Free things to do with kids around Seattle
A good weekend doesn't have to cost $30 per kid. Everything here is free to enter (state parks need a $30-a-year Discover Pass, noted separately), and several are among the highest-rated places on the whole site.
Top picks: Kelsey Creek Farm and the Inspiration Playground at Downtown Park in Bellevue; Farrel-McWhirter Farm and Grass Lawn Park in Redmond; the Juanita Bay boardwalks and Juanita Beach in Kirkland; Snoqualmie Falls; and in Seattle, boats and salmon at the Ballard Locks, Green Lake, Seward Park, and both the Bellevue Botanical Garden and the Arboretum. And the libraries, of course: every KCLS children's area is worth a visit.
- 42 places
- 42 free
- 39 stroller-friendly
- closest is 5 min away
42 places
Drive times from Bellevue
Bellevue Downtown Park & Inspiration Playground
5.0Bellevue · 5 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Small free park lot (often full); Bellevue Square garage free for the first 3 hours
Bellevue Square Kids Cove
5.0Bellevue · 5 min drive
1 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Mall garage free for the first 3 hours
Bellevue Library kids' area
5.0Bellevue · 5 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free underground garage
Meydenbauer Bay Park
5.0Bellevue · 5 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free park lot (small, full on weekend afternoons)
Kelsey Creek Farm Park
5.0Bellevue · 7 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot
Crossroads Park spray park
5.0Bellevue · 10 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot
Grass Lawn Park
5.0Redmond · 10 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot
Luther Burbank Park
5.0Mercer Island · 10 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot
Redmond Library kids' area
5.0Redmond · 10 min drive
1 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot
Idylwood Beach Park
5.0Redmond · 10 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot, full after 11am on summer weekends
Juanita Bay Park
5.0Kirkland · 15 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot at the Market St entrance, fairly full on weekend mornings
Farrel-McWhirter Farm Park
5.0Redmond · 15 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot
Sammamish Commons spray park
5.0Sammamish · 15 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free at the City Hall lot
Sammamish Library kids' area
5.0Sammamish · 15 min drive
1 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot
Juanita Beach Park
5.0Kirkland · 15 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot
Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park
5.0Renton · 15 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free large lot
Seward Park old-growth loop
5.0Seattle · 20 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lots at the entrance and the south end of the peninsula
Magnuson Park
5.0Seattle · 25 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Several free lots inside the park
Snoqualmie Falls
5.0Snoqualmie · 30 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot across the road (with a footbridge), expect a wait on weekend afternoons
Green Lake Loop
5.0Seattle · 30 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lakeside lots (east shore / by the community center), fairly tight on weekend mornings
Ballard Locks and fish ladder
5.0Seattle · 35 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Paid lot next to the grounds (about $2-4/hour) or nearby street parking
Forest Park Animal Farm and spray park
5.0Everett · 35 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot
Golden Gardens beach
5.0Seattle · 35 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot (full on summer weekend afternoons)
Carkeek Park (salmon slide + trains)
5.0Seattle · 35 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lots inside the park
Edmonds waterfront (Brackett's Landing + Marina Beach)
5.0Edmonds · 35 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free public lots on both sides of the ferry terminal (3-4 hour limit)
Children's Museum of Tacoma
5.0Tacoma · 45 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Nearby metered street parking / museum district garages
Mercer Slough Nature Park
4.0Bellevue · 5 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot at Winters House (2102 Bellevue Way SE)
Bellevue Botanical Garden
4.0Bellevue · 7 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot
Lake Hills Library kids' area
4.0Bellevue · 10 min drive
1 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot
Serres Farm pumpkin patch
4.0Redmond · 10 min drive
1.5 h · carrier recommended
Free · Parking: Free at the farm
Kirkland Library kids' area
4.0Kirkland · 15 min drive
1 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free underground garage / Peter Kirk Park lot
Issaquah Library kids' area
4.0Issaquah · 15 min drive
1 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot
Issaquah Salmon Hatchery
4.0Issaquah · 15 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free street parking at the hatchery and in old town (except Salmon Days weekend)
Washington Park Arboretum
4.0Seattle · 20 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot at the Graham Visitors Center; separate lot for the Japanese Garden
Kubota Garden
4.0Seattle · 20 min drive
1.5 h · carrier recommended
Free · Parking: Free lot
Gas Works Park
4.0Seattle · 25 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot (full on weekend afternoons)
Seattle Center & Artists at Play playground
4.0Seattle · 25 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Seattle Center garage about $15-25/day; metered street parking on weekends
Seattle Central Library children's center
4.0Seattle · 25 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Library garage about $7/hour (cheaper on Sundays); 5-minute walk from Pioneer Square light rail station
Alki Beach
4.0Seattle · 30 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free street parking (hard to find on weekend afternoons)
Point Defiance Park (Owen Beach + Five Mile Drive)
4.0Tacoma · 45 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free parking at each spot in the park
Coal Creek Falls (Cougar Mountain)
3.0Newcastle · 15 min drive
2 h · carrier recommended
Free · Parking: Free at the Red Town trailhead, tight after 9am on weekends
Discovery Park beach and lighthouse
3.0Seattle · 35 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lots at the east and south entrances; limited beach parking permits from the visitor center
💡 Good to know
- A KCLS or Seattle Public Library card gets you free museum passes; ask about your library's museum pass program.
- Free places get busy early on weekends; for Juanita Bay and Snoqualmie Falls, plan parking and arrive before 10.