Seattle-area tourist info

[Craptacular]

Would anyone who lives in Seattle or is a familiar tourist like to offer advice on what to see? My wife and I, and both sets of parents are going out there for a week at the end of the month, and none of us have ever been there.

As of now, we're planning to spend the first 1.5 days in Seattle, then embark on a clockwise loop through Mt Rainier NP, Olympic NP, and North Cascades NP before returning to Seattle the last night. We were going to go to Victoria, BC from Olympic NP, but the ferry schedule sucks, and we don't want to pay an extra $150 and spend 5 hours on boats just to spend a late night and early morning in Victoria. We'll just take the 30-min ferry from Port Townsend and drive up to Anacortes.

We'll probably go to the Seattle Center / Space Needle, Pike Place Market, Pioneer Square, etc. Any spots we shouldn't miss?? Is the underground tour at Pioneer Square worth it? We'll likely spend two days in Olympic NP, and one each at Mt Rainier and North Cascades. Since it's off-season, we won't be making hotel reservations in advance, other than for our first night in Seattle. We'll just kind of see where we end up, glance at the AAA TourBook, and show up somewhere. Any hidden gems for lodging or food?

Thanks for any suggestions.

[sovereignstar]

http://www.emplive.com/

If you like Rock-n-Roll, check out Experience Music Project (and don't feel obligated to wear the interactive headphones). Some beautiful architecture.

The underground tour is interesting for sure if you've got some time to spare.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

I agree. The underground tour only if you don't have much to do. I don't want to ruin it for you, but the most interesting part is the history and storytelling of the guides. The tour itself is underwhelming. All they really did was raise the roads in the old part of downtown. What used to be the street level floors of the buildings are now the basements. That's about it.

I have never gone to EMP, but if you are modern music lover, you may like it.

There is the Victoria Clipper. A speedy passenger only boat, not ferry, that can get directly from downtown Seattle to Victoria in a couple of hours I believe. Victoria is really nice. I think it runs about $80 a person, but I am not sure. If you leave early enough, you go in the morning and come back evening same day. Just a thought.

Finally, while you have to do the space needle thing, it is not nearly as tall as some of the skyscrapers right downtown. I work in the Bank of America Tower (formerly known as the Columbia Center and possible terrorist target). Try going up to the observation deck on the 73rd floor for a really good view of the city, surrounding lake,mountains, port, and of course Safeco and Qwest fields.

[scooter]

The Space Needle is a little cheesy, but it's pretty much "required" when you're a tourist. EMP is pretty interesting if you are into rock and roll (or architecture) and it's real close to the Space Needle. Pike Place Market is also "required". The underground tour is a decent way to learn about the early history of Seattle - it's a town with a very colorful past. I've been on the tour twice (with friends visiting) and I can tell you that the tour guide you get is the key as the "sites" are not very spectacular.

The Victoria Clipper is a great way to get to Victoria, especially if you just want to go for a couple days. Check out their website (below). It looks like that time of year the boat leaves Seattle at 8am and gets to Victoria at 10:30am, then the boat home leaves at 6pm and gets to Seattle at 8:30pm (if I'm reading their table correctly). Victoria is a great walking city, you would probably only want a car if you wanted to go out to Butchart Gardens. The Royal BC Museum is pretty good and located right near the ferry dock. Your money goes a long way in Canada.

My wife and I used to go down to Mt. Rainier every year at the end of October. It was a great time of year to go - kids were back in school so the crouds are way down, plus the trees at the lower elevations were turning for fall. As you drove up the mountain you went from fall to winter (Paradise usually had a few feet of snow by then) and then back again on the way down. I'm not sure what it will be like end of September though. I'm pretty sure the road on around the mountain from the NE clockwise down to Paradise closes about mid-October, so keep that in mind.

The Olympic N.P. is a long drive, unless you are going camping (there aren't a lot of places to stay in the NW corner). We've stayed at the Lake Quinault Lodge - nice, a little pricey, good food in the restaurant, very nice sunset. The Hoh rain forest should be good and drippy that time of year. We've been there during the summer and it was pretty dry. The beach hiking at Rialto Beach is a lot of fun, but again it's a bit of a drive (not as much of a drive as going out to Neah Bay). Crescent Lake and Hurricane Ridge are also great spots to stop. Port Townsend is a interesting town to walk around the downtown and Fort Worden state park is a good place to get out and stretch your legs. We've never stayed in Port Townsend, but the town is full of B&Bs.

If you get over to Anacortes, take the short detour over to Deception Pass. And if you plan to go up to Bellingham at all, definitely drive along Chuckanut Drive - it's along the water with great views of the San Juan Islands. If you are driving south from Anacortes, stop off in La Connor if you like antiques.

If you like micro brews, the Northwest is a great place to visit, especially some of the places you are going to. If you want more info on that, just let me know.

Some useful links:

www.victoriaclipper.com
www.nps.gov/mora/
www.nps.gov/olym/
www.visitlakequinault.com/

[SoxWin]

I'll second what Scooter said. Also, they used to have horse drawn carriages you could ride around in by the Heritage Square part of town. It's good fun when you're with the SO.

Also, don't miss Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe on the waterfront. It's a 5 minute walk from Pike Place (right by the ferry terminal)

http://www.yeoldecuriosityshop.com/Merchant/splash.html

Finally, if you're spending some time in Victoria, check out "Eternal Egypt" at the Royal BC Museum. I haven't been yet as I wanted to wait til summer was over and the crowds died down a bit.

You can get a preview of the exhibit and reserve tickets here if you're interested.

http://rbcm1.rbcm.gov.bc.ca/

[Gallifrey]

The national parts are great. Orcas Island is fun.

The best advice I would give is drive around Mt Rainier NP, Olympic NP, and North Cascades NP as you mentioned. The city is nice but small. You will not need much time downtown.
The side neighborhoods are the best places to get out to. Queen Anne (where my wife and I own a store), Ballard, Greenlake are all fun.

The best thing about Seattle is the cool weather and food. Great restaurants.

[mgadfly]

I'm not sure what types of activities you're into, but I grew up a couple miles outside Mount Rainier National Park. For most tourists I'd recommend driving a loop around the mountain (starting in Seattle go to Enumclaw and around the north side of the park into Sunrise-which is optional-then come into Paradise from the east side and head out west side of the park). If you're that close I'd recommend at least a drive by of Saint Helens, but it gets less spectacular every year since the original destruction is more difficult to see.

If you are up on the mountain in mid to late September I suggest that you be careful around the elk. They get aggressive during the mating season but it might give you a chance to see some large herds (they group up this time of year... Once, my brother and I were on an overnight camping trip on the northwest side of the mountain and came across a herd just prior to sunset. We counted to 250 and gave up because they were still streaming out of the tree line.).

I was the manager of a visitor information center near the park for a couple of summers during college, and the most annoying question I was asked was, "how do you drive to the top of the mountain." So, if you are from the east where the mountains apparently have roads right to the top, you might be a little disappointed, but Paradise is beautiful this time of year.

[Craptacular]

Thanks for all the info. If we actually go to Victoria, we'll probably just take the car ferries since we'll be going to Olympic NP and North Cascades NP anyway. The biggest problem is that the ONLY vehicle ferry from Victoria to Anacortes that time of the year leaves at 11:40 AM. That just kind of ruins a huge chunk of the day, and doesn't leave us much time to spend in Victoria. Looks like the rate would be $60 a person for the Clipper (special rate), whereas the ferries would run us about $200 total (for 6 people). We probably won't decide 'til we're out there and see how much time we want to spend in Seattle and Olympic NP.

I have read some magazine articles about Olympic NP, and it seems like we'll want plenty of time to check out Quinault and Hoh Rain Forests, Crescent Lake, and Hurricane Ridge. The Lake Quinault Lodge looks nice, and since it's off-season, we might get an OK rate. Looks like there's also a Lake Crescent lodge, which might be closer to where I think we'll end up one night.

I was thinking about "detouring" down to Mt. St Helens. An old co-worker of mine (who use to live in Seattle and happened to be on a plane to Seattle when St. Helens erupted) says it's still worth a visit. As mgadfly mentioned, we could do a "drive-by" since we'll be close. Can you see much from USH 12, or do you have to take 25 down there? I'm assuming that there's plenty of tourist-trap lodging in the area. My original plan was to do the clockwise loop around Rainier, and head to Olympia for the night. If we did go to St Helens (for more than a drive-by), we'd probably have to skip either Victoria or North Cascades NP.

As for Seattle, an article from Budget Traveler (for what it's worth) says to see the EMP, but just for the Gehry architecture (skip paying the $20 admission to go in). I'm sure we'll do the Space Needle thing, but I'll try to take VfP's advice and check out the view from the BoA Tower. I actually first heard about the Underground Tour from that same co-worker. That will likely be one of those things that we'll do if we have time, but won't be heart-broken if we spend our time elsewhere.

In general, as far as lodging goes, I simply want a clean place to sleep at night. We plan on spending most of our time outside (or in the rental van), so I don't care much about other amenities, views from the room, etc. The cheaper, usually the better, although I'm more of a Days Inn kind of guy than a Podunk Woods Motel kind of guy. For Seattle, we're going to try and lowball some places downtown on Priceline before we go. Otherwise, I'll let my Dad do the haggling. He's good at that kind of stuff.

I'll lay out my latest thoughts for an itinerary, and let you guys tell me if you have any improvements.

Sat: arrive late morning, spend in downtown Seattle
Sun: downtown Seattle, stay somewhere in SE metro area (Kent, Auburn?)
Mon: clockwise loop around Mt Rainier, stay in Olympia (option to drive-by Mt St Helens if we don't spend a lot of time at Rainier)
Tues: Olympic NP (Hoh and Quinault Rainforests)
Wed: Olympic NP (Lake Crescent, Hurricane Ridge)
** decision point** ferry to Victoria on Wed afternoon, or stay in Port Angeles or Port Townsend
Thurs: Victoria in early morning w/ ferry to Anacortes; or take Port Townsend ferry to Keystone, drive through Deception Pass, and head up towards Anacortes. Either way, would likely stay somewhere near Mt Vernon.
Fri: North Cascades NP; drive back to somewhere near Seattle
Sat: leave in the morning.

Another option would be to spend (more) time at Mt St Helens. We'd make up the time by cutting out a little bit from Olympic NP, and skipping Victoria. As I said in my original post, I just don't know if it's worth the extra money and ferry time to spend so little time in Victoria (plus I have to remember a birth certificate since I don't have a passport). Of course, we could always eliminate North Cascades and spend that time in Victoria. I've heard you can't see much cool stuff in NCNP unless you have the time to access Ross Lake from the north or Lake Chelan from the south. We'll pretty much just be driving in and out on Hwy 20.

If anyone has any more suggestions, I'd love to hear 'em. Thanks again to those who have posted already.

[scooter]

I guess I didn't realise you were trying to do all this is one week. That's going to be a whirlwind tour (and a lot of time in the car).

As far as cutting a bit out of the Olympic NP, that's not really possible. It's a loop around the Olympic mountain range - you either start it and go all the way around or start going around, stop and turn around. There is no "short cut" back across the mountains :D There really isn't anywhere to stay in the middle of the loop (I think there's like one motel in Forks and that's of the "Podunk Woods" variety). I would stick to staying in the south in Quinault, Aberdeen (ick), or Ocean Shores. The north end is Port Angeles or Port Townsend.

Do you plan on hiking around at all in Mt. Rainier NP or St. Helens? There are a lot of nice trails that aren't very long (or strenuous) right at Sunrise and Paradise. If so, you may want to spend a day just at Mt. Rainier (it takes a while to drive around that mountain). Consider staying closer to the mountain - Puyallup or Enumclaw would have major hotel chains. That would shorten you drive to the mountain.

As far as Victoria goes, can you walk on the car ferry at Port Angeles/Port Townsend? You probably aren't going to need your car in Victoria (unless you plan on going straight from there to Anacortes). If you left your van in Port Angeles/Port Townsend, you could take the ferry back and forth from there, then just drive down to Bainbridge Island and take the ferry back to Seattle (a nice ride if the weather is nice as the view of Mt. Rainier is awesome!). Also if the weather is nice try out the Public House in Winslow (close to the ferry dock on Bainbridge). They have good food (if a bit pricey), a good beer selection, and a very nice view of the bay from their deck.

In the end, it all comes down to priorities and how long you're willing to spend in the car. Washington is a beautiful state - there are trees, mountains and water all around you so it can be a wonderful drive.

[Craptacular]

Yeah, this will be a trip with a lot of driving. It's one of those trips where we want to see a lot even if we don't spend lots of time at any one place. We can always come back another time once we see what the best places are.

We will probably hike around a little bit at Rainier. That's why I wasn't originally planning on going to St Helens. I figured we'd need most of one day to see Rainier, and then we'd hightail it to Olympia for the night. My guess is that we'll want to spend the most time in Olympic NP.

I didn't think about leaving the car in Port Angeles. You can just walk on to that ferry. I think the only way we'd do that is if we skipped North Cascades NP and just went back to Seattle as you said. Otherwise, we'd have to backtrack, although it would save some money.

As for Olympic NP, I know you can't take any shortcuts. I meant spending less time exploring and driving into the park, and sticking more to the ring road (101). We'll have to hustle butt no matter what.

[scooter]

It's actually kind of ironic that you are coming out here at the end of the month as I'm flying into Madison, WI at the same time. I'm going to visit my parents in Lodi for a few days.

I grew up around Chicago and when I was in college at U of I, I decided one summer that I really wanted to drive out to the Northwest (actually I wanted to drive to Alaska, but then I figured out how far that was going to be!). A friend and I took two weeks and drove out to Oregon and Washington, stopping off at Yellowstone and Mt. Rushmore on the way. We took in the Oregon coast, Columbia River, and Mt. Rainier. We had plans to drive around Olympic NP too, but decided against it as we had already spent way too much time in the car. The reason I'm relating this story is that we missed quite a few things on that trip, but what I really wished after I got back, was that I'd spent a little more time enjoying the things that we did see - we were always pushing on to see the next thing though.

I'm not trying to tell you how to have a vacation, but I'm just trying to warn you that a lot of the roads that don't look that far on a map get much longer in person. Just try to be realistic in what you can see in a day.

Anacortes is an interesting town with views of the San Juan Islands and Deception Pass is pretty dramatic. If you were coming during the winter (Dec. Jan.) the eagles on the Upper Skagit River are something to see (although my parents are always talking about seeing eagles by the dams on the Wisconsin River). If you came in April, the tulip fields around Mount Vernon are amazing too. But since you are coming in September, I think this leg of your trip would be the one I would cut down on.

Just my .02, for what it's worth :)

[Craptacular]

Oh Lord, I'm stuck in Lodi again.

Believe me, I'm familiar with road trips and maps and driving times. My parents thought I might be a transportation engineer (they were right) when I always knew where we were on the map and how long it would take us to get to the next point on our frequent roadtrips ... when I was about 7 years old. ;) My honeymoon was actually a road trip (with a lot of scenic detours) from Denver to Las Vegas. A friend and I spent spring break one year driving out to Mt Rushmore / Jewel Cave and back through the Twin Cities so we could see the Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota, the Corn Palace, Wall Drug, the Jolly Green Giant, and other assorted tourist traps (have I plugged roadsideamerica.com lately?). My problem is that I tend to put a lot of effort into planning these things (can you tell?), and it's hard for me to just go with the flow sometimes. However, I've generally been very good about estimating travel and activity time. As I mentioned in an earlier post, other than the first night in Seattle, we're not making any hotel reservations. I have a tentative plan as to where we'll end up, but if it doesn't go that way, I think I'll survive. ;) I understand your point about wanting to spend time to enjoy the sights, but if the area is as beautiful as everyone says it is, I'm sure we'll be back soon.

[scooter]

Well, it's been raining here for about a week now so a long ride in the car will probably make for a great trip! (I'm not complaining - expecially when I look at a map of the US and see ol' Ivan spinning down there in the SE)

I'm a big-time trip planner as well. My tool of choice is Microsoft Streets and Trips. I'm constantly playing around with that thing dreaming up road trips to go on. It's pretty good for a quick and dirty estimate of time and distance. I used a European version of it last year to plan a driving trip my wife and I took to Germany-Belgium-France. It almost worked too good though as I had made all the maps so I knew where we were going but my wife didn't (that meant I got to navigate as she drove 130 mph on the Autobahn!).

I'm sure whatever you plan will be great. After living in the Midwest most of my life, the first time I came out here I just fell in love with the place. I just hope it isn't totally clouded over when you get here as seeing the mountains is a big part of it.

[Craptacular]

Even though I have the Microsoft MapPoint software at work, I still find myself doing it the old-fashioned way. I get the state maps (or a road atlas), a ruler, and a lot of information from magazines and guides (and the now the internet of course).

By the way, you let your wife drive 130 mph?!?!? :D

[scooter]

In a brand new BMW on the Autobahn - it's pretty much required! Not to mention, everyone else is doing it. I only got up to about 110 mph. Like I said, she got to do most of the driving, but she has more German ancestors than I do :)

[Craptacular]

Well, I'm back from vacation. No, we didn't see Mt. St. Helens erupt (or at all for that matter, other than from the plane). To keep it short (and since no one cares), I didn't see enough of Seattle, was very impressed by all the National Parks / Forests / Recreation Areas (Mt Rainier, Olympic, and especially North Cascades / Ross Lake NRA), and was surprised that we didn't get rained on. The variety of climates, geography, and scenery within a 100 mile radius of Seattle is incredible. We definitely have to go back.

[superbama]

I couple years ago i would have suggested visiting Fremont in Seattle.....but in it's current state i'd recomend visiting Portland instead :cool:

[dawgfan]

Wow - I'd forgotten this was when you were coming out here. Too bad you didn't make it to St. Helens - it's really quite spectacular. I don't suppose you were able to go to an M's game this weekend? Would've been good timing, what with Ichiro breaking the hits record on Friday and Edgar Martinez day on Saturday.

Glad you made it up through the North Cascades and by Ross Lake - that's an often overlooked area in the state what with Mt. Rainier and the Olympics.

Next time you come out you should pay a visit to the San Juan Islands and take a drive east to check out the Dry Falls and Grand Coulee area (and of course the Grand Coulee Dam). If you're out in the summer time the drive down the Yakima Valley can be scenic as well through all the vineyards and farm country.

Hope you had fun, and be sure to tell everyone that it rained constantly and you had a miserable time :p

[WSUCougar]

To keep it short (and since no one cares)
Well, some of us do care, Crappie! Glad you enjoyed the trip.

[scooter]

I just got back from my trip to Madison! Glad you had a good time out here.

[Gallifrey]

I couple years ago i would have suggested visiting Fremont in Seattle.....but in it's current state i'd recomend visiting Portland instead :cool:

Fremont is nothing like it used to be. Now it is very much anywhere USA.