Seattle's Redeveloped Waterfront Park Is The West Coast Answer To New York City's High Line

Seattle replaced a hulking old viaduct with something spectacular: a stitched-together stretch of gardens, stunning viewpoints, and waterfront paths. The project, now known as Waterfront Park, is a 15-year-long endeavor that finally opened in September 2025, as Bloomberg reported. It was realized by the same designers of New York City's High Line, the free, scenic trail with unforgettable views. Like the High Line, Seattle's Waterfront Park blends plants, art, and urban infrastructure into an open and easily enjoyable mix.

Since its opening, Waterfront Park has been met with heaps of enthusiasm from locals and visitors alike. It has an average 4.5-star rating from nearly 3,000 Google Reviews. On the Seattle subreddit, a user said, "The waterfront is alive [...] Just makes me so proud to see the city and all related organizations put in the effort to create spaces people want to frequent." Waterfront Park was developed over what used to be the Alaskan Way Viaduct, an elevated roadway that The Urbanist called an "eyesore" and critiqued for disrupting the waterfront with its noise and traffic. In its place, Waterfront Park is a swath of paths and greenery with rain gardens and public piers along the Puget Sound you could spend a day walking around — another welcome reminder of why Seattle has been ranked America's most walkable destination.

Waterfront Park consists of about 10 sections, all connected as a single, 20-acre-long esplanade. In this way, Waterfront Park has the same effect as the High Line of unfurling as you proceed along its length. At its southern end, the park begins right next to Lumen Field, one of the NFL stadiums with the most mouth-watering eats. One of the most unique features of the southern leg of the park is the Pioneer Square Habitat Beach. It's a spread of native plants and rocks sloping into the water, a prime example of how the park blends nature into its urban setting. Aside from being a spot for people to sit on and take in views, it's also a habitat for juvenile salmon along an important salmon corridor.

The middle section of Waterfront Park features a boardwalk that branches off into some of the waterfront's historic piers. This section encompasses the Seattle Great Wheel, a Ferris wheel on which riders get views of the bay, Olympic Mountains, and, on cloudless days, Mount Rainier. At the park's Pier 58, there's a playground with a climbable jellyfish structure and a wide plaza that can host events. Just past the pier, a highlight of the Waterfront Park strip is the Seattle Aquarium. The aquarium has been a long-standing fixture of Seattle, but a newer addition — the Ocean Pavilion — was built as part of the waterfront revitalization, concentrated on a reef habitat. Pedestrians can even see into a window of one of the tanks without having to enter the building or buy a ticket.

Though Waterfront Park is highly accessible for pedestrians (including for wheelchair users), it's also a dreamy spot for going on a bike ride. The park has over a mile of protected bike lanes, which link to the longer Elliott Bay Trail. Whether biking or exploring on foot, the park is full of public art installations, garden plots, and benches to make for rest stops along the way. There are public restrooms available, too, right by Pier 58.

You might get hungry after spending a day roaming or riding in Waterfront Park, and luckily, there are some food options nearby. It hosts a food truck program that brings a rotation of different food trucks to the promenade from May through September. Otherwise, there are a couple more established dining spots on the waterfront open year-round. The Crab Pot Seattle is one that gets lots of good reviews and has a teeming seafood-focused menu.

Entry points to the park can be found throughout. If you wanted to start at the southern end of the park and work your way up, you could enter at the Stadium District — the King Street Station connects this area to multiple transit options, including Amtrak trains, commuter rails, and buses. A free shuttle runs along the waterfront during the summer, which in the past spanned from King Street Station to the Space Needle. The park is open every day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.