Ultimate Washington State National Park Road Trip

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How to Get Around

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Places to Visit

Seattle

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Pike Place Market is a Seattle must when visiting downtown Seattle. Eve

The bustling marketplace is home to various vendors, eateries, eclectic artisans and farm fresh food. Truly there is something for everyone to enjoy here. Parking ramps are available behind/below the market for easy convince at a semi reasonable price point.

Pike Place Market

@wanderingduo

Landmark daily market with famed fish-throwing seafood vendors, produce stalls and other shops. A little less crowded during the week and in the mornings. This place is definitely worth a visit as it truly is a gem of Seattle. Make sure to watch the famous fish toss and if it doesn't gross you out, walk down the iconic Gum Wall, located down a ramp to the left of the market.

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The Gum Wall

Borderline disgusting, the iconic gum wall is located just around the corner from Pike Place Market. If you're an avid gum chewer, it's the perfect place to make your mark on the town.

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Seattle Pinball Museum

A pinball players paradise!

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Bruce Lee and Brandon Lee Grave Sites

Grave sites of the iconic Bruce and Brandon Lee. They are relatively easy to locate in the cemetery. Please respect all when visiting this site. Can get busy during the summer months/midday.

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Kerry Park

Cute little park situated atop of a hill in the Queen Anne neighborhood with great views of downtown Seattle including the space needle. Limited on street parking is available right next to the park. A nice playground is located just down the path not far from the main view point. This is a local community neighborhood. Please respect all locals and signage when visiting.

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Museum of Pop Culture

Recommended to me by many local friends who call this place one of the coolest modern art museums you will ever see.

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Seattle Aquarium

Located right along the port, the Seattle Aquarium is highly regarded by locals and visitors alike. They offer a good array of exhibits and animals during your aqua encounter.

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Space Needle

Iconic and worth a quick stop. We opted to just view the needle from the ground instead of going up inside. The area surrounding the Space needle is cute and inside there is a nice gift shop.

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Le Panier

Super cute french style bakery with delicious pastries and fresh food. This place was on my must visit bucket list and it is conveniently located near Pikes Place Market.

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Sound View Cafe

A small lunchtime cafe tucked in the 2nd floor of the pikes place market not far from where they throw the fish. They offer good local warm lunch bites and a great view of the port.

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Pike Street Press - Letterpress Print Studio

A personal favorite place to get your paper goods (post cards, stickers, wall posters and more!) They have an eye catching design style, there is a good chance you will find something here you love and you must take home.

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Seattle Beer Co

Tucked away under the stairs, this local beer co serves up many local brews and makes for a nice quick stop after spending the day shopping around town. Unique interior.

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Shorty's

Local bar that is well known for serving hot dogs and is full of pinball machines. Such a fun place to hang out with friends in the evening.

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Alki Point Lighthouse

Grounds are only open VERY specific days. It is on U.S. Coast Guard Property and can only access it during those specific times. Plan ahead if you'd like to see the lighthouse and grounds.

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Alki Beach

A serene beach with great views of the main downtown Seattle area. Beach space is rocky but was very empty the day we visited.

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Fire Tacos & Cantina

Excellent place to stop in for a quick bite to eat. We ordered our food to go and then enjoyed it at a picnic table on the beach near the water.

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Where to Stay

Tru By Hilton Tukwila Seattle Airport

For our Seattle visit in August, we opted to stay here for 2 nights. The free parking and being close to the SEA-TAC airport while also not far from downtown seattle were key features for us. The lobby has a super fun pool table for guests to use free of charge and the staff members were extra kind. They have good recommendations for local experiences to check out while visiting - rain or shine!

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Hilton Garden Inn Seattle/Renton

Located about 26-30 minute drive south of Seattle, Renton is a relatively quiet area.

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Mount Rainer National Park

Mount Rainier National Park

We visited the southern part of Mt. Rainer National Park. The space in the park is massive and there are different entrance points to access various trails. Be sure to double check all of your trails are in the same general area to maximize your time in the park.

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Skyline Trail

A moderate rated trail that loops around Mt. Rainer NP and gives hikers a good array of scenery, plants & wildlife, waterfalls and great views!

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Reflection Lake

Easy access from the parking lot to view Reflection lake. There is a fairly flat trail that circles the lake and surrounding area that is a great hike to start with for beginners. The lake also creates an amazing reflection of Mt. Rainer. This is a great hike to tryout to enjoy the wildflowers and nature.

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Christine Falls

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Narada Falls

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A fun little bonus stop or even drive by experience is the Recycled Spirits of Iron Sculptures you will see on your way to Mt. Rainer NP. This is a free road side experience, but donations are accepted.

Recycled Spirits of Iron Sculpture Park

All sculpture work can be seen 7 days a week outside - recommended during daylight hours. When the owner is home, there is a small gallery and gift shop as well.

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Tolmie Peak Fire Lookout

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Olympic National Park

Just outside of National Park boundaries lies more to explore in Port Townsend. This is where we did our whale watching experience

Port Townsend

The cutest little port town located at the northern tip of Washington state. We did a whale watching tour with Puget Sound Express and would highly recommend them!

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Doc's Marina Grill in Port Townsend

Port side Grill with great views of the water from their deck. Overall really good food and great service. It can get super busy so we do recommend calling ahead to make a reservation to guarantee your table.

