The piers are open and boats are sailing!  Start your day on the waterfront with a walk, run, or coffee.  Starbucks opens at 6AM on Pier 55 (don’t miss Burgandy Viscosi’s gallery next door or Ye Olde Curiosity Shop on Pier 54).

Spend time exploring, walking, whale watching, shopping, taking pictures, and eating.  Catch the last ride of the day on the Seattle Great Wheel at 10PM (11PM on Fridays and Saturdays).

Seattle Aquarium hours are 9:30AM to 6:00PM daily (last entry at 5:00PM).  Advance ticket purchase online secures your time window and avoids the queue.  For the best deal and unlimited visits year-round ($99), become a Seattle Aquarium member.

Tides will be active this month with daily tidal swings greater than 12 feet several times and extreme daytime low tides August 1-6 and August 16-21.  

Be sure to look over the rails to spot salmon smolt, crabs, starfish, and seals along the piers.  Maybe a giant sea lion will take over the floating dock at Pier 62 again and give you a chance for a closer look.  

Seattle day length in August provides tons of sunlight with 15 hours per day at the start of the month and 13 hours per day at the end of the month.  Carpe Diem!

Seattle is for seafood.  What’s fresh and local from Washington State on the menu?  Summer is Peak Harvest for:

• Salmon
• Clams
• Halibut
• Rockfish
• Mackerel
• Sea snails (aka whelks and periwinkles)
• Dungeness crab, oysters, mussels, clams, and scallops are consistently fresh and local too in August.

Complete Seattle Seafood Seasonality Chart (by month)

• Cruise ship season is in full swing this month with a ship in port nearly every day except Fridays!
  
  
• Expect congestion, intermittently closed streets, and detours the length of Alaskan Way with bottlenecks around Pioneer Square and Overlook Walk. Pedestrian access is assured all along the waterfront between Piers 50 and 70.
  
  
• The FREE Waterfront Shuttle will operate daily between 10AM and 8PM in August.
  
  
• Alaskan Way along the waterfront has shifted to new pavement, liberating space for the development of the new waterfront promenade park, the new Overlook Walk, and Seattle Aquarium’s new Ocean Pavillion.  You must see it to fully appreciate the magnitude of these major projects coming together.  To see the transformation of Seattle’s entire downtown waterfront into a park is amazing.  Don’t miss it!
  
  
• The brand-new Alaskan Way Connector opened in June to re-connect the southern (Piers 50-59) and northern (Piers 62-70) ends of Alaskan Way.
  
  
• Major construction on Colman ferry dock (pier 52) and the new terminal is complete.  The new Marion Street Pedestrian Bridge is open!  This bridge is expected to become one of the busiest pedestrian bridges on the West Coast.  The new promenade and plaza in front of the ferry terminal are being completed.
  
  
• Peak season schedule is in effect for WSF Bremerton and Bainbridge routes from Seattle this month.  Plan, give yourself time, and be prepared for the possibility of delayed or canceled sailings.  Remember, youth ride free on WA State Ferries.  Water taxis between Pier 50, West Seattle and Kitsap County are operating.
  
  
• Use the SR99 tunnel instead of Alaskan Way to get from one end of the city to the other. Expect surface road congestion on Alaskan Way during peak hours.
  
  
• Please drive slowly in construction zones!
  
  
• For detailed waterfront construction info, go to: https://waterfrontconstruction.org/  and sign up for their newsletter.

• Orcas and porpoises were spotted swimming offshore from Seattle’s waterfront in July.  With more daylight hours, continued sightings are expected this month.
  
  
• FRS Clipper’s whale-watching trips run daily in July, straight from Pier 69 (guaranteed sightings of next trip is free).
  
  
• If an orca or humpback swims by while you are on the Seattle Great Wheel, then you will definitely see it!  Other great spots to look for whales along Seattle’s waterfront are Pier 54, Pier 62, and the observation deck at Pier 66.
  
  
• Cetaceans you may spot include orcas (killer whales), gray whales, humpback whales, Dall’s porpoises, harbor porpoises, and Pacific white-sided dolphins.  Identify common porpoise and dolphin species in Puget Sound.
  
  
• Other animals you may see while on the waterfront include blue herons, seagulls, seals, sea lions, cormorants, bald eagles, geese, peregrine falcons, ospreys, sea otters, and Kraken.  For a close-up look at the Salish Sea ecosystem, head to the Seattle Aquarium.
  
  
• Whales can also be spotted from any ferry or private vessel plying local waters; keep your eyes open and scan the surface, especially on those calm days with glassy smooth water!
  
  
• See a whale?  Be sure to report it!  Read the most recent whale sighting reports here.

Pier 62 activation is at full strength in August.  Check out Waterfront Spotlight between 6-8PM Thursdays.  Don’t miss the 2024 Waterfront Block Party on Augut 30th – free and open to all starting at 12 noon.

The new public Pier 62 is bringing the people of Seattle together in one of the city’s most Instagrammable settings.  Take in the 360 degree views of Seattle, the ferries, and the Olympics!  Cultural performances, classes, concerts, and community activities take place daily on Pier 62 during the summer months.   

When there are no scheduled activities, the pier is perfect for people watching, wildlife watching, playing outdoor chess, checkers, or soccer.  Tables and chairs are available to sit, chat, sip coffee, and watch the maritime traffic pass by.    

Check out activities and events happening in this amazing space on the water! 

Construction is proceeding at a brisk pace on Overlook Walk, a new, direct pedestrian connection between the Pike Place Market and Pier 62.  Overlook Walk will be part of the new Waterfront Park.

