Fourth of July in Washington State 2026: Fireworks, Parades and Celebrations Statewide

Washington State puts on a serious Fourth of July. From a 45-minute fireworks show over a coastal marina to drone displays lighting up city parks, from laser beams projected across the face of one of the largest dams in the world to families lining miles of Pacific beach with sparklers, the state offers more ways to celebrate Independence Day than most people realize.

This guide covers more than 50 celebrations statewide, organized by region so you can find what is happening near you. A few notes before you start scrolling: several events fall on July 3 or July 5 rather than July 4, and two notable celebrations (Olympia’s Capital Lakefair and Renton River Days) happen later in July. All of these are called out clearly in each section so you know exactly what date you are planning around. A growing number of communities are also replacing or supplementing traditional fireworks with drone shows and laser displays, whether because of wildfire risk, wildlife protection, or a desire to try something new. We note which events use which format so you know what to expect before you go.

July 4, 2026 also carries extra weight. This year marks 250 years of American independence, and several Washington communities are going bigger than usual to mark the occasion. Everett has explicitly rebranded their celebration around the Semiquincentennial. Port Angeles is bringing back its waterfront fireworks display after a one-year absence, citing the 250th anniversary as the reason to restore the show. Pullman is marking the 50th year of its own community show. It is a good year to go out.

Six Events Worth Knowing About

Not ranked. Just a fast look at the geographic and experiential range of what Washington has to offer before you dive into your region.

• Seattle Seafair Summer Fourth at Gas Works Park: one of the most attended Independence Day events in the Pacific Northwest, with choreographed fireworks over Lake Union at 10:15pm. Free.
• Grand Coulee Dam Festival of America: laser light show projected onto a 550-foot concrete dam on the Columbia River, paired with a fireworks display off the dam itself. Free. Most people outside Eastern Washington have no idea this exists.
• Westport Booming Bay: a 45-minute professional fireworks show over the Westport Marina, which is longer than any other show on this list by at least 25 minutes.
• Ocean Shores beach fireworks: not a city show at all. Families line miles of Pacific beach with personal fireworks from noon to midnight, creating an informal display unlike anything else in the state.
• Everett Thunder on the Bay: 22-minute professional show over the Snohomish River, four free viewing locations, and a year with extra ambition built in.
• Kennewick: River of Fire Festival at Columbia Park: fireworks launched from a barge over the Columbia River, 30-plus years running, two music stages, free. One of the largest July 4 events in Eastern Washington and one of the most underrepresented on statewide lists.

Jump to Your Region

• Seattle and the Eastside
• South Sound
• North Puget Sound
• Whidbey Island
• Kitsap Peninsula
• Southwest Washington
• Eastern Washington
• Olympic Peninsula
• Washington Coast
• Small Towns Worth the Drive
• Drone Shows and Laser Nights
• Washington State Fireworks Laws

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Seattle and the Eastside

The Seattle metro offers more options within a short drive than anywhere else in the state.

Seattle: Amazon Seafair Summer Fourth
Gas Works Park on Lake Union is the center of the action, with gates opening at 3pm and a fully choreographed fireworks show launching over the water at 10:15pm. There is live music, food, games, and a pie-eating contest throughout the day. This is one of the most attended Fourth of July events in the Pacific Northwest, and parking is genuinely difficult. Taking transit is not just a suggestion; it is the practical choice. If you cannot get a spot at Gas Works, the show is also visible from South Lake Union and the Fremont waterfront.

Bellevue: Bellevue Family 4th
Bellevue Downtown Park hosts the Eastside’s largest fireworks display, with the show synchronized to live music performed by the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra. Activities begin at 5pm and fireworks launch at 10:05pm. This one has been running for more than 30 years and has earned its reputation.

Kenmore: Log Boom Park
Log Boom Park runs a free community show on July 4 with music, food trucks, and activities starting at 7:30pm and fireworks at 10pm for 20 minutes. A solid north King County option for anyone trying to avoid the Seattle parking situation.

