In my "Day 193" installment of living in Seattle, I shared that I'm really growing to love the area. Make no mistake about it, the winters here are miserable. Miserable. It's dark all day, it rains all day, and it never really gets that cold. But with the spring I've grown to love the area,…
Continue reading: Driving to Leavenworth for lunch
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Very cool, I will have to visit from Vancouver at some point.
not as interesting, but if you are ever near the border Lynden, Washington has a "Dutch" town, and some tasty Dutch restaurants.
Another cool road trip is the Chuckanut Drive region north of Seattle about an hour.
Great place. I have visited many times! Next time take amtrak! Only about 4 hours from Seattle!
"It was quite possibly the most beautiful drive I’ve ever taken." Wow, coming from a guy who travels a lot, that is really high praise.
Coincidentally, I just finished reviewing a few of your old posts - you'll see a comment from me on one of them - before I spotted this one on BA. I did not know that you live in Bellevue. So glad you have come to enjoy the amazing PNW.
Have you driven in the Columbia Gorge yet? The Mt Hood Loop is pretty amazing too. And I have a real soft spot for the area near Mt.St. Helens. While it isn't always pretty, the landscape near the volcano has always fascinated me, along with the story of what happened in 1980 when the mountain blew. Both would make fine road trips.
Or come down to PDX! We have a newly formed MeetUp group of PDX FFers. And the food carts here are terrific, not to mention VooDoo Donuts. Come see!
Ben -- if you're home in WA during Oktoberfest, it's worth making a trip up to Leavenworth. Their Bavarian dancing group is tremendous, and the town is flooded with slutty faux bavarian girls and bavarian bros. 😛
Ben,
An awesome B&B in Leavenworth if you ever go back is Abdenblume. As far as another drive, you should drive to Vancouver and then continue on to Whistler on the Sea to Sky Highway.
Here's from someone who used to live in Western Washington...
San Juan Islands
Hurricane Ridge in the Olympics
North Cascades Highway
Long Beach/Ocean Park
Mt Rainer
I've drive from Seattle to San Francisco and seattle to Vancouver. If there's a more scenic drive than up to Vancouver I would like to know about it. It makes the drive even better knowing its only a couple of hours so heading up there for a weekend is not bad at all
Glad to see you went back via Hwy 2, it's a much better route than I-90. Both are beautiful though.
Go to Leavenworth in December when they have all the Christmas lights up. It is really beautiful.
I think your next road trip should be to drive the Olympic Peninsula Loop!
I've traveled to the PNW many times (in-laws live in Central Oregon) and have heard of Leavenworth, but have never visited. Thanks for the pictures! It reminds me of a town we have in California, about 130 North of Los Angeles. Solvang is modeled after a Danish village with shops, restaurants, a town square, etc.
Other than the town itself, maybe the best reason to visit Solvang is it's close proximity to the Central California wine region. There are probably 30+ wineries (or tasting rooms) within a 30-40 minute drive of the village center. I've included a couple of links if interested.
http://www.solvangusa.com/explore-solvang/what-to-do/
http://www.solvangusa.com/explore-solvang/what-to-do/wine-country/wineries/
I just found this link that offers some of the best spring drives in the US.
http://www.executivetravelmagazine.com/slideshows/americas-best-spring-drives/1
If you liked Northern Exposure, you'll enjoy Roslyn (a one-hour drive south of Leavenworth) which was used for the outdoor scenes.
"any tips for where I should drive next weekend, "
Umm... To the airport??
Back to back weekend drive trip reports? Makes me fear you'll become the Huell Howser of Washington state and the blog will be renamed "One Drive At A Time".
The Orcas by ferry. Then go to Victoria via Victoria Clipper. And because you like the outdoors, hit Hurricane Ridge too.
I'm glad Washington is growing on you. It's a wonderful state.
and as for places to day trip, I'll say it again, come down and visit the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic area. It's gorgeoussss.
@ Brendan -- Yep, am very happy to have gone two different ways. Both beautiful, but Highway 2 was definitely nicer.
