Shutter Tours · Pike Place Market
Shutter Tours takes 13 guests at most from Pike Place Market out to Snoqualmie Falls in the Cascade foothills, then back through Fremont, Ballard and Queen Anne. Pick it if you want one real piece of nature with your city tour, and a guide who'll help with your camera.
This is the city tour with a waterfall bolted on. You meet at the Pike Place Market information booth (1st and Pike) by 9:45 AM, and the shuttle heads east to Snoqualmie Falls, about 270 feet high and free to visit. You get 35 minutes there. Then it's back into the city for the Fremont Troll (10 minutes, out of the bus), Fishermen's Terminal (20), the Ballard Locks (30) and Kerry Park (10), finishing where you started.
The guides are photographers, and it shows: guests report tips on camera settings and guides taking pictures for them. Several also mention a photo stop at the Twin Peaks sign near the falls. Groups are small, and the shuttle takes folding wheelchairs and walkers, though the tour isn't listed as wheelchair accessible.
Plan a margin. The listing says about 4 hours from 10 AM, and one guest missed a reservation because it ended later. The other trade-off is the city half: you see less of downtown than on the 3 Hour Seattle City Tour, with Pioneer Square and the stadiums only from the window. No hotel pickup, but secure luggage storage is available, which helps on a check-out day.
Meet the guide at the information booth on the southwest corner of 1st and Pike (97 Pike St). Departure is 10:00 AM.
Out past Pioneer Square and the stadiums, then on toward the Cascade foothills.
Time at the viewpoints over the falls. Entry is free.
Back in the city: 10 minutes with the Fremont Troll under the Aurora Bridge, then 20 at Fishermen's Terminal and its memorial.
30 minutes at the locks and the salmon ladder, then 10 at the Kerry Park lookout.
A last 5 minutes at the market where you started.
★★★★★My daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting Snoqualmie Falls, the Fremont Troll, Seattle Fisherman’s Memorial, Chittenden Lochs (saw seals! and several boats go through the lochs). The tour ended at Kerry Park with a beautiful view of Seattle!
★★★★★The four hours went by fast, yet I was stoked to get some cool photos with our expert guide, Dale who provided great tips and offered to take pics.
★★★★★Dennis took us on a well-paced, small group tour, providing a great deal of information and advice. I appreciated that he asked participants about comfort level and time schedules.
★★★★★Excellent small group tour of Seattle and the falls. The stop at the Twin Peaks sign was a highlight! Camera technique tips were an added bonus throughout the tour.
Read next:
35 minutes, per the listing. The rest of the roughly 4-hour tour is in Seattle: the Fremont Troll, Fishermen's Terminal, the Ballard Locks and Kerry Park.
At the Pike Place Market information booth on the southwest corner of 1st Avenue and Pike Street (97 Pike St). Be there by 9:45 AM. There are no hotel pickups.
Yes. Entry is free, and the falls are open from sunrise to sunset every day, per the official site.
Guests report a little walking but not much, and the shuttle takes folding wheelchairs and walkers. The tour isn't listed as wheelchair accessible.
Ready to book
Snoqualmie Falls plus the Fremont Troll, Fishermen's Terminal and the Ballard Locks in about 4 hours.
3 Hour Seattle City Tour with Hotel PickupThe classic narrated loop with hotel pickup, a Pike Place stop and the Ballard Locks. Listed at about 4 hours.★ 4.8 · About 4 hours · from $111
Seattle Bus Tour with Space Needle & Fremont TrollAn afternoon 3-hour loop from the Hyatt Regency with Kerry Park and the Locks, and a drop-off at Pike Place.★ 4.9 · 3 hours · from $89
Premier 3-Hour Seattle City Tour by Mini CoachThree downtown start points and a 3-hour loop to the Locks and Kerry Park, ending in front of the Space Needle.★ 4.8 · 3 hours · from $88