9 Supercool Tree Houses, Forts and Lookouts Around Seattle to Explore With Kids

Even if your child hasn’t yet read J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic “The Hobbit,” it’s easy to love a hobbit-size habitat. Pedal along Seattle’s Burke-Gilman Trail and you’ll discover a hobbit door built into a gnarly tree, near Matthews Beach Park in Northeast Seattle.

You can also spy a nifty hobbit door (also called “the gnome home”) at the Bellevue Botanical Garden. Find the hidden spot in the Shorts Ground Cover Garden. This hobbit door used to be the cellar door to Cal Short’s root cellar. Short and his wife donated their house and property, which became the beginning of the entire garden. While at the garden, don’t miss the Ravine Experience, involving an exciting suspension bridge you can walk across, right in the heart of the garden.

Young tots will love finding the gnomes — some hiding out in natural homes and forts — along Maple Valley’s revamped Gnome Trail. This trail has unfortunately been the target of ongoing vandalism. If you do go, consider tidying up if you see something broken or amiss.

Editor’s notes: Vicky McDonald contributed to this article, which was originally published many years ago and has been enticing fort and tree house fans to go exploring ever since! It was most recently updated for 2023.