Day Trips & Overnighters
Some of the day and overnight trips suggested below require travel by Washington State Ferry. Telephone numbers for ferry information are 888-808-7977 in Washington State outside Seattle and 206-464-6400 for calls from the Seattle area. For Web information, go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries.
 Whidbey Island
95 miles, 1 hour 50 minutes by car, much less by road and ferry
Seattleites flock to nearby Whidbey Island on weekends, so it may be best to visit on a weekday and, better yet, stay overnight. Locals say there’s nothing to do on their bucolic island—and that’s why they like it. In fact, there are numerous bed and breakfasts, some good restaurants, and enough winery and micro-brewery tours, art galleries, shops, theatres, and just plain crabbing and clamming to keep anyone busy. (There’s golf, too.) There’s even a fare-free transit system that makes it easy to get around.
To get there, you can take a Washington State Ferry from Clinton off I-5 or drive all the way (mostly on I-5) and take the Deception Pass Bridge, then drive down the island. (Note: The northern part of the island is somewhat spoiled by a naval air station and attendant suburban sprawl.) For information on guided tours of the island, call Whidbey Tours at 360-678-5641 or go to www.gardenislecottages.com/tours. Call 888-747-7777 for local tourist information or visit www.donothinghere.com for more information.
San Juan Islands
104 miles, 3 hours, 50 minutes including ferry ride
A sunlover’s paradise, the three San Juan Islands get little rain—just half that of Seattle—and provide a rustic retreat for Seattleites eager to get away from it all. The islands—Lopez, Orcas, and San Juan—sit northeast of the Olympic Peninsula and south of Canada’s Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands. The islands offer every type of outdoor recreation, from kayaking to hiking and mountain climbing, and present some notable shops, restaurants, and romantic bed and breakfasts as well. San Juan Island is the biggest of the three, and home to picturesque Friday Harbor, which is full of restaurants and cozy inns. Orcas Island is the most beautiful and least spoiled, though even that’s a misnomer: All three islands are incredibly beautiful. To take a tour of San Juan Island or
just get around, call San Juan Transit at 360-378-8887 or 800-887-8387.
For more information, call the San Juan Islands Visitor Information Service, 360-468-3663 or 888-468-3701, www.travelsanjuans.com. The islands are easily reached by Washington State Ferry from Anacortes. You can also fly from Seattle on San Juan Airlines, 800-874-4434, or on Kenmore Air seaplanes, from Lake Union or Lake Washington, 425-486-1257 or 800-543-9595.
 Olympic National Park
85 miles, 2 1/2 hours
The Northwest’s unique Pacific beauty is perhaps best encountered in Olympic National Park, where an old growth temperate rain forest, spectacular coastline, deserted beaches, rugged glacier-capped mountains, gorgeous, glacier-fed lakes, hot springs, and unique ecology combine to present a natural spectacle in one million preserved acres of wilder-ness. Eight different kinds of plants and 15 kinds of animals are found only here—and nowhere else on earth. Hiking, camping, mountain climbing, sea kayaking, whale watching and bird watching are all popular here.
To make the most of your visit to the park, stop first at the Olympic National Park Visitors Center off Highway 101 (which circles the park) in Port Angeles. (Call 360-565-3131 for information, www.nps.gov/olym.) Continue 17 miles to Hurricane Ridge, which offers the most breathtaking view of the park. Then head out. The Hoh Rain Forest, with its centuries-old stands of towering cedars and other trees, is farthest away in the park’s northwestern corner, near the Forks entrance, but there are many other points of interest in between. If you want to camp overnight in the park, you’ll need to get a permit from the Park Service’s Wilderness Information Center, just south of Port Angeles (360-565-3100).
Olympic Mountaineering offers guided hiking and mountain climbing expeditions in the park. Call 360-452-0240. www.olymtn.com
If you want to hike and get that load off your back, Kit’s Llamas promises to do just that with the help of llamas—sensitive animals who’ll carry your load on guided expeditions. Call 253-857-5274. www.northolympic.com//llamas
Olympic Raft and Kayaking offers river and whitewater rafting and kayaking trips as well as sea kayaking expeditions. Call 360-452-1443 or 888-452-1443.
Near the park’s northwestern corner, in Neah Bay, the Makah Cultural and Research Center offers an outstanding collection of Native American artifacts and historical displays. Call 360-645-2711.
North Olympic Vintners
65 miles including the ferry ride to the starting point, 2 1/2 hours
Ride the ferries and spend a day or more visiting 10 small family wineries set amidst spectacular scenery. While a couple of these wineries grow their own grapes, most of them import them from much sunnier Eastern Washington. Start by taking the Washington State Ferry to Bainbridge Island, and proceed to the starting point of the self-guided tour at 3174 Lost Mountain Road in Sequim. Call 360-683-5229 for information or visit www.wineryloop.com.