Kent: Fourth of July Splash
Lake Meridian Park hosts Kent’s celebration from 5pm to 10pm on July 4, with live music, food trucks, kids activities, and fireworks set over the lake at 10pm. Free shuttles run from 3pm. One of the more organized South King County options.

Issaquah: Lake Sammamish Fireworks
Fireworks launch over Lake Sammamish at 10pm on July 4, viewable from Lake Sammamish State Park and Vasa Park on the south side of the lake. What makes this one worth mentioning is the origin: it is a community fundraiser for the local food and clothing bank, not a city production. The volunteer-run history is part of the charm.

Newcastle: Fireworks on the Lake (July 2)
Lake Boren Park runs from 6pm to 10:30pm on July 2 with food vendors and live music followed by fireworks over the lake. Note: this is a July 2 event, not July 4. Small-city feel right next door to Bellevue.

Snoqualmie: Red, White and Boom
Snoqualmie Community Park hosts a family event starting at 7pm with inflatables, field games, and fireworks at 9:45pm on July 4. A good option for families in the Snoqualmie Valley who want something low-key and close.

Maple Valley: Independence Day Celebration (July 3)
Lake Wilderness Park starts at 5pm on July 3 with picnic games, live music, food, and a fireworks show around 10pm. Note that this is July 3, not July 4.

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South Sound

Tacoma and the communities between it and Olympia each bring something distinct to the Fourth of July. Note that Olympia’s signature community festival, Capital Lakefair, runs mid-July rather than July 4 this year.

Tacoma: Summer Blast
The Ruston Way Waterfront is the setting for one of the more visually memorable shows in Western Washington, with fireworks launching over Commencement Bay from the water. The full-day event features more than 150 vendors, two stages of live music, and a 20-minute display at approximately 10pm.

Olympia: Capital Lakefair (Late July: July 15 to 19)
Capital Lakefair is not a July 4 event in 2026. The festival runs July 15 to 19 at Heritage Park on Capitol Lake, with the Grand Finale fireworks display at 10pm on July 19. If you are in the south Sound for the Fourth, Lakefair is already underway as a daytime carnival and vendor destination. But if you want the fireworks specifically, plan for the 19th. Worth having on your July calendar as a follow-on to whatever you do on the Fourth. Consumer fireworks are prohibited entirely in Tumwater, Lacey, and Olympia, so Lakefair is where south Sound locals go when they want a professional show.

Federal Way: Red, White and Blues Festival
Celebration Park hosts one of the larger free celebrations in the South Sound, with a parade, inflatables, kids activities, food vendors, and fireworks at 10:15pm on July 4. Free including parking, which is not something you can say about most fireworks events near Seattle.

Puyallup: Red, White and Kaboom (July 3)
Washington State Fairgrounds runs a full day starting at noon on July 3 with live music, a kids corner, a car show, food trucks, and fireworks at 10pm. This is a July 3 event.

Lacey: Fireworks Spectacular (July 3)
Rainier Vista Community Park has been running a free Fourth of July celebration for more than 50 years, and it falls on July 3 at 4pm with fireworks at 10pm. Live entertainment and a Kids Zone run throughout the day. Consumer fireworks are banned in Lacey, so the community show is the only legal option for local residents.

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North Puget Sound

From Everett to Bellingham, North Puget Sound hosts several of the state’s best-organized community shows.

Everett: Thunder on the Bay
Four different free viewing locations — Legion Memorial Park, Grand Avenue Park, Port of Everett, and Harborview Park — all offer clear sightlines to the 22-minute fireworks show that launches over the Snohomish River and Port Gardner Bay at 10:30pm. The multi-location setup means you do not need to stake out a spot three hours early. In 2026, Everett has explicitly rebranded the event as an America’s 250th Birthday celebration, so expect extra ambition. Festivities begin at 3pm. The Fourth of July parade steps off at 11am through downtown Everett before the evening show.

