My wife and I headed into the weekend with every intention of weeding our overgrown garden, scrubbing the front porch and tackling 17 other long-overdue house projects. But after a long gray winter, our best intentions were no match for the perfect 70-degree days. Instead, we packed a picnic and took our son on his firts-ever visit to the Ballard Locks.
As other reviewers have noted, the Locks offer something for everyone: fascinating engineering (the locks themselves), natural wonders (the fish ladder), public open space (beautiful uncrowded parks on both sides), and (best of all) terrific people-watching. And if you run out of steam on the locks themselves, you're less than a mile from Ballard's lively commercial core, and the beaches and views of Golden Gardens lie just a few miles in the other direction. Best of all, the Burke-Gilman trail offers easy and safe cycling access to the whole shebang from anywhere in North Seattle.
Next time you're wondering what to do on a sunny weekend, jump on your bike or pile the kids into the car and head west toward Ballard and the locks -- you can't go wrong.
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