Rainy-day things to do with kids around Seattle
In Seattle, if you don't go out in the rain you don't go out for half the year. These places work regardless: children's museums and the science center, libraries with real play areas, two indoor playgrounds, rides on the light rail and the ferry, and a few outdoor spots that are honestly more impressive in the wet season, like Snoqualmie Falls.
The free options are mostly libraries, with Bellevue's the biggest children's area, plus the free Kids Cove on the third floor of Bellevue Square. To make it an event: KidsQuest and the Seattle Children's Museum are built at toddler scale, the butterfly house at Pacific Science Center is warm and lively, the Seattle Aquarium is entirely indoors, and Zoomazium at Woodland Park Zoo lets kids run wild inside for an hour. A ride on the Link 2 Line or the Monorail costs a few dollars and makes a train fan's day.
- 37 places
- 17 free
- 34 stroller-friendly
- closest is 5 min away
37 places
Drive times from Bellevue
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
Ride the Link 2 Line
5.0Bellevue · 5 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: Free at the South Bellevue station park and ride; Bellevue Downtown station is walkable
KidsQuest Children's Museum
5.0Bellevue · 5 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Free in the Bellevue Library garage (the museum is next door)
Kelsey Creek Farm Park
5.0Bellevue · 7 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot
Funtastic Playtorium
5.0Bellevue · 10 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Free at the Factoria mall
Redmond Library kids' area
5.0Redmond · 10 min drive
1 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot
Farrel-McWhirter Farm Park
5.0Redmond · 15 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot
Sammamish Library kids' area
5.0Sammamish · 15 min drive
1 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot
Saint Edward State Park
5.0Kenmore · 20 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: State park lot, Discover Pass required
Seattle Monorail
5.0Seattle · 25 min drive
1 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: Garages around Westlake about $15-25/day; or the Seattle Center garage
Ferry to Bainbridge Island
5.0Seattle · 25 min drive
3.5 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: Garages near Colman Dock about $20/day; 10-minute walk from Pioneer Square light rail station
Seattle Aquarium
5.0Seattle · 25 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly · reservation needed
$$$ · Parking: Waterfront garages about $15-25; 10-minute walk from Symphony light rail station
Seattle Children's Museum
5.0Seattle · 25 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Seattle Center garage about $15-25/day
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
Northwest Railway Museum train ride
5.0Snoqualmie · 30 min drive
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Free street parking around the old depot
Woodland Park Zoo
5.0Seattle · 30 min drive
4 h · stroller-friendly
$$$ · Parking: Zoo lot about $8-10; free street parking nearby but hard to find
Imagine Children's Museum
5.0Everett · 35 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: Metered street parking or nearby garages (the museum validates for a discount)
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
5.0Tacoma · 45 min drive
4 h · stroller-friendly
$$$ · Parking: Free lot
Children's Museum of Tacoma
5.0Tacoma · 45 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Nearby metered street parking / museum district garages
Northwest Trek Wildlife Park
5.0Eatonville · 80 min drive
4 h · stroller-friendly
$$$ · Parking: Free lot
Bellevue Botanical Garden
4.0Bellevue · 7 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot
Lake Hills Library kids' area
4.0Bellevue · 10 min drive
1 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot
Tradition Lake Loop (Tiger Mountain)
4.0Issaquah · 15 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: High Point trailhead; Discover Pass required ($10/day or $30/year)
Kirkland Library kids' area
4.0Kirkland · 15 min drive
1 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free underground garage / Peter Kirk Park lot
Issaquah Library kids' area
4.0Issaquah · 15 min drive
1 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot
Cougar Mountain Zoo
4.0Issaquah · 15 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · 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
Museum of Flight
4.0Tukwila · 20 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
$$$ · Parking: Free lot
Seattle Central Library children's center
4.0Seattle · 25 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Library garage about $7/hour (cheaper on Sundays); 5-minute walk from Pioneer Square light rail station
Volunteer Park Conservatory and water tower
4.0Seattle · 25 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
$ · Parking: Free street parking inside the park
Pacific Science Center
4.0Seattle · 25 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
$$$ · Parking: Seattle Center garage about $15-25/day
Burke Museum of Natural History
4.0Seattle · 25 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: UW campus lots about $5-8 on weekends
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
Twin Falls Trail (Olallie State Park)
3.0North Bend · 40 min drive
2.5 h · carrier recommended
$ · Parking: State park lot, Discover Pass required
💡 Good to know
- Museums fill up fast on rainy weekends; be there at opening or book a timed ticket.
- Seattle rain is mostly drizzle: in rain jackets and boots, the Mercer Slough boardwalk and Kelsey Creek Farm are perfectly good on a light-rain day.