Road trip in Washington, or more precisely in the Pacific Northwest, exceeded my expectations. Let’s be honest here: when a European tourist comes to visit the US, one rarely chooses to visit Washington state. The priorities are elsewhere when time is extremely limited. Washington wasn’t on my bucket list either but after spending a week there I was astonished by its beauty and variety. Washington definitely has a lot to offer. Here you’ll find a list of places that we managed to visit in Washington (PNW) with useful tips and advices. Oh, if only we would have known this before our departure! Our loss is your gain. Keep reading. Trip itinerary, as always, at the end of the article.
North Cascade National Park
North Cascade National Park is a paradise for nature and hiking lovers. After extensive research, we decided to have three hikes there in two days. Our first hike was supposed to be the Maple Loop. Unfortunately, 5 miles before the hiking starting point we bumped into a road closure. Despite being at the beginning of May, there was still a lot of snow around. Apparently, the roads were unplowed and due to safety issues, visitors weren’t allowed into the park.
Information about road closures was published on the North Cascade National Park’s website probably a day or two before our arrival. It’s our own fault for not double-checking it right before our departure. Strangely, even Google maps didn’t warn us about road closures. Well, it did but just after seeing road barricades ourselves. Thanks, Google. Better later than ever. That day we lost at least 6 hours because we needed to take a long detour and also to change our two-days plan.
We replaced the Maple Loop hike into Diablo lake overlook and a short descent to the Diablo dam. The lake, surrounded by snow-covered high mountain peaks, has a unique turquoise color that unfolds the best in the morning hours. We were pleasantly surprised that people can also walk freely on 119 m (389 ft) tall and 360 m (1180 ft) long Diablo dam. We were the only visitors at that moment and the view from the dam into Diablo lake was pretty spectacular.
Seattle
I usually have mixed feelings about American cities but I can say firmly that I liked Seattle. Not completely sure if I would see myself living there but the overall impression was strongly positive despite smelling weed on every corner. We dedicated 3 days to Seattle and visited multiple attractions, including, of course, the Space Needle. More about attractions in Seattle you can find here.
Deception Pass State Park
This place wasn’t originally in our trip plan but it was an acceptable alternative after a road closure failure in the Northern Cascades. Deception Pass is a strait separating two islands – Whidbey and Fidalgo. The park has some hiking trails, is a perfect place for peaceful boating, camping or just strolling along the beach.
At first, we drove to West Beach and had a short walk there to the Ancient Douglas-fir tree and the Amphitheater. Then we crossed in our car Deception Pass Bridge and took a short hike to the Lighthouse point that actually did not have any lighthouse there. A tourist trap. If you’ll lucky, you can spot some water wildlife there – seals, otters, or even whales.
San Juan Island
I’ll be completely honest here: you should take a ferry from Anacortes to San Juan Island just for whale watching. Island itself isn’t special. Yes, it has ancient American and British camps, it has small lovely Roche Harbor, some cute beaches (well duh, it is an ISLAND), it’s green and super calm. But I’m sure you can find similar places on the mainland not spending money on a ferry ticket. However, if you’re into whales, San Juan Island is the right place to go.
San Juan Island is sometimes referred to as the killer whales, aka orcas, watching capital. You have two options here: 1) save money and take a big slow boat together with tens of other tourists. Keep in mind that orcas are much faster than this kind of boat so no guarantees you will take a National Geography level picture; 2) pay more and travel with the so-called water Ferrari. This type of boat is much smaller, faster, more maneuverable, and carries fewer passengers (up to 12). Since our primary goal was to see orcas, we went along with a more expensive option.
Finally, we got lucky: there were just 5 tourists on board including us plus 3 crew members (a captain, an assistant, and a tour guide). Basically, we enjoyed a private tour. Warm jackets, pants, and binoculars were provided by the tour company. Your own gloves, hat, and boots are highly recommended. Some safety information, short intro and we hit the road (or water?).
We rode that super-fast boat for a while until we reached the spot where orcas were doing orcas’ things. At least two other fast boats and one slow boat were hanging around. According to state law, such boats must keep a safe distance from orcas and do not persecute them. We did not see a killer whale jumping from the ocean like it was pictured in the company’s advertisement pamphlet but we were lucky to see a group of orcas swimming together several times. On the way back we stopped near a tiny island covered in seals, aka orca’s food.
