Sammamish Families: For Fun and Activities, Consider a Road Trip to Olympia

Are you thinking about a day trip you and your kids will enjoy? Olympia, located just over 60 miles from Sammamish, offers activities for a day’s worth of family fun from museums to kayaking. It also can be a great lunch stop on the way to the mountains and beaches of the Olympic Peninsula.

Hands On Children’s Museum

If you have kids who are 10 years old and under, you’ll want to visit the Hands On Children’s Museum on 106 11th Ave SW. It's across from the state capitol building. Off Interstate 5, going south, take exit 105-A.

There is parking available just down the street one block east. Bring quarters or dollar bills to feed the automatic parking machines, which charge 50 cents an hour. If you go on the weekend, parking is free.

Admission: Kids ages two to 12 years old are $7.95, toddlers under two are $5.95 and babies are free. Adults are $7.95 and seniors ages 62 and up are $6.95. There is a coupon on the museum website  for "out of county visitors" to save a dollar.

The museum is open Monday to Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm, and Sunday, noon to 5 pm. The museum also is open late every first Friday of the month from 5 to 9 pm and is free that evening.

The museum offers a number of great exhibits that are engaging and educational. Kids love the Working Waterfront room where they get to unload cargo and sailboats and learn about currents on a giant water table. Budding engineers enjoy the Build It area, which includes a giant magnetic ball run, a kid-sized construction zone and a kid-sized dump truck.

The museum’s Art Studio offers a large assortment of materials and project ideas and drop-in classes.

Your nature lover will enjoy the Backyard Wilderness area that features a tree house, Wildlife rescue center (with animal puppet residents) and a puppet theater. This area also has a great backyard stage where kids can act out with costumes and lighting and sound effects.

Toddlers appreciate the TotSpot area with its age appropriate play areas and toys. This area also offers a wealth of parenting books for moms and dads to enjoy while at the museum. This area is quiet and out of the way and probably the best place in the museum also to nurse.

Your budding medical professional will enjoy the museum’s Good For You exhibit where they can work a shift in the Emergency Room, complete with a Medic One van. Nearby is the pretend grocery and family kitchen which is also popular for pretend play.

The museum has a coffee area set up for parents to enjoy and a small gift shop featuring some great educational toys. So, consider letting your child bring some spending money. 

Next year, the museum will move to a new building on the waterfront. The new museum’s website gives all the details on this fabulous new buildings location on Olympia’s East Bay which will feature both indoor and outdoor learning and play centers.

Great Family Meal Options

If your family is hungry for lunch or dinner after your museum visit, head down the street to Wagner’s European Bakery and Café at 1013 Capitol Way S. This family-owned bakery has been in business since 1938 and is open seven days a week. Enjoy a delicious sandwich for lunch. Be patient with the often slow and spacey college student staff and bring home a box of delicious baked goods including éclairs and amazing cinnamon bread. Other options for lunch nearby include Subway and Meconi’s Italian Subs.

Olympia’s Farmers Market

Located just a short drive from the museum, at 700 Capitol Way, is the Olympia Farmers Market. You can find free parking behind the market. The market is open from Thursday to Sunday, April to October, and Saturday and Sunday, November and December. The market is the second largest of its kind in the state. The market offers live entertainment and over 100 vendors selling locally-grown produce, meat and dairy, fresh and dried flowers, handmade soaps, art, honey and baked goods. There also is a food court.

Kayak Rentals at Tugboat Annies

Explore Bud Inlet from a kayak rented from Tugboat Annies restaurant, located at 2100 West Bay Dr. You use the kayaks at your own risk and need to be able to launch and dock without assistance. You and your kids need to be strong swimmers and everyone needs to wear a life jacket at all times. Reservations are recommended and you can call 360 943-1850 to make them. More information on is on the the company's website. Ask about their “Kayak and Breakfast special” where for $45 you get breakfast for two, coffee and kayaks, including doubles if you call to request them ahead of time. The restaurant also offers a great kids meal option, including fish and chips and corn dogs.

Outdoor Shopping Heaven at Cabela’s

On the way home, if you have a hiker, fly fisher, boat lover or camper in your pack, head to Cabela’s, the mother of all outdoor stores, just north of Olympia in Lacey at 1600 Gateway Blvd. NE. Take exit 111 off I-5. Open seven days a week, this store is so big it has its own restaurant and an indoor archery range. 

My frugal family appreciates the store’s Bargain Cave where we’ve gotten great deals on hiking boots, coats and other outdoor gear. 

My son likes to marvel at the many museum-quality stuffed animals and the residents of the store’s several huge aquariums. My husband loves all the fly fishing gear.  

Cabela's is a great place to get outdoor gear for kids and toddlers, including super warm coats, kid sized hiking shoes, study water sport sandals and youth fishing waders.  

Fair warning: It takes some time to get from the I-5 exit to the store. You will play a few rounds of “are we lost and this can’t be the way there” before you arrive. I think they do that on purpose so you feel the need to buy some supplies to survive the trip back to I-5.