Marysville: 4th of July and Celebrate America 250
Ebey Waterfront Park on the south end of Marysville hosts live music from the Chris Eger Band from 6pm to 9:30pm, followed by fireworks at approximately 10pm. Like Everett, Marysville is leaning into the 250th anniversary with dedicated branding this year. This is a growing celebration now in its sixth year.

Arlington: Quake Park
A 20-minute professional fireworks show at Quake Park at 10pm on July 4, presented by Western Fireworks Display. A clean, simple community show for Snohomish County residents north of Everett.

Mount Vernon: Fabulous Fourth
Edgewater Park at 600 Behrens-Millett Rd, across the Skagit River from downtown, is the setting for a classic small-city Fourth: a Grand Parade through downtown at 11am, a carnival opening at 1pm, food vendors, arts and crafts, and fireworks at dark. A genuine community celebration with parade-first energy.

Anacortes: Community 4th of July
Festivities start at 10am downtown and around the marina, with fireworks over Fidalgo Bay at approximately 10pm. The community town photo, patriotic parade, and live music near the marina give this one a distinctly Anacortes feel. It reads like a town celebrating for itself rather than for visitors, which is a quality worth seeking out.

Bellingham: Zuanich Point Park
The largest fireworks display in Whatcom County launches from Zuanich Point Park on Bellingham Bay at 10:30pm on July 4. Food trucks open at noon and a free kids zone runs from 2pm to 6pm before the evening show. Produced by the Bellingham Regional Chamber in partnership with Peoples Bank and the Port of Bellingham.

Sedro-Woolley: Loggerodeo
Washington State’s longest-running Fourth of July celebration stretches across the full holiday weekend and includes a chainsaw-carving competition, a carnival, a beard contest, a pie-eating contest, arts and crafts vendors, a parade, and fireworks. The chainsaw carving is genuinely unlike anything most Fourth of July events offer, and it is worth the drive to Sedro-Woolley on its own.

Blaine: WECU Old-Fashioned Fourth
G Street Plaza in downtown Blaine hosts live music, a beer garden, a kids zone, a car show parade, and a fireworks display on July 4. Blaine sits right on the Canadian border, making this the northernmost major fireworks show in Washington State. If you are already up near Birch Bay or Point Roberts for the weekend, Blaine is worth knowing about.

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Whidbey Island

Oak Harbor: Old-Fashioned 4th of July at Windjammer Park
Windjammer Park at 1600 SW Beeksma Drive is the setting for Oak Harbor’s multi-day celebration on July 4 and 5. The Oak Harbor Chamber has committed to a major fireworks display specifically for the 250th anniversary, making 2026 a bigger-than-usual year for this North Whidbey event.

A note for South Whidbey visitors: Coupeville voted in a new mortar fireworks ban that takes effect in 2026. No professional fireworks show is currently confirmed for Coupeville or the south end of the island.

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Kitsap Peninsula

The Kitsap Peninsula keeps it local and unfussy on the Fourth.

Poulsbo: Fireworks on the Fjord (July 3)
Music and vendors run from noon to 11pm along the Poulsbo waterfront on July 3, with fireworks launching at approximately 10:15pm to 10:20pm over the water. Classic Scandinavian-inflected celebration in a waterfront setting. Note that this is July 3.

Kingston: Community 4th of July
A full-day community event on July 4 with a pancake breakfast, live music, a parade, a ball race, and bouncy houses. Kingston keeps the Fourth simple and local, and that is the appeal.

Port Orchard: Fathoms O’ Fun (July 3)
The Fathoms O’ Fun festival runs a fireworks display over Sinclair Inlet on July 3, viewable from both the Port Orchard and Bremerton waterfronts. A July 3 show with great waterfront sightlines from both sides of the inlet.

