PREVIEW: 2026 West Seattle Glass Float Hunt just hours away – with one big change!

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(Photo courtesy West Seattle Chamber of Commerce)

One of the newer West Seattle traditions that livens up late summer is about to begin! Tomorrow is the first day of the 2026 West Seattle Glass Float Hunt, with 100 glass floats like the one seen above hidden around the peninsula, indoors and outdoors, over the course of a week (August 7-14). It’s a collaboration between the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce and West Seattle Junction Association, with businesses sponsoring and participating, as well as city matching-funds support. As explained on the official website, if/when you find a float, it’s yours to keep – the only request is that you use its unique QR code to report you found it, so that can be noted on what will be an ongoing online list. And the official announcement notes a change:

This year, daily clues are taking a back seat. Clues will only be released if a float hasn’t been found, giving participants a chance to explore West Seattle, stop into and discover local businesses, as well as experience the neighborhoods that make this community so unique.

“The Glass Float Hunt has never just been about finding a glass float,” said Rachel Porter, Executive Director of the West Seattle Chamber. “It’s about supporting the small businesses that make West Seattle so distinct. We hope people will grab a coffee, browse a shop they’ve never walked into, stay to eat, and spend time supporting the businesses that invest in this community every day.”

Sam August 6, 2026 (11:40 am)

Dibs. Dibs dibs dibs. ;) can’t wait to visit some new places and hopefully find a float!!!!!

Wondering August 6, 2026 (12:05 pm)

Where is the boundaries? Barton? Roxbury? Westcrest? South Park?

WSB August 6, 2026 (12:26 pm)

I’m asking.
- WSB August 6, 2026 (12:42 pm)
  
  Rachel at the Chamber replies, “From Alki to Roxbury, so all of West Seattle!”
  - Jon August 6, 2026 (12:54 pm)
    
    Where does that put the parts of west Seattle south of Roxbury? I am sure the folks down there already have all the glass floats they could want, but it would be nice to confirm that the chamber understands the boundaries of west Seattle are not rectangular
    - CarDriver August 6, 2026 (1:27 pm)
      
      Jon. Correct me if I’m wrong but it’s not West Seattle . South of Roxbury is a)King County not city of Seattle and the neighborhood name is White Center.
    - WSB August 6, 2026 (1:39 pm)
      
      Yes, part of West Seattle IS south of Roxbury and is part of the city. Specifically, most of Arbor Heights, down through The Arroyos and ending at Seola, on the southwestern end of WS.
    - CarDriver August 6, 2026 (1:49 pm)
      
      WSB. Now I know and am a bit more educated. Genesee Hill and Alki all my life. Haven’t known anyone who lived there or that I’ve ever ventured to that part of WS.
    - Lauren August 6, 2026 (4:34 pm)
      
      … you’ve never ventured to Arbor Heights?
    - Colby August 6, 2026 (7:12 pm)
      
      Right?! Arbor Heights was only annexed into Seattle over 70 years ago. So, rather recent! Haha
    - K August 6, 2026 (7:06 pm)
      
      And the little nub of land with the church at 20th on Roxbury.

Jon August 6, 2026 (12:31 pm)

Their website is remarkably light on details of how this works for folks who didn’t do it last year but want to participate. Do I start by going to businesses and looking through their cabinets for one of these? Are these gonna be in eyesight or will I need to hop the counter?

Sam August 6, 2026 (2:17 pm)

Right like are we talking bird watching or an Easter egg hunt
link August 6, 2026 (3:56 pm)

Click the link in the article and the instructions are there.

alkiannie August 6, 2026 (5:34 pm)

Cool but lame about no clues this year. Just walk around West Seattle and look around like a 10 sq miles easter egg hunt with 100 eggs? odd/weird

Bob August 6, 2026 (6:11 pm)

It’s a neighborhood scavenger hunt. You have the perimeters. What’s weird/odd?
shed22 August 6, 2026 (6:18 pm)

Same. I really enjoyed the playfulness of using clues (sometimes misinterpreted) to explore specific areas. Best of luck to all!
- Leigh August 8, 2026 (8:30 am)
  
  Same! Part of the fun was figuring out the clue and then going and searching for it this seems really wide open. …

Jolene August 6, 2026 (6:09 pm)

Devastating!! The clues were what made it a scavenger hunt, we look forward to it so much every year. What a terrible and upsetting decision. We found so many new places the last 2 years, but won’t be participating this year. I hope they maybe reconsider.

aa August 6, 2026 (8:22 pm)

Just because WSB posts an event it doesn’t mean they have all the answers. They do a great job of providing information and links when they can. If you have additional questions contact the organizers or do some research.

C August 6, 2026 (9:27 pm)

I like not having clues right away, it gives everyone more of an opportunity, especially people who work 9-5 jobs and can’t get out right when they released them every day! I love this tradition!

