8 Supercool Tree Houses, Forts and Hobbit Houses Around Seattle to Explore With Kids
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Stop by The Brothers Greenhouses in Port Orchard for a hobbit-inspired photo op. Photo: Allison Sutcliffe
8. Gnome and hobbit houses
Location: Various locations throughout Seattle
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. The Brothers Greenhouses in Port Orchard has a hobbit-inspired tiny house, open year-round during business hours.
You can also 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. Or you can 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 Gnome Trail.
