Map view
Marymere Falls Trail, Olympic National Park
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: July-Aug
Cost: $
- Marymere Falls is located in Olympic National Park
- The falls are accessed by a one-mile, old-growth lowland forest consisting of fir, cedar, hemlock, and alder trees
#23 in Best National Parks in the USA
#31 in Best Attractions in the USA
Seattle Art Museum
Best time to visit: Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Art museum containing a collection that has grown from 1,926 pieces in 1933 to nearly 25,000 as of 2008
- It operates three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM), and Olympic Sculpture Park, which opened in 2007
Barn Beach Pea Vine Trail, Leavenworth
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Leavenworth is a city whose entire town center is modeled on a German Bavarian village as part of a civic initiative that began in the 1960s
- The area is a major, four-season tourist destination with festivals nearly every month and a multitude of events year round
Myrtle Falls Viewpoint via Skyline Trail, Mount Rainier National Park
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: July-Aug
Cost: $
- Park established in 1899, as the fourth national park in the United States, preserving 236,381 acres (369.3 sq mi; 956.6 km2), including all of Mount Rainier, a 14,410-foot (4,390 m) stratovolcano
- The highest point in the Cascade Range, Mount Rainier is surrounded by valleys, waterfalls, subalpine meadows, and old-growth forest
- More than 25 glaciers descend the flanks of the volcano, which is often shrouded in clouds that dump enormous amounts of rain and snow
#19 in Best National Parks in the USA
#60 in Best Attractions in the USA
Discovery Park and Lighthouse Loop Trail
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Park on the shores of Puget Sound
- As the city of Seattle's largest public park, it contains 11.81 miles (19.01 km) of walking trails, and features a lighthouse
- The Discovery Park Loop Trail runs 2.8 miles (4.5 km) through the park, connecting to other trails
#84 in Best Attractions in the USA
Space Needle
Best time to visit: Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Observation tower in Seattle, considered to be an icon of the city
- It was built in the Seattle Center for the 1962 World's Fair, which drew over 2.3 million visitors
#9 in Best Landmarks in the USA
#44 in Best Landmarks in the World
#85 in Best Attractions in the USA
Pike Place Market
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Public market in Seattle, opened in 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States
- The market features a variety of shops such as antique dealers, comic book and collectible shops, and restaurants
- The upper street level contains fishmongers, fresh produce stands and craft stalls operating in the covered arcades
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
Best time to visit: April-May
Cost: $
- Festival located in Skagit Valley held annually in the spring, April 1 to April 30
- The event has grown to a month-long event and coincides with street fairs, art shows and sporting events
Chihuly Garden and Glass
Best time to visit: Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Exhibit in the Seattle Center showcasing the studio glass of Dale Chihuly
- Opened in May 2012, the project features three primary components: the Garden, the Glasshouse, and the Interior Exhibits
- The 100-foot-long installation inside of the Glasshouse is one of Chihuly's largest suspended sculptures
#16 in Best Museums in the USA
Hall of Mosses Trail, Hoh Rain Forest
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: July-Aug
Cost: $
- One of the largest temperate rainforests in the U.S., located on the Olympic Peninsula in western Washington
- It includes 24 miles (39 km) of low elevation forest along the Hoh River
- The Hoh River valley was formed thousands of years ago by glaciers.
- Between the park boundary and the Pacific Ocean, much of the forest has been logged within the last century, although many pockets of forest remain
Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls, Olympia
Best time to visit: Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- A series of cascades on the Deschutes River in Tumwater
- Tumwater Falls was the site of New Market, the first European settlement in Western Washington
- It was also the site of the now-defunct Olympia Brewing Company
Museum of Pop Culture
Best time to visit: Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Nonprofit museum in Seattle, dedicated to contemporary popular culture
- MoPOP has organized dozens of exhibits, 17 of which have toured across the U.S. and internationally
- MoPOP, in collaboration with the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), presents the Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Film Festival which takes place every winter
#38 in Best Museums in the USA
Manito Park, Spokane
Best time to visit: Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Public park with arboretum, botanical gardens, and conservatory, located in Spokane, created in 1904
- The park was originally a public recreation area called Montrose Park
Bellevue Downtown Park Loop
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Park that consists of a circular ring with a large central greenspace that is surrounded by a moat and walking trails
Whatcom Creek Trail Loop, Whatcom Falls Park
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Park in Bellingham featuring waterfalls on Whatcom Creek
- The park has four sets of waterfalls and several miles of well maintained walking trails
Nell Thorn Waterfront Bistro & Bar, La Conner
Best time to visit: July-Aug
Cost: $$
- Restaurant in historic La Conner, with waterfront views, a bar and extensive wine list, as well as featuring farm-to-table cuisine
Olympic National Park Visitor Center, Port Angeles
Best time to visit: Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Park located on the Olympic Peninsula, that has four regions: the Pacific coastline, alpine areas, the west-side temperate rainforest, and the forests of the drier east side
- Within the park there are three distinct ecosystems, including subalpine forest and wildflower meadow, temperate forest, and the rugged Pacific coast
Fort Worden Historical Loop, Fort Worden Historical State Park
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: July-Aug
Cost: $
- Located in Port Townsend, Washington, and originally known as Fort Worden, is a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps base constructed to protect Puget Sound from invasion by sea
- Constructed between 1898 and 1920, Fort Worden was one of the largest Endicott Period (1890-1910) forts to be built
- It was located within sight of a potential (if unlikely) enemy fortification, a British Royal Navy installation on Vancouver Island in Canada
Ruby Beach
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Ruby Beach is in the coastal section of Olympic National Park
- Like virtually all beaches on the northern coast, Ruby Beach has a tremendous amount of driftwood
- It is notable for the number of sea stacks there
- The beach is so called because of the ruby-like crystals in the beach sand
Seattle Underground
Best time to visit: July-Aug
Cost: $
- Network of underground passageways and basements in the Pioneer Square neighborhood of Seattle,
- They were located at ground level when the city was built in the mid-19th century but fell into disuse after the streets were elevated
- In recent decades, they have developed guided tours taking place around the area
Cascade Pass Trail, North Cascades National Park
Walk difficulty: Moderate
Best time to visit: July-Aug
Cost: $
- Cascade Pass is a mountain pass over the northern Cascade Range, east of Marblemount
- Although an important pass, providing the easiest connection from the Cascade River to the head of Lake Chelan, it is now inside North Cascades National Park, and crossed by only a hiking trail
- From the west, one reaches it by hiking an easy 3.5 mile trail from the end of the Cascade River Road
Ape Cave Trail, Mount Saint Helens
Walk difficulty: Moderate
Best time to visit: July-Aug
Cost: $
- Ape Cave is a lava tube located in Gifford Pinchot National Forest just to the south of Mount St. Helens
- Its passageway is the longest continuous lava tube in the continental United States and the third longest (in total mapped length) lava tube in North America at 2.5 miles (4,023 meters)
- The cave was formed approximately 1,900 years ago, is situated at an average depth of 50 feet below ground, and the air temperature remains a constant 42 degrees throughout the year