Seattle professional sports teams playing in town (home games) in August:

• Mariners (baseball) – YES
• Seattle Reign FC (soccer) – YES
• Storm (basketball) – YES
• Seahawks (football) – YES
• Sounders FC (soccer) – NO
• Seawolves (rugby) – NO
• Kraken (hockey) – NO
• Orcas (cricket) – NO
• Sea Dragons (football) – NO, team terminated in USFL/XFL merger
• Supersonics (basketball) – NO

• Boating operations between Piers 50-70 are OPEN and running on peak season schedule.
  
  
• Argosy on Pier 55 is running 1 hour Harbor Cruises, Ballard Locks Cruises, and their new Summer Views Cruise daily in August.
  
  
• Salish Sea Tours is running harbor tours daily from Pier 57.
  
  
• Sailing Seattle are running two ocean sailing yachts with frequent departures daily from Pier 56.  
  
  
• Seattle’s Tall Ship has returned to Bell Harbor Marina (Pier 66) for this season with multiple trips daily.  Don’t miss it!
  
  
• The high speed passenger catamaran, FRS Clipper, runs to Victoria daily.  Book ahead to reach downtown Victoria in 2 hours and 45 minutes.  FRS Clipper also runs Seattle’s only whale watching tours from Seattle (guaranteed sightings) daily in August from Pier 69.  Trips are selling out, so book early!
  
  
• WSF Ferries from Seattle’s Pier 52 to Bainbridge Island and Bremerton are running on normal schedule this month.  Water Taxis between Seattle’s Pier 50 and destinations like West Seattle, Bremerton, Kingston, and Southworth are running M-F with some weekend operations.  Check our Boat Rides page for more information.
  
  
• Is your party arriving by boat to have lunch on the waterfront or to visit the Pike Place Market?  Short-term moorage is available at Bell Harbor Marina located next to Anthony’s Pier 66 in the heart of the city.
  
  
• Alaska cruise ships are running this month.

• August is a great month for anglers in Seattle!  If you see someone fishing, feel free to ask them for a peek in their bucket.  Marine Area 10 (Seattle/Bremerton) is open daily for nonselective coho now through Sept. 30.  August 4 will be one extra and final day for Chinook in Elliott Bay.

• Expect days with very low tides and dramatic tidal swings – water level heights can differ by more than 12 feet in August.  The variance is dramatic year-round, but in summer the changes can be better observed because they happen during daylight hours.

• Dungeness crab season is scheduled to be open through Aug. 26, Sundays and Mondays only.  All gear must be out of the water on the other days of each week.

• Public fishing piers are open in Area 10 (Seattle/Bremerton). Although there are no public fishing piers directly on Seattle’s waterfront, anglers can normally find a quiet place to cast a line.

• Species you are most likely to see: Salmon, schools of salmon smolt (babies), sea-run cutthroat, steelhead trout, shiner perch, piling perch, sculpin, greenlings, flounders, rock fish, and occasional ling cod.

• The Port of Seattle closed the fishing pier at Centennial Park (pier 86). The Port is working with WA Department of Fish and Wildlife to determine the fishing pier’s future. In the meantime, the public is welcome to fish at the facilities at Pier 69 where the Port of Seattle is headquartered.  Try also Pier 62.

• No fishing license is required for children and youth under 15 years old in Washington state.

• Know the rules; check current regulations here.

August is summer vacation for most students in Washington’s public schools.  There are no US federal holidays this month.  The next federal holiday will be Labor Day in September.  Here is a list of noteworthy August holidays:

August 1 – Swiss National Day
August 1 – National IPA Day
August 4 – US Coast Guard Birthday
August 5 – British Columbia Day
August 6 – National Night Out Day
August 7 – Purple Heart Day
August 8 – National Pickle Ball Day
August 9 – Singapore National Day
August 15 – Indian Independence Day
August 15 – Feast of the Assumption
August 17 – Indonesian Independence Day
August 18 – Hawaii Statehood Day
August 19 – National Aviation Day
August 19 – Raksha Bandhan 
August 21 – National Senior Citizen Day
August 24 – Ukraine Independence Day
August 25 – National Park Service Founders Day
August 26 – National Women’s Equality Day
August 26 – National Dog Day
August 27 – Crab S0up Day
August 30 – National Beach Day
August 31 – Kyrgyztan Independence Day

Find more August holidays and celebrations here and here and here.

The sun is passing through a particularly active phase, which is expected to last until 2025.  Northern Lights could happen anytime.  Normally, the forecast for the Aurora Borealis provides very little advance notice (12-36 hours), but the news of a predicted aurora spreads quickly online.  Northern lights this month in Seattle are possible. 

August is an excellent month to watch for shooting stars.  August 4 will be a new moon, which means the night sky will be particularly dark.  The Perseid Meteor Showers will be visible nearly all month – they will peak August 12-13.  August 19 will be a full moon.

Great Seattle companies and public entities are hiring along the waterfront.  Job and career opportunities are available with the following:

Anthony’s Restaurants

Argosy Cruises

Marriott Waterfront Seattle Hotel

The Edgewater Hotel

Elliott’s Oyster House

Friends of Waterfront Seattle

Ivar’s

Port of Seattle

Washington State Ferries

Summer jobs in the cruise industry for local students may still be available.  There was a Summer Cruise Job Fair in March – see https://www.portseattle.org/events/2024-cruise-summer-job-fair

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