Olympia National Park
Rainforest in Washington? Yes, Mother Nature sometimes gets crazy, and thank her for that. Furthermore, there is a coastline right next to it. You can stop in one of its multiple beaches, for instance, Ruby or rocky Shi Shi Beach. Mountains? Here’s Mt Olympus right in the heart of this park. Short hikes for lazy ones and multiple-day backpack experiences for the brave ones.
We were the lazy ones. We reached the famous Hall of Mosses and enjoyed a short hike in the rain among tall, lush trees. Since it’s a RAINforest, a RAINcoat might be very handy. The environment somehow reminded me of a scene from “Jurassic Park”. It looked so surreal that I even forgot about pouring rain.
Mount Rainier
On a bright day from Seattle, you can see a white peak in the distance. It’s a Mount Rainier – the tallest (4392 m / 14 411 ft) mountain in Washinton state and the Cascade Range. Mount Rainier National Park is 95 km / 59 miles away from Seattle that makes it a perfect day trip destination.
We parked our car at the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center and were determined to take a short (1 mile) hike. The peak looked so close! And once again a reality train hit us. There was just too much snow and we clearly failed to prepare ourselves. We managed to walk just ¼ of the trail when we were forced to turn back. It got too dangerous. Every step we took our feet fell deep into the snow and the slopes just were too steep.
So and advice from us: if you’re willing to have a nice hike among the green mountain slopes, do it no earlier than July. And don’t forget the sunscreen! I wasn’t super physics savvy at school so I totally forgot all that stuff about white color reflecting the sunlight. Even the temperature was below zero on that day it felt like a sauna and at the end of our super short hike, I was already waking in a T-shirt!
Mt Saint Helens
Mt Saint Helens is an active volcano in southern Washington that exposed its mighty strength in 1980. It is considered the most destructive volcanic event in the US. People lost their lives, infrastructure was destroyed. Since that deadly event, Mt Saint Helens had continuous volcanic activity until 2008. It is sleeping peacefully right now. Until its next awake. Despite the sleeping danger, this mount is still a favorite hikers’ place.
Mt Saint Helens has a distinctive 1-mile wide horseshoe-shaped crater. Even more than 40 years have passed since the big eruption, nature still hasn’t returned to its previous state. Lush forests are gone and signs of lahars are still visible. The best place to admire this place is from Johnston Ridge Observatory.
Honorable mentions
Just 45 minutes away from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) there are Snoqualmie falls. This 270-foot waterfall attracts about 1.5 million visitors yearly. You can check it from the upper observation deck or, if you don’t mind a short stroll, you can follow the trail and see it from below, at the river level. We did both but honestly, I preferred the upper view.
Leavenworth is an example that homesickness can be a perfect source of inspiration. Settlers modeled it into the Bavarian-looking village. Just English written signs around give away that you’re not in Germany. Leavenworth is famous for its Christmas market and of course German cuisine.
Washington road trip in a nutshell
The state of Washington, more precisely the Pacific Northwest (PNW), has so much to offer: wild beaches, lush forests, mountains, even a rainforest. However, while traveling, keep checking official attractions’ websites to avoid unexpected road/site closures. Our roadtrip was very intence. Sometimes we felt that we were more driving than sightseeing. However, my top sites were Mt Rainier and Olympia National Park. Here’s our trip itinerary:
Day 1 Arriving at SEA, visiting Snoqualmie falls. Driving to Leavenworth. A night there.
Day 2 Driving to Maple Loop hike (road closure). Driving to Diablo lake overlook and Diablo dam. Night in the Yurt in the Cascades.
Day 3 Deception State Park. Night in Eagle’s Bluff.
Day 4 Getting up at 5 pm to catch a ferry to San Juan Island. Driving back closer to the Olympia National Park. Night at Rainforest Resort Village.
Day 5 Exploring Olympia National Park. Going back to Seattle. Checking-in Warwick hotel.
Day 6 Visiting Mount Rainier.
Days 7-8 exploring Seattle
Day 9 Driving towards Oregon. On the way stopped at Mt Saint Helens
