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Discovery ParkHard to beat on a sunny spring day, this former military installation has been transformed into a wild coastal park, laced with walking trails and…
Must see attractions in Ballard & Discovery Park
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Hiram M Chittenden LocksSeattle shimmers like an impressionist painting on sunny days at the Hiram M Chittenden Locks. Here, the fresh waters of Lake Washington and Lake Union…
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Nordic MuseumReason alone to come to Ballard – if the culinary scene and waterside parks weren’t enough – is this delightful surprise of a museum dedicated to Nordic…
- FFishermen’s Terminal
Seattle’s fishing fleet resides at Fishermen’s Terminal, in a wide recess in the ship canal called Salmon Bay on the south side of the Ballard Bridge…
- GGolden Gardens Park
Golden Gardens Park, established in 1904 by Harry W Treat, is a lovely 95-acre beach park with sandy beaches north of Shilshole Bay Marina. There are…
- DDaybreak Star Indian Cultural Center
Inside Discovery Park you'll find this cultural center that displays a permanent collection of Native American artwork, special exhibitions and hosts…
- CCarl English Jr Botanical Gardens
On the northern bank of Hiram M Chittenden Locks is this charming arboretum and specimen garden. Trails wind through gardens filled with flowers and…
- HHiram M Chittenden Locks Visitor Center
In Carl English Jr Botanical Gardens on the north side of Hiram M Chittenden Locks is this visitor center containing a small museum documenting the…
- BBergen Place Park
In case you forget where you are or the origin of the settlers to whom Ballard owes its existence, a quintet of flags fly over diminutive Bergen Place…
- SScandinavian American Bank Building
The second-empire-baroque–style Scandinavian American Bank Building is a nice example of the early-1900s tendency to flatter by imitation: its concrete…
- SShilshole Bay Marina
The Shilshole Bay Marina, about 2 miles northwest of the Hiram M Chittenden Locks along Seaview Ave NW, offers pleasant views across Puget Sound framed by…
- LLeif Erikson Statue
Looking out over the modern yachts in the Shilshole Bay Marina is this magnificent statue of the Icelandic explorer and 'discoverer' of America, Leif…
- CCommemorative Bell Tower
On the corner of Ballard Avenue NW and 22nd Ave is the original location of Ballard City Hall, sometimes called ‘Hose Hall,' which also contained the jail…
- CCors & Wegener Building
Once the offices of the early local broadsheet, Ballard News, this is still one of the most impressive historic buildings in Ballard and one of the oldest…
- GGS Sanborn Building
The GS Sanborn Building is Ballard’s only example of Romanesque architecture, a style that was popular on the East Coast in the 1880s. It has a sandstone…
- JJunction Building
Now lacking its decorative 3rd-floor corner turret, the narrow Junction Building (dating from 1890) has had all number of reincarnations in its 125-year…
- SSeattle Fishermen's Memorial
The bronze Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial at the base of the piers at Fishermen's Terminal just south of Ballard, commemorates Seattle fishers lost at sea…
- PPortland Building
A great example of the decorative brickwork that graces many of the buildings along Ballard Ave, the Portland Building has housed all kinds of businesses…
- BBallard Building
Ballard’s only major terracotta structure was built in the 1920s by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. It once held a community hospital and now houses shops,…
- SSunset Hill Park
Rising above Golden Gardens on 34th Ave is sinuous Sunset Hill Park, a prime perch for dramatic sunsets and long views.