Bainbridge Island: Hometown 4th of July (No Fireworks)
Bainbridge puts on a substantial community celebration on July 4 — pancake breakfast, fun run, car show, street fair, Kid’s Zone, live music, and a mile-long hometown parade — but consumer fireworks are prohibited on the island. This is a great daytime event if you are already on Bainbridge, just not a fireworks show.

A note on Gig Harbor: fireworks are also prohibited in Gig Harbor. Residents typically head to Tacoma or the Kitsap Peninsula for a professional show.

And a bonus for those planning ahead: the Bremerton Bridge Blast is not a July 4 event, but it is worth knowing about. The show launches June 28 from the bridge over Sinclair Inlet and is reportedly the largest bridge fireworks show on the West Coast, with more than 90 vendors and live music across two days. If you will be in Kitsap County in late June, it is one of the better spectacles in the region.

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Southwest Washington

Clark County has its own Fourth of July traditions that do not require crossing into Oregon.

Longview: Go Fourth Festival
A volunteer-run multi-day event running July 2 through 4, with a community-funded fireworks show at sunset on July 4. The show is paid for by the festival fundraising rather than city money, which has kept it going through years when similar events lapsed.

Stevenson: Traditional 4th of July
Downtown Stevenson hosts a parade, and the evening celebration moves to the Skamania County Fairgrounds for live music and fireworks at dusk. A Columbia River Gorge celebration with genuine small-town character. If you are driving through the Gorge on a road trip, Stevenson is worth a stop.

Battle Ground: Independence Celebration (July 3)
Commerce Avenue in Battle Ground runs food trucks, a kids parade, bouncy houses, craft booths, and fireworks at 10pm on July 3. Another July 3 event worth noting for Clark County residents.

Ridgefield: Independence Day Celebration (Parade, No Fireworks)
More than 100 years of tradition in downtown Ridgefield, with a fun run at 8am, a parade at 11am, and community activities through 5pm. No fireworks are confirmed for 2026. The parade and community atmosphere are the draw here, not a fireworks show.

A brief note for Vancouver area residents: Portland’s fireworks over the Willamette River are visible from the Vancouver waterfront, and many Clark County families treat the Vancouver side as their viewing spot for the Portland show.

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Eastern Washington

Eastern Washington has some of the state’s most distinct Fourth of July traditions. It also has the most complicated fireworks rules. Consumer fireworks are prohibited in Spokane, Spokane Valley, Cheney, Millwood, Liberty Lake, and unincorporated Spokane County. Yakima city and Yakima County largely prohibit them as well. In each of these areas, the answer is a professional show, and there are good ones.

Spokane: Riverfront Park (ICCU 4th of July Fireworks and Concert)
The flagship Spokane event. The Spokane Symphony performs at Riverfront Park in the heart of downtown, with fireworks launching at 10pm. If you are in Spokane for the Fourth, this is the anchor.

Spokane: Avista Stadium (Spokane Indians)
A full baseball game followed by a post-game fireworks show on July 4. A good family option if you want several hours of activity before the display rather than just waiting around for dark.

Spokane: Liberty Lake Community 4th
A parade, a concert at the pavilion, and fireworks launched between the ball fields near Liberty Creek and Liberty Lake elementaries at 10pm. More neighborhood in feel than the downtown events, and a good choice for Liberty Lake residents who prefer something closer to home.

Spokane: Northern Quest Resort (Drone Show plus Fireworks)
The Independence Day Extravaganza at Northern Quest, operated by the Kalispel Tribe, starts at 4pm and closes with a drone show followed by fireworks at 9:45pm. The drone component is a genuine differentiator: a choreographed aerial drone display before the fireworks is not something most Washington events offer. Worth the trip from Spokane proper if you want both experiences in one night.

Wenatchee: Wenatchee Valley 4th of July
Walla Walla Point Park at 1351 Walla Walla Ave is the anchor for the largest professional fireworks display in North Central Washington. Activities start at 3:30pm and include live music, food vendors, a beer garden, family activities, a pickleball tournament, and a car show across two days. Fireworks launch at approximately 10:15pm. This is a well-organized event with strong local identity and is the right choice for anyone in the greater Wenatchee Valley.

