10 Things to Do in Seattle in April

Visiting Seattle in April, but have no idea what to do or see during your trip? Don't worry, I'm going to recommend a couple of alternatives to help you make your trip a success.

Keyvis Montilva

Keyvis Montilva

11 min read

10 Things to Do in Seattle in April

Puyallup Spring Fair | ©Nicole Moy

Planning makes perfect and for this reason it is an excellent idea that from this very moment you have a couple of alternatives of things to see and do in Seattle if you have a trip to the city during the month of April.

A couple of festivals, some iconic sites and plenty of top quality entertainment. These are the basics of all the plans I've compiled for you, as always, with the intention of making it easier for you to organize your sightseeing itinerary.

1. Attend the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival| ©Gina
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival| ©Gina

In the north of the state of Washington and about 2 hours drive from Seattle is the Skagit Valley. In this rural area a festival is held every year during the month of April called the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.

Basically it is the blooming of thousands of acres of tulip fields that flood the valley's meadows with color as spring arrives.

The festival runs from the first day of the month until April 30 and access to the tulip fields is completely free. Some workshops on floristry and horticulture are held and in general the area becomes a very commercial and vibrant environment during every day of the month because of the number of people who arrive attracted by the field that produces the most tulips in the entire United States.

This is also one of the best plans in all of spring in Seattle both for the fact that the tulip fields are a rather unique wonder to know, but also for the factor that the weather is very good for an outdoor experience like this.

Details of interest

  • Prices: if you want to view the fields from a car in the distance you can do so for free. If you want to go inside for a more immersive experience you have several alternatives. These come with the Tulip Town packages, which offer you a general admission ticket, an included experience ticket and a photo ticket. Prices range from 25 euros to 100 euros depending on how far in advance you buy the tickets or the date chosen in the month.
  • Duration: taking into account that the outbound trip takes at least 1 hour and a half and if you add the 3 or 4 hours you would take in the valley, plus the hours of return, it can be said that this is an activity that can take about 6 hours approximately.

2. Enjoy a session of spring skiing

Crystal Mountain| ©KrisD
Crystal Mountain| ©KrisD

If you enjoy skiing, but are not a big fan of the extreme cold that characterizes this experience, then you can opt for a spring ski session during your visit to Seattle in the month of April.

There are different alternatives that are distributed along the mountains that make up the steep relief of Washington. Steven Pass is one of the most popular and is a resort that stays open all month long until May 1.

Crystal Mountain is another of your options and can be quite convenient due to its proximity to Mount Rainier and the fact that children under 12 years old have free access to the slopes and trails of the resort.

Keep in mind that everything is adjusted to the weather conditions of the specific week in which you make the visit and also to the agenda that these mountain resorts decide to keep in force.

It is difficult to talk about specific prices because there are variants such as renting the right clothing for a sporting activity like this or the number of nights you decide to stay at the resort.

In fact, there are many people who include this plan among their things to do in Seattle during a three-day trip for the simple factor that they are visiting in search of a little adrenaline with the comfort offered by the moderate weather in April.

3. Celebrate the area's cultural heritage at the Puyallup Spring Fair

At the Puyallup Spring Fair| ©Manuel R
At the Puyallup Spring Fair| ©Manuel R

A typical American festival called the Puyallup Spring Fair is held in mid-April. It's a sort of state fair where your kids will have the opportunity to ride roller coasters, play in circus contests and also enjoy live comedy shows.

There are shows that include giant trucks crashing and crushing other junk cars and there are also pig races that offer you a chance to laugh in a rather folksy, rural tradition.

All of that is accompanied by live music and lots of foods typical of this type of North American event such as caramel apples and hot dog's.

There is an entire section of the festival that is set aside for an area of interaction with farm animals in their infant stages and there are other activities that seek to educate the general public about the way of life of farmers in the region.

