Canal Boats Pass Between Saltwater and Freshwater in Seattle
Watch the ship canal at work, then look through underwater windows along the fish ladder.
⚓ A Working Waterway
At Ballard Locks, the waterway is the attraction. Boats of all sizes navigate the passage linking the saltwater of Puget Sound with the freshwater of the Lake Washington Ship Canal. Settle into the vantage point and follow the working canal for a while. Give a single boat your attention as it makes its way through, rather than treating the water as a backdrop to the walk.
The fish ladder changes the scale of the experience. Its underwater viewing windows look into the passage used by migrating salmon. This is the part of the outing for looking below the surface, with the window bringing that underwater world into view.
Then trade the canal for the landscaped paths of the Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Garden. A stroll through those grounds brings a quieter finish, with room to shift your attention from moving vessels to the garden.
