The Seattle area welcomes spring with open arms every year. After months of rain and dark cloudy days, Spring gives locals the hope and reminder that the sun will returning to the Pacific Northwest. Spring is always a bit fickle in the Seattle area, but locals make the most of those sporadic breaks. The Seattle area is one of the most beautiful places in the world during the spring and summer and offers a variety of festivals, performances, and experiences that bring people in from out of town and locals look forward to.
University of Washington Cherry Blossoms
While the UW campus looks like Hogwarts, the Cherry Blossoms add an extra magical element to the campus. Lovely pink blossoms surround the campus quad during the Spring. If you want to find parking and get the quad kind of to yourself go early in the morning. During the day the quad will be packed with students, tourists and people exploring the UW campus. If you get to experience these lovely blossoms, you’ll be back the following year. They are quick to bloom and quick to fall, so don’t miss your window of opportunity.
Tulip Festival
The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is a spring event not to be missed. It’s so popular it has been known to create traffic jams on I-5 during the peak season and for good reason. If you plan ahead and set aside a day during the week the experience will be just that much more enjoyable thanks to the lack of crowds. The Tulips will start blooming in April, so prepare yourself. And prepare yourself for the Instagram photos of brilliantly bright flowers appearing in your feed. If you are in the area, or have never been, its an experience not to be missed. This is a great location for taking scenic pictures or memorable family pictures.
Sasquatch Music Festival
Sasquatch Music Festival will again take place at the award-winning Gorge Amphitheatre on Memorial Day Weekend, May 25-27, 2018. This year features: Bon Iver, The National, Modest Mouse, David Byrne, TylerThe Creator, Ray Lamontagne, Anderson. Paak & The Free Nationals, Spoon, Grizzly Bear, Explosions In The Sky, Neko Case, and more! This is a well-attended local favorite. Get your tickets sooner rather than later.
Whale Watching
Going whale watching is something everyone should do at least once if you live in Seattle. One route to increase your success of spotting some sea life is to go with Clipper Vacations. They offer the only whale watching trip departing from Seattle and their day trip options San Juans area a favorite. See orca, minke and humpback whales as well as Dall’s porpoise, seals, otters and bald eagle. The best time of the year for whale watching starts in spring, so don’t miss out!
Go to the Mountains
Spring is time for exploring mountains in the Seattle area. It’s not unlikely that spring skiing is still available for mountain lovers through the late months of spring. With warmer temperatures and sunshine, hit the mountains to get in a few more runs before the snow melts for the summer. Snoqualmie and Crystal Mountain are the top two locations for Seattleites to explore. Some favorite hikes include Mailbox Peak and Rattlesnake Ridge.
Daffodil Festival
Pierce County celebrates the fluffy yellow flowers, who have had their own festival in the area since 1934. The highlight of the event is its grand parade, where the festival’s royal court (made up of 23 “princesses” from Pierce County high schools) sail down the street on Daffodil-covered floats taking place in several different cities across the south Puget sound.
Seattle Cherry Blossom Festival
In appreciation of the 1,000 cherry trees gifted to Seattle by Prime Minister Takeo Miki 40 years ago, the annual Cherry Blossom Festival is a celebration of Japanese culture. It’s the oldest in the Seattle Center Festal series.
The 5th Avenue Theatre
Great entertainment awaits musical lovers this Spring at the 5th Avenue Theatre.
Kiss Me, Kate run from April 6–29. The 5th is producing the Cole Porter classic as part of the city-wide Seattle Celebrates Shakespeare festival, with opulent sets and costumes from the critically acclaimed production by the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. For an evening of fun, laughs, and comedy, Kiss Me Kate is a classic musical theatre production.
Hunchback of Notre Dame runs June 1–24. This musical, while it has all of the goods from the Disney movie, is not an adaptation of the Disney film. It stays truer to the book and is darker than the Disney film. This will be directed by Glenn Casale, who directed Little Mermaid.
Pike Place Market
With dozens of covered stalls, restaurants, bars, and galleries, any time of year can be a good time to visit Pike Place Market. Blooming flowers and blue skies mean that the Market is at its loveliest during the warmer sunny days of spring and summer. Walk down to the waterfront and ride the Ferris wheel for some stunning views of the water, Mt. Rainer, and the city. Stop by the original Starbucks, pick up a bag of freshly made donuts, or just enjoy the buzz of the market with street performers, vendors, tourist fresh off a cruise, or locals coming down to pick up ingredients for a fresh dinner. The market is a Seattle highlight and and very memorable to visit when the weather warms up.
This is just a sliver of what is happening in the spring in Seattle. However, these are some classic favorites from locals and visitors. If you are looking for a productive way to spend the upcoming sunny days, this list will get you on the right track or hopefully act as inspiration to investigate other upcoming events.