Kennewick: River of Fire Festival
Columbia Park on July 4 from 2pm to 10pm, with fireworks launched from a barge over the Columbia River at 10:05pm. Free. More than 30 years old. Two live entertainment stages cover country, classic rock, and Latin music, and there is a Kids Zone plus food trucks throughout the day. Parking opens at noon. One of Eastern Washington’s premier free community celebrations, and the barge-over-water setup makes the show visually distinctive.

Pasco: Grand Old 4th of July Celebration
The Grand Old 4th of July Parade through downtown Pasco at 10am is the oldest and largest Fourth of July parade in Mid-Columbia. The two-day celebration also includes a community pancake breakfast, a bike ride, and a fireworks display at Gesa Stadium at 10pm.

Yakima: 4th of July Community Celebration
State Fair Park hosts a free community event from noon to 10:30pm with a 20-minute fireworks display at 10pm. Consumer fireworks are banned across most of Yakima city and county, making the State Fair Park show the local option for the area.

Toppenish: Toppenish Rodeo
The Toppenish Rodeo runs on July 4 at the Toppenish Rodeo Grounds and closes with a post-rodeo fireworks show. Eastern Washington rodeo culture plus fireworks is a combination that does not exist in many places.

Sunnyside: 4th of July Celebration
Clem Senn Field in Sunnyside starts at 6pm with a community celebration that closes with fireworks at dusk. A Yakima Valley option for residents who want something local.

Walla Walla: 4th of July Fireworks
Walla Walla Community College at 500 Tausick Way hosts a fireworks display at dusk on July 4. Simple and local.

Pullman: 4th of July Celebration
Sunnyside Park hosts Pullman’s celebration, with the Community Band of the Palouse and DJ Goldfinger providing music, food from Timber, and fireworks at 10pm. Pullman Transit runs shuttle service to and from the park. In 2026, this is the 50th anniversary of Pullman’s community show, which gives the event a milestone character worth acknowledging.

Clarkston: LC Valley Fireworks
The Lewiston-Clarkston Valley fireworks launch from near Adams Field at Clarkston High School on July 4 at 10pm, producing an aerial show visible throughout the valley from dike paths, the riverbank, and backyards. Patriotic music is simulcast on local radio stations during the show, including Canyon Country (106.9-FM) and The River (105.1-FM). A community show in the truest sense.

Grand Coulee Dam: Festival of America (Laser Show plus Fireworks)
This is the Eastern Washington event that most people outside the region do not know about, and it should be on your radar.

The Grand Coulee Dam laser light show, called “One River, Many Voices,” runs nightly from late May through July 31, with beams projected across the face of a 550-foot concrete dam on the Columbia River. The show runs at 10pm. On July 4 and 5, the Festival of America wraps around it: live entertainment, a vendor fair, and a professional fireworks display off the dam itself, separate from the laser show.

Free admission. No tickets required for either the laser show or the fireworks.

Grand Coulee is a two to three hour drive from Spokane and a roughly three hour drive from Seattle. It is not a casual stop, but if you are willing to make a weekend of it, the combination of dam-face laser projection and fireworks from the top of a massive piece of infrastructure is genuinely singular. Nothing else on this list looks like this.

Moses Lake: Red, White and Boom! (July 3)
McCosh Park at 401 W. Fourth Ave hosts a free concert by the 133D Army National Guard Band at 7pm on July 3, followed by fireworks at 10pm. Note: this is a July 3 event.

Quincy: Crescent Bar Fireworks (July 5)
The Greater Crescent Bar Association hosts a fireworks show at the Crescent Bar resort area at 8818 Crescent Bar Rd NW off Highway 28 at 10pm on July 5. A July 5 show worth knowing about for central Washington residents.

