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Gas Works Park, Seattle, WA

Photo: Photo by Liesl Matthies, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sport & OutdoorFreeLocal GemOutdoor Adventure

Gas Works Park

2101 N Northlake Way · Seattle, WA

Why you should go…

Gas Works Park sits on the north shore of Lake Union, on the site of a gas plant that ran from 1906 to 1956. Landscape architect Richard Haag kept the old generator towers, and the park opened in 1975. You can fly a kite on the big hill, find the sundial built into its summit, and let kids loose in the play barn, a former pump house that still holds its machinery. The hill gives a wide view of the Seattle skyline.

  • #city park
  • #kite flying
  • #skyline views
  • #industrial history
  • #lake union

Good to know

General sport & outdoor guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Weather calls the shots

    Check the forecast the morning of and keep an indoor backup in your pocket for the day it turns.

  • Shoes, water, sun cover

    The three things that decide whether you last the whole outing or cut it short after an hour.

  • Parking and launches fill early

    On a nice weekend, lots and trailheads are often full by mid-morning.

  • Daylight shrinks in shoulder season

    Spring and fall visits need an earlier start than the same trip in July.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Gas Works Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sightseeing
    Quirky Fun

    Fremont Troll

    Free

    Climb on an 18-foot concrete troll crushing a real Volkswagen Beetle under Seattle's Aurora Bridge.

    0.7 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Museum of History & Industry

    $25–$50

    Seattle's history museum on Lake Union covering the region's maritime, industrial and pop-culture past.

    1.3 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Museums
    Family Favorite

    Burke Museum

    Under $25

    See fossils, Northwest Native art and natural history collections, and peer through windows into working research labs on the UW campus.

    1.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Family Favorite

    Woodland Park Zoo

    $25–$50

    A century-old zoo known for naturalistic habitats and a canopy-level gorilla exhibit.

    1.8 mi awayMore like this

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Outdoor Adventure

    Waterfront Adventures

    $50+

    Rents boats, jet skis and paddleboards from a Lake Washington marina in Kirkland.

    6.0 mi awayMore like this

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Outdoor Adventure

    Snoqualmie Falls

    Free

    A 268-foot waterfall taller than Niagara, with an easy viewing platform 30 miles east of Seattle.

    24 mi awayMore like this