Powerful Sight
140 miles, 3 hours
Take a tour of Seattle City Light Co.’s Skagit River Hydroelectric Project in the North Cascade Mountains. The scenery is breaktaking, with the forested slopes of snow-capped mountains plunging into pristine turquoise lakes. You can cruise Diablo Lake, a reservoir ringed by the glacial waters of Cascade peaks, or take in a historical tour. On Main Street in Newhalem, off North Cascades Hwy. 20. Call 206-684-3030 or visit www.seattle.gov/light/tours/skagit/.
Chimp Chat
107 miles, 1 hour, 43 minutes
Attend a lecture and see the world’s only family of chimpanzees who talk with each other—and their human trainers—with American Sign Language. Many say this encounter is the high point of their trip to Washington. Chimposiums, weekends only, Central Washington University, 400 E. 8th Avenue, Ellensburg, Wash.,
509-963-2244.
 Washington’s Wine Regions
Zillah, Yakima Valley: 162 miles,
2 hours, 35 minutes
Washington’s wines have emerged as some of the best in the country, eclipsed only by California’s best offerings. While wineries in the Seattle area depend on grapes impor-ted from the eastern part of the state, the sunny, arid climate in Eastern Washington is ideal for growing grapes. The vineyards here, many of them small family operations, consistently produce one outstanding wine after another.
For information on Yakima Valley wineries, call the Yakima Valley Winery Association at 800-258-7270, and consider visiting these two wineries which, among dozens of others, offer tastings: Portteus Vineyards, 5201 Highland Drive, Zillah, 509-829-6970; and Wineglass Cellars, 260 North Bonair Road, Zillah, 509-829-3011.
Benton City, Columbia Valley
207 miles, 3 hours, 20 minutes
In the Columbia Valley, much farther from Seattle, call the Columbia Valley Winery Association at 509-628-8082. Terra Blanca Vintners, 34715 N. DeMoss Road, Benton City, 509-588-6082, is one of many wineries there to offer tours.
Walla Walla
273 miles, 4 hours 41 minutes
The area around Walla Walla, much farther east, also produces some excellent wines. Among others, visit the Canoe Ridge Vineyard, 1102 West Cherry St., Walla Walla, 509-527-0885, www.canoeridge.com. Call the Walla Walla Area Chamber of Com-merce at 877-WWVisit for information about wineries and other area attractions. www.wallawalla.org
Mt. Rainier
104 miles, 2 hours, 43 minutes
Snow-capped Mount Rainier, the tallest peak in the Northwest at more than 14,000 feet, is a feast for the eyes for Seattleites—at least on clear days. Home of Mt. Rainier National Park, and still an active volcano, the mountain’s glaciers, alpine meadows, old-growth forests, and spectacular views all make a must-see stop. It also featureexcellent opportunities for hiking and mountain climbing. For park information, call 360-569-2211, Ext. 3314, or go to www.nps.gov/mora/pphtml/contact/html. Beeline Tours, 206-632-5162 or 800-959-8387, offers day-long excursions to the park from Seattle.
Mt. St. Helens
144 miles, 3 hours, 48 minutes
Mt. St. Helens was in the news a great deal in October 2004. Many people worried that it would repeat the events of May 15, 1980, collapsing the mountain’s north face. A mushroom cloud of ash rose 80,000 feet, with traces reaching the East Coast only a few days later. In 1982, the desolate area immediately around the mountain was declared the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, in which (or nearby) there are numerous viewpoints and points of interest. One of the best is the privately operated Cinedome Theatre, 360-274-9844. It shows a 30-minute documentary of the eruption that was nominated for an Oscar.
To get more information on the monument, call the Mt. St. Helen’s Visitors Center at 360-247-3900, or go to www.fs.fed.us/ gpnf.mshnvm. For information on climbing Mt. St. Helens—you’ll need a permit, and it’s for experienced climbers only—go to the same Web site or call 360-449-7839. Beeline Tours of Seattle offers guided tours of Mt. St. Helens from Seattle; call 206-632-5162 or
800-959-8387.
Portland, Oregon
173 miles, 2 hours, 56 minutes
Portland has been lauded as one of the most “livable” big cities in the country for a plethora of reasons. Blessed with a mild, year-round climate, Portland is perhaps most famous for its gardens, and there are plenty of them: A terrific municipal rose garden, a test rose garden, the Portland Classical Chinese Garden and the Japanese Garden, to name a few. The city is also at the center of a wine-growing region and home to numerous microbreweries.
