See & do around Seattle

PLACES & ACTIVITIES

Consider buying Seattle CityPass (good for admission to 5 major attractions, valid for 9 consecutive days).
Go up the Space Needle (try Sunday brunch in the revolving restaurant at the top).
Visit the Woodland Park Zoo in Ballard.
Visit the EMP Museum (Experience Music Project + Science Fiction Museum) at Seattle Center
Walk around Seattle's downtown Pioneer Square district, take the trolley to Pike Street Market and see the flying fish.
Go on a ferry ride from downtown Seattle to Bremerton.
Take a Seattle Underground Tour , and visit the city below the city (starts at Pioneer Square, downtown Seattle
Drive up & around Mount Rainier.
Visit Snoqualmie Falls at Fall City - take SR203 or I-90 East. With 270 ft (82 mtrs), these water falls are higher than the Niagara falls!)
If you can stand it, go to a Mariners baseball game.
Visit the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field - just south of downtown Seattle.
If you are really into airplanes: Visit the Museum of Flight's Restoration Center at Paine Field airport in Everett.
Take the Boeing factory tour - Everett, 35 miles north of Seattle.
Take the West Seattle bridge into West Seattle, and get a great view of Downtown across Elliott Bay (from Belvedere Park on SW Admiral Way).
Watch the Bald Eagle colonies on the Skagit River.
Take the ferry from Anacortes (about 50 miles north of Seattle, off I-5) through the San Juan islands to Friday Harbor and Orcas Island.
Go kayaking on Lake Union in downtown Seattle, or (even better) in the San Juans, e.g., from Friday Harbor.
Enjoy the fantastic views (after a 1 hour steep hike) from High Rock lookout in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, south of Mt. Rainier.
Visit the Hoh Rainforest (the only rain forest in the northern hemisphere! Located on the Pacific side of the Olympic Peninsula: 240 inches (6 m) of rain per year, so: bring a coat).
Go white water rafting on the Wenatchee or Tieton river (seasonal).
Hike the Rattlesnake Ledge Trail (which is 2.6 miles long, rises 1200 ft, and has great views), or take one of the many other great trails and hikes in the area.
Go on the national scenic byways and recreational drives in the area and the state.
Visit the Museum of Glass and Dale Chihuly's Bridge of Glass in Tacoma.
Visit the wineries in eastern Washington state, e.g., in the Walla Walla valley. Excellent wines - one of my favorites is "L'Ecole".
Take a trip north across the border and visit Vancouver or Victoria Island.
Take the Coast Starlight Express train from Seattle to San Francisco , incl. a drive through Napa Valley (35 hours trip).

External links last checked: October 2015

LINKS

Seattle Visitor Center.
Local newspapers: "The Seattle Times " and the "Seattle PI".
Traffic conditions and traffic cams in the Seattle area.

External links last checked: October 2015