Midwinter break in Seattle is the perfect chance to explore, play, and try something new with your kids — whether you’re planning outdoor adventures, indoor activities for rainy days, or special family-friendly events happening around the city. Here are 22 fun things to do with kids during midwinter break Seattle families will love.
Outdoor Midwinter Break Activities in Seattle
Celebrate the Lunar New Year
Celebrate Chinese New Year with your family in the International District with traditional dragon and lion dances, martial arts, Japanese taiko drumming, and other performances. Look out for them over mid-winter break. This and other activities are on our round-up of Lunar New Year celebrations to check out with your family.
Ferry ride to Bainbridge
Hop on the ferry from downtown Seattle and pretend you’re off on a swashbuckling adventure to Bainbridge Island. You may not find any treasure on this Island, but there’s plenty of fun to be had. Here is a list of things to do on Bainbridge Island with your kids.
Fly a kite
Gas Works Park is one of the many great spots to bring your family and enjoy beautiful views of the city while flying kites. Here are some other solid kite flying spots in Seattle that you can visit. You can DIY a kite at home with your kids if you want to involve arts and crafts before the kite flying.
See wildlife at Northwest Trek
Bring your kids to visit the Northwest Trek Wildlife Park and experience wildlife up close, including beavers, gray wolves, and wolverines. During mid-winter break, the park will be doing its Kids n Critters Weekend Deal, where two kids 12 or under are free with each paid adult general admission. Too cold to get out of the car? It’s not a problem. They offer drive-through tours where the animals will greet your family at the windows of your car.
Northwest Glass Quest
Join the Northwest Glass Quest, a 10-day treasure hunt where businesses and parks throughout Stanwood and Camano Island hide plastic clue balls. When you find the plastic clue ball, you find a piece of paper directing you where to claim your treasure – a limited-edition hand-blown glass ball. (Treasures limited to one per person per year.) This event encourages kids to participate and has launched a “Kind Quester Program” that gives the kids a mission to complete 6 of the 16 suggested activities on the form to be entered to win a handmade glass pebble heart. Learn more HERE.
Go skiing on a weekday
Snow loading. We’ve had a notoriously rough ski season thus far, but Snoqualmie Summit has been open to some degree since January. Make sure to check in on conditions and run openings before heading out. To prepare for a fun ski day, here are 10 tips on skiing with your kids before heading up to the mountain for mid-winter break. If you’re looking for other mountains to ski with your kids, here are the best ski areas you can drive to from Seattle.
Ride the rails at Northwest Railway Museum
Winter Train Excursions at the Northwest Railway Museum will be happening every Saturday from January through March. Enjoy a 2-hour round-trip excursion from Snoqualmie Depot and a scenic train ride through the upper Snoqualmie Valley. Ride times: 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Sledding, tubing, and luging
Midwinter break is the chance to take your family outside of Seattle to find great spots to go luging, sledding and tubing. As noted above, snow is hit or miss in these parts — so make sure to check conditions before you go!
Snowshoeing
If you’re looking for a new outdoor activity with your family you can give snowshoeing a shot. Explore new trails and make memories in the mountains together. Here is a guide to snowshoeing with your family with everything you’ll want to know about this winter activity.
Take a stroll on the beach
Living in the Puget Sound area means living near a beach. Here are some family-friendly beach hikes with scenic views. Want to take an adventure out of the city and into Tacoma? Guided tot trails are available every Friday morning until March 27.
Train ride to Bellingham
Take a day trip from Edmonds to Bellingham by train and experience spectacular water and forest views. Once you arrive, you will be in a historic town called Fairhaven, where you can have lunch and walk around, taking in the attractions.
Visit the trolls
Go troll hunting with the kids, where you can explore the city and find giant trolls. Here is a guide to troll hunting that will help you with this hunt. Another cool place to go troll hunting is on Vashon Island. This is a great day trip opportunity, where you can take the ferry boat from the Fauntleroy ferry terminal in West Seattle and then explore the island.
Winter picnic
You can still enjoy the outdoors during the winter weather with your kids and enjoy good food with a winter picnic. Here are some ideas on what to wear and what food to bring for a successful picnic.
Indoor Activities for Rainy Midwinter Break Days
Cheer on the Seattle Thunderbirds hockey team
If you want to bring your family to a live hockey event for midwinter break, a cheaper option than going to a Kraken game is to watch the Seattle Thunderbirds down in Kent. You can easily take the light rail from downtown Seattle to the Kent station and then take an Uber to the rink. There is a game on Friday, February 20th, at 6 p.m., where tickets start at $20 per person.
“Ada Twist, Scientist and Friends”
Seattle Children’s Theatre brings STEM learning to the stage with “Ada Twist, Scientist and Friends,” a lively musical based on the beloved children’s books. Follow Ada, Rosie, and Iggy as their curiosity leads to creative problem-solving, teamwork, and plenty of imaginative fun. Recommended for ages 5+, the hour-long production runs through February 22 and includes select accessible and sensory-friendly performances.
DIY hot chocolate bar
To stay warm during the midwinter break, consider a tasting table with hot chocolate and tasty toppings. Here is everything you need to do to get your hot cocoa bar ready for the kids.
Go ice skating
Lace up your skates and check out these cool places for ice skating in Seattle. Both Kraken Community Iceplex and The Sno-King Arena locations have public skating hours where children get the opportunity to try holding a stick, standing up on skates, doing a little bit of skating, and hitting the puck around.
Go see “Cirque du Soleil: ECHO”
Take a trip to Marymoor Park during the midwinter break and watch the Cirque du Soleil: ECHO under the Big Top. Performances through March 22, 2026. This show features high-flying acrobatics, whimsical characters, lavish costumes, colorful sets, hilarious clowns, and a live score. You can see the performance weekly on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at various times.
Read a book
Curling up with a book is a good way to spend some vacation time. Whether you go to a bookstore or a library, here’s a list of 27 children’s books to keep busy during the midwinter break. Practice reading at the Everett Library with Reading with Rover event.
Rollerblading and bowling
The Lynnwood Bowl and Skate offers roller skating/blading, bowling, and arcade games that bring you back to the 80s with fun music and disco lighting. This is a family-friendly place where kids get to run (skate) around. On Wednesdays and Thursdays (6-8 p.m.) you can sign up for Kids Skate Free for children ten years and younger. If you’re hoping for a similar experience and live more south of Seattle, read about the fun and unique experience at Southgate Roller Rink.
Visit a museum
February is a cold month in Seattle and is the perfect reason to go visit a museum with the kids. Take a trip up North to Everett and visit Imagine Children’s Museum for their FREE Community Access Night on Thursday, February 19, or visit the FREE Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum (Thursday-Saturday), also for FREE. Want to stay local? Pacific Science Center offers low-sensory-friendly hours on February 21. If you’re on a budget, you can still visit cool museums in Seattle through the SPL Museum Pass Program.
Indoor play spaces
Get those wiggles out at an indoor play space. Jump, climb, bowl, tumble and more at any of these local spots around the Puget Sound area. Bookmark this guide to indoor active fun for the winter…and who are we kidding? The spring too!