Cultural attractions include the magnificently restored symphony hall, while outdoor types make maximum use of the East-bank Esplanade along the Willamette River downtown. Visitors should also consider taking in one of the region’s more unusual museums, the American Advertising Museum Gallery, and the Haggart Memorial Astronomical Observatory is also not to be missed. Other attractions include downtown’s restored historic architecture and walking tours, and riverboats leave from here to cruise up the Columbia, Snake and Willamette rivers. For more information, call the Portland Oregon Visitors Association, or POVA, at 877-678-5263.
Victoria, B.C.
110 miles, as little as 2 1/2 hours depending on which ferry taken.
Be sure to take proof of U.S. citizenship with you.
Victoria, B.C., the capital of the neighboring Canadian province of British Columbia, is more British than England. Take a horse-drawn Tally-Ho cart ride around the picturesque Inner Harbor and have tea at the dowager, ivy-covered Fairmont Empress Hotel. (Call the hotel in advance at 250-384-8111 for tea reservations.) The city offers a plethora of other attractions, including the world-famous Butchart Gardens and the opportunity to shop for British goods, including fine woolens. For information, call Victoria’s Visitor Information Centre at 250-953-2033.
You can get to Victoria by Victoria Clipper, a high-speed passenger-only catamaran that leaves from Seattle’s Pier 69, in 2 hours. Call 206-448-5000 or 800-888-2535 for information and reservations. For trips to Victoria by Gray Line, call 206-624-5077 or 800-426-7532. You can also drive and take a Washington State Ferry from Anacortes on the Olympic Peninsula.
Vancouver, B.C.
140 miles, at least 3 hours including a stop at the border crossing at Blaine, Wash., where there can be backups.
Be sure to take proof of U.S. citizenship with you.
Vancouver is spectacular by nature, an ultra-modern, multicultural metropolis surrounded by mountains and water. Take in its multitude of ethnic restaurants, Robson Street boutiques, Granville Island shops and markets, world-renowned Museum of Anthropology or Bloedel Conservatory (a bioclimatic garden) in Queen Elizabeth Park. The Skyride, an aerial gondola which takes you to the top of Grouse Mountain, just across the harbor from downtown, offers a stunning aerial view of the city. A sunset dinner at the famed Grouse Nest restaurant is not to be missed. Better yet, walk, jog, bike or inline skate along the 6-mile seawall promenade around Stanley Park, the downtown wilderness preserve and enjoy its old-growth forest, trails, formal gardens and excellent aquarium.
If you want to venture farther, use Vancouver as a springboard for a trip 70 miles up the wild and rugged coast to the alpine Whistler Mountain resort, site of some of the best winter skiing on the continent but a popular destination at all times of year. For more information, call Vancouver’s Visitor Information Centre at 604-683-2000 or go to www.tourismvancouver.com. Quick Shuttle, 800-665-2122, offers trips to Vancouver by motorcoach, as does Pacific Coach Lines, 800-661-1725.
Ketchikan, Alaska& Points North
1,100 miles by car, 17 hours by car, 2 hours by plane
There is no more awe-inspiring experience than sailing a small boat within feet of a breaching humpback whale. Carved by glaciers and blanketed with majestic hemlock and spruce, Alaska is a region of pristine water, snow capped mountains, deep fjords and forested islands. Its vast natural resources make it a prime habitat for bears, bald eagles, sea lions, porpoise and whales. Much of the southern panhandle is part of the Tongass National Forest, a 16.8 million acre rainforest. Home to some of the most stunning views on earth, Glacier Bay National park has 16 active tidewater glaciers and Misty Fiords National Monument near Ketchikan has 3,000-foot cliffs rising directly from pristine ocean channels.
The picturesque coastal communities are rich in history. Russian influence is well preserved in churches and other historical structures. The Gold Rush era comes to life throughout the Inside Passage and offers fascinating opportunities to learn and explore the past. The Native cultures of Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian Indians dominate this area. Ancient totem poles are abundant in many communities and the art of totem carving is preserved along with traditional dance and music.
Whether you are driving or flying, it’s worth the trip. The famous Alaska Highway links the Lower 48 states to the 49th. Once this was a rough road for the adventurous, but the modern Alaska Highway is traveled by thousands of people every year. The highway is open year-round and all but a few miles are paved. There are also direct flights from SEA-TAC to many of the major cities in Alaska.
Try to plan you visit prior to attending the NAHC Annual Meeting as late October begins the winter season in Alaska.
|
