‘Rooms’ With the Coolest Views

9 Supercool Tree Houses, Forts and Lookouts

Unleash your kids’ imaginations exploring a fort, climbing a tower or touring a tree house

By Nancy Schatz Alton

Photo courtesy TreeHouse Point

Inspiration most often lies outside our front doors. And if kids happen to encounter a tree house, fort or hobbit door woven into an outing, their inspiration can go into overdrive. But where to find these secret spots designed to spark our kids’ imaginations? We’ve collected nine places in the greater Puget Sound area that could fuel hours of outdoor play for kids, from tree houses and decommissioned forts to hobbit abodes and playgrounds with build-it-yourself features. Some are suitable for a day trip, while others are a short drive away. Fort Casey State Park, Whidbey Island • parks.state.wa.us

Fort Casey Historical State Park, a point in the former “Triangle of Fire” built to protect access to Puget Sound, is still home to two 10-inch and two 3-inch historic gun emplacements. Kids enjoy running around the expansive grounds and climbing the stairs around the emplacements, taking in the vast views provided by these features. You’ll need to exercise considerable caution here; there are many steep drops with no railings or barriers, but it makes for thrilling exploring for older kids (and parents). While some tunnels and bunkers now have lights, bring your own flashlight to explore the darkest and spookiest corners of this expansive fort. Info: A Discover Pass is required to park in this and all state parks. Don’t miss: Explore the saltwater shoreline of Admiralty Inlet or along Keystone Spit, which separates Admiralty Inlet and Crocket Lake. Or venture to nearby Fort Ebey State Park, another fun park in the Coupeville area. Fort Ebey was built as a coastal defense during World War II. There, concrete platforms still mark the former gun locations and a dark tunnel makes for a short, chilly stroll. Canopy tower and tree houses at IslandWood • islandwood.org

Reasons to visit IslandWood abound. This unique 255-acre outdoor learning center on Bainbridge Island offers three fantastic options for kids who like to explore, along with 6 miles of wooded trails and an amazing garden.

One exciting feature for kids is the 150-foot-tall forest canopy tower, a rebuilt fire tower. Formerly situated in the North Cascades, it now sits on the edge of IslandWood’s ravine. At the top, the view is spectacular, with sightlines to Puget Sound and the mountains. (Note: This spot probably would not suit those afraid of heights.) In addition, IslandWood includes two tree houses: the Bog Tree House and the Learning Tree House. The Learning Tree House appears more modern; the Bog Treehouse looks magical, as if elves or fairies might live there. Info: You can only visit IslandWood during public events, and those fill up quickly. Bookmark the events calendar on the website — and note that the events listed as “adult-friendly” but not including the term “kid-friendly,” such as a public site tour, are designed for adults only. Instead, look for Open Trails Day or other events marked as “kid-friendly” and be sure to RSVP early. Pets are not allowed at IslandWood. Also don’t miss: Cross the 190-foot suspension bridge 60 feet above Mac’s Creek and see a giant Douglas fir beam, 92 feet long and weighing almost 9,000 pounds, built into the truss system of IslandWood’s Welcome Center.

Tree house tower at Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center • bellevuewa.gov

Tucked away in Bellevue near Interstate 405 is one of Bellevue’s largest and most wildlife-rich parks, Mercer Slough Nature Park. Start your exploration of the park’s wetland ecosystems at the Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center, a complex of classrooms, stairways and lookout spots that allow visitors to see the forest from many vantage points.

The star lookout spot is the tree house. During the education center’s open hours, the ranger can unlock the tower for you. Climb the ladder and go through a hatch onto what is essentially an elevated platform with handrails and a roof. Here, you are at eye level with the surrounding forest canopy. It’s magical! Info: The center is open daily, 10 a.m.–4 p.m., though occasional unscheduled closures do happen, when you might find a sign on the door indicating the center is closed for the day. Also don’t miss: A hike on the shady trails, which are almost never crowded. Grab a trail map at the center. A short walk from there, you’ll come to the Bellefields Trail. At one point, you can cross the bridge over the main channel of the Mercer Slough, where visitors often see wildlife.

Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center; credit: City of Bellevue Stuart Heath via Flickr CC

Fort Worden Historical State Park, Port Townsend • parks.state.wa.us

Stunning Fort Worden Historical State Park, once a military fort, boasts more than 2 miles of saltwater shoreline, historic buildings and miles of trails, some of which lead to battery structures. Set your young explorers loose on Artillery Hill’s trail system. Highlights include being able to walk the dank, unlit tunnels of 12 former batteries. These batteries served as emplacements for guns that once protected the entrance to Puget Sound and the naval shipyard at Bremerton.

And the Golden Teddy goes to …

For many years, ParentMap has invited its loyal readers to vote for their favorite regional adventures and family-friendly services in the annual Golden Teddy Awards. In the category of nearby family escapes, these destinations have consistently clinched your votes.

Seabrook (seabrookwa.com) is a lovely, walkable beach town on the Pacific Coast that’s roughly a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Seattle. Ride bikes on quiet streets and paths, and enjoy the wide-open beach, sports courts, indoor swimming pool, skimboards, pottery painting studio, spa, restaurants and more!

Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort (sleepinglady.com), perched in the Cascade Mountains near Leavenworth, is a distinctive Northwest destination experience. Marrying creature comforts with alpine beauty, the resort offers visitors access to hiking and cross-country skiing trails, an amazing spa, a dedicated Play Barn for the kids, and delicious, sustainably sourced food (much of which is grown in the resort’s organic garden).

Readers say that Suncadia Resort (suncadia.com) in Cle Elum offers a luxurious getaway in spectacular natural surroundings. Only a 90-minute drive from Seattle, just off Interstate 90, this family- and pet-friendly 6,000-acre resort furnishes a wealth of year-round activities, including a pool with thrilling waterslides, a day spa, hiking and biking trails, and many more amenities.

Insider tip: For a more rustic option in Cle Elum, Lauren Braden recommends Flying Horseshoe Ranch (flyinghorseshoeranch.com), which welcomes families for a Western-style vacation, complete with guided horseback rides, nature hikes and campfire cooking. Once a children’s summer camp, the ranch now offers a range of fun accommodations; choose from canvas platform tents, tepees, and simple bunkhouse cabins with shared bathhouses and a cookhouse for preparing your own meals.

Tips: Trail maps are available at the Commons building on the Fort Worden campus. Use caution when climbing the stairs of the gun emplacements, since many lack bannisters or hand rails. Bring a flashlight to explore the fun but very dark and twisty tunnels. There are open areas in front of most of the gun emplacements that lead to the bluff overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound. Info: Note that you need a daily or annual Discover Pass for parking, as this is a state park. Don’t miss: Memory’s Vault, an area on Artillery Hill that features pillars of poetry written by Sam Hamill; the poems speak of the fort’s sights, sounds, history and weather. The charming town of Port Townsend is always worth a visit. Or venture to Fort Flagler State Park, on the other side of Port Townsend Bay on Marrowstone Island, about a 30-minute drive away. Fort Flagler also has gun emplacements to explore, along with a 1905 military hospital and plenty of beach for building forts. Sammamish tree house, Sammamish • sammamish.us

In a quiet corner of Big Rock Park Central in Sammamish, there is an impressive tree house to explore. The tree house was constructed in 2013 and includes a stylish tapered stair entrance, a fully enclosed meeting room, a rigid bridge, a suspension bridge and a lookout. In short, this is a very fancy tree house with lots of unique features and a polished finish. The tree house recently opened to the public, but reservations are limited to protect the integrity of the structure and the trees.

Info: The tree house is open for visitors four times per month through October 2021. Visits to the tree house are free and by reservation only; no walkups are allowed. Reserve a 20-minute visit on the website. (Unfortunately, it looks like 2021 reservation slots are currently full, but check back as more visits may be added.) There is limited parking in the Big Rock Park Central lot, but there is more parking nearby at Big Rock Park North lot.

Also don’t miss: Opposite the tree house, you can explore a heritage garden with a variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs. Even if you don’t snag tickets for the tree house, you can admire it from the outside. And you can always visit nearby Big Rock Park North and its cool nature playground, which includes a zip line, a hillside slide and 1.5 miles of easy hiking trails — plus, as the name suggests, a seriously large rock!

TreeHouse Point, Fall City • treehousepoint.com

Why just watch reruns of the TV show “Treehouse Masters” when you can tour TreeHouse Point, a renowned tree house hotel built by Pete Nelson and his crew?

