Gas Works Park Kid Playground

Gas Works Park is one of Seattle's most distinctive public spaces — a former coal gasification plant on the north shore of Lake Union that was converted into a park in 1975 and now stands as one of the most visually unusual urban parks in the country. Bring kids here and they experience something genuinely unlike any other park in the region.

The industrial machinery is the defining feature. The original gas plant equipment — towers, pipes, compressors — was preserved rather than demolished and has become an accidental playground. Kids climb on industrial architecture that's 100 years old, which produces a different quality of exploration than standard playground equipment.

Some machinery has been turned into a covered picnic pavilion; other sections are part of the play structure.

The kite hill overlooking Lake Union is the park's social centerpiece. On sunny days (or reliably windy overcast days), the hilltop is covered in people flying kites with Lake Union spread out below. The visual scene — dozens of kites against the sky, Lake Union with floatplanes and sailboats, the Seattle skyline beyond — is legitimately beautiful.

Kids who've never flown a kite and watch this scene immediately want one. Kites are sold at Archie McPhee in Wallingford, 10 minutes away.

The playground (separate from the industrial structure) is a conventional kids play area serving the toddler-to-tween range. It's decent but not the reason you come here. You come for the kites, the industrial play, and the view.

Parking: the lot at 2101 N Northlake Way fills by 11 AM on sunny summer weekends. Either arrive before 10 AM or budget 10-15 minutes to find street parking on Northlake Way.