Mary August 6, 2026 (10:37 pm)

It would be nice if there was an “overlay” showing the exact outer boundries\streets that constitutes the area to look for the floats. Also do they put all of the floats out on the first day or do they add more as some are found?

Irene August 7, 2026 (7:35 am)

From Wikipedia

Eric August 7, 2026 (7:37 am)

With no clues, do we know if all of the floats are being put out all at once? Or like 10-20 at a time like last year?

WSB August 7, 2026 (9:32 am)

13 so far if you look at the website.

Kiersten August 7, 2026 (8:15 am)

Does anyone know how they are tracking them this year? In the past with hints, we’d know when someone found it. This year there appears to be no details about which ones have already been found.

zark00 August 7, 2026 (10:26 am)

No clues is extremely lame. Big swing and a miss this year on the float hunt. It’s not compelling or interesting without something to point you in some kind of direction. It’s a big enough gaff that they ruined the event this year. I assume they’ll get it from the flood of complaints and put the clues back next year.

Fern August 7, 2026 (1:13 pm)

This is such a cool event, I love exploring West Seattle, there is a lot to discover.

Debbie August 7, 2026 (3:18 pm)

Working the brain with riddle solving is actively engaging. Finding randomly hidden floats without the riddles is extremely passive. Not having clues this year takes away from the thrill of the hunt. Not all of us have the leisure time to stroll the entire area looking for floats. Especially since many of us have young kids in tow. We used to hunt between naps and having clues helped to narrow the scope of the area we looked in. We are not fans of this no clues hunt.

JTinWS August 7, 2026 (9:09 pm)

Agreed. It also means all the hunters will just repeatedly return and scour the same small handful of “most likely drop spots” – Alki (esp the statue of liberty), Lincoln Park near Colman Pool, Hamilton viewpoint…. Rinse and repeat. Why go to a park that has a 0.1% chance of a float, if you know those 3-4 spots have like a 25% chance each day? Whereas the clues sent me to a bunch of hidden little corners of West Seattle I’d never seen before last year….As for the ones hidden in businesses, similarly this just makes it a crapshoot, so the ones actually sponsoring/hiding floats get barely any extra traffic, while the free riders who don’t sponsor will be getting just as much bonus traffic (and that’s assuming it drives any extra foot traffic, which I doubt it will. Knowing that one of West Seattle’s 150 small businesses might have a float doesn’t give me any measurable extra incentive to visit. The odds are effectively nil, in any given shop, without a clue.)

Sam August 7, 2026 (4:13 pm)

Y’all, they still have clues! They just aren’t releasing them up front. And they have a full list of what’s been found and what’s still out there. Click on the links, stop whinin’, and have some fun!! 🙂‍↕️

AHMom August 7, 2026 (9:38 pm)

I love that there aren’t any clues this year!! Last year was so annoying to go to a clue location and see 10+ other people running to find it. Previous years without clues (only provided when not found), made it so much better for those that work and have kids. No pressure to try to get there the first few minutes after a clue is released. After all, isn’t the purpose to explore and wander west Seattle, not run as fast as you can to the clue location?

Emily August 9, 2026 (6:02 pm)

This!!!!The clues were great but stressful as hell. I still do plenty of exploring as well as checking the same parks. Hell I spent $100 ducking into spots for air conditioning and snacks etc between searches

Liv August 8, 2026 (9:00 am)

Clues will be released once floats haven’t been found, so everybody wins! So much complaining here. You love the float hunt? Love West Seattle? Then get outside and support the businesses in any way you can! This is a fun thing and haters need to go touch grass (luckily you can while searching for floats!). Great event, very fun and supportive of our community. So cool for West Seattle

Katie August 8, 2026 (4:34 pm)

The clues were what made it fun. My friends and I were waiting to run around and decipher riddles. Now there’s nothing to do. And most likely it’s random you find one? Man, I was looking forward to this and now, hopes dashed. I know it’s silly to be disappointed in a glass hunt, but I was really looking forward to getting out there with folks.

ITotallyAgreeWithYou August 9, 2026 (9:56 am)

I’m with Sam. It seems the whining comes down to a perceived advantage being taken away. Nobody is owed a free object or an advantage to find it. The comment that someone didn’t have time for this was the most comical and telling. You only have time for a treasure hunt if you can get in and get out without much investment, of course *with what you came for. Ooookaaay…It must be stressful having to add a treasure hunt to your already busy schedule! I think the best thing to come from this new version of the treasure hunt is people are learning what constitutes West Seattle, even those who have lived here all their lives! The glass company did the community a service with that alone.

hmm August 10, 2026 (10:33 am)

I like how this is put on with no clues. Its the hunt that makes it fun. Similar to how Monkeyshines are done down in Tacoma. That would be fun to make this into something like that in West Seattle where you have the main floats plus the community starts leaving items for people to find.

Sorry, comment time is over.