Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
The Best of Washington
D
espite what you may have heard to the contrary, there is more to Washing-
ton state than lattes, rain, and Microsoft. Washington is actually such a diverse
state that it could have served as a model for the song “America the Beautiful.”
Out in the eastern high desert country, there are beautiful spacious skies as big
as Montana's (part of the Rocky Mountains even reaches into Washington). In
the Cascades, there are mountains that turn majestically purple at sunset. In the
Palouse country of the southeastern corner of the state, amber waves of grain
stripe the steep hillsides. In the Yakima, Wenatchee, and Chelan valleys, the
fruited plains produce the world's most familiar apples (and some pretty good
wine, too). Out on the Pacific Coast, there are beaches white with foam, and
with an inland sea across the Olympic Peninsula from the Pacific, the sun in
Washington shines from sea to shining sea. From its mountains to its valleys,
Washington is indeed beautiful country.
But the diversity of this state goes far beyond mere song lyrics. There's an
island archipelago as beautiful as the coast of Maine (though without the harsh
winters). There are beaches as long and sandy as those of North Carolina's Outer
Banks (though the waters are too cold for swimming). There are granite moun-
tains as rugged as the Sierra Nevada (though not as crowded with hikers). There
are desert canyons like those of the Southwest (though not nearly as hot). There
are vineyard-covered hillsides like those of the Napa Valley (though without the
crowds). There's even a bayfront city with dauntingly steep streets (no cable cars,
though).
With such a complex and diverse landscape to be explored, planning a trip
can become a daunting task. Where should we go? Where should we stay?
Where should we eat? Planning a trip to Washington involves making a lot of
these sorts of decisions, and, especially if you only have a week for your entire
trip, you probably want to be sure you get the most from your trip. To help you
get a better a grip on the state's highlights, its not-to-be-missed attractions and
activities, we've put together this list of some of the best the state has to offer.
Keep in mind that most are written up in more detail elsewhere in this topic,
but this chapter will give you an overview and get you started.
1 The Best Natural Attractions
•
The San Juan Islands:
Forested
mountains rise up from the cold
waters north of Puget Sound to
form the archipelago known as the
San Juan Islands. Here, bald eagles
wheel overhead while orca whales
dive for salmon below. All this nat-
ural beauty is a powerful magnet
and, despite the hordes of tourists
in the summer, the San Juans
remain the state's best summer
vacation spot. See “The San Juan
Islands” in chapter 5.
•
Olympic National Park:
This
park contains the only rainforests
in the contiguous United States,
