Coast Guard Museum Northwest — Attraction in Seattle

My son and I were killing some time prior to a Mariners game we flew in for and I’m so glad we did.

This was a great museum! We were given a private tour by a docent who was a veteran with 30 years of US Coast Guard service and had served all around the world. He provided so much amazing information about the Coast Guard, including information about ships, their training, ranks, lighthouses and missions he had been on.

The tricky part was when we arrived at the Coast Guard Security station in the front of the base, the officer indicated that we were supposed to make an appointment during their open hours.

The officer called the museum and asked if the docent was available. Since it is on an active base, the docent came and picked us at the gate and drove us over. They were very gracious and kind to accommodate us. I would suggest if you’re planning on visiting to call beforehand to make sure that you can visit. You will have to show them your US passport or your real ID to be able to enter the museum.

The last thing that was super cool was that we got to get a close-up view of one of the Ice Breaker Coast Guard ships which was getting ready to depart for the North Pole with scientists and the Coast Guard crew for several months.

Sadly, I did not get the docents name but he was a wonderful man and so happy we went and met him. He was full of history, stories and loved sharing all...

I was only upstairs of the museum building. Not much up there relating to the museum. There's a beautiful & enormous sized (hand-painted?) art piece on the floor leaned against the wall. View of an ocean (unsure which specifically) w/ a large Coast Guard ship in the center. Unsure if it's new, taken off the wall for a reason or possible temp location of this art. It needs to be on a wall & viewed by as many people as possible.

The upstairs does have a bar area, lots of open flooring, movable podium, plenty of long collapsible tables & stackable chairs. I assume this upstairs area can be reserved/used for events & a lecture type arena.

Lots of ships were in port & special to see so...

Didn't get to see the museum. Called them on a morning they were open, talked to a person, told them the time when I will be coming back that same day, confirmed what ID I needed to get on base. Showed up at the appointed time only to discover that the museum is closed and everybody apparently went home earlier, with no explanation why.

The museum is a bit out of the way from any public transport so it's a solid 2h chunk of time...