One Day in Edmonds, WA

About

About 15 miles north of Seattle, Edmonds is nestled on a beautiful stretch of waterfront along the Puget Sound. With breathtaking views of the Olympic Mountains in the distance, Edmonds is known for its beautiful beaches, easy trails, and gorgeous sunsets. Not only that but, in 2018, Edmonds became Washington State's first ever creative district. 

Edmonds Creative District

www.edmondswa.gov

The city is connected to other areas of the state and to several islands in the Puget Sound by its ferry system. The dock lies right at the end of Main Street and beside the best spots along the water to view the sunset across the Sound. The city also has a downtown train station, as well as several Community Transit bus lines that go through it. 

Where to Eat

Breakfast

☕️ Cafe Louvre

@selma

Cafe Louvre is one of my favorite neighborhood coffee shops. I used to go there all the time in high school when visiting downtown Edmonds. Features art from local artists and has ample seating space. They take the quality of their espresso very seriously, so you can be certain that what you're getting is good! They also offer pastries and sandwiches. Family-owned, LGBTQ+ friendly.

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☕️ Walnut Street Coffee

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Walnut Street Coffee is yet another neighborhood staple. Part of the Edmonds Downtown Alliance, it opened in 2006 and partners with local businesses to offer quality pastries, donuts, and lunch foods such as sandwiches, burritos, and tacos. I personally never got the chance to visit here, but many of my friends growing up would absolutely rave about this place! Ample seating, large menu.

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🥞 Pancake Haus

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Probably my favorite diner in Edmonds! The food is great, there's ample seating, the staff is nice, and its all quite affordable. Pancake Haus is more than just a neighborhood staple, its is a routine stop for many locals whether it be early morning or late afternoon. I highly recommend visiting (and try their pancakes!)

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☕️ Waterfront Coffee Company

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Waterfront Coffee Co. is situated right across the street from the ferry terminal and a 2-5 minute walk away from the beaches. Recently remodeled with indoor and outdoor seating, they offer high-quality coffee and pastries, as well as ice cream - so if you wake up with a sweet tooth, you know where to go! They also go to great lengths to showcase local art and highlight the treasures of the community. The perfect stop to take before strolling over to the beach!

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Lunch & Dinner

🍲 Thai Cottage

@selma

Thai Cottage is very close to my heart 💛 I have countless memories of stopping in with my friends after a long day walking along the water, or enjoying one of the street festivals in the summer. Located right on Main Street, Thai Cottage offers traditional, homemade Thai-food. I recommend trying their spring rolls, or any of their noodle dishes! Thai Cottage is locally-owned and vegetarian-friendly.

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🍛 Calypso Edmonds

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Calypso Edmonds is a restaurant located near the beach and the ferry dock serving Caribbean food and tropical drinks. Personally, I love their drinks! Not only do they taste amazing, but they are fairly big, so you definitely get the bang for your buck. Their food is great too! I recommend the blackened rockfish fettuccine or their lobster mac and cheese but, honestly, you can't go wrong here no matter what you pick. They are a little bit on the pricey side, but it's worth it. And, if you're going to have one splurge-dinner in Edmonds, this would be the place to go! Calypso Edmonds identifies as woman-owned and LGBTQ+ friendly.

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🍝 Girardi's Osteria

@selma

Located just a few minutes walk from Main Street, Girardi's Osteria is a rustic Italian restaurant that offers beautiful indoor and outdoor seating. Girardi's is a great option if you want something heartier, or if you would like a break from the waterfront to explore more of the central Edmonds area. A fantastic insta-photo opportunity 😉

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🍹 A Very Taki Tiki Bar & Grill

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You can find A Very Taki Tiki Bar & Grill further up along Main Street, near the main round-a-bout. They offer tropical drinks, tiki decor, and hearty pub fare. Taki Tiki offers indoor and outdoor seating. Try any of their pub burgers, they're great! Kid-friendly and offers a kid's menu.

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🍕 MOTO Edmonds

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Featuring their self-proclaimed "odd" pizzas and retro decor, MOTO Edmonds is located along Main Street near the main round-a-bout. Not only are they an amazing locally-owned chain, they love our planet too! According to their website, 80% of their produce is either self-grown, foraged, or from hydroponic farms. If you love the unique and unusual, I recommend trying them out!

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Things to Do

Walk the Beaches

The Edmonds waterfront is well-connected and, while each beach is technically its own separate entity, they push up right against each other thus making it, in practice, one long waterfront. There is a major boardwalk and several sidewalks that you can follow as you pass through them. 

⛴ Brackett's Landing North

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Start your walking route at Brackett's Landing North. There, they have a little path that juts out into the water and offers the perfect place to watch the ferries go by, or just gaze out at the water. This is the closest to the train tracks, so it's a wonderful spot to also watch the trains as they pass through Edmonds and toot their horns. Here you will find public restrooms and an outside shower to rinse yourself off after swimming. Brackett's Landing is named after George Brackett who, in the 1870s, allegedly founded the site which would eventually come to be known as Edmonds, WA.

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⛴ Brackett's Landing South

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Make your way south to the other side of the ferry dock where you will end up at Brackett's Landing South. This section of beach as wonderful greenery and benches, and tends to be a spot where a lot of people swim in the summer.

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⛴ Olympic Beach

@selma

Follow the boardwalk to Olympic Beach, where you'll find a unique feature: statues and sculptures! A great comic-photo opportunity if you ask me! Olympic Beach is also a good spot to swim in the summer time, and you still get wonderful sites of the ferries. At this beach, the view of the mountains across the Puget Sound are a little bit better too.

