant to enjoy the outdoors:
I love all the Alki side restaurants as well as SLU ones too. Daniel’s Broiler has a great happy hour on SLU!
Favorite hike: Cedar River Trail
Cedar River Trail is pretty, and not very far away! It’s very simple but I love walking in the trees throughout the trails in Seahurst Park. We love all the trails around Fort Worden and do them often when we spend time in Marrowstone/Pt Townsend!
Other Events I love: Pride
Pride in the different communities as well as the big Cap Hill/DT celebrations are a favorite of course. Pier 62 has lots of fun events that I really want to try to do this year! I absolutely loved the concerts on the Pier back in the day!