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The Courtyard Cafe

Adorable little cafe in downtown Port Townsend, WA. They make wonderful cinnamon rolls and great sandwiches. We grabbed lunch from here before doing our whale watching excursion.

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Puget Sound Express

Whale watching tour company that departs out of Port Townsend and other local port areas. We went north to the San Juan Islands to get a good view of wildlife. They safely kept their distance from the wildlife and gave us good info on what we were seeing. They did a fantastic job and we got to see whales while visiting in August. Call ahead to check with the tour company to see if it is common whale season. Understand these whales are wild animals and you are in their natural habitat. It is no guarantee to see them. Do not touch any wildlife you may see.

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Olympic National Park

National Park pass is needed to access most of the park sites and hikes. You can purchase onsite at the check in booth.

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Port Angeles

The main town area located just outside of a section of Hurricane Ridge in Olympic NP.

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Hurricane Ridge

More recently re-opened to visitors after their lodge burned down. Limited access to a set number of visitors allowed each day. This area was still closed when we visited. Parking is limited.

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Spruce Railroad Trailhead-Camp David Junior Road

A fairly easy trail to do that runs alongside Lake Crescent. We only did part of this trail to where you get to the tunnel right at Devils Punchbowl. You can't see the water for most of the trail but the walk was fairly easy for beginners to do.

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Lake Crescent

We visited Lake Crescent at sunset and wow was it stunning. I would highly recommend.

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Madison Falls Trailhead

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John's Beachcombing Museum

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Forks

Iconic town thanks to the Twilight movies being based off of Forks (although the actual movie filming took place elsewhere). There are a few spots to stop for quick souvenirs and lunch on your national park loop journey.

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La Push

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Rialto Beach

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Ruby Beach

My personal favorite beach of those listed in this guide. It has great tide pools to check out the sea creatures. We saw 4-5 starfish and anemone all tucked into the rock pools located along the shoreline at LOW tide. To access the tide pools you must visit during low tide otherwise you will be underwaterl

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Tree of Life

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Lake Quinault

More great hiking trails in this area.

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World's Largest Sitka Spruce

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Casa Mia of Hoquiam

Small, local Italian restaurant stop while leaving the Olympic National Park area and headed toward Seattle.

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Where to Stay

We did not plan our overnight stays quite early enough and found ourselves scrambling to find a place to stay within Olympic National Park. Best piece of advice, book EARLY for your visit, especially during prime tourist months.

Lake Quinault Inn

Low budget but reasonable quality located in the Western half of Olympic NP. Locally owned as well. Super kind staff members.

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Holiday Inn Express & Suites Sequim, an IHG Hotel

We stayed here for one evening while in the area hiking. It was a nice and clean hotel with a pool and cool private rooftop space to relax and enjoy the outdoors.

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North Cascades National Park

Due to limited time, snow and fire closures we only visited North Cascades for 1 day and did it as a day trip from Everett, WA. There are awesome camp grounds available in the park if you're looking to extend your visit to multiple days. We were also set to stay in Wintrop, WA if you're looking for hotel/lodging locations other than camping.

North Cascades National Park

Please pack and plan accordingly to be out in nature. There are vault toilets at many trailheads and this is an area where wildlife is very common (bears, mountain goats, cougars, etc). We hiked the Blue Lake Trail and it was stunning.

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Blue Lake Trailhead

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Diablo Lake Vista Point

Easily accessible to all with parking area on site. Great views of Diablo Lake. Yes it really is this color when the sun hits it.

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Rainy Lake Trail #310

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Easy Pass Trailhead

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Trail of the Cedars

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Washington Pass Vista Point

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Day Trips - Alternative Trip Options

These side trip recommendations aren't national parks, but they make for great alternative adventures to check out not far off the road. Add these locations for great connections between parks or additional stops to your ultimate road trip. Due to wildfires, you may need to have a plan B for your trip. These make great alternatives if your original location is closed/limited access.

Leavenworth

A Bavarian-styled village located in central Washington. They are always hosting fun events and becomes a magical holiday wonderland each December.

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Snoqualmie Falls

@wanderingduo

Snoqualmie Falls is a majestic waterfall located in the scenic Snoqualmie area of Washington State, just outside of Seattle. Known for its breathtaking beauty and powerful cascades, the falls attract visitors from around the world. Plunging from a height of 268 feet (82 meters), Snoqualmie Falls is an awe-inspiring sight to behold. The waterfall is surrounded by lush greenery and offers a picturesque view that changes with the seasons.

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Bainbridge Island

Take a ferry over to Bainbridge Island from Seattle to explore a touch of nature. Approx. 35 minutes by ferry. You can drive all the way around as well or stop by on your journey north to Port Angeles.

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Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument

About 2.5 hours from Seattle, Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument is a great addition to any trip to Washington State.

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Olympia

Washington States quaint capital city makes for a great day trip from Seattle.

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Everett

A smaller town just north of Seattle makes for a perfect escape from the main city while still enjoying the Puget Sound.

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Bellingham

Not far from the Canadian border, Bellingham provides a fun and scenic scene for those looking to escape Seattle and be close with nature.

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Tacoma

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