Lynnwood is the first major city you’ll come across as you enter Snohomish County from Seattle. Its downtown is the opposite of a quiet residential neighborhood, and it has a lot to offer. Lynnwood has become one of our go-to spots since the light rail expansion, which has also made it so much easier to reach other places in Snohomish County.
In this blog post, I’ll share all the cool spots you can visit in and around Lynnwood. Don’t forget to subscribe to my email list to get notified when more guides like this one go live. The best part about this guide is that you can reach most of these spots by bus, making it great for car-free travelers.
Before you hop on a bus, here’s a quick look at where Lynnwood came from, how to get here, and how to get around once you arrive.
A Quick History of Lynnwood
Lynnwood didn’t start as a city at all. In 1917, the Puget Mill Company turned its logged-over timberland into Alderwood Manor, a planned farming community of small “ranchettes” that became one of the country’s big egg-producing areas. The Seattle-Everett Interurban trolley (1910 to 1939) was what made it all work, carrying city folks north to try their hand at chicken farming.
The name came later. In 1937, Seattle real estate developer Karl O’Beirn platted land near Highway 99 and 196th Street SW and named it after his wife, Lynn, adding “wood” as a nod to neighboring Alderwood Manor. Businesses picked up the name, the crossroads kept growing, and Lynnwood officially incorporated in 1959.
So yes, a city now known for a mall and a light rail station was once chicken country. I find that oddly comforting.
Getting to and around Lynnwood Without a Car
The game changer is the Link 1 Line, with the openning of Lynnwood City Center Station on August 30, 2024 as the line’s northern end. The ride from Westlake Station in downtown Seattle takes about 32 minutes. No I-5 traffic, no parking hunt.
Note: Every bus time in this guide starts from Lynnwood City Center Station, so think of it as your home base.
Getting around Lynnwood is easy thanks to Community Transit’s local routes like 102, 117, 166, and 901 and Sound Transit Express bus route 512 to Everett.
- Link light rail: $3 flat adult fare, any distance (Free for Youth 18 and under)
- Community Transit local bus: $2.50 adult fare (Free for Youth 18 and under)
If you tap an ORCA card (or use the Transit GO Ticket app on Community Transit), transfers within two hours are covered up to the fare you already paid. That means Seattle to Alderwood Mall is $3 each way. Steal deal, right?
Tip: Bus times below are approximate. Check the Transit app or Google Maps before heading out, especially on weekends when buses run less often.
Best Time to Visit
Lynnwood works year-round since many attractions are indoors and even the outdoor ones are great for a winter stroll if it’s not raining. However, for the lake and the waterfront sunsets, late spring through early fall is the sweet spot, with long evenings and the best chance of clear skies. If you’re planning around the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, aim for April.
Things to Do in Lynnwood
These two are the easiest wins: both are under 20 minutes from the station, and both work for a quick afternoon.
Alderwood Mall
Alderwood Mall is one of the key spots in the area. It opened on October 4, 1979, and today it’s the largest shopping center in Snohomish County. In the early 2000s it added The Village, an open-air section with shops, restaurants, and outdoor plazas, so it feels less like a big box and more like a place to wander.
This is where you go to indulge in fun entertainment and shopping. Catch a movie at the AMC Alderwood Mall 16, browse the stores, and grab a bite in The Village. Fair warning: a “quick errand” here has a habit of turning into a three-hour outing.
- 📍 Where: 3000 184th St SW, Lynnwood
- 🚌 Getting there: Route 166 (about 16 minutes from Lynnwood City Center Station)
Martha Lake Park
Just north of the busy downtown, Martha Lake Park is the calm you didn’t know Lynnwood had. This small Snohomish County park sits right on the lake with a wetland boardwalk, a fishing dock, a small beach, and a boat launch for non-motorized boats only.
Come here for a peaceful stroll, a kayak session, or some bird watching along the boardwalk. If you have your own kayak or paddleboard, the launch makes it easy to get on the water. On a sunny weekend the parking lot fills up quickly, which is one more reason to take the bus.
Good to know: The restrooms are typically closed from mid-October through mid-April, and the park follows a pack-it-in, pack-it-out policy.
- 📍 Where: 16300 E Shore Dr, Lynnwood (off 164th St SW)
- 🚌 Getting there: Route 901(14 minutes from Lynnwood City Center Station)
Escape Rooms
I have a newfound love for escape rooms, so much so that I’ve now tried six of them in and around Seattle (here’s my ranked Seattle escape rooms guide). So if you’re in Lynnwood and looking for a fun group activity, there are two escape rooms close to each other: KryptoScape Escape Rooms and Escapology (Alderwood Mall).