Details of interest

  • Prices: most of the fair's activities are free, but other events such as the Giant Truck Show or some special concerts may have additional fees. It all depends on the event schedule for each year.
  • Location: it's not too close to Seattle's tourist epicenter, as it's held on the Washington State Fairgrounds just outside Tacoma. You get there from downtown Seattle in about 47 minutes or so depending on the traffic you encounter on the freeway. Remember that the dates change every year so it is advisable to confirm that it will be held during the weekend of your visit.

4. Visit Alki Beach for a spring day at the beach

Alki Beach| ©Patrick O'Brien
Alki Beach| ©Patrick O'Brien

Alki Beach was the first point where European settlers landed when they arrived on the shores of what is now known as Seattle. This is interesting in that today it is a favorite spot among locals when it comes to starting to take advantage of the April spring sunshine on a day at the beach.

On this beautiful beach overlooking the Downtown Skyline and with a full panorama of the bay and Puget Sound, you'll find all sorts of entertaining activities.

There are picnic tables, an art studio, volleyball nets and obviously, several yards of sandy shoreline that can help you enjoy a nice tan without having to deal with the scorching summer temperatures.

This is a good activity to include on the list of plans to do in Seattle with kids, as admission is completely free and gives you a giant space for the little ones in the house to run and play on their own terms.

Details of interest

  • Location: Alki Beach is not outside the Seattle area, but it is a bit out of the tourist and business center of this metropolis. My recommendation is to take a water cab from some of the piers near the Pike Place Market and they will drop you off right on the beach to continue your sightseeing planning for the day.

5. Organize an afternoon of shopping at the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop

Ye Olde Curiosity Shop| ©Jmabel
Ye Olde Curiosity Shop| ©Jmabel

The Ye Olde Curiosity Shop is a souvenir store that has been in continuous operation for over a century. It stands out for its wide repertoire of curiosities in which mummified animals and all kinds of unusual artifacts are sold, making a simple visit to the store an entertaining experience for the average tourist.

It is located on Pier 54 of the Downtown Seattle harbor and April is an ideal month to visit it due to the low tourist traffic that characterizes this month. This will allow you to tour it at your leisure, as the experience of visiting this store is more like a museum than a commercial event.

6. Buy tickets for a Mariner's game

Mariner's Game| ©Mike Murry
Mariner's Game| ©Mike Murry

The official season of the MLB, or Major League Baseball, begins in early April. At the same time, the Seattle Mariner's, the local team, are an institution when it comes to values, places or groups that are important to the identity of this city.

So it is an excellent idea to try to buy tickets to some of the games held at T Mobile Park.

From this experience you can expect a very festive atmosphere, just like in any other stadium with a sporting event. The local fans are very passionate about supporting their team, but what you will love about this activity is being able to eat hot dogs, salted peanuts, some spicy chilli and all this along with lots of beer.

For a scheduling issue, this is a plan that falls into the group of things to see or do in Seattle at night. The best part is that it's an evening entertainment alternative that is also very family friendly.

Details of interest

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  • Price: it all depends on the game chosen and the location of the seats inside the stadium. The common price ranges from 25 or 35 euros to 400 or 600 euros in the areas closest to the playing field.
  • Duration: on average, baseball games usually last two or three hours, but it is common for them to last much longer depending on the development of the game.

Buy your Seattle Mariners ticket

7. Discover the secrets of the city with a subway tour.

Seattle Underground Tour| ©Andres N
Seattle Underground Tour| ©Andres N

Seattle has a fascinating history that has been quite unconventional since the early days of its founding.

One of the most curious aspects of this development is the existence of a network of tunnels that were built more than 120 years ago and touring them with a guided tour is an excellent idea to entertain you during a trip to the city in the month of April.

In fact, it is an ideal month for this activity, which belongs to the best Seattle tours due to the fact that the interior of these subway streets are kept at the ideal temperature without suffering from the extreme heat of summer or the incapacitating cold of winter.