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⛴ Marina Beach Park

@selma

Marina Beach Park is a little ways away from the rest, but still connected via the boardwalk. If you follow along the boardwalk south from Olympic Beach, you will pass by the marina, and a couple of restaurant spots that you can certainly stop into for a quick bite! This beach has an off-leash dog area. If you love doggos and puppers, this is the place for you!

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Check Out Some Local Shops

Main Street, 5th Ave South, or any of the other streets that spread out from the main round-a-bout are great for shopping local. Most stores along those streets will be family-owned and unique to Edmonds.

📚 Edmonds Bookshop

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Edmonds bookshop is a local staple. They host monthly bookclubs and community events, and are an independently-owned enterprise. Support this local business by popping in to say "hi!" and perhaps purchasing a book or two.

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⛵️ Treasures & Teas

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Treasures & Teas offers an assortment of unique teas and "uncommon" tea accessories, as well as nautical gifts, souvenirs, jewelry, and probably anything else you can think of!

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💐 Pelindaba Lavender Edmonds

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Pelindaba Lavender Edmonds offers you the complete lavender experience. They have forms of lavender for all types of uses, from soaps, to creams, to pillows, and even to lavender chocolates. (And much more!) All of their lavender comes from a local lavender farm on San Juan Island in the Puget Sound.

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🕊 Crow

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Crow is a locally-owned business that features local art and handcrafted jewelry. They are very proud that you will never find mass-produced items when you shop with them.

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These are just some places to get you started! Feel free to stroll along and pop into any shops that look good to you!

Other Things to See and Do

🚂 Edmonds Historical Museum

@selma

The Edmonds Historical Museum is located in the restored 1910 Carnegie Library building in downtown Edmonds. The Museum is a private non-profit dedicated to collecting and preserving the memory of the city of Edmonds. Step inside an original, preserved jail cell on the museum's lower floor, travel back in time as you visit the Train Room, or explore the many donated pieces in the Victorian Parlor Room, there is so much to see and learn about local Edmonds history. The Edmonds Historical Museum also makes the effort to honor the Coast Salish tribes that called this area home before the settlers arrived.

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🎬 Edmonds Movie Theater

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The Edmonds movie theater is a locally-owned independent movie theater right on main street. If you grow tired of all the shopping and walking, you may want to relax and catch a film!

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🎭 Edmonds Driftwood Players

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Consider going to watch a play or a musical brought to you by the local community theater group, Edmonds Driftwood Players. EDP has been part of the Edmonds community since 1958, making them one of the oldest operating community theaters in Washington State. Not only do they consistently put up musicals, plays, etc throughout the year, but they also produce an annual Festival of Shorts. Their whole mission is to produce theater that engages and enriches the local community. Additionally, their outreach program - "Take a Kid to the Theater," which aims to make live theater accessible for families in shelters or in transitional housing - has been incredibly successful in helping boost the local community. On top of all that, they create great theater!

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🎨 Cascadia Art Museum

@selma

Consider checking out the Cascadia Art Museum! Their mission is to feature art made by local Pacific Northwesterners. They also host many events, lectures, and workshops that aim to further enrich the community. It's worth a visit and, if you're art-centric, its definitely worth attending events such as "Coffee with the Curator" and "Music in the Museum." Cascadia Art Museum is included as part of Art Walk Edmonds, a monthly community event held every third Thursday of the month from 5pm to 8pm. During this time, local businesses, galleries, and museums are free to enter.

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There are many other things that you can participate in just by walking through town in the evenings. Live music, the Edmonds Art Walk, or even a painting workshop at one of the galleries, are all things that you can stumble upon as you stroll the town. 

Art Walk Edmonds Info

www.artwalkedmonds.com

Seasonal Festivals

Edmonds is also known for its many annual and seasonal festivals. My favorites are the Edmonds Arts Festival and the DeMiero Jazz Festival. 

🎶 Taste Edmonds

@selma

Taste Edmonds happens every year in August and features live music, a corn hole tournament, beer and wine, and great local food trucks, chefs, and restaurants. Taste Edmonds is a fundraiser in support of the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce's free community events. The best part about Taste Edmonds is how much of a classic summertime thing it is. Grab a few friends and head on over, it's worth it! Please note that some parts of this event are 21+ only.

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🎨 Edmonds Arts Festival

@selma

The Edmonds Arts Festival is one of the most prestigious in the Pacific Northwest. Not only does it feature some of the best art and music that the Pacific Northwest has to offer, but it also makes sure to tie in the local community. For example, when I was in elementary school, I sang with my school's choir at the Arts Festival. When my sister was in middle school, she had her art featured there in a special exhibit highlighting art from the local schools. The Edmonds Arts Festival is woven into the fabric of Edmonds and you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who grew up in the area and never attended this festival. The festival features booth artists, gallery artists, local student art, and performance art. Held annual in June, it is great for all ages!

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DeMiero Jazz Fest – DeMiero Jazz Fest

demierojazzfest.org

Places to Stay

There aren't many hotel options in Edmonds beyond the Best Western Plus Edmonds Harbor Inn. I've included the Hilton Harden Inn in neighboring Lynnwood. If you're doing a larger Pacific Northwest or Seattle trip, you may want to consider the Courtyard by Marriott Seattle Northgate, or the Travelodge by the Space Needle. 

Best Western Plus Edmonds Harbor Inn

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Hilton Garden Inn Seattle/Lynnwood

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Courtyard by Marriott Seattle Northgate

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Travelodge by Wyndham Seattle By The Space Needle

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Wrapping Up

Edmonds really is a beautiful town to take a day-trip to if you've never been, if not for the art and culture, then at least for the beautiful scenery. Feel free to reach out with any questions, or follow me through my instagram below.

Selma's Instagram (Click here to follow!)

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