Volunteer Park

The view from the top of the water tower

You can't talk about Seattle parks without mentioning Capitol Hill's 48.3 acre Volunteer Park. It has an Asian Art Museum, sculptures, a dahlia garden, a conservatory, a water tower you can climb, a wading pool, tennis courts, lots of land to picnic, and plenty of squirrels (a main criteria when rating parks). There is so much to do here you could fill an entire afternoon wandering and sightseeing. And with Volunteer Park Café only a few blocks away, your day is set.

Black Sun by Isamu Noguchi

A peek of the space needle

One of our personal favorites of this park is the Black Sun sculpture by Isamu Noguchi, which sits on the edge of the reservoir and offers views of the Space Needle, Elliot Bay, and the Olympic Mountains. It couldn't be better for Instagraming the city and it also reminds us of a donut, so all the important things art should do (Noguchi would probably cry if he read that, sorry Noguchi). It has been credited as the inspiration for Soundgarden's famous 1994 song Black Hole Sun, sadly Chris Cornell has not confirmed this so we aren't sure if it's true, but next time we run into him we plan to ask. Feel free to sit by the sculpture and blast the song and reminisce about how awesome the 90s were, though.

We also recommend stopping in at the Conservatory ($4) and checking out the tropical plant collection. It's actually a perfect winter time activity too as they have to keep the temperature balmy to support the tropical plants. We like to go in the middle of winter and pretend we are in Costa Rica.

Tropical plants in the Conservatory

Lots of cactuses in the Conservatory too

Last stop is the Asian Art Museum. It costs $9 and the camels at the front entrance make for great photo opportunities. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays but opens at 10am the rest of the week. We like to go and look at the collection of Buddha sculptures, there is something so peaceful about them. The museum has been around since 1933 and is currently looking to be restored. You can learn more about that here.

Seattle's Asian Art Museum (source)

Kubota Garden

Seattle is definitely not short on parks, but Kubota Garden is a different story. It’s special because it’s not actually a park, it’s a garden! Plus, it’s the only one that is a historical landmark in the City of Seattle. This beautiful place was the dream of Fujitaro Kubota, a Japanese immigrant from the island of Shikoku. He purchased 5 acres of land in 1927 and started a garden entirely self-taught (which is pretty amazing to us since we can’t even keep succulents alive). Over time features were added, and the garden expanded to the 20 acres it is today. It was always Fujitaro’s dream that his garden would be open to the public and help promote Japanese culture. After Fujitaro passed away, the City of Seattle was able to purchase the garden and make this dream come true. The garden is now maintained by the gardeners of the Department of Park and Recreation.

The park is a beautiful and peaceful place to take a stroll and admire the Japanese architecture. There are a couple of picnic tables for you to enjoy lunch and a handful of benches throughout. Dogs are welcome as long as they are on a leash and the park is wheelchair accessible.

Since no trip to a garden is complete without food (who are kidding…no trip to anywhere is complete without food!), we recommend grabbing some fried chicken at nearby Ezell’s (11805 Renton Ave. S.) or a donut at King Donuts (9232 Rainier Ave. S.).

3 Favorite Seattle Geocaches

Two Seattle geocache locations! Hail to the Chief and Keep Reading

The PNW is one of the best places to be a geocacher. The oldest surviving geocache is located in Oregon and Geocache company headquarters are located in Fremont, Seattle, which has been accurately dubbed "The Center of the Universe."

When we are out and about the city with a few moments to spare we always open our app and see if there are any fun cache locations near by. Don't let us fool you though, we are absolutely amateur geocachers. You can usually find us confused and crawling around like crazy people at cache locations. Sometimes help comes in the form of a hint from the app or a helpful person watching and every once in a while we succeed just on our own skill (Happy dances always follow). We have not ventured outside of the PNW, but have explored Seattle quite a bit, so we decided to share our favorite spots around city. 

Fremont's Chairy Tree

1. Chairy Tree

This geocache is crazy fun to find. It was created by the Geocache Headquarters and their enthusiasm for treasure hunting is apparent at this location. You will feel like a kid again when you finally find it! Geocache HQ has placed some other caches around Fremont, see the others here. 

The gum wall cache is extremely difficult to find

2. Double Bubble Toil and Trouble

This cache is hidden really well, because we have been looking for it for over a year and still haven't been able to find it. But the hunt is half the fun, so we keep coming back and staring for something out of the ordinary sticking out of all that gum!

Searching at the waterfront

3. Mimi's and Papa's 50th

This cache is a favorite because of it's location. Walking to the end of Pier 56 in Seattle, rain or shine, is a spectacle. You can see the ferries coming and going, the ferris wheel in all its glory and shipyards hard at work. After you take in the views, hunt down this cache and sign its tiny logbook (bring your own pen)!

Are you way beyond finding these easy-peasy caches? We found this article, PNW Geocaching Bucket List, full of some more difficult geocaching around the area (the butterfly one looks right up our alley)!

Are we speaking a strange language? It's probably because you aren't geocaching yet! Check out our post on Geocaching 101 for newbies. 

The Gorge Amphitheatre

Calling all Deadheads, Grunge kids, Phish Phans, Swifties, Beliebers, Metalheads, and country lovers. Whatever genre of music gets you going, there is one thing all music lovers can agree on. Washington’s Gorge Amphitheater is THE place to catch a show in the PNW. Located in remote George, WA, (around 2.5 hours from Seattle) the amphitheater sits above the Columbia River at the foothills of the Cascade Mountains and offers a beautiful and sweeping backdrop to your concert. It draws big names because the venue holds over 27,000 fans at one time and offers a wide selection of food and drinks for all guests (including Beecher's!). Fun fact: The venue has won a ton of awards for being the best outdoor venue in America (take THAT Red Rocks).

Headed to the Gorge...let the good times roll

Now, a concert venue in the remote desert does come with some logistical problems. First off, you aren’t going to find many hotels close by. In fact, there is only one we know of, Cave B. This spot is pretty sweet because it’s a spa AND winery (why, yes, please), and it’s walking distance to the amphitheater. However, it books up fast especially for big name shows.

Your other option is to camp, which really is what a weekend at the Gorge is all about. Our favorite campground is Wild Horse, which provides shuttles to and from the show, a restaurant/grill so you don’t have to pack all your camping cooking equipment, and free coffee in the mornings (which if you are doing things right you're going to need). You can also camp on the Gorge property. The Gorge offers a tiered selection of camping (including glamping in yurts!), but if you want the main lot, just know it’s a little bit crazier and a little bit dustier than Wild Horse. There is a ton of other camp ground options around the gorge, but they tend to be a bit more primitive and will require someone to stay sober to drive you to and from the show. No drinking and driving. This is important.

John Mayer and Bob Weir crushing it at Dead and Co.

Your options for summer shows are running out as the season wraps up Labor Day weekend with a four night run by Dave Matthews. If Dave isn’t your thing, there are also a few festivals left as well.

Insider tip: Due to the location of the venue, it gets very hot during the day and very windy at night. Pack layers and don’t forget to check the weather! 

The wind farm on your way to the Gorge

Fans