When we visited Seattle this past weekend, there was something Sloan and Beau really wanted to see. In fact, they were looking more forward to this particular attraction than they were about swimming in the hotel pool, going to the Mariners game, and even having the opportunity to drink soda.

They were stoked to visit the gum wall.

An up close photo I took of the gum wall when we visited it on July 18, 2026.

The gum wall is a very visual and viral phenomenon that my children were no strangers to thanks to YouTube. Seeing the colorful display from a screen was exciting enough but to have the opportunity to view it up close and personal was a thrilling prospect to Sloan and Beau.

And can I be honest? I was pretty excited to see it too.

Despite my many visits to Seattle and Pike Place Market over the course of my life, I had never seen it in-person before. Once we started searching for it this past Saturday when we converged in downtown Seattle, I realized its location might have had something to do with that.

Because quite frankly, it wasn’t easy to find. I used my phone’s walking navigation to locate the spot but the many curves and stairs not necessarily reflected on the screen proved challenging. Thankfully, once we arrived in the general vicinity of the wall a Seattleite who was selling popcorn pointed us in the right direction. He instructed us to take a nearby elevator and then walk a few paces in a certain direction to finally arrive at the infamous gum wall.

We followed the man’s directions to a “T” and sure enough we found ourselves right in front of the gum wall. It is even more vibrant and colorful in-person than photos and videos do it justice. Gobs and gobs and layer upon layer of gum cover two different brick walls running parallel to each other. Amongst the gum are wrappers, papers, and business cards that people have stuck on the wall in hope of making a special mark or perhaps generating some business.

Beau poses in front of the infamous Seattle gum wall.

What I wasn’t expecting—although I shouldn’t have been surprised about it—was the ground around the walls to be covered in gum as well. Even if you were in the middle of the walkway between the two walls you could still feel the stickiness on your shoes.

The kids were definitely entertained. Sloan placed a piece of her own chewed up Bubblicious gum on the wall. However, when I dared her to make room for her piece by removing another piece and placing it in her mouth she vigorously declined. We were going to offer the same challenge to Beau (we thought he would have done it) but by that time he was already walking away from the gum wall with Sid.

If you ever have the chance to view the gum wall in Seatle you should…at least once. It is a cool site and actually has 30+ years of history attached (or stuck?) to it. Don’t Blink.