Washington Park Arboretum
Did you know that hidden in Seattle’s Montlake neighborhood is a beautiful botanical garden?? This 230 acre Arboretum has surprisingly become one of my boy’s favorite outings – last time we went my 6-year-old said: “mom, this is my 2nd most favorite place in the whole world!” (his #1 favorite place at the time was our newly painted laundry room… so grain of salt…). But this somewhat unconventional day trip is actually stock-full of activities kids really enjoy. Read on for how our family takes a trip to the Washington Park Arboretum.
General Itinerary:
10:00 – Arrive at Arboretum and park in lot between Japanese Garden & Washington Park Playfield
10:00-10:30 – Play at playground next to playfield (use bathrooms at playground before head out)
10:30-11:00 – Explore Japanese Garden (closed Mondays)
11:00-11:30 – Walk to northern-most tip of Foster Island
11:45-12:00 – Walk back to Graham Visitor Center for lunch
12:30-1:00 – Walk back to car
1:30 – Grab some cookies from Hello Robin for dive home
Bring:
Scooters or Bikes – You’ll have to stick to the paved paths if you’re scooting or biking, but we like to do 50:50 and collapse the scooters and throw them into the stroller for the 2nd half of our visit
Stroller – when my kids were smaller I’d bring my double BOB because my younger 2 would always ends up getting tired and want to ride. It’s a 3-4 mile loop, so plan your stroller accordingly
Baby carrier for Japanese Garden if you have a non-walker
Snacks
Lunch
Picnic Blanket if you want to sit in the park for lunch (otherwise we use the tables at the Visitor Center)
Sunscreen & hats if it’s a hot day
Towel to wipe down slides if it’s been wet (or dewy)
Wear tennis shoes and “workout clothes” – you will be walking about 4 miles
Don’t Bring:
Stroller with plastic wheels – you’ll be on some gravel paths
Flipflops or sandals – definitely a tennis shoe outing
Your stroller into the Japanese Garden – lots of fun paths and stepping stones over streams to explore
The dog… sort of… dogs are of course allowed on leash in the Arboretum, but not at all in the Japanese Garden
Weather:
Any dry day is good for this day trip, but spring or fall will be the most beautiful times to visit the gardens. Summer will allow you to feed the koi. The Japanese Garden is closed from December through February.
Details:
I’m always surprised by how much my boys enjoy this little day trip. I think it’s because I’ve turned this “garden” tour into a “playground, koi feeding, scooting, rock throwing, cookie eating” tour, while simultaneously pointing out all the pretty flowers and trees surrounding them. But as it sounds, this is a fairly robust activity – my 6-year-old can physically handle the entire experience, but my 4-year-old ends up in the stroller after about 5 minutes of scooting. This is fine for us, but I’ll make note of areas where you could trim things down a bit. But in general, I don’t take on this adventure when my kids are overtired – when that’s the case it’s just too much for them.
Start by parking in the lot between the Japanese Garden and the Washington Park Playfield. After I’ve unpacked the car, loaded up the stroller, and gotten the kids all sunscreen’d up, we head towards the small playground next to the playfield. For this outing I load everything into my stroller and don’t carry any kind of backpack or diaper bag. You’ll be with your stroller the entire time. If you’ve got big kids who are all walking or scooting, pack your lunch in a back pack.
Our drive to the Arboretum is about 45 minutes, so I like to start by giving the kids a chance to wiggle a bit at the playground, especially my little guys who will be in the stroller the entire time. This playground is small, but nice and there are elements for both big and little kids. The Washington Park turf playfield is also right there if bigger kids want to bring a football or baseball to throw around. There is a public bathroom here that we can use – and let me reiterate public bathroom in a Seattle park… it’s not the worst I’ve seen, but it’s not the best. I wouldn’t let the kids go in alone and I always have wet wipes at the ready for after. If you’re squeamish about these things, the bathrooms next to the Japanese Garden are much better – however they may be subject to the Garden’s operating hours (closed Mondays and opens at 10 on Tuesday-Sundays).
After you’ve played for a bit and used the bathroom (I try not to let my boys pee outside when the word ‘garden’ is included in where we are…), head over to the Japanese Garden. Entrance to the Garden costs $8 per adult, $4 per senior and kid (0-5 are free). The first Thursday of the month has free admission all day. If the season’s right be sure to pay for some koi food when you buy your tickets – the packets of food cost $1 each (do yourself a favor and get one per kid!) and are available only during the warm months after the koi have come out of hibernation. Food is available for sale from 10am to noon.
Spend 30 minutes or so wandering through the garden, hopping stepping stones over the streams, and working hard to keep your children from falling off the docks and into the ponds! But with that said, the docks across the ponds have almost zero railings, so if you’re traveling with more spirited children than you have adults maybe skip this bit of the adventure.
After the Japanese Garden, head across Lake Washington Blvd. to the Loop Trail, a paved path (in blue on the map) that circles the Arboretum. We head north along the portion of the path that parallels closest to the boulevard for about a mile until we reach the Graham Visitor Center.
However, if everyone in your group is walking, you could follow some of the gravel trails that shoot off the Loop. Either way, make your way towards the Visitor Center, which is a good half-way point. Once there, you can either stop for lunch, complete the Loop Trail back towards your car, or head out to Foster Island for some rock throwing and views of Husky Stadium.
This trip out to Foster Island will add about another 30 minutes of walking (there and back) to your trip. But it takes you under the 520 bridge, which is sort of fun, and spits you out at the lake. Just after you go under the bridge have the kids start collecting throwing rocks – there was a surprising lack of them at the shore itself. But Foster Island is fun for watching boats cruise by, and gives an extra little something to this day trip.
Then we head back to the Graham Visitor Center for lunch and to use their bathrooms. Depending on the time of year there may be camps or field trips at the Arboretum. These groups use the Visitor Center for a lunch spot as well, which can be a little annoying. You definitely could bring your picnic blanket and find a grassy area somewhere in the park to have a lunch instead. But we usually like to snag one of the few tables outside the center to sit and eat. The tables seem to be moving around a bit lately – sometimes they’re in the front of the center, sometimes in the back.
After lunch, if you’ve got kids that are avid scooters you should continue the Loop Trail back to your car. The back side of the trail is a bit more challenging with more up and down slopes, but my 6-year-old handles it just fine. It’s about another mile to complete the Loop.
Another option would be to stash the scooters in your stroller and walk into the Arboretum itself and meander through the gravel trails inside the gardens. No bikes or scooters allowed on these paths, but the stroller is just fine. Watch out for stairs however – you’ll find those when you get into some of the more dense areas of the park.
After the trail we head back to the car to begin the trip home. We always stop by Hello Robin on our way out of town – each kid gets a cookie for the trip (and I buy a box for my husband and I to enjoy at home).
When they were little (and I wanted them to nap at home) I would pop the iPad up to keep the kids awake for the drive. But I hope this inspires you to venture out to the beautiful Seattle Arboretum with your family!
Links:
Washington Park Arboretum: https://botanicgardens.uw.edu/washington-park-arboretum/
Japanese Garden: https://www.seattlejapanesegarden.org/
Hello Robin: https://www.hellorobincookies.com/
Destination Addresses:
Parking Lot in Arboretum: 1075 Lake Washington Blvd E, Seattle, WA 98112
Hello Robin: 522 19th Ave E, Seattle, WA 98112
