Six Things To Do This Summer In Seattle

Hello Summer! It is no more of Sleepless in Seattle but Summer in Seattle!!!

I bet, many of us in Seattle are waiting to soak up in the sun after drenching in the rain for over 6 months now. Well, well I agree we had a disappointing spring with continuing rains and lower temperatures, but lets hope for a good and bright summer (in the defense, we had a good summer last year!). And as we get set for the summer, I am excited for some outdoor activities to do in and around Seattle. Here is my list of six things to do in Seattle area this Summer.

The Gondola Ride

In my earlier post here, I wrote about the exciting Gondola ride leading up to the beautiful mountain view at the Crystal Mountain resorts. I visited this last summer and fell in love with the place and looking forward to going again. The resort is re-opening on June 23rd (yup! this weekend) for Gondola ride, hiking and dining at the Summit House. The resort is open till September 17, 2017 and you sure don’t want to miss this beautiful picturesque of the Pacific North West with some fun picnic time with friends and family. Check out my blog for more details and also the website. You need a sneak peek? Here you go!

Whale Watching Tours 

One of the relaxing and best ways to spend a weekend afternoon is to go on a whale watching tour. Seattle and places around offer great sites for orcas, sea-lions, seals etc. San-Juan islands is the best spot to see killer whales and I speak here with experience 🙂  The best time to spot the majestic orca whales in the Pacific Northwest region is usually between May-September. There are many boat charters that depart from multiple locations and I went from the one in Everett. We booked our tour through Island Adventure Whale Watching, sometime in May and highly recommend it. They offer guaranteed whale watching tours. These rides are also educational and would be a great thing to do with kids this summer! The trips range from 2 hours to 4 hours, making it perfect for a sunny afternoon! Make sure to choose a sunny afternoon and sure weather forecast comes handy here.

Ferry Rides

One other fun reason to hop on to a ferry other than whale watching is to visit the neighboring islands. I personally enjoyed my trip to Bainbridge Island last summer on the ferry boat from Seattle downtown. A day spent away from the busy city in a cute little island town is certainly refreshing plus this island has a bit of everything! You can find all about what you can do on Bainbridge Island on my blog here.

Seattle Hot Air Ballooning

This is on top of my to-do list this summer for I have never had a ride in a hot air balloon. I found Seattle Hot Air Ballooning on my random searches on Instagram and have been excited since then. This company offers sunrise and sun set flights for maximum of two guests. This is an expensive activity but if you are looking to have a once in a life time experience to see the city from an eagle’s view or have one of your special days up in the sky with your loved one, this may be your option!

Ballard Kayak & Paddling 

There is a lake close by to the place I live. Each time I pass through the lake on a sunny afternoon, I see people relaxing on their boats and always wanted to do that someday. If you noticed, this is the third activity in this post, which has something to do with water. I love water activities. Ballard Locks is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Seattle area especially during the summer and is a great place for kayaking too. Bingo! 2 birds in one shot! I get to go to a new place and try out an activity that I have never tried before.  Ballard Kayak offers Ballard locks tours and many other tours for pretty reasonable prices. As they say, “Instead of Going to It, Go Through It”. I am looking forward to this and will post my experience here on the blog.

Beaches

Last but not the least, summer activities are never complete if you are not soaking up in the sun and relaxing at a beach. And especially if you have done all the other activities, you deserve a no-activity weekend too 🙂 Washington state has many beaches and some quite close by to Seattle. We have recently been to the Alki Beach down the alley in downtown Seattle overlooking the beauty of the Seattle skyline.  I always sense lazy beauty with the beaches and I like it that way! You don’t need any activity here other than to sit down, grab a drink, read a book or do anything for some me-time or family & friends time 🙂 Confession – Deep inside, I am excited to play with the sand 🙂 Well that is me!  Here is a list of Washington beaches!

Get your summer outfits out and have a great time! I would love to hear what you did or what you love to do this summer in the comments below.

“Summer always starts with high spirits and ends with good memories”

Fun Fact: I actually looked up if there is a word describes the desire to stay in sun and Voila, I found it. “Heliophilia”

-Signing off

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