KryptoScape has four 60-minute rooms, ranging from the beginner-friendly Steam-Powered S.O.S (4/10 difficulty) to the much tougher BioNova Breakout (8/10). It’s $45 per person, and every booking is private, so you won’t get paired with strangers. Escapology is inside The Terraces at Alderwood Mall, so it’s easy to add to a shopping day. Its themes include Batman: The Dark Knight Challenge, A Pirate’s Curse, and Haunted House, and its rooms are private too.
- 📍 KryptoScape: 19031 33rd Ave W, Suite 100
- 📍 Escapology: 18602 Alderwood Mall Pkwy, Suite 1120
- 🚌 Getting there: Route 166 to Alderwood Mall, and KryptoScape is a short walk from there.
Easy Half-Day Trips from Lynnwood by Bus
If you have a little more time, these spots take 30 minutes to an hour by bus and feel like proper little getaways.
Brackett’s Landing, Edmonds
Pick one, or come back and do both. Each one gives you a front-row seat to a Puget Sound sunset, with ferries gliding past and the Olympics glowing in the distance on a clear day.
Brackett’s Landing in Edmonds is the closer option. It’s named after George Brackett, the logger who rowed up this shoreline in 1870 and went on to found Edmonds. Right next door is the Edmonds Underwater Park, created in 1970 as one of the first underwater parks on the West Coast, so don’t be surprised to see scuba divers heading into the water while you’re waiting for the sun to set.
If you visit this place during low tide hours, you can also spot marine animals like anemone, ochre sea star, shore crabs and more. Plus, it’s a great spot for birding and whale watching.
- 📍 Where: Next to the Edmonds ferry terminal, Main St & Railroad Ave
- 🚌 Getting there: Route 102 (26 minutes from Lynnwood City Center Station)
Mukilteo Lighthouse Park
Mukilteo Lighthouse Park is the history lover’s pick. The wooden Mukilteo Lighthouse was built in 1906 to guide ships to Everett, and it’s still an active navigational aid. The ground here matters even more: in 1855, the Treaty of Point Elliott was signed at this spot between Governor Isaac Stevens and leaders of Puget Sound tribes, including Chief Seattle. Look for the public art honoring that heritage as you walk the beach. The lighthouse itself opens for tours seasonally.
- 📍 Where: 609 Front St, Mukilteo
- 🚌 Getting there: Route 117 (50 minutes from Lynnwood City Center Station)
Tip: You can pick coffee or a scoop from Diamond Knot Brewery & Alehouse (small to-go order window) and enjoy it with the sunset at the beach. Also get a light jacket even in summers as it gets breezy on the water as soon as the sun dips.
Funko HQ, Everett
Funko, the company behind those big-headed Pop! vinyl figures, started in nearby Snohomish and moved its headquarters to downtown Everett. The flagship store there is less “toy shop” and more pop-culture playground, with larger-than-life Pop! statues from Marvel, Star Wars, Disney, Harry Potter, and more.
Bring your camera for the photo ops, look for store exclusives, and check out the Pop! Yourself station where you can design a custom figure. I’ll admit, this is where my “just looking” promises go to die.
- 📍 Where: 2802 Wetmore Ave, Everett
- 🚌 Getting there: Route 512 (Sound Transit Express, 42 minutes from Lynnwood City Center Station)
Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum, Everett
Learn about aviation history at the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum at Paine Field. The collection began with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, and it focuses on rare 20th-century military aircraft, tanks, and armored vehicles, many restored to flying or driving condition.
Here’s the best part for budget travelers: general admission has been free since January 2025. You just need to fill out a quick waiver, which you can do on your phone before you arrive. There’s no café on site, so eat before you go.
This one takes the most effort to reach without a car, but it’s worth it if you’re into history or engineering.
- 📍 Where: 3407 109th St SW, Everett (Paine Field)
- 🚌 Getting there: Route 901 to Mariner Park & Ride, then a rideshare to the museum, about 1 hour total
- ⏰ Hours: Thursday to Saturday, 10 AM to 4 PM
Farms Near Lynnwood
Snohomish County has an abundance of farms you can visit. The county comes to life in the fall with fun pumpkin patches, but you can also visit farms year-round to pet animals, shop, and try farm-to-table food. These are easiest by car or rideshare, but they’re close enough to pair with a Lynnwood day.
Flower World
Flower World began in 1968 as a small four-acre wholesale nursery started by John and Marijke Postema, who emigrated from the Netherlands. In 1994 it moved to its current home, a former dairy farm, and today it’s one of the largest nurseries on the West Coast.
Even if you’re not shopping for plants, it’s a lovely place to wander: a five-acre display garden with ponds and a waterwheel, free-roaming ducks and geese, and acres of greenhouses full of tropical plants (and turtles!). It’s free to walk around, which makes it an easy add-on.
