A College Kid’s Guide to Seattle

Right around the time college decisions were rolling out in March, the first cases of COVID-19 were detected in the US. At the time, I had no idea how much the pandemic would impact not only the end of my senior year but my freshman year of college as well. 

I have always considered myself an outdoorsy person, or at the very least, a person who really loves to be in the outdoors, but in high school, I was always too busy to get out and go on a hike or a run as often as I would have liked. In March, when everyone found themselves with nothing to do, I took the opportunity to explore my home state of Oregon in ways I had not before. I went hiking, snowshoeing, and snowboarding, and when I didn’t have time for a whole day outing, I explored the urban forests around my house, went out for long bike rides, and even tried running, which as a swimmer, I typically did very little of. Spending so much more time in the green spaces around my home made me realize that wasn’t something I wanted to give up for four years of my life. All of this is to say that it would be naive of me to think that the impacts of COVID did not inform my choice of school or at least make me realize that I wanted to stay in the PNW. Additional note: I am only a freshman, and Seattle is a vast city. I know I have so much more to explore, and so this list will be far from complete, but I’m excited to share my favorite parts of Seattle and UW! 

As I mentioned, biking was one of my favorite quarantine activities, and that was one way I felt I was able to orient myself to the city quickly. Seattle is extremely bike-friendly, and it’s almost easier to get to some places near campus by bike than in a car. One of my favorite biking destinations is Discovery Park. This park features bluffs that overlook The Sound and trails down to the beach, and a beautiful lighthouse right on the water. The park is West facing and hosts stunning views of the sunset over the Olympic Peninsula. If you are looking for a good biking route, I would suggest either the North or South loops of Lake Washington starting by crossing on the 520 bridge (or if you are feeling wildly ambitious, you could make the full 64-mile loop :) In addition to biking, running has been an excellent outlet for me in quarantine and especially since getting to campus. The Washington Park Arboretum, about 1.5 miles from UW, is one of my favorite spots to run and explore. A massive network of trails loop through a beautiful collection of trees, flowers, and plants. I love running here because it’s so quiet, and the trails are my ideal running terrain (packed soil that’s easy on my knees and well maintained with few rocks). I haven’t spent time just walking around the arboretum, but I would imagine it would be just as wonderful. If you have access to a car, some breathtaking hikes are less than an hour from campus, notably Wallace Falls and Lake Serene (especially in the winter—but bring hiking poles or spikes!).
The first thing I wanted to do when I got to Seattle was explore downtown. Coming from Portland, my concept of downtown was about 100 square blocks with a few buildings that etched the skyline. That being said, the size of downtown Seattle blew me away when I moved. I spent all the time I could before classes started exploring the city blocks, from campus past Capitol Hill. Of course, there are the classic Seattle attractions like Pike Place Market and the Space Needle. While these are must-dos for any Seattle resident, there are so many other fun places to check out in the city (but if you do happen to find yourself at Pike Place, stop in at Beecher’s and grab some mac and cheese—and a block of cheese while you are at it). Seattle has many farmer’s markets scattered throughout the city, and my favorite is the Capitol Hill Farmers Market that is open on Sundays. All the vendors are local and super friendly, and it is easy to spend lots of time and lots of money by chatting with them.  One of my favorite things to do while downtown is to take the ferry across Puget Sound (probably the Grey’s Anatomy fan in me), and Bainbridge Island is a great destination. The ferry ride has fantastic views of Mt. Rainer and Olympic National Park and is an experience in itself. Bainbridge has a super cute, quaint downtown and is an excellent escape from the rush of the city. 
In terms of places to eat close to the UW campus, my favorite has to be Portage Bay Cafe. I have never been to a better breakfast/brunch cafe. I’m not a super adventurous eater, and when I go out for food, I tend to stick to an order I know I like. Still, at Portage Bay, everything is incredible, from the breakfast sandwiches to the french toast to the carnitas benedict to the breakfast burritos. It’s on the pricier side but worth the splurge every once in a while—most of my other recommendations for places to eat near campus fall on the Ave. Boba on the Ave is a staple, and Don’t Yell At Me gets a lot of well-deserved hype, but my personal favorite is Boba Up. It’s dangerously close to west campus dorms (where I live) and is self-serve, so you can load your cup up with as much boba as you want as well as sample all tea flavors before making your selection. Another great spot on the Ave is Pho Shizzle. I was never a big pho person before coming to school, but a nice big bowl of pho on a cold day in Seattle is my new favorite meal. The portions are also huge, and I think pho makes great leftovers (this is a point of great debate amongst my friends). There are tons of great places to eat on the Ave, but I’ll stop after mentioning Thaiger Room. As the name implies, it is a Thai restaurant and has the BEST Pad See Ew. 
Given that Seattle is known for its coffee and I am a big coffee person, I’ve tried embarrassingly few coffee shops in the area. I will say that whenever I’m hopping on the train back home, I always make a point to stop at Zeitgeist Coffee. The coffee is fantastic (namely their lattes—and a blueberry lemon scone never hurts either), and the staff is super friendly and recognizes me every time I go. If you are staying closer to campus, Cafe Solstice also has a great cup of coffee and is a cute spot to study too! And while not a coffee recommendation, I can also advocate for the chai at Byrek & Baguette on the Ave. 
This list is incredibly short relative to the many things Seattle has to offer, but these places and activities have brought me a lot of joy in my short time in the city. That being said, one of the most fun things to do is to get out and do some exploring yourself, so grab a famous cup of Seattle coffee and hit the city (and all of the beautiful green spaces around it too).