Manson: 46th Annual Fourth of July Fireworks (Lake Chelan, Night One)
Manson Bay Park hosts the 46th annual fireworks show on July 4, with live music starting at 7pm and fireworks launching from the bay at 10:15pm. Viewable from the park and along the Lake Chelan shoreline.

Chelan: Rockin Chelan Fireworks (Lake Chelan, Night Two)
Don Morse Park in Chelan runs its fireworks show at 10pm on July 5. The Lake Chelan area runs two consecutive nights of professional fireworks, with Manson handling July 4 and Chelan handling July 5. If you are spending the holiday weekend on the lake, you can see both.

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Olympic Peninsula

The Olympic Peninsula keeps the Fourth community-centered, and 2026 brings good news.

Port Angeles: 4th of July Festival and Fireworks
Port Angeles went without a fireworks display in 2025. For 2026, fireworks are confirmed returning. A local Clallam County outlet reported in April 2026 that the 250th anniversary is specifically cited as the reason they brought the show back, with new additions including a patriotic pet parade, vendors, and activities along the waterfront. The parade rolls down Lincoln Street, and fireworks launch after dark.

Sequim: 4th of July Fireworks
Sequim’s fireworks show returns in 2026 at Carrie Blake Community Park, but the launch site has moved. The display is now discharged from the road extension behind the ball fields on the south side of the park, more than half a mile from an active bald eagle nest the city is protecting. The eagles are staying; so are the fireworks.

Forks: Old-Fashioned Fourth of July
Forks claims the title of the biggest Independence Day celebration on the Olympic Peninsula, running a multi-day event across the July 4 weekend. Community events, activities, and fireworks are part of the tradition.

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Washington Coast

The Washington coast does the Fourth differently than anywhere else in the state.

Ocean Shores: Beach Fireworks
This is not a city-produced show. Ocean Shores allows personal consumer fireworks on designated beach areas from the Damon Road approach to the Marine View Drive approach, from noon to 11:59pm on July 4. Families set up along the Pacific shoreline and create an informal fireworks display that builds throughout the afternoon and evening, stretching for miles. The High Dunes Trail is open from 5pm to midnight as a fireworks-free viewing corridor for those who want to watch without participating.

There is nothing else like this in Washington. The scale is communal and spontaneous in a way that a staged professional show cannot replicate.

Rules worth knowing before you go: no fireworks on the dunes, no fireworks on hotel or residential decks, and no fireworks anywhere within the city proper. The designated beach areas are the only legal location.

Long Beach: Boardwalk Fireworks and Beach Display
Long Beach runs both an official professional fireworks show from the Boardwalk at 10pm on July 4 and a community beach fireworks tradition similar to Ocean Shores along the Pacific shoreline. The combination draws visitors from across the state and from Portland for the holiday weekend. The scale is substantial.

Westport: Booming Bay
The Booming Bay fireworks display at the Westport Marina launches at approximately 10pm on July 4 and runs for about 45 minutes. For comparison, most professional fireworks shows in Washington run 18 to 20 minutes. The show is viewable from the beach or from your car, and no consumer fireworks are allowed within Westport city limits.

Forty-five minutes is a long time for a fireworks show. Most people outside Grays Harbor County have no idea this exists, which makes it one of the genuine sleeper events on this list.

Aberdeen: Splash Festival
Morrison Riverfront Park hosts Aberdeen’s community festival from noon to 5pm on July 4, with a fireworks display at 10pm. A Grays Harbor county seat celebration with a riverfront setting.

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Small Towns Worth the Drive

A few smaller communities around the state have Fourth of July traditions with real local character.

Cle Elum: Pioneer Days
Professional fireworks launch from Memorial Park Field on July 4 between 9pm and 10pm, with good viewing from Wye Park, Railroad Avenue, and South Cle Elum. Cle Elum sits centrally on I-90, making it accessible from both sides of the Cascades. If you are driving over the pass for the holiday weekend, this is worth timing your arrival around.