- 📍 Where: 9322 196th St SE, Snohomish (Maltby area)
- ⏰ Hours: Sunday to Thursday 10 AM to 5 PM, Friday and Saturday 10 AM to 6 PM
Holly Farm
Holly Farm is a 17-acre working farm in Bothell that has been home to horses and farm animals for more than 100 years. Today it has around 40 horses, along with chickens, goats, sheep, llamas, and alpacas.
The farm is best known for its riding lessons and kids’ camps, but it also runs farm tours on select Sundays where you can meet the animals, walk through the barns, and watch a lesson in progress. Visits are by appointment only, so sign up ahead of time.
- 📍 Where: 19329 51st Ave SE, Bothell
- 🎫 Tour price: $25/person
Country Farms
Country Farms is the closest one to Lynnwood, just down Highway 99 in Edmonds, and it’s a farm market rather than a farm you can tour. There are no animals here, but it’s a great stop for fresh, local fruits and vegetables from March through November, plus herb starts, flowers, and garden supplies. Look for asparagus in the spring and pumpkins and squash in the fall, and come winter the lot turns into a Christmas tree stand.
- 📍 Where: 22800 Highway 99, Edmonds
- ⏰ Hours: Daily, 8 AM to 8 PM (call ahead for seasonal changes)
Luckie Farms
Luckie Farms is a family-run farm in the Snohomish River Valley in Lake Stevens, known for its guided farm tours where you can meet (and cuddle!) baby Highland calves, along with yaks, reindeer, donkeys, and bunnies. The property has history too, with barns built in 1907 and 1922 and ongoing habitat restoration along a salmon-bearing stream.
Note: Visits are by appointment only, so book a tour online before you go.
- 📍 Where: 930 Sunnyside Blvd (Lake Stevens)
- 🎫 Tour price: $65 per person
Beyond Lynnwood: Day Trips Within a 1 to 3 Hour Drive
Lynnwood sits right on I-5, which makes it a great jumping-off point for some of Washington’s best day trips. You’ll need a car for these, but each one is worth the drive. If you’re traveling to Washington for any of the events I’ve mentioned below, I highly recommend staying in Lynnwood as it’s connected to the airport and rent a car from Lynnwood to avoid traffic.
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
Every April, the fields around Mount Vernon turn into stripes of color for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, which started as a small three-day event in 1984 and grew into a month-long celebration. Peak bloom depends on the weather, so keep an eye on bloom reports. We’ve covered it in detail in our Skagit Valley Tulip Festival guide.
If you’re coming early, you can see the daffodils in full bloom and also the migratory Snow Geese. There’s lot to do in this area no matter what season you visit.
🚗 Drive time: 1 Hour
Index
The tiny mountain town of Index sits along US 2 under the granite cliffs of the Index Town Wall, a famous rock climbing spot. Watch climbers, walk along the Skykomish River, hike the short trail to Heybrook Lookout (about 2 to 2.6 miles round trip) for wide views of the surrounding peaks or challenge yourself hiking to the Bridal Veil Falls. Don’t forget to stop by the famous coffee spot Espresso Chalet for coffee and baked goods and enjoy them with a view of the waterfall from a distance.
🚗 Drive time: 1 Hour
Deception Pass State Park
The star here is the Deception Pass Bridge, completed in 1935 and sitting about 180 feet above swirling tidal water. The Civilian Conservation Corps helped build much of the park during the Great Depression. You’ll need a Discover Pass to park. Here’s our full Deception Pass day trip guide to help you make the most of your time.
🚗 Drive time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes
North Cascades National Park
Head up SR 20 for the glacier-fed, turquoise water of Diablo Lake and some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the state. You don’t need to be a hardcore hiker to enjoy it. Our North Cascades non-hiker’s guide has everything you need.
🚗 Drive time: 2 Hour
Mount Baker National Recreation Area
On the southern side of Mount Baker, this area is reached via Baker Lake Road and forest roads off SR 20. It’s home to trails like Park Butte and the Railroad Grade, with close-up views of the mountain. You’ll need a Northwest Forest Pass to park at the trailheads, and the higher trails are usually snow-free only from mid-summer to early fall.
🚗 Drive time: 2 Hour
Final thoughts
Lynnwood is easy to overlook, and plenty of people just drive through on their way somewhere else. Since the light rail opened, though, it has become our favorite starting point for exploring Snohomish County without a car. If you’re looking for more car-free adventures, check out how we visited Snoqualmie Falls from Seattle without a car.
Have you been to Lynnwood, or is there a spot near the light rail I should add to this list? Let me know in the comments!
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