Details of interest

  • Price: the tour includes a private guide in the package price. Adults usually pay about 27 euros, children between 12 and 7 years old pay about 16 euros and youngsters between 13 and 18 years old end up paying 23 euros per admission ticket.
  • Duration: there are several opportunities throughout the day and all occur after noon. You also have to keep in mind that it is a very entertaining activity, but relatively short, as it lasts 1 hour or 1 hour and a half at the most.

Book a subway tour of Seattle

8. Celebrate Easter Day in the best American style

Easter Day| ©Axel Koeste
Easter Day| ©Axel Koeste

Easter Day is known as Easter Day in the United States and the way this country celebrates it is completely different. They have a tradition in which a magic rabbit hides chocolate eggs in many corners of the home and gardens of these same residences with the intention that children find them.

For your convenience, Seattle is a city that is characterized by having lots of public parks in which there will be more than one recreational activity organized by both the city council and the same neighborhood groups.

Volunteer Park, the Seattle Chinese Garden, Schmitz Preserve Park and Discovery Park are just a few of the public spaces you can take advantage of to give your children an American-style Easter day.

Culminating your itinerary by participating in the tours of some of Seattle' s best tour buses is an excellent idea because there won't be as much traffic downtown.

9. Take a boat tour of Elliot Bay

Seattle Cruise| ©Mark Langlois
Seattle Cruise| ©Mark Langlois

Water temperatures in the northern hemisphere during the month of April begin to warm up without having to be exposed to the strong solar radiation that characterizes the summer. For this reason, a trip to Seattle in April is an ideal time to take part in a boat tour of Elliot Bay.

A tour like this not only offers you privileged views of the city's beautiful modernist architecture, but also gives you a much closer look at the natural beauty that surrounds this metropolis, such as the distant mountain ranges and the waters of the Puget Sound itself.

Details of interest

:

  • Price : Seattle boat tours that are viable during the month of April usually cost about 35 euros per person approximately and about 18 for children ages 4 to 12 years old. Infants under 3 years of age are free.
  • Duration: the tours leave the port every 40 minutes from 10:45 am to 19:20 pm. As for the length of the trip, the most common is that the tour lasts 1 hour from the time the boat closes its gates until it returns to the dock.
  • Conditions: It is not usual to bring food or drinks, but it is allowed to buy these products in the cafeteria of the boat.

Book a boat tour in Seattle

10. Participate in the first Seattle Art Walk of the spring season.

Seattle Art Walk| ©Nasir Aziz
Seattle Art Walk| ©Nasir Aziz

On the first Tuesday of every month in Seattle there is an event called Art Walk. It is a pre-arranged route through the city's most important galleries in an effort to entertain tourists and locals alike. As well as to get them involved in the local art scene.

Seattle was the pioneer city in the United States in creating a festival of this style and therefore it is an excellent idea that you take advantage of your visit to this community to participate in the first one that takes place throughout the spring season.

There are other activities of this style that can be very interesting for your family if they like to get involved with the culture of a place. For example, the best food tours in Seattle can give you an insight into how the culinary identity of this modern and innovative city works.

Book a Seattle food tour

How busy is Seattle during the month of April?

In Seattle| ©Michael Gwyther-Jones
In Seattle| ©Michael Gwyther-Jones

April is an ideal month to visit Seattle if you enjoy coming to a city that is not inundated with tourists. Although it is the beginning of the spring season, this is not a time of the year when people tend to travel en masse like summer or December for the Christmas season.

My recommendation is that you use this to your advantage and try to book as many activities for your trip as possible, ranging from some of the best excursions from Seattle to the nearby natural wonders to some other urban plans like the ones I have discussed in this list.

What are the temperatures in Seattle during the month of April?

Spring Day in Seattle| ©wacamerabuff
Spring Day in Seattle| ©wacamerabuff

Seattle is in the far northwestern part of the United States and thus can be categorized as a really cold city. Although it is well into spring for the month of April, the average temperature is between 11 degrees Celsius, with lows of 6 and highs of 17.