Seward Park Audubon Center

Seward Park Audubon Center might be Seattle's most underutilized family nature destination. It sits inside the only intact old-growth forest on the Seattle peninsula — a 120-acre urban forest where Douglas firs 120+ years old create a canopy that genuinely makes you feel like you've left the city, despite being 15 minutes from downtown.

The Audubon Center itself is a naturalist resource center — staffed by knowledgeable guides who run free family programs on open days. These range from guided bird identification walks to kids-hold-the-invertebrate programs where children actually pick up insects and examine them under magnification. It's the difference between a passive nature walk and an actual learning experience, and the staff are excellent at calibrating content for different ages.

The forest loop trail around Seward Park's peninsula is the real draw. At 2. 4 miles, it's flat enough for most kids 5+ and runs through old-growth sections where the tree scale stops adults mid-sentence.

Bald eagles nest in the park year-round and are routinely visible to anyone who looks up. In October and November, coho salmon spawn in Andrews Bay and can be watched from park paths — an experience that requires exactly zero expertise to appreciate.

The Audubon Center is only open Friday through Sunday, so plan your visit around those days. Free programming runs on most open days but vary — check the Seward Park Audubon website calendar before going. The broader park (paths, beach, picnic areas) is accessible seven days a week regardless of the center's hours.

For families interested in connecting kids to Pacific Northwest wildlife and ecology in an authentic way — not through glass at a zoo, but in actual habitat — this is one of the best options in Seattle.