Ballard Locks Fish Ladder
2930 W Commodore Way, Seattle
(206) 780-2500
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Recent Reviews
Fascinating to watch vessels passing through the locks. The cranes on one end of each lock are there in case any of the lock gates fail, to lower temporary flow impeders across the lock and prevent the lake level from dropping until repairs can be made. The fish ladder and observation room were interesting, but would be awesome to visit during fish migration season.
Excellent and interesting area to visit while in the Seattle area, doesn’t cost any money and has nice walkways and things to see. We saw massive cormorant nests up in a tree that made the stop worth it alone. The train drawbridge operated while we were there as well which is really cool to see. We didn’t stick around long enough for a boat to go through the locks but even without that they are really neat to see.
My son lives in Ballard and we love visiting the locks and the fish ladder. TIP: Park on the north side at the Carl English Botanical Garden (convenient payment with the machine or the PayByPhone app - careful, there's more than one lot #) and walk across the lock walkways to the fish ladder. And make sure you walk far enough east to see the awesome wave sculpture!
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