Occidental Park
Occidental Park
3.5
About
This urban park is best known for its four totem poles carved by local artist Duane Pasco.
Duration: < 1 hour
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingTours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Top ways to experience Occidental Park and nearby attractions
The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Pioneer Square
How to get there
- Pioneer Square • 4 min walk
- King Street Station • 5 min walk
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
1,920 within 5 kms
Attractions
745 within 10 kms
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
3.5
74 reviews
Excellent
11
Very good
21
Average
33
Poor
5
Terrible
4
CC_Sea
Seattle12 contributions
Sept 2022
It reminds me Gotham City and it smells like a urinal or worse. Pioneer square is degraded and most nice shops have closed down. The only reason I go there at all is because I have to work there. I never go outside unless I have to. Pike Place Market is a better bet
Written 4 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alec D
Seattle, WA2,602 contributions
Apr 2019 • Solo
Occidental Park is more like a large open space with trees and sculpture and not really a park. It's nice to visit if you happen to be in Pioneer Square but not worth a special trip.
Written 1 May 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Onceinawhile720
Rancho Cucamonga, CA10 contributions
May 2013 • Couples
If you look at the web site PioneerSquare.org, you'll notice several of the outdoor pictures, particularly in Occidental Park, are looking up. That's because the ground has a generous covering of derelicts. Not everywhere, just at the base or on top of the statues, totems, or buildings you might want to take a picture of. Having been to Seattle Center earlier in the day (Space Needle, museums, parks, imax theater) it seems to me the City has signed a treaty with the bums, giving them Pioneer Square, especially Occidental Park, with the agreement they stay out of Seattle Center. It's a shame, because there are some neat historical places and art work. I would have taken a better picture of the statues of individual fireman, at work fighting a fire, but what do you say, "Could you please get off the back of this statue so I can take a picture,....and could you move your shopping cart with all your earthly possessions, and could you pick up that bags that wouldn't fit in the shopping cart,.....and could you take your friends out of the shot too,....and could you hose off the crud that's growing around you",.....??? We just left. I'd leave it to reading about the area on a website.
Written 13 May 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kelly M
Seattle, WA10 contributions
June 2012
Occidental Park could and should be beautiful. The buildings that line one side of it are lovely. It's who hangs out there that's the problem. It's a gathering place for the homeless, the mentally ill, and the creepy. Don't go, and if you do, don't let your kids run around--I've seen syringes lying on the ground there. Seattle is generally a beautiful city, but this is not a good part of it.
Written 12 July 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Amanda W
Seattle, WA79 contributions
May 2012
This park is mostly filled with homeless people. They have absolutely NO problem to follow you around until you give them money. Get's even worse at night.
Written 11 May 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Scott-Diana
Belington, WV125 contributions
May 2019 • Couples
Neat little area in the city we wanted to see due to the Fire Fighter Memorial. It was a really nice tribute if you or someone in your family is in the fire dept. The park itself has some totem poles, tables and chairs to sit and relax or eat. There is also a few games that can be played here. There is a lot of homeless people in the area.
Written 9 June 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jason G
2 contributions
Aug 2018 • Family
One my first day in Seattle, we were looking for a restaurant to eat in the vicinity of our hotel (in Pioneer Square). The first night was ok, we went to Zócalo, a modern Mexican restaurant on the park’s eastern edge. The next day we went to wait for our Hop On-Hop Off Bus Tour and decided to play some of the fun games that they had in the park. Two words: bad idea. It wasn’t too hard until we found weed on the park’s ground, hypodermic needles and syringes lying around. My brother and I were playing the big chess game provided and we were asked for “spare change” six times in 10 minutes. Not to mention the unfortunate but real screaming mentally ill homeless people who we shared the park with. Even though this area is truly a beautiful spot, it is unfortunately being ravaged by homeless that I have never experienced, even coming from NYC. If you want to visit the park, do so at your own risk. If you do go, don’t be scared but just be vigilant of your surroundings.
Written 31 August 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Zoe R
New York, New York, United States64 contributions
July 2015 • Couples
This would be a lovely park which could offer a pleasant experience however the park is completely overtaken by the homeless population. Definitely not worth going even with the interesting and charming buildings surrounding it.
Written 19 July 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rumples
Tucson, AZ11,759 contributions
Aug 2014 • Solo
This 1/2 acre park, also referred to as Occidental Square, is worth an extremely short visit if looking around the historic Pioneer Square district. It features four beautifully carved totem poles and a striking memorial to firefighters with life-size bronze figures. Granite slabs display the names of all Seattle firefighters killed in action since the Great Fire.
There is no grass here -- just tall trees hovering above brick and concrete. In summer, I've seen buskers performing at noon when there's often a lunch crowd and sometimes interesting chess games are in progress. I usually make it a point to go here to look at temporary art installations.
Otherwise, I tend to steer clear of the park, because of the large number of homeless that hang out here.They have never pestered me, however, and their presence certainly does not keep me away from something I want to see.
There is no grass here -- just tall trees hovering above brick and concrete. In summer, I've seen buskers performing at noon when there's often a lunch crowd and sometimes interesting chess games are in progress. I usually make it a point to go here to look at temporary art installations.
Otherwise, I tend to steer clear of the park, because of the large number of homeless that hang out here.They have never pestered me, however, and their presence certainly does not keep me away from something I want to see.
Written 17 August 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Linda M
Boynton Beach, FL1,065 contributions
July 2014 • Friends
Take a walk around the area and enjoy the green (summer) and atmosphere. The park is part of a whole area that highlights the history of Seattle.
Written 29 July 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing