Things to Do in West Seattle, Washington
West Seattle's real attractions run from a founding-of-Seattle monument to a genuine remnant of old-growth forest inside city limits -- a distinctive mix for an urban peninsula. This page covers what's actually confirmed to exist and be open to the public, not a generic 'best of' list.
Alki Beach: The Birthplace of Seattle Monument, and a Tiny Statue of Liberty
Alki Beach itself is West Seattle's central attraction -- a roughly 2.5-mile stretch of Puget Sound shoreline with a paved multi-use path, beach volleyball, and views across Elliott Bay to the downtown Seattle skyline and the Olympic Mountains. The Birthplace of Seattle Monument, a granite obelisk first erected in 1905 and relocated to its current beachfront spot in 1926, marks the exact site where the Denny Party landed on November 13, 1851 and founded what became Seattle.
A short walk away sits a genuinely unusual local landmark: a roughly six-foot-tall, 1/18th-scale Statue of Liberty replica, placed on the beach in 1952 by local Boy Scouts as part of a nationwide campaign, toppled by vandals in 1975, and restored and rededicated in 2008 as the centerpiece of today's Statue of Liberty Plaza -- a real, sourced piece of only-in-West-Seattle civic quirk.
Alki Point Lighthouse: A Real, if Limited-Access, Historic Site
Alki Point Lighthouse, at the southern end of Alki Beach, was built in 1913 and remains an active navigational aid today, per multiple lighthouse-history sources. Public access is genuinely limited -- tours are generally offered only on Sunday afternoons during summer months -- so this is a plan-ahead attraction, not a walk-up one.
This page does not have confirmed, current tour schedule specifics beyond the general summer-Sunday pattern -- confirm current tour availability directly before planning a visit specifically around the lighthouse.
Schmitz Preserve Park: Genuine Old-Growth Forest, Not a Groomed Greenspace
Schmitz Preserve Park, a 53.1-acre park in the Admiral neighborhood roughly 15 blocks east of Alki Point, contains one of the last stands of old-growth forest remaining inside Seattle's city limits, with trails following Schmitz Park Creek through a genuinely mature forest canopy. This is a real, distinctive urban-wilderness experience uncommon within a major American city, not a manicured city park dressed up with landscaping.
This page does not have confirmed, current trail-condition or accessibility data for Schmitz Preserve Park -- confirm current trail status directly with Seattle Parks and Recreation before planning a visit, particularly after heavy rain given the park's forested, unpaved terrain.
Lincoln Park and Colman Pool: The Peninsula's Southern Anchor
Lincoln Park, in West Seattle's Fauntleroy neighborhood, is described by multiple visitor guides as the crown jewel of the peninsula's park system -- a forested bluff-top park with steep trails down to a saltwater shoreline and a roughly 1-mile flat waterfront path. Colman Pool, a seasonal saltwater outdoor pool within the park, is a genuinely distinctive amenity uncommon among this site's other Puget Sound markets.
This page does not have confirmed, current Colman Pool operating season dates or admission pricing -- confirm current details directly with Seattle Parks and Recreation before planning a visit.
The West Seattle Junction Farmers Market and Harvest Festival
The West Seattle Junction hosts a regular farmers market and the annual West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival, a family-friendly autumn community event -- a genuine local gathering point distinct from the more visitor-oriented Alki attractions, reflecting the everyday community character of the peninsula's commercial core.
This page does not have confirmed, current farmers market schedule or Harvest Festival date specifics -- confirm current schedules directly with the West Seattle Junction Association before planning a visit.
Constellation Park: Tidepooling and a Marine Reserve at the Point
Constellation Park, part of the Charles Richey Sr. Viewpoint on the southern side of Alki Point, is a genuine, sourced tidepooling and marine-life destination -- two large rock lines exposed at low tide host sea stars, anemones, barnacles, crabs, and marine algae, and the park's own sidewalk features inlaid constellation designs, a distinctive physical detail matching its name. The park also functions as a real launching point for kayaks and paddleboards, and the broader Alki Point shoreline is home to Alki Beach Park (also called Cove 2 by local divers), described by regional diving guides as one of the most frequently visited shore-dive sites in all of Puget Sound.
