Looking for the best things to do in Redmond? Home to Microsoft and Nintendo of America, this Eastside tech city is also known as the “Bicycle Capital of the Northwest,” with huge parks and miles of trails. Locals point to Marymoor Park, the Sammamish River Trail, and a growing, walkable downtown.

Things to do in Redmond

Marymoor Park

The Eastside’s premier park — summer concerts, a huge off-leash dog area, a climbing rock, gardens, a velodrome, and trails on 640 acres.

Trails & Cycling

The Sammamish River Trail and regional network make Redmond a cyclist’s dream, connecting to Woodinville wine country and beyond.

Downtown Redmond & Town Center

A growing, walkable downtown with dining and shops, plus Redmond Town Center — and the new light rail connecting to Seattle.

Things to do in Redmond at night

Downtown Redmond’s restaurants and breweries, summer concerts at Marymoor, and nearby Woodinville wineries lead the evening, with Seattle now a light-rail ride away.

Free things to do in Redmond

• Marymoor Park trails and dog area
• The Sammamish River Trail
• Downtown Redmond strolls

What Redmond locals actually recommend

The best trails and rides, Marymoor events, downtown spots — that comes from people who live here. On Neighborhood Nurturers’ Redmond community, real neighbors answer “what should I actually do this weekend?” Join your Redmond neighbors free →

Fitting it into a day in Redmond

The best days here mix the well-known spots with the places only locals frequent. What sets Redmond apart is how close everything sits together. Start near Marymoor Park, work in one of the spots from this guide, and you are minutes from the Redmond Central Connector trail if you want to keep going. Locals often round out a full day out with a detour to the Sammamish River Trail or a quieter stop at Idylwood Beach. Because the distances are short, you can improvise as you go rather than lock the whole day down in advance.

More Redmond guides

Redmond rewards people who dig a little deeper. These related guides map the same neighborhoods from different starting points: Free things to do in Redmond, Best restaurants in Redmond, undefined Redmond — enough to plan a whole day or two.

Get a local’s take

Guides are a starting point; the current, on-the-ground details come from people who live in Redmond. Hours shift, favorites change, and residents always know what is genuinely worth it now. Ask Redmond neighbors directly or join your town community free to hear from real locals.

Marymoor Park — the reason to come

Marymoor Park at 6046 West Lake Sammamish Parkway NE is 640 acres and holds facilities no city of Redmond’s size would build alone — because it is a King County regional park serving the whole county.

It has the only velodrome in Washington: a 400-metre banked track for bicycle racing, with programmes for riders of all levels. It has a 40-acre off-leash dog park with trails, open fields and river access. It has a 30-foot climbing wall, a playground, and access to the Sammamish River Trail.

And in summer it becomes the Eastside’s outdoor venue, with the Marymoor Live concert series and outdoor movie nights. Check whether an event is on before planning a quiet visit — it changes the whole park, parking included. Full detail in the Marymoor Park guide.

The light rail changed what a Redmond day looks like

Downtown Redmond station opened to passenger service on 10 May 2025, and the full 2 Line opened on 28 March 2026. The station sits on the north side of Redmond Town Center.

That is genuinely new, and it matters: for most of its history Redmond was an Eastside city you reached by car. A car-free day here — train in, walk or ride between the centre and the park, train home — is now straightforward. If you read older advice about visiting Redmond, check its date, because most of it assumes you will drive.

Redmond Town Center

Redmond Town Center is the most-searched place in the city — an open-air retail, dining and entertainment centre in downtown Redmond, with a cinema and the light rail station on its north side.

The dining is the real draw, and specifically the Indian, Chinese, Japanese and wider Asian food, which reflects the Eastside’s population and is better than a suburban centre would normally support. Being open-air, it is a pleasure on a dry day and less so in a wet Northwest winter. See the full guide.

