Hello,
Thanks for reading and responding. I’ve been planning a trip to Seattle, but I need help organizing it. My interests are outdoor activities & sights—-including hiking, biking, and kayaking; seeing cool neighborhoods; hanging out at coffee houses/bookstores/jazz clubs.
So here’s a list of activities and sights I am interested in so far for my nine day stay in Seattle (Sept. 2 - 11). I’m trying to organize all these activities and sights into a feasible itinerary, one in which I economize my time and energy. Please, while I understand that much of how it could be organized depends on many factors, such as my preferences, I could use your guidance! By the way, I will have a car. And on a couple of these days, I’ll be hiking with a friend, a long-term resident of Seattle. I would appreciate your suggestions as to how I might make the most of my time and do as many of these as possible. How might you organize the following? Here’s my very rough itinerary so far, all of which can be altered, including the particular day I do certain activities:
Starting Sunday, Sept. 2; final day, Mon., Sept. 10:
Day 1, Sun, Sept. 2: Bumbershoot Festival (I arrive from Korea on this day, early morning—-not sure if I’ll be too tired to get out. I hope not!)
Day 2, Mon., Sept. 3: Bumbershoot Festival (?) I’m not sure if I’m going to do two days of this festival. Maybe just one. Are two days worth it or is one day enough?
Day 3 & 4, Tues., Sept. 4 & Wed, Sept 5: I’d like to get an overview of the city by renting a bike and doing the Burke-Gilman Trail. If it helps me get around better than a car, I’d consider renting a bike for two days. While I want to see as much as possible, I’d like to stop and do things along the way.
I realize that I can’t do all of these in one day. But here are sctivities/sights I’d like to do, at some point, whether on this day of biking or on some other day:
Neighborhoods:
I like cool neighborhoods with interesting architecture and/or quaint stores/coffee shops
* Fremont
* University District
* Capitol Hill
* Queen Ann
* Ballard Locks
*West Seattle (? not sure—is it worth it?)
* Green Lake (? not sure—is it worth it?)
*Pike’s Place Market (I know, not a neighborhood, but a place I could bike to on one of these days?)
CITY PARKS:
There seem to be so many good ones—-for amazing views & beauty—-that I’m confused. Which are really worth going to? It seems that most people agree on:
Kerry Park (at night?),
Olympic Sculpture Park,
Volunteer, and
Golden Gardens. Do you agree? I’m not sure about Carkeek or Gas Works though. Are these "duplicates experiences" of other parks?
GARDENS/NATURE CENTERS:
I don’t need to see ALL gardens/nature centers of Seattle, just the most significant/beautiful. If they all are worth it, however, then let me know. Which ones? It seems:
* Washington Park Arboretum
* Kubota Garden
* Woodland Park Rose Garden (? "duplicate"?)
* Univ. of Washington Botanical Gardens (? again, "duplicate" of others?)
Day 5, Thursday, Sept. 6: I must take do some shopping for an upcoming backpacking trip. Any suggestions for a good outdoors/backpacking store?
Day 6, Friday, Sept. 7: Kayaking—–on Lake Union? Lake Washington? Also, on this day, the Bainbridge ferry to Bremerton—-unless this is a day unto itself.
Day 7, Saturday, Sept. 8: hiking—-Mt. St. Helen’s
Day 8, Sunday, Sept. 9: hiking—-Mt. Rainier (or some place my friend knows)
Day 9, Monday, Sept. 10: A museum (any "musts-sees"?) Relax at some coffee shops? Definitely see a Mariners game that night.
As you can see, I want to stay ACTIVE, but don’t get me wrong: I want to have some down time along the way, such as enjoying a meal, hanging out at some cool cafes, coffee houses, and jazz club, not to mention parks.
"Must-visit" Coffee Houses that are COMFORTABLE and w/ATMOSPHERE:
* It seems people are saying: Uptown Espresso, Vivace, Coffee Messiah. Agree?
"Must-visit" restaurants, especially seafood:
* Only got one so far: Ray’s
"Must-visit" jazz clubs, especially for "After-hours lounge jazz":
* depends on schedule, I know, but people are talking about The Triple Door.
Notice I’m leaving out many tourist attractions, like the Space Needle and the zoo. These don’t seem to be important compared to my priorities. Am I wrong? Have I missed anything?
Thanks so much for any information and/or suggestions which might help me better define my itinerary.
Cheers
Skip the 2nd day of Bumbershoot, unless there’s some band you absolutely want to see. It’s do-able in one day.
The Burke-Gilman trail is pretty but won’t give you an "overview of the city". It’s really more rural. If you want to rent a bike for a day you can get one at Play It Again Sports on Stewart St. downtown. Green Lake is fun to ride around but, you know, it’s really just a big lake. Nothing too exciting there.
Fremont is a very cool neighborhood and you could check out stores / coffee houses / restaurants there. Don’t miss the Fremont Troll under the Aurora Ave bridge.
Nothing special about the University District, unless you are interested in checking out the campus. I would skip that. Ditto for Queen Anne.
The Ballard Locks are neat and you could do that on the same day you see Fremont. It’s fun to watch the locks in action. Check out the salmon ladder too, although there may not be many fish in it this time of year. The locks have a beautiful park that would be nice for a picnic.
If you like the beach head to Alki Beach in West Seattle, otherwise I’d skip West Seattle. Ditto for Golden Gardens (although it’s very close to the locks, so you could go there afterwards if you want to).
You absolutely must see Pike Place Market. You could spend a whole day there. I would do that and the Seattle Art Museum on the same day, then have dinner at Wild Ginger. Best restaurant in town. You could also add Olympic Sculpture Garden on the same day.
I think the WA Park Arboretum and Univ of WA Botanical Garden are the same thing. Beautiful place…I got married there! It’s pretty big and you probably want to save 1/2 day for that. Great place for bike-riding.
Kubota Gardens are incredible. I take all my out-of-town guests there.
The Triple Door is great; also check out Jazz Alley if they have any live shows while you’re here.
Skip the zoo. A zoo is a zoo is a zoo.
I agree with the previous poster that said REI is the place to get your backpacking gear. It’s on the corner of Eastlake and Stewart, just a couple of blocks from the place where I said to rent a bike.
As far as the coffee houses, I’d go to Uptown Espresso on Westlake. Or really, any place downtown. I know it’s the biggest chain in the universe but I really do like Starbucks. They’re consistent, friendly, and you don’t have to walk more than 2 feet in this town to find one. 
Don’t go to Vivace…they’re total snobs and unless you like a bad attitude with your coffee, I’d never set foot in that place.
So, blah, blah, blah, here’s what I would do if I were you:
Day 1: Bumbershoot
Day 2: Fremont, Ballard Locks, maybe Golden Gardens beach.
Day 3: Olympic Sculpture Garden, Pike Place Market (have lunch there too), Seattle Art Museum, dinner at Wild Ginger.
Day 4: REI, then rent a bike and ride up to Capitol Hill and the arboretum. Dinner on Broadway in Capitol Hill (whatever restaurant strikes your fancy). I’d try to stay out of downtown Seattle on the bike.
Day 5: Take the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge then check out Fort Ward State Park. Neat place. Take a bike instead of driving and you’ll save a bunch of money. Bainbride is very bike friendly.
Day 6: Relax, see Pioneer Square, spend an afternoon in Elliot Bay Bookstore. Go see some jazz music that night.
Day 7-8: Hiking w/ your friend.
Day 9: Open for anything you want to do. Mariners game at night. Buy snacks outside the stadium and bring them in with you to save a bunch of money.
Hope that helps! Have fun in our BEAUTIFUL city!!!