Leavenworth: Plaza-Palooza (No Fireworks)
Icicle Village Resort Plaza runs Plaza-Palooza from 11am to 3pm on July 4, and Village Art in the Park runs throughout Leavenworth’s Bavarian-themed downtown from 9am to 6pm. No fireworks are confirmed for Leavenworth in 2026. This is primarily a daytime community festival. The Bavarian setting gives it character, and if you are already in the area for the weekend, it fits naturally into the day. Just do not drive to Leavenworth specifically for fireworks.

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Drone Shows and Laser Nights

A growing number of Washington communities are replacing or supplementing traditional fireworks with drone shows and laser displays. This is happening for a mix of reasons: wildfire risk in dry summers, wildlife protection ordinances, noise sensitivity in dense neighborhoods, and in some cases simply a desire to offer something different. The technology has matured enough that professional drone shows can be genuinely spectacular.

We track these alongside traditional fireworks because a drone show or a laser light show is still a celebration worth showing up for. We just want you to know what you are going to see.

Drone shows confirmed or anticipated for 2026:

Renton: River Days Drone Show (Late July: July 24 to 26)
Renton River Days 2026 runs July 24 to 26 at Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park and Liberty Park. This is not a July 4 event. The drone show runs on Friday, July 25, starting at 7:30pm. Renton permanently retired traditional fireworks several years ago in favor of the drone display. If you want a drone light show and missed anything on the Fourth, Renton is your late-July option in King County.

Des Moines: 4th of July Drone Show
Des Moines Marina hosts a free community event from 5pm to 11pm on July 4, with live music, food vendors, and a drone show starting around 10pm. A waterfront setting in south King County.

Northern Quest Resort, Spokane: Hybrid Event
Northern Quest does both: a drone show followed by traditional fireworks at 9:45pm on July 4. The drone component runs first and gives way to the fireworks, making this the only event on the list that offers both formats in sequence.

Laser shows confirmed for 2026:

Grand Coulee Dam: “One River, Many Voices”
The most established laser light show in the region runs nightly from late May through July 31, projected onto the face of the Grand Coulee Dam. Paired with fireworks off the dam on July 4 and 5 during the Festival of America. See the Eastern Washington section for full details.

Port Townsend: Old School 4th at Fort Worden (Laser Show, No Fireworks)
Fort Worden State Park hosts the Old School 4th of July with S’Klallam Tribe singers and drummers, local bands, free root beer floats, tug-of-war, walnut sack races, and a watermelon-eating contest. The celebration closes with a laser light show rather than fireworks. This is a genuinely different kind of Fourth of July experience, worth knowing about if you are in the Port Townsend area.

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Washington State Fireworks Laws: What You Need to Know

Washington State allows consumer fireworks in many areas, but cities and counties set their own rules, and the variation is significant.

Cities and areas with complete consumer fireworks bans (professional shows only):
Spokane, Spokane Valley, Cheney, Millwood, Liberty Lake, unincorporated Spokane County, Yakima city, Yakima County, Tacoma, Olympia, Tumwater, Lacey, Ellensburg, Gig Harbor, Bainbridge Island, Snohomish (new ban effective 2026), and most of Snohomish County’s incorporated cities including Everett, Marysville, Lynnwood, and Mukilteo.

Areas with designated beach fireworks (legal in specific locations only):
Ocean Shores allows personal fireworks in designated beach areas from noon to 11:59pm on July 4. Long Beach allows beach fireworks in a similar fashion. The city proper in both cases is off-limits.

Statewide rule: Consumer fireworks cannot be discharged after 11pm on most nights. July 4 is an exception in areas where they are legal, with many cities allowing use until midnight.

When in doubt, check your city or county’s website before purchasing fireworks. Fines for illegal discharge are not trivial, and in dry summers some counties have issued emergency bans even in areas where fireworks would normally be permitted.

Verify all event details directly with organizers as July approaches. Dates, times, and fireworks status can change year to year.

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Frequently Asked Questions