Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, Seattle

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit! Parked a bit away and enjoyed a walk along the canal. It's undermaintained but still enjoyable. The water is green but considerably clearer than some rivers I've seen. You can see through the edge of the water a few feet down. Close to the locks you can see salmon surging against the current and seals/sea lions dipping in the water. If you go into the observatory below the locks you can view the salmon and there's more information about their spawning habits. There was even an interpreter giving a talk about the locks. There were boats lining up to pass through and walking across the canal bridge was interesting. A great free educational environmentally minded attraction. There's also a sculpture, garden, and other facilities I didn't visit. If you take it slowly with little ones you could possibly spend a few hours or make a day of it, watching the boats, reading all the info boards, and seeing the animals.

A definite must check it out for anyone who hasn't seen an active working Locks. Very interesting, you get to see how the system works that lets boats of all sizes go through. You see all kinds of very interesting boats. We also saw some sea lions hunting for fish. There's also a beautiful botanical garden there with walking paths and a great variety of plants and trees. Perfect place for a picnic in a warm day. Plant lovers would enjoy this garden. There's also a fish ladder to watch the salmon go through although we didn't see any on our visit. Must not be the season. You can Google when the fish swim through to see, it'd make it a much more interesting experience.

An interesting place of passage of boats through a system of dams and bridges. You can see how the system works. The place has a visitor center and I saw a sign that says there is a free guided tour at 2pm. Around there are beautiful gardens. Highly recommended

Recently found out about this place and it was amazing. It’s really unique if you’ve never seen a locks system in action before. Keeping the lake water separate from Puget Sound. There is also a park on the north side of the locks as well which is really beautiful to stroll through. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in Seattle

Having grown up nearby, I hold a special place in my heart for The Locks. I love to watch the boats transition between the sound and the lake. The draw bridge for the train always catches my attention too. I love all of the science: biology, physics, engineering, that's in motion at the locks. There are great spaces for picnics on a sunny day. Right now, the Herons are incubating eggs in the 70+ nests around the locks. It's a beautiful place on a sunny day. The Cons: The cement stairs down to the water are weathered and the lower stairs are crumbling. There are covered shelters, between the south parking and the locks, being occupied by the homeless. A festering puddle nearly covers a section of the walkway. The fish ladder windows are near completely coated in Algae, rendering them useless for the intended purpose of viewing fish passing through. But, The public restrooms next to the locks were clean, the gift shop is cute, and the employees are kind. I love the Locks.