I am a UW student and considering renting a car over the summer to check out Washington. I have already been to Pike Place Market, Mount Rainier, Discovery Park, U Village, and Green Lake. Places I'm considering are the Cascade Loop, Leavenworth, Olympic National Park, but I'm definitely open to new ideas. What do you think is the best place to check out?If I have the chance to visit one place in Washington State over this summer, where should I visit?
Dear Armon:
Have you been to The San Juans?
These Islands between the Canadian Border are Awesome.
I took the Car Ferry to Orcas Island %26amp; Friday Harbor.
It reminds me of The Med. in Europe.
The Ferry ride is fun, with or without a car.
Good Luck~
Have Fun!
Do the Olympic National Park! It is Epic! Make sure you stop in and camp at the Hoh Rainforest (which is part of the national park) it is full of wildlife such as elk and the rain forest is very cool! There are 100s of mile of hiking trails! I think there is a 18 mile hike to a glaciar. Hurricane Ridge which is on the other side of the Olympic national park is cool, I saw a Black Bear during the day time!
You should do the entire loop around the Olympic National Park and stop in at Ozette Lake, and do the 2 mile easy hike through the woods that takes to you a beach, that very little people have been to!
Good luck
It would probably be best to do it in a week, it is a lot of territory to cover! It may not look it on a map, but it is very large!
With over 922,000 acres, Olympic offers endless possibilities for recreation, sightseeing, study and relaxation.If I have the chance to visit one place in Washington State over this summer, where should I visit?
If you are renting a car, I would definitely take at least 2 or 3 days (or more if you can!) to go around the Olympic Peninsula and Olympic National Park - absolutely gorgeous! Some highlights not to be missed: Hurricane Ridge, Dungeness Spit, The Makah Museum in Neah Bay, Lake Ozette, the Hoh Rain Forest, Rialto and Ruby Beach: http://www.nps.gov/olym/index.htm
The Cascade Loop is also a great trip. Highway 20 over the North Cascades Highway is beautiful and the town of Winthrop very picturesque. I would go a step further and take a side trip to Grand Coulee Dam and Dry Falls and then make my way back through Leavenworth and across Stevens Pass.
As someone else suggested, I would also recommend the San Juan Islands as a great choice. You can either take the ferry from Anacortes and take your car or you can get around pretty well without a car if take the Victoria Clipper: http://www.clippervacations.com/?npoCode鈥?/a> and then take the ferry to wander to the other islands for a few days and then go back to San Juan Island to take the Clipper back to Seattle. Here's a link with more info with photos about some of the things you can see and do just on San Juan Island which I think is my favorite: http://www.squidoo.com/San_Juan_Island
Most scenic drive in the state would probably be WA Hwy 20 between Marblemount and Winthrop, traveling the highest route over the Cascades (Washington Pass is at 5477 feet above sea level) in the state.
Along the way, one should stop at Rainy Pass and walk the flat paved trail 1 mile to Rainy Lake. That is if all of the snow has melted by the time you get there. There was a lot of snow last winter and the full length of the highway is opening up tomorrow for the first time this year. There will still be snow there for another month or so. The view there is exceptional for such an easy walk; there is a waterfall coming off of a glacier about half a mile away from the viewpoint at the lake's edge. Don't forget the mosquito repellent though!
Definitely go to Leavenworth!! It's so much fun there. Take a train there though, it's much funner (yes I know funner isn't a word...). Leavenworth is best in the winter with all the snow.
You could go to any national park, camping there is great.
Space needle!
http://www.bofads.com/stories/monkeyseat鈥?/a>
northwest trek
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