Ballard Locks

BALLARD

The fresh water in Lake Washington and in Lake Union is about 20 feet higher than the salt water in Puget Sound. Boats use the locks to get lifted/lowered from one body of water to the other. More boats travel through these locks than any other locks in the United States, and a million people per year gather around to watch it happen. You can spend a few minutes here, or all day. Pro tip: Check out the fish ladder viewing area to watch shiny little salmon swimming for their lives. (SEAN NELSON)

Fremont Troll

FREMONT

Seattle Kraken mascot Buoy is reportedly the Fremont Troll's nephew. Jessica Stein

Tucked under the famous, almost-3,000-feet-long Aurora Bridge is Seattle’s most famous troll. (All the other, not-so-famous ones live in The Stranger’s online comments section—har har). A few fun facts: The Fremont Troll was installed in 1990, it weighs 13,000 pounds, and it was a filming location for the 1999 teen rom-com 10 Things I Hate About You! Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) hang out on the troll and talk about whether or not Bianca’s sister Kat (Julia Stiles) is “a k.d. lang fan.” Oh, the ’90s.

The Great Wheel

WATERFRONT

What beloved Seattle institution is round, white, and 175 feet tall? No, it’s not the world’s largest Percocet, it’s the Great Wheel! More like the London Eye than some rickety county fair Ferris wheel, TGW lends a sense of majesty and moment to the waterfront district, granting you an aerial view of Seattle’s dense, ever-growing skyline, the Olympic Mountains, and a glimpse of the Twin Peaks–like mystery of the islands across the water (extra mystery if it’s foggy). The price ($17 adults/$17 seniors/$12 kids 3-11) may seem a little steep, but you get three full turns of the wheel, about 15 minutes’ worth of new perspective. It’s worth it. (SEAN NELSON)

Gum Wall

PIKE PLACE MARKET

Don't lick it. JESSICA STEIN

It’s a wall. Covered in an astonishing amount of gum. It was cleaned off once, in 2015, and workers removed more than 2,350 pounds of the chewy, sticky stuff in hopes that the attraction/public health concern would be retired, but a new collection of chewed-up gum began to accumulate again almost immediately. 

Hat ‘n’ Boots at Oxbow Park

GEORGETOWN

Oxbow Park, better known as “Hat ‘n’ Boots,” is home to a fantastic 44-foot-wide orange cowboy hat and a pair of 22-foot-tall cowboy boots—remnants of an old gas station rumored to have been visited by Elvis. The park also has grass, a play area, and a community garden (ANGELA GARBES)

Smith Tower

PIONEER SQUARE

After a revamping in 2021, Pioneer Square’s iconic Smith Tower now has all kinds of cool shit going on, including its actually very good lounge, the Smith Tower Observatory Bar. They do movie nights in the Orcas Room, historic talking tours, DJ nights in the summer on the 22nd-floor lookout, and there’s a scary sky cage ringing around the entirety of the 35th floor, and you can get drunk and walk around in it! It’s a whole city’s worth of fun events packed into a single Neoclassical skyscraper. (MEG VAN HUYGEN)

Space Needle

SEATTLE CENTER

If the weather is right, go to the Space Needle, tourist trap be damned! The structure—built in 1962 for the World’s Fair—underwent some hefty renovations in 2018 and it is now home to the world’s only rotating glass floor. It’s kind of scary to stand on, tbh! But also very cool. On the upper deck, you can grab coffee and a cupcake from the Atmos Cafe—or a glass of wine at the wine bar—and sit back and let the 360-degree views slowly pass you by. (One full rotation takes about 45 minutes.) If you’re feeling more adventurous, snap a selfie from the outdoor deck, where the only thing standing between you and the view (and the 520-foot drop) are thick panels of “floor-to-forever” glass. Adult passes start at $30, with discounts for kids (5-12) and seniors (65+), and the price fluctuates up to $40 depending on the time of day.