Cycling — the city means it

Redmond calls itself the “Bicycle Capital of the Northwest”, and there is hardware behind the slogan: the velodrome at Marymoor, the Sammamish River Trail connecting the city into the regional network, the Redmond Bike Park, and an annual bike race and parade.

Arriving by train and continuing by bike is genuinely the best way to see this city, and the flat terrain makes it easy.

The Saturday market — with a correction

⚠️ The Redmond Saturday Market is at 9900 Willows Road NE, not at Redmond Town Center, despite how often people search for it there. It runs 9am to 2pm from the second Saturday of May through the last Saturday of October — seasonal, not year-round — and signals about its current status conflict, so confirm before travelling. See the farmers markets guide.

A day in Redmond

Morning: 2 Line to Downtown Redmond station. Coffee and a walk around the centre.

Midday: Marymoor Park — the dog park, the velodrome, the climbing wall, or simply the trails across 640 acres.

Afternoon: the Sammamish River Trail if you have a bike, or back to the centre.

Evening: dinner at Redmond Town Center — Asian food — and a film at the cinema, or a summer concert at Marymoor.

No car required, which is the newest and most interesting thing about this city.

Being straight about Redmond

Redmond is not a sightseeing city and padding a list would not help. It has one outstanding regional park with genuinely unusual facilities, a rail-connected open-air town centre with very good Asian food, a serious cycling network, and Microsoft.

Approached that way it makes a good and unhurried day — and it is now, for the first time, a day you can have without driving.

Seasons matter more here than in most cities

A lot of what makes Redmond worth a day is outdoors, and the Pacific Northwest has a real wet season. Planning around it is the difference between a good visit and a damp one.

May to October is the window when everything is running at once: the Saturday market is open, Marymoor Live and the outdoor movie nights are on, the velodrome season is active, and the trails are dry enough to enjoy. This is when to come.

November to April is quieter. The market is closed entirely, the outdoor programming stops, and Redmond Town Center being open-air becomes a genuine consideration rather than a charm. The park is still open and still beautiful in the rain — the off-leash area especially — but bring the right coat and lower your expectations about sitting outside.

What Redmond is not

Setting expectations honestly saves people a wasted trip.

There is no historic old town of any scale, no waterfront in the Seattle sense, and no museum district. Downtown Redmond has been rebuilt so extensively around the light rail arrival that its character is new rather than preserved.

What Redmond has instead is an exceptional regional park, a serious cycling identity backed by real infrastructure, very good Asian food, and — newly — a train. That is a genuinely good day out. It is just not a sightseeing itinerary, and the honest framing helps you enjoy what is actually here.

Getting here and getting around

By train: the 2 Line to Downtown Redmond station, on the north side of Redmond Town Center. Passenger service began 10 May 2025; the full line opened 28 March 2026.

By bike: the Sammamish River Trail connects Redmond into the regional network, and the terrain is flat. Combining rail and bike is the best way to see the city.

On foot: the town centre is walkable. Marymoor is walkable from the centre if you do not mind a stretch, and trivial by bike.

By car: straightforward, but Marymoor parking fills on event days and during summer weekends. If a concert is on, arrive early or come another way.

Frequently asked questions

What are the top things to do in Redmond, WA?

Spend a day at Marymoor Park (concerts, dog area, climbing rock and trails), ride the Sammamish River Trail, explore the growing downtown and Redmond Town Center, and bike out to nearby Woodinville wine country.

What is Redmond, Washington known for?

Being home to Microsoft and Nintendo of America, its tech economy, Marymoor Park, and its reputation as the ‘Bicycle Capital of the Northwest.’

What are free things to do in Redmond?

Marymoor Park’s trails and dog area, the Sammamish River Trail, and downtown Redmond strolls are all free.

Is Redmond worth visiting near Seattle?

Yes — for Marymoor Park, the cycling trails, and the growing downtown, plus easy access to Woodinville wineries, all connected to Seattle by the new light rail.