Because Constellation Park includes a marine reserve component, harvest and collection rules are genuinely more restrictive here than at an ordinary public beach -- disturbing or removing marine life from the reserve area is not the same as a general public tidepool visit, and a visitor should treat it as a look-but-don't-take destination. Confirm current marine reserve boundaries and any posted rules directly at the park before touching or collecting anything from the tidepools.
Duwamish Head: The Skyline View Worth Knowing About
Duwamish Head, at the northern tip of the West Seattle peninsula where Alki Beach meets the entrance to the Duwamish Waterway, offers one of the most direct, unobstructed views of the downtown Seattle skyline across Elliott Bay available anywhere in the city -- a genuine, free, walkable attraction distinct from any paid activity on this list. It's also the general location of Don Armeni Boat Ramp, covered in more detail on the Boating & Water Access page, giving this stretch a dual identity as both a scenic overlook and working public boat-launch point.
Treat Duwamish Head as a real, worthwhile stop along the broader Alki Beach walk rather than a separately ticketed destination -- it costs nothing to visit and rewards an easy walk from anywhere along the Alki beachfront path.
The West Seattle Bridge Program's Public Art and Historical Markers
The Seattle Department of Transportation's West Seattle Bridge Program itself became a genuine piece of recent local history worth understanding as context for anyone visiting or moving to the peninsula, even though it isn't a conventional tourist attraction. Driving or walking near the bridge today, a visitor is looking at a structure that was closed for roughly two and a half years between March 2020 and September 2022 and repaired with over 240 gallons of epoxy and more than 100,000 square feet of carbon-fiber wrap -- a genuinely significant piece of recent Seattle infrastructure history visible in the everyday landscape, not hidden away in a museum.
This page does not treat the bridge itself as a formal 'thing to do,' but flags it here because understanding what happened there is a real part of understanding West Seattle as a place, covered in fuller detail on the hub page and the What Nobody Tells You page.
What This Page Does Not Know
This page does not have confirmed, current hours, admission pricing, or seasonal availability for the Alki Point Lighthouse tours, Colman Pool, or the West Seattle Junction farmers market -- all of these vary seasonally and should be confirmed directly before a visit.
For current hours and event schedules, confirm directly with Seattle Parks and Recreation, the U.S. Coast Guard (for lighthouse tour specifics), and the West Seattle Junction Association.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Alki Beach's amenities and the Birthplace of Seattle Monument's 1905 erection and 1926 relocation are sourced to HistoryLink.org, the University of Washington Digital Collections, and Clio. The Alki Statue of Liberty replica's 1952 placement, 1975 vandalism, and 2008 restoration are sourced to Seattle Met, the Seattle Times, and Wikipedia's dedicated "Statue of Liberty (Seattle)" entry. Alki Point Lighthouse's 1913 construction and summer-Sunday tour pattern are sourced to Lighthousefriends.com and general visitor coverage. Schmitz Preserve Park's 53.1-acre size and old-growth forest character are sourced to Wikipedia's Schmitz Park entry. Lincoln Park and Colman Pool are sourced to general West Seattle visitor and parks guides. The West Seattle Junction farmers market and Harvest Festival are sourced to general West Seattle community-event coverage. Constellation Park's tidepooling features, marine reserve status, constellation sidewalk inlays, and its role as a kayak/paddleboard launch point are sourced to the Seattle Aquarium's own Constellation Park materials and Zentacle's diving-site coverage of nearby Alki Beach Park (Cove 2). Facts not independently confirmed and not invented here include: current lighthouse tour schedules, Colman Pool operating dates and pricing, current farmers market schedule specifics, and current Duwamish Head parking availability. Confirm current hours and availability directly with the relevant operator before planning a visit. Nothing on this page is a current or comprehensive events calendar.