Eastside Family Calendar

Cities

Family outings worth the drive

These places sit a little outside the Eastside. We only list them when the trip is worth it: a big pumpkin patch, a corn maze, a tree farm, or a light show the kids will still be talking about on the way home. The time on each card is a rough drive from Bellevue, before traffic.

Updated Sep 30

Pumpkin patches and corn mazes

Big patches and mazes a little outside the Eastside.

A path between tall corn stalks in a corn maze.
Photo: Hugho226, CC0Source

Maris Farms Fall Fest

Through Oct 31

Maris Farms, 25001 Sumner-Buckley Highway, Buckleyabout 60 min from Bellevue

A full-day farm festival with a pumpkin patch, corn maze, pig races, and an evening light show. Select dates from Sept 26 through Oct 31. In October the farm is mainly open Friday through Sunday. Tickets are required, and days and hours vary.

Family days

Kid activities and family hours, not a day at the betting windows.

The grandstand and track at Emerald Downs in Auburn.
Photo: brewbooks, CC BY-SA 2.0Source

Hometown Hoedown family hours

  • $10

Oct 10, 11:00 a.m.

Emerald Downs, 2300 Ron Crockett Dr NW, Auburnabout 35 min from Bellevue

Saturday family hours at Emerald Downs, 11 a.m.–3 p.m., with bounce houses, games, and other kid activities. Ages 15 and under are free. A limited free-admission hour runs 11 a.m.–noon if you reserve ahead, then family admission is $10. This is the daytime family block, not a race day.

Tree farms

Choose-and-cut farms worth the drive.

Rows of young evergreens on a Christmas tree farm, with hills behind them.
Photo: Oliver Dixon, CC BY-SA 2.0Source

Honeytree Farm Christmas trees

Through Dec 24

Honeytree Farm, 21606 SE Green Valley Road, Auburnabout 40 min from Bellevue

A choose-and-cut tree farm that opens the day after Thanksgiving, Nov 27, at 9 a.m. Weekends run 9 a.m. until dark, and weekdays from 10 a.m. They close when the trees are gone. Santa usually visits the first two weekends, and hot cocoa is free.

Neat rows of small evergreens in a Christmas tree field.
Photo: Oliver Dixon, CC BY-SA 2.0Source

Pfaff's Christmas Trees

Through Dec 24

Pfaff's Christmas Trees, 124th Avenue SE, Kentabout 30 min from Bellevue

Choose-and-cut and precut firs on the Kent East Hill, two miles south of Kent-Kangley Road on 124th Avenue. Open the day after Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve. Weekends 9 a.m.–6:30 p.m., weekdays 10 a.m.–6:30 p.m.

Light shows

Big holiday light walks the kids will talk about on the way home.

A pond and autumn trees at Woodland Park Zoo.
Photo: Bernie Ongewe, CC BY-SA 4.0Source

WildLanterns

Through Jan 17

Woodland Park Zoo, 5500 Phinney Avenue N, Seattleabout 25 min from Bellevue

An evening lantern walk at Woodland Park Zoo, 4–9 p.m., last entry 8:30 p.m., from Nov 13 through Jan 17. New lantern displays and a kids interactive zone. Closed Nov 16, 17, 18, 23, 26, and 30, Dec 7, 14, 24, and 25, and Jan 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, and 13. Timed tickets. The 21+ Night Owls evenings, Nov 20, Dec 18, and Jan 2, are adults only.

A red wolf standing in the grass at Point Defiance Zoo.
Photo: USFWS/Southeast, CC BY-SA 2.0Source

Zoolights

Through Jan 3

Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, 5400 N Pearl Street, Tacomaabout 50 min from Bellevue

A nighttime stroll through more than a million lights, 4:30–10 p.m., Nov 27 through Jan 3. Closed Dec 24 and 25. Online timed tickets are required. The animals are sleeping and the aquariums are closed during the event. Parking is free.

A walkway covered in blue and white Christmas lights.
Photo: Michael Rivera, CC BY-SA 4.0Source

Holiday Magic

Through Dec 23

Washington State Fair Event Center, 110 9th Avenue SW, Puyallupabout 45 min from Bellevue

A walk-through holiday festival with millions of lights, rides included with admission, an ice rink, and free Santa photos. Open 4:30–9:30 p.m. on Dec 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, and 18 through 23. Not open the other days in that stretch. Ages 2 and under are free. Parking is free.