@ JohnBom -- Have visited Seattle many times. Not sure if there's something I should specifically see, but I think I have a good grasp of it.
@ BFrankley -- Hah!
North Bend is where they filmed the cult TV Series called Twin Peaks directed by David Lynch. There is a fest annually organized with participation of celebrities: http://www.twinpeaksfest.com/
If you haven't seen the TV show or the movie you might not be so excited about this but I recommend watching the 2 seasons and taking the trip to see all the locations where they filmed. Also, the RR diner from the TV show is still in operation and serves the delicious food from the screen. Great times, wish I could come along!
I agree with you that the DRIVE is WONDERFUL!
I have take the drive and visited Leanworth many times over the last 15 years - I have a brother that lives about 5 miles outside of Leavanworth.
The town itself - been there done that - would be ok if I did not visit again.
I'll 2nd the Columbia River Gorge drive. I live here and get to see the beauty on my commute every day year-round.
Here are some others to check out that I liked:
1. Lake Chelan
2. Columbia River Gorge & Multnomah Falls
3. Seaside, OR / Cannon Beach (stop at the Goonies house in Astoria on the way)
4. Fly down to Medford, OR (with Avios) and then roadtrip to Crater Lake & the Redwoods
5. Mt. Rainier (hike to the waterfall on the Paradise side)
6. Ferries to Bainbridge, Vashon & Bremerton
7. Olympic Mountains (drive the 101 loop)
8. Snoqualmie Falls
9. Portland
10. See a concert at The Gorge
11. Woodinville winery/breweries
12. Future of Flight Boeing Tour in Everett
13. Whidbey Island / Fort Casey
14. Whale Watching tour in Anacortes
15. Ocean Shores
I actually didn't like Vancouver that much. It's expensive and so similar to Seattle that it wasn't exciting. However the drive north of Vancouver up to Whistler is incredibly scenic.
Next on the list is going to Mt. Hood over Memorial Day weekend.
I would loop Whidbey island over deception pass and take the ferry back. Stop at Fort Casey and a few other state parks.
@Ben. You forgot Winthrop in your list (Western style), it's on road 20 through North Cascade National park, a great ride as well!
We love Leavenworth. We don't live there, but when we go it feels like we are going back home.
We love it so much, we built a website "for tourists by tourists" to help tourists like ourselves find out what is there and what is happening with our reviews of places we like.
Next time before you go, visit us at http://www.AccidentalBavarian.com to see what is happening in town.
I'm moving to the area, and can't decide -- Seattle or Bellevue? While Bellevue seems clean, I worry about becoming bored (I used to live in Tokyo), and I'd like to be able to hop on a train to get to the airport whenever I choose.
@Lord Fish - Sounds like the South Lake Union neighborhood in Seattle would be a good fit for you. There is a ton of new development due to the Amazon HQ expansion plus you can take the SLU Trolley to Westlake Center to catch the train.
I don't know that I'd put Ocean Shores on a must do list, Canon Beach in Oregon, yes, definitely. However, it is fun to visit OS during the kite festival.
If you enjoy hiking or mtn biking, I can't recommend more, than a trip to Crystal Mountain this summer. Spectacular views, wildlife, food, sun, did I mention the views? On a clear day you can see Mt. Hood in Oregon, Mt St Helens, Mt Adams, Mt Jefferson, Mt Rainier and Mt Baker near the Canadian border in Bellingham. Oh, and the Olympic Mountains. Dinner is great to do up there as well. http://crystalmountainresort.com/Summer-Activities/Scenic-Gondola-Rides
Multnomah Falls is on the Oregon side of the Columbia gorge. Beautiful drive. Scenic stop. Breathtaking indeed.
If in BC, yes the sea to sky hwy is a beautiful drive and continuing past whistler to Lillooet is Duffy Lake road. It's a must do, include a stop at Joffre lakes. Googleing images will only confirm the desire. The trip should be done with at least 3 nights to soak in the experience with lots of photo stops along the way.
Enjoy your adventures!