Where to spend the Fourth of July in the Puget Sound region

With the Fourth of July just days away, it's time to craft the perfect plan to watch some drone art and sparkly explosions in the sky.

State of play: From the San Juan Islands (where you can observe Anacortes' sparks from a safe distance) to Seafair's classic fireworks display, here's where to get the most bang for your buck (though most are free!) on Thursday.

Gas Works Park, Lake Union Park

The classic choice for Seattle fireworks, Seafair's 4th of July features an evening of music and fireworks you can take in from either Gas Works Park or South Lake Union Park from 3pm to 11pm. Seafair is free, but paid reservations are available to lock in seating.

• Before the fireworks, there's music, a beer garden and activities like cornhole and a pie eating contest. God bless America.

Neighborhood parks

When it's fireworks time, height is your friend, whether you're ascending a hill to a strategically chosen pocket park or calling up your friend with the best rooftop deck. If you can, make your way to a high point like Queen Anne, Capitol Hill or Phinney Ridge.

• Bhy Kracke Park or Kerry Park on Queen Anne are obvious choices, but the best place to watch the fireworks may be a lesser-trafficked pocket park.
• Pro tip: If you can find an east-facing spot, you can catch Bellevue's fireworks, too.

Hood Canal

For something farther out and a day early, Alderbrook Resort & Spa has its own fireworks display, Thunder on the Canal, with concessions, kids activities and a fireworks show over the picturesque Hood Canal. Wednesday; tickets from $25.

Lake Union

From 8pm to midnight on July 4, Argosy Cruises will take viewers from Carillon Point in Kirkland across the lake to get as close to the fireworks as possible (assuming you don't have your own boat). Tickets from $160.

Friday Harbor

Friday Harbor has its own fireworks show , over the island's port, but the lead-up to the spectacle may be just as exciting. It includes a Pig War Picnic, named for the odd chapter of Northwest history in which a pig's shooting prompted a boundary dispute between Britain and the U.S.; no humans were killed.

Around the Sound

It's the 32nd year for the Bellevue Family 4th at Bellevue Downtown Park. The fireworks display starts at 10:05pm and is followed by a performance from Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra.

• Everett's Fourth of July at Legion Memorial Park starts at 3pm with fireworks beginning around 10pm.
• Tacoma's 4th of July Summer Blast returns to the Ruston Way Waterfront at noon, with the EQC Fireworks Show over Commencement Bay starting around 10pm.