The Seattle aquarium is really good, and fun for kids. The museum of flight at Boeing Field is also great.

Go see the Bruce Lee exhibit "Do you Know Bruce? " at the Wing Luke museum http://www.wingluke.org/brucelee

Anonymous wrote:So when you do pike's place market, eat at sound view cafe. It's a little hide away but inexpensives, not a long wait for a table, the food is great, mostly locals and you have a sound view. Find the place that throws the fish, face it, go to the right, go pass it and continue to the back. You will see the view of the sound and it will be to your right. Pike's can be really crowded and the wait at other place in the market can be an 1 1/2 and expensive for basic stuff. Great place for breakfast.

Also dim sum is really good in Seattle. Make sure you go.

Go eat at Din Tai Fung

Anonymous wrote:Theo's chocolate tour

Yes, I was skeptical of the advice above to go see the Fremont Troll. I love the troll, and I see the charm, but it's just not interesting enough to make a special trip to. If you can pair it with a Theo tour, though, it makes the outing to Fremont more worthwhile. We went on the tour about 3 years ago and have been Theo loyalists ever since. Maybe you could go either to the Ballard locks, or the zoo, or the U District (and see the UW) on the same outing.

So when you do pike's place market, eat at sound view cafe. It's a little hide away but inexpensives, not a long wait for a table, the food is great, mostly locals and you have a sound view. Find the place that throws the fish, face it, go to the right, go pass it and continue to the back. You will see the view of the sound and it will be to your right. Pike's can be really crowded and the wait at other place in the market can be an 1 1/2 and expensive for basic stuff. Great place for breakfast.

Also dim sum is really good in Seattle. Make sure you go.

Boeing tour

Theo's chocolate tour

Fremont Brewing

EMP is so cool.

We did a duck tour that was well worth it.

Lunch atop the Space Needle was fun. Favorite of the trip for the kids. It's pricey, but includes the admission.

I second the Fremont troll bridge, that's fun for kids and I love Fremont in general. Great shops and food. Too bad they took down the gum wall because that used to be kind of cool. Last time I was there we went on a ghost tour that started at a coffee shop by the gum wall that was a really fun way to learn about the history of Seattle.

It's not quite off the beaten path, but my kids love taking the ferry to Bainbridge island to spend the day at the parks and having lunch at one of the restaurants and browsing the shops. Or if the kids have passports the Victoria Clipper is a quick day trip or overnight trip to see the gardens and visit Victoria.

Also, there are tons of great independently own per bookshops. The Seattle Mystery Bookshop has a great young adult section and the people who work there have read a majority of the books and actually make great recommendations.

With a 6 and 8 year old, I would do much of what the PP suggested. Not all of this is "off the beaten path," but I'm a local and I've done much of this this summer, and I see lots of locals when I do so. So these aren't necessarily tourist traps.

--EMP, Pacific Science Center, and Seattle Center (cool playground and fountain, good lunch options in the Center House)
--waterfront (including Ivar's, Ye Olde Curiosity Shop, the ferris wheel, the ferry to Bainbridge and/or an Argosy Cruise, and maybe the aquarium)
--Pike Place Market
--check the SeaFair website to see if there are any activities while you're here
--if you want to hike or see some nature without leaving the city, I'd head to Alki or Golden Gardens for beach, or Discovery Park for short hikes (and some beach)
--Ballard Locks to watch the boats come and go, enjoy the gardens, and maybe see the salmon swim up the ladders
--if you want to get out of the city, the hike to the bottom of Snoqualmie Falls is nice (though the falls won't be all that impressive in August). There are lots of other good day trips out of town--to Mt. Rainier, to the peninsula, to the San Juans--depending on your interests.

Honestly, I would skip SAM (the art museum) unless that's really your thing. IMHO, it's a pretty basic big city art museum. Bumbershoot is labor day weekend (and super expensive now).

I'll post again if I think of anything else!

See what kind of events/activities are happening in the neighborhoods like Ballard, etc. The IMP and SAM aren't off the beaten track but worthwhile, so is Seattle city center. Get some Ivars clam chowder. Take one of the ferries -- Bainbridge Island is awesome to explore for a day (go to the Steamliner Diner, and there's also a great family-run bakery on the island I forget the name). Can't remember if Bumbershoot is August or September but that would be cool. Or go up to Bellingham for a couple days and swim in the lakes, hike Mt Baker, visit shops and restaurants and coffee shops in Fairhaven and downtown. And hit the Bagelry.

not sure what "off the beaten track" is, but maybe the troll bridge, or underground seattle?

Especially anything off the beaten track that you'd recommend. Going in August with two kids: 8 and 6.