Seattle

Burke Gilman Trail.

26-mi 42 km paved path dedicated to non-motorized travel. goes from golden gardens park, on puget sound near the locks, to bothell landing where it connects to sammamish river trail, which goes to marymoor park in redmond.

A little further out, try riding "The Tapeworm" in Philip Arnold Park in Renton, southeast of Seattle. Other great trails are in this park, as well.

Seattle Mariners

(http://mariners.mlb.com/), member of major league baseball's mlb american league western division, plays at safeco field from april to october.

Seattle Sounders FC

(http://www.soundersfc.com/), member of major league soccer's mls western conference. the third different seattle soccer team to bear the "sounders" name, plays at centurylink field from march-november. possibly the toughest ticket in town—the sounders have sold out every home game since joining mls in 2009—but for hardcore soccer football fans, the atmosphere is unmatched in the us. david beckham, the iconic english star who has played in mls since 2007, has called centurylink field the only place in the league where he has seen an atmosphere that compares to that found in europe.

Seattle Storm

(http://www.wnba.com/storm/), seattle's wnba western conference team plays at keyarena from may till september.

Seattle Thunderbirds

(http://www.seattle-thunde...), whl us division junior hockey team plays at the showare center in nearby kent, wa from september till march.

Visit and poke around boats in various stages of restoration, from big broken hulks to gorgeous polished speedsters. Rent an antique boat and go for a row or a sail. They as well offer free sailboat rides on Lake Union. Call ahead to check the schedule.

Kayak rentals.

Canoe rentals. Parking sucks except after noon on Saturdays. Paddle across the Lake Washington Ship Canal into the Arboretum and watch ducks, geese, swans, random migratory birds, and lots of other boats. If you're an experienced sailor, you can also rent a sailboat after a checkout with their staff.

Learn to row! Classes are held year round and occur over a 4 week period with 3 classes per week. There are evening and morning sessions to fit any schedule. The classes teach you the basics of sweep rowing one oar per rower and sculling two oars. The facilities are beautiful and located right on Lake Union just south of the University Bridge.

Cruises as short as one hour around Elliott Bay are available from Argosy Cruises, departing from Pier 55.

Seafair

(http://www.seafair.com/) is in july and early august. neighborhood events such as parades and street fairs run throughout the festival, with the downtown torchlight parade in late july. seafair culminates in early august when hydroplane races and the blue angels bring loud, fast boats and planes to lake washington.

Bumbershoot

(http://www.bumbershoot.com/). a music and arts festival, held on labor day weekend beginning of september in the seattle center, featuring dozens of local and world-class musical acts.

Northwest Folklife Festival

(http://www.nwfolklife.org/). a more low-key and global version of bumbershoot, held in the seattle center on memorial day weekend end of may. even more important - it's free $10 donation per person per day requested at the entries - but not required.

Bite of Seattle

(http://www.comcastbiteofs...). part of seafair festivities. held in mid/late-july in the seattle center. eat till you explode.

Hempfest

A two-day cannabis festival in mid-august. held at myrtle edwards park on the seattle waterfront, it's the largest marijuana rally in the world and the biggest annual political event in washington. features political speakers, vendors, food, several stages with many bands, and lots of open pot smoking especially at 4:20! it is a demonstration for the political reform and the legalization of marijuana. (http://www.hempfest.org)

Capitol Hill Block Party

(http://www.capitolhillblo...), yearly live music event held on capitol hill over a weekend in mid-summer usually the end of july. consists of primarily local independent bands of various styles, coupled with some bigger name independent label acts.