The Pacific Northwest has amazing sunset vistas for when the weather cooperates. Here are my favorite skyline and landscape spots for viewing the sunset
Seattle Area:
Kerry Park
250 W Highland Dr
Queen Ann Hill, Seattle, WA
If your looking for that picturesque post card image of Seattle then head over to Queen Anne Hill to Kerry Park. At just over 1 acre the parks has the best viewpoint looking out over downtown Seattle Skyline, Elliott Bay and the Seattle Skyline, with an occasional backdrop of Mount Rainier, draws tourists on foot and photographers to this spot. At sunset they often line the hand rails just as the city and the sound are beginning to glow with lights. At night it becomes almost a fantasy scene, with brightly lit ferries gliding across the water and the Space Needle shining from its 500-foot pedestal.
Kerry park tends to be a little windy - so a sturdy tripod will be very useful. Check the weather outlook for clear morning and evening. Mount Rainier only is visible in certain conditions. . The best sunset colors are usually in summer but some of the most delicate hues are in spring - usually the day before/after a storm. Continue Reading about Kerry Park
Gas Works Park in Seattle, Washington is a 19.1 acre (77,000 m²) public park on the site of the former Seattle Gas Light Company gasification plant, located on the north shore of Lake Union at the south end of the Wallingford neighborhood. Gas Works park contains remnants of the sole remaining coal gasification plant in the US. The plant operated from 1906 to 1956, and was bought by the City of Seattle for park purposes in 1962. The park opened to the public in 1975. The park was designed by Seattle landscape architect Richard Haag, who won the American Society of Landscape Architects Presidents Award of Design Excellence for the project. It was originally named Myrtle Edwards Park, after the city councilwoman who had spearheaded the drive to acquire the site and who died in a car crash in 1969. In 1972, the Edwards family requested that her name be taken off the park because the design called for the retention of much of the plant. In 1976, Elliott Bay Park was renamed Myrtle Edwards Park.
Westpoint Lighthouse
The site is one of breathtaking majesty. Situated on Magnolia Bluff overlooking Puget Sound, Discovery Park offers spectacular view of both the Cascade and the Olympic Mountain ranges. The secluded site includes two miles of protected tidal beaches as well as open meadow lands, dramatic sea cliffs, forest groves, active sand dunes, thickets and streams.
The downtown Seattle waterfront has a new attraction on the back of Pier 57. Opened for business on June 29th, 2012 Seattle's Great Wheel is a 175 foot tall Big Wheel type "Ferris Wheel" with 42 enclosed gondolas that rotates 40 feet out over Elliot Bay behind Pier 57. The 42 air conditioned gondolas each hold up to six passengers, and there's also a VIP gondola with a glass bottom floor and four leather seats. VIP tickets are $25 and include a Seattle Great Wheel tee-shirt and a shorter wait time. Tickets for the VIP gondola are available only at the pier and the gondola cannot be reserved for a specific time. All rides last about 12 minutes and include three rotations.
The Olympic Sculpture Park is a public 9-acrea park along the waterfront of Seattle near Alaska Way that opened on January 20, 2007. It is situated at the northern end of the Seattle seawall and the southern end of Myrtle Edwards Park. The former industrial site was occupied by the oil and gas corporation Unocal until the 1970s and subsequently became a contaminated brownfield before the Seattle Art Museum proposed to transform the area into one of the only green spaces in Downtown Seattle. The park is operated by the Seattle Art Museum, which also operates an expanded main branch at First Avenue and University Street and the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill. As a free-admission public outdoor sculpture park with both permanent and visiting installations, it is a unique institution in the United States.
This park has a stunning view across Elliott Bay to downtown Seattle, and on clear days to the Cascade Mountains and Mt. Rainier. Divided into two parts on the east and west sides of Admiral Way, the east section features a totem pole depicting stylized beavers, fish and frogs.
Belvedere Viewpoint is a popular spot for scenic photos and as a backdrop for wedding and other ceremonial photos.
Hamilton Park in West Seattle neigborhood is one of the best places to get sweeping views of downtown Seattle from across Elliott Bayfor both evening sunsets and early morning sunrises. Depending on weather conditions so can also see the westerns ide of the cascade mounatin range behind the city skyline.The park hours are 4am to 11pm and there is a gate at the entrance to the parking lot.
In spring and summer the bluff has full shrubs and trees that add to the foreground. In late fall and winter the viewpoint opens up more. Some locals even ski and snowboard here when there is enough snow on the ground to build moguls.
Along the Alki Trail next to Salty's Restaurant From Seattle take HWY 99 or South Bound I-5 to the West Seattle Bridge and the Harbor Ave SW Exit. Once you pass the shipyard there are multiple parking areas to access the alki trail and view the Seattle waterfront from across Elliot Bay.
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