Ballard Locks

This is a very fun place to spend a sunny afternoon in Seattle. Pick up lunch at any of the nearby restaurants and park yourself on the grass to watch the boats go by. Kids love it here!
Published by Seattle Photo C.

This is a very fun place to spend a sunny afternoon in Seattle. Pick up lunch at any of the nearby restaurants and park yourself on the grass to watch the boats go by. Kids love it here!
Published by Seattle Photo C. Less

I took my mum here on Sunday and we had an awesome time watching boats being raised and lowered. The whole process is fascinating in its scale, simplicity of concept and difficulty in...
Published by Rahul P. More

I took my mum here on Sunday and we had an awesome time watching boats being raised and lowered. The whole process is fascinating in its scale, simplicity of concept and difficulty in engineering. We then walked over to the Salmon viewing bunker and saw a couple of them bobbing around. All said, a very enjoyable afternoon.
Published by Rahul P. Less

Our kids love to come here. They think it's for entertainment - they do not realize it's also a learning experience. The locks are a study in engineering and I literally never get tired of watching...
Published by Heather B. More

Our kids love to come here. They think it's for entertainment - they do not realize it's also a learning experience. The locks are a study in engineering and I literally never get tired of watching them rise and fall, and watching the large and small boats go through. Neither do my kids. The fish runs are also amazing - be sure to visit during salmon run season if you can. Incredible!
Published by Heather B. Less

Friends from out-of-town visited this weekend, so I took the time to visit the Ballard locks for the first time. The locks themselves were pretty fascinating to the engineer in me. Even cooler was...
Published by David N. More

Friends from out-of-town visited this weekend, so I took the time to visit the Ballard locks for the first time. The locks themselves were pretty fascinating to the engineer in me. Even cooler was the fish ladder for salmon and steelhead to get back to their original rivers. Unfortunately January is not a great time for fish migration, so we saw no fish. I'm definitely putting the locks on my list for early-April (Steelhead run) and again in July (Salmon run).
Published by David N. Less

Prepare to be amazed is putting it mildly! Not only can you see salmon by the thousands climbing through fish ladders, stroll acres of pristine gardens, admire luxury yachts passing through the...
Published by Sally B. More

Prepare to be amazed is putting it mildly! Not only can you see salmon by the thousands climbing through fish ladders, stroll acres of pristine gardens, admire luxury yachts passing through the locks, a people watch until the sun goes down over Seattle, it's FREE! You just can not pass up a visit to the locks while in Seattle. This truly is a hidden gem among Seattle's many other attractions, located just over the Ballard Bridge.
Published by Sally B. Less

Salmon regularly need to get from Lake Washington to the Sound, and vice-versa. Because they have trouble taking public transportation, the city of Seattle has built this nifty fish ladder to aid...
Published by Steve E. More

Salmon regularly need to get from Lake Washington to the Sound, and vice-versa. Because they have trouble taking public transportation, the city of Seattle has built this nifty fish ladder to aid them in their journey to sea. It's fun to come watch them jump from one level to another, although on this occasion the ladder was closed for maintenance. fThe Ballard Locks allow ships to pass from Puget Sound to Lake Washington. On summer there's always a lot of activity.
Published by Steve E. Less