Olympia Farmers Market

Worth a Saturday. The Olympia Farmers Market is the second largest market in Washington State, behind only Pike Place, and it runs on a model nobody else uses: the vendors own it. The farmers and artisans who sell there govern the whole operation through a volunteer board, fund it through their own fees, and have kept it going since 1975. Fifty one years. You can feel it the moment you walk in. The woman selling jam is standing behind the same booth she has worked for a decade. The flower farmer is cutting stems she grew. Nobody is here on consignment. That is the reason this market feels different, and it is the reason it is worth the drive.

The Vendors Run This Place

This is the thing that separates the Olympia Farmers Market from every other market in the state, and it is worth understanding before you go.

Most farmers markets in Washington are managed by a city, a nonprofit, or a community organization. Somebody decides which vendors get in, where they set up, how the market presents itself. The Olympia Farmers Market flipped that. The vendors themselves are the owners. A volunteer board of directors made up of member vendors runs the operation. No outside management. No sponsorship deals shaping who gets the prime spots.

Every vendor comes from the four county boundary: Thurston, Mason, Lewis, and Grays Harbor Counties. That is the rule and the market enforces it. No resellers. No imported inventory with a local label. You are buying directly from the person who grew it, raised it, baked it, or built it. Most of them are standing behind their own booth.

The market marked its 50th year in 2025. Fifty years of the same vendor owned model, in the same spot on the waterfront, growing from a handful of tables to more than 120 vendors and 400,000 visitors a year. That kind of staying power is not an accident. The model works because the people running the market are the same people who depend on it.

This matters for you as a visitor because the market does not feel curated. It feels like a place where people actually make a living. The difference between that and a weekend pop up market with matching canopies is obvious the moment you walk in.

What Is the Olympia Farmers Market Known For?

The produce is the obvious answer. Seasonal fruits and vegetables, microgreens, plant starts in the spring. But the food is what keeps people coming back.

Eight restaurants operate on site. Not food trucks in a parking lot. Actual restaurant kitchens built into the market structure. You can get grain bowls at Mother’s Roots Kitchen, bratwurst at Madeline’s Bavarian Wurst, paella, baked goods, seafood. Madeline’s does a sandwich called the Full Monte. Cinnamon bread from Wagner’s Bakery, jam from Johnson Berry Farm. Three market vendors in one sandwich. That is what vendor owned looks like in practice.

The seafood is South Puget Sound seafood. Oysters, crab, smoked fish. The baked goods sell out before 1 PM on Saturdays. Olympia’s bakeries have actual booths here, not a folding table with a tablecloth. Domina Dairy does artisan cheese worth seeking out. Eufloria does organic hand blended teas that are a worth the trip vendor on their own if you are a tea person.

The flower vendors are thick from April through October. Farm grown, cut that morning. They last longer than grocery store flowers and they cost about the same.

There is wine and mead if you want to sample local bottles without driving to wine country. There are crafts. Soaps, candles, jewelry, woodwork. The quality bar is higher than most markets because the vendor board sets standards for who gets a booth.

Live music runs 11 AM to 2 PM every day the market is open. Local musicians playing under the stage pavilion. It adds a rhythm to the whole visit.

When Is the Best Time to Visit the Olympia Farmers Market?

The schedule is the same every year:

• April through October (high season): Thursday through Sunday, 10 AM to 3 PM
• November and December (holiday season): Saturday and Sunday, 10 AM to 3 PM
• January through March (winter season): Saturday only, 10 AM to 3 PM

Saturday is the fullest day. Every vendor, live music, the most energy. It is also the busiest. The parking lot fills by 10:30 or 11 AM in summer and the aisles get shoulder to shoulder around noon.

If you want the market without the crowds, go Thursday or Friday during high season. Fewer vendors, but you can actually stop and talk to the person selling you tomatoes. You can ask the cheesemaker what is new. That conversation is half the point of a vendor owned market and it disappears on a packed Saturday when the aisles are four people wide and nobody is stopping.

Sunday is a middle ground. Busy but not Saturday level. The morning wave clears out after noon and the last hour before close has a relaxed feel to it.

Get there at 10 AM when doors open. The baked goods and the best produce go first. By 2 PM the flower vendors are packing up and the food options are picked over.

What Can You Buy at the Olympia Farmers Market?

Here is a realistic haul from a Saturday morning:

• A week’s worth of seasonal produce. Berries and stone fruit in summer, squash and root vegetables in fall, greens year round
• A loaf of fresh bread and something from the pastry case
• Smoked salmon or oysters from a South Puget Sound operation
• A jar or two of local jam or honey
• A bouquet of cut flowers
• Lunch from one of the eight on site restaurants

You will walk out with two bags and the feeling that you overspent, and then you will look at what you actually got and realize it was a deal. Budget $40 to $80 for a solid haul, not counting lunch. Many vendors take cards but bring cash. Some of the smaller booths and the ones running specials are cash only. Three ATMs on site, including a credit union ATM from WSECU.

