Things to Do in Olympia, WA
Olympia's attractions run through its identity as the state capital and a waterfront city at once -- a real architectural landmark in the Capitol campus, a genuinely historic waterfront boardwalk, and family-focused museums and parks that don't require a beach to be worthwhile. This page covers what's confirmed about the city's major attractions.
The Washington State Capitol Campus
The Capitol campus's Legislative Building is a genuine architectural landmark, not just a government office building -- it stands 287 feet tall and is described as the tallest masonry-dome building in North America, its dome assembled from more than 1,400 individual stones and finished on October 13, 1926, faced in Wilkeson sandstone from Pierce County. Governor Roland Hartley formally dedicated the building on March 28, 1928. The campus is open to visitors, and its grounds and architecture draw visitors independent of any specific legislative activity. This page does not have confirmed current tour schedules or visitor-center hours, and recommends checking capitol.wa.gov directly before planning a visit.
Percival Landing and the Farmers Market
Percival Landing's roughly 0.9-mile boardwalk, first dedicated as a city park in 1978, sits on the site of Sam Percival's original 1860 commercial steamship wharf and offers direct, walkable waterfront access with Capitol dome and Olympic Mountains views. It connects directly to the Olympia Farmers Market, which marked its 50th year on this waterfront site in 2025, growing to more than 120 vendors and an estimated 400,000 annual visitors, open year-round.
Hands On Children's Museum
The Hands On Children's Museum, at 414 Jefferson St NE, is described as featuring 150 exhibits, including a pretend pizza restaurant, an Outdoor Discovery Center, a toddler zone, and indoor water stations -- a genuine, real attraction for families with young children, located near the downtown waterfront rather than requiring a separate trip out of the city.
Tumwater Falls and Priest Point Park (Squaxin Park)
Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls, free and open to the public, offers a half-mile scenic loop trail along the Deschutes River with three waterfalls, picnic areas, and playground facilities, and is described as a good spot to watch salmon making their way upstream. Priest Point Park -- now known as Squaxin Park -- covers 314 acres with four miles of hiking trails, streams, wildlife, picnic spots, ball courts, a playground, and a rose garden, offering both forested hiking and waterfront views along Budd Inlet.
The Evergreen State College and Tumwater's Craft District
The Evergreen State College, a public liberal arts college in Olympia, has a public-facing campus and cultural presence in the city beyond its student body -- it saw its largest undergraduate enrollment increase in 40 years in fall 2023, a genuine sign of current institutional momentum. Just south of the city, Tumwater's Craft District carries forward Olympia's brewing heritage, anchored by Well 80 Brewhouse (built on the site of a historic Olympia artesian well) alongside distillery, dining, and retail offerings.
The Olympia Farmers Market
The Olympia Farmers Market deserves its own entry on any things-to-do list, not just a mention as a grocery stop -- it marked its 50th year on its current waterfront site in 2025, has grown from a handful of tables to more than 120 vendors, and draws an estimated 400,000 visitors annually, open year-round rather than seasonally. Its location directly along Percival Landing's boardwalk, with Capitol Building and Olympic Mountains views, makes it a genuine visitor destination in its own right, not just a functional errand for residents.
A Note on Capitol Lake
Visitors drawn to Capitol Lake specifically for its current calm, lake-like appearance directly below the Capitol dome should know its physical form is the subject of an active, roughly $416 million state restoration project, covered in full on this site's Waterway Living page -- a real, worthwhile detail for anyone photographing or planning a return visit around the lake's current configuration, since that configuration is not guaranteed to remain stable over the coming years.
Swantown Marina and the Working Waterfront
For visitors interested in boats and working waterfronts rather than museums or parks, Swantown Marina on the east side of Budd Inlet -- Port-owned and -operated since 1987, described as the seventh-largest marina in Washington State with more than 650 permanent slips -- offers a genuine working-waterfront experience, connected by walking trail to both the Port of Olympia's marine terminal and Percival Landing's boardwalk downtown. It's a real, functioning marina rather than a purely tourist-oriented attraction, which gives visitors an authentic look at South Sound boating culture rather than a staged version of it.
The Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge as a Day Trip
For visitors willing to drive roughly 8 miles east of Olympia, the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge offers a genuinely significant natural attraction -- described by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as the last unspoiled major estuary in Puget Sound and designated a National Natural Landmark. Its trail and boardwalk infrastructure lets visitors walk out into the delta itself for wildlife viewing, independent of whether they're there to fish, making it a worthwhile half-day trip alongside a downtown Olympia visit rather than a substitute for one.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Data sourced from: the Washington State Capitol Campus's own site (capitol.wa.gov) for Legislative Building specifications and dedication date; Wikipedia's "Percival Landing Park" entry and the City of Olympia's own park materials; the Hands On Children's Museum's own site for exhibit and location details; Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls' own visitor materials; The Tourist Checklist and other regional visitor guides for Priest Point Park/Squaxin Park's acreage and trail mileage; reporting on Evergreen State College's fall 2023 enrollment increase; and The Craft District's own site for Tumwater's brewing-heritage district. Facts not independently confirmed and not invented here include: current Capitol campus tour schedules or visitor-center hours, and current admission pricing for the Hands On Children's Museum. Confirm current hours, admission, and accessibility details directly with each attraction before visiting. Nothing on this page is an endorsement of any specific attraction.