A spruce tree holds the first tree house built here: Temple of the Blue Moon. Trillium has 80 windows, while The Upper Pond contains a bunk bed and a dumbwaiter to bring up guests’ luggage. The Nest (bird-themed) was built during a workshop, and it’s the only tree house with an outhouse. Guests of The Burl must traverse a 40-foot-long steel bridge to arrive at their quarters, the only accommodation with a flush toilet and a sink.

Info: TreeHouse Point offers a handful of tours each week for $35 per person; the minimum recommended age is 4. Tours book up fairly far in advance and last one hour. Overnight stays are geared toward adults. Guests must be 13 or older, and a tree house stay with shared bath can cost some $400 a night. You’ll also need to book far in advance, as reservations fill up fast. Stump house at Guillemot Cove, Seabeck • kitsapgov.com

Wander a trail through the Guillemot Cove Nature Reserve, on the Kitsap Peninsula near Seabeck, and you’ll be rewarded with the sight of an awesome stump house. The house was created from an old western cedar tree stump after it was logged. Follow the Stump House Trail to reach it. While no one knows who built the stump

Stump House; credit: George Stenberg house, urban legend suggests an outlaw used it as a hideout.

Info: The hike down into the cove from the parking area is about a mile in length. Know that this can be a steep hike back up for young children. After or during rainy periods, the meadow may be flooded, so pack extra shoes or rain boots. Note that pets are not allowed.

Don’t miss: The beach. At low tide, seekers will find oysters, sand dollars and sea stars. Magnuson Children’s Garden • seattle.gov

Next time you visit enormous Magnuson Park in Northwest Seattle, perhaps for soccer practice or a romp on the beloved Junior League Playground, save a little time to explore the Magnuson Children’s Garden, a hidden gem just across the street and to the north of the playground.

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The garden is lovingly maintained by Magnuson Nature Programs. An unexpected delight at the garden is the log pile. This 75-square-foot area contains splinter-free wood that kids can pull apart to see decomposition and its accompanying living creatures, or use to build small piles, forts and other constructions.

Tips: Dress to get dirty, and some children might want gloves if they are first-time users or squeamish about touching rotting wood. Parents and their kids should know it’s fine to pick up roly-polys, potato bugs, worms and millipedes, but avoid picking up spiders and centipedes.

Info: The log pile is accessible during the hours that Magnuson Park is open;

Photo courtesy Magnuson Children’s Garden it’s not off-limits during Children’s Garden programs, but plan a visit in the afternoon during spring and summers to experience the full range of use. Don’t miss: The Children’s Garden offers other highlights for kids in its small but very well-designed space. Take a roll down the “Rolling Hill,” walk the spiral path to a lookout, the highest point in the garden, and look for the Grey Whale Garden with its tail (which can be climbed!) and tall grass spout. There is also a scavenger hunt that kids can go on, beginning at the Children’s Garden shed.

Hobbit abodes, various locations

Even if your child hasn’t yet read J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic “The Hobbit,” it’s easy to love a hobbit-size habitat. Pedal along Seattle’s Burke-Gilman Trail and you’ll discover a hobbit door built into a gnarly tree, between 75th Avenue N. and Matthews Beach Park in Northeast Seattle.

You can also spy a nifty hobbit door (also called the “gnome home”) at the Bellevue Botanical Garden (bellevuebotanical.org). Find the gnome home in the Shorts Ground Cover Garden. This gnome home used to be the cellar door to Cal Short’s root cellar. He and his wife donated their house and the 7-acre property on which it was situated as the original founding site of the entire garden. While at the garden, don’t miss the Ravine Experience, involving an exciting suspension bridge you can walk across in the heart of the garden. Young tots will love finding the gnomes — some hiding out in natural homes and forts — along Maple Valley’s revamped Gnome Trail (Facebook, “Maple Valley Gnome Trail”).

Maple Valley Gnome Trail; credit: Godfrey Guerzon

Nancy Schatz Alton is the co-author of two holistic health care guides, “The Healthy Back Book” and “The Healthy Knees Book.” She’s the writer/editor at University Prep. This article first appeared in the guidebook “52 Seattle Adventures With Kids.”

Vicky McDonald, ParentMap’s digital content editor, contributed to this article.

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