Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
one lodge to the next down the
valley, or use one of the luxurious
lodges as a base for doing day skis.
See “Winthrop & the Methow
Valley” in chapter 9.
Hiking on Mount Rainier: Fed
by huge amounts of melting snow
each summer, the meadows of
wildflowers on the flanks of
Mount Rainier burst into bloom
each year in July. Through these
colorful hillsides meander miles of
hiking trails that are among the
most memorable in the state. Sure
you'll encounter crowds, but the
wildflower displays, with Mount
Rainier for a backdrop, far out-
weigh the inconvenience of deal-
ing with hordes of other hikers.
See “Mount Rainier National Park
& Environs” in chapter 9.
Climbing Mount St. Helens:
Though it isn't the highest peak in
the Washington Cascades, Mount
St. Helens is certainly the most
interesting mountain to climb
(you'll need a permit, and num-
bers of climbers are limited). You
don't need any technical climbing
skills for this one, just plenty of
stamina and a tolerance for hiking
in dusty conditions (if the snow
has melted off, you'll be hiking in
volcanic ash). See “Mount St.
Helens National Volcanic Monu-
ment” in chapter 9.
Windsurfing at Hood River:
Winds that blow through the
Columbia Gorge whip up white-
capped standing waves and have
turned this area into the windsurf-
ing capital of the United States,
attracting boardsailors from
around the world. See “The
Columbia Gorge & the Mount
Adams Area” in chapter 9.
3 The Best Beaches
Alki Beach (Seattle): Located in
West Seattle, this is the closest
Washington comes to a Southern
California-style beach scene.
There's a sandy beach and a paved
path crowded with in-line skaters,
walkers, and cyclists. Across the
street from the sand, you'll find
lots of cheap restaurants and places
to buy sunglasses. See chapter 4.
Obstruction Pass State Park
(Orcas Island): Set at the end of a
half-mile-long trail through the
woods, this tiny cove is barely big
enough for a dozen sea kayakers to
beach their boats, but therein lies
this beach's charm. This is the quint-
essential little San Juan Islands cove
beach, and you don't have to have a
boat to get to it. See “The San Juan
Islands” in chapter 5.
Deception Pass State Park
Beaches (Whidbey Island): There's
a reason this is the most popular
state park in Washington—the
many miles of beach, spread out on
two sides of Deception Pass, are
among the prettiest in the Puget
Sound area. See “Whidbey Island”
in chapter 5.
Dungeness Spit (Dungeness):
With 6 miles of windswept sand
stretching out to a lighthouse in
the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Dunge-
ness is a hikers' beach, and the
reward for hiking several miles out
this narrow strip of sand is the
chance to see some of the area's
resident harbor seals. See “Sequim
& Dungeness Valley” in chapter 7.
Rialto Beach (Olympic National
Park outside Forks): Located on
the north side of the Quillayute
River, this beach is the southern
terminus of a 29-mile-long stretch
of wilderness beach. However,
most visitors simply walk a mile
up the beach to Hole in the Wall,
a huge monolith through which
the ocean's waves have bored a
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