The market accepts EBT cards. Take your card to the Market office and swipe it for vouchers you can use at vendor booths. They participate in WIC, Senior FMNP, and SNAP Market Match.

How to Get There and Where to Park

The market is at 700 Capitol Way North. End of the road. If you are coming from I-5, take the Capitol Way exit and drive straight north until you run out of road. The market is right there.

More than 200 free two hour parking spaces on site. Overflow lot on Washington Street when the main lot fills. On summer Saturdays that happens by 10:30 or 11 AM, so either get there early or park in the overflow and walk two minutes.

You can also bike. Racks at the front entrance, near the traffic circle, and by the market garden. Walk from downtown in about 10 minutes. Or take a boat. The Port Plaza Dock at Waterfront Park has free four hour moorage for vessels up to 200 feet. Not many farmers markets where that is an option.

The Waterfront Loop: What to Do Before or After the Market

The market is the anchor of a walkable loop that turns a market visit into a half day in Olympia.

Percival Landing is right next door. A mile long boardwalk along the waterfront. Budd Inlet on one side, sculptures from local artists along the path, the Olympic Mountains across the water on a clear day. There is a playground if you have kids. Walk the boardwalk before the market and you arrive in the right frame of mind.

The Washington State Capitol is a 10 minute walk south on Capitol Way. Free tours. The dome is 287 feet high. Tallest self supporting masonry dome in North America. Skip the tour if you want but walk the grounds. The campus has a view back toward the water that is worth the 10 minute stroll on its own.

Downtown Olympia is walkable from all of it. Restaurants, coffee, bookstores. The town has more going on than people expect from a state capital. If you need a coffee after the market, there is good coffee within a five minute walk south on Capitol Way.

A solid Saturday plan: park at the market at 10 AM, walk Percival Landing first, circle back for the market by 11 when the music starts, eat lunch at one of the on site restaurants, then walk Capitol Way south to the Capitol campus or downtown. You will not need your car again until you are done.

The One Thing Nobody Tells You

Do not eat before you come. The eight on site restaurants are not a side feature. They are full kitchen operations that have been feeding market goers for years. You will walk in planning to browse and leave with produce, and then you will smell whatever is coming off the paella station and your plan will change. Budget an extra half hour just for eating. You will spend it.

The other thing worth knowing: the market changes shape depending on the weather. The main building has a roof but open sides, so rain pushes everyone under cover and the whole market compresses into the main hall. On a dry day the courtyard and stage area open up and the market spreads out. More room, more air, a different feel entirely. If you are picking a day and have the flexibility, check the forecast. A dry Thursday beats a rainy Saturday.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Olympia Farmers Market dog friendly?

Dogs are allowed in the outdoor areas, the courtyard and the stage pavilion. They are not allowed inside the main building, leashed or not, crated or hand held. That is a Health Department regulation, not market policy. Service animals are welcome everywhere. If you bring your dog, plan to stay in the outdoor sections or take turns going inside.

Is the Olympia Farmers Market open year round?

Yes. April through October it is open Thursday through Sunday. November and December it runs Saturday and Sunday. January through March it is Saturday only. Hours are always 10 AM to 3 PM. The winter market is smaller. Fewer vendors, quieter atmosphere. But it is still running.

Is the Olympia Farmers Market the second largest in Washington?

Yes. Only Pike Place Market in Seattle is bigger. More than 120 vendors and roughly 400,000 visitors a year. It is also the only vendor owned and operated market in the state, which makes it structurally different from almost every other market in Washington.

Is there parking at the Olympia Farmers Market?

More than 200 free two hour parking spaces on site. Overflow lot on Washington Street. Summer Saturdays fill by late morning. Arrive before 11 AM for the main lot. Bike racks at the entrance and free four hour boat moorage at the adjacent Port Plaza Dock.

What is there to do near the Olympia Farmers Market?

Percival Landing is a one mile waterfront boardwalk right next to the market. The Washington State Capitol is a 10 minute walk south on Capitol Way. Downtown Olympia, restaurants, coffee, shops, is a 10 minute walk. You can combine all three into a half day without moving your car.

What are the Olympia Farmers Market hours?

High season (April through October): Thursday through Sunday, 10 AM to 3 PM. Holiday season (November through December): Saturday and Sunday, 10 AM to 3 PM. Winter season (January through March): Saturday only, 10 AM to 3 PM.

How much does the Olympia Farmers Market cost?

Free to enter. Free parking. You pay for what you buy. Budget $40 to $80 for produce and goods, plus $10 to $15 for lunch at one of the eight on site restaurants. Bring cash for smaller vendors, though many accept cards. Three ATMs on site.

Can you use EBT at the Olympia Farmers Market?

Yes. Take your EBT card to the Market office and swipe it for vouchers you can use at vendor booths. The market participates in WIC, Senior FMNP, and SNAP Market Match.