Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
campground). The mild climate,
watery vistas, and quiet, rural character
of these islands have made the San
Juans Washington's favorite summer-
vacation destination. As such the
islands are packed to overflowing
throughout the summer and it can be
impossible to get a hotel reservation at
the last minute. A summer trip to the
San Juans definitely requires plenty of
advance planning. It also requires a
great deal of patience, as waits for fer-
ries can stretch into hours. To avoid
the crowds, consider visiting in spring
or fall, when the weather is often just
as good as in the summer. Because the
San Juans lie within the rain shadow of
the Olympic Mountains, they get far
less rain than Seattle (and therein lies
much of their appeal for Seattleites).
The Olympic Peninsula
Aside from a
thin necklace of private land around its
perimeter, this huge peninsula, wedged
between Puget Sound and the Pacific
Ocean, is almost entirely public land.
At the heart of the peninsula is
Olympic National Park, which encom-
passes almost the entirety of the
Olympic Mountains. Surrounding the
park is Olympic National Forest, which
is distinguishable from the park by its
many clear-cuts. Due primarily to the
immensity of the forests and the size of
the trees here, the forests of the
Olympic Peninsula have, over the past
100 years, seen some of the most inten-
sive logging in the nation. The gigantic
size of the trees here is due to the
astounding amount of rain that falls on
parts of the peninsula. The western
slopes of the Olympic Mountains con-
tain some of the only temperate rain-
forests in the contiguous United States,
and in these forests, the annual rainfall
often exceeds 150 inches. Rugged
remote beaches separated by rocky
headlands characterize the Pacific shore
of the peninsula, while along the north
coast, there are several large towns,
including the historic Victorian seaport
of Port Townsend. Just remember when
planning a vacation out here that you're
likely to get rained on even in the sum-
mer; be prepared to get wet.
Southwest Washington
The south-
west corner of the state is, for the most
part, a sparsely populated region of
huge tree farms. However, along the
southern coast, there are long sandy
beaches and numerous beach resorts
and towns, which, though popular
with Portlanders and the residents of
Puget Sound, lack a distinctly North-
west character. Inland, up the Colum-
bia River, lies the city of Vancouver
(not to be confused with Vancouver,
B.C.), which though rich in regional
history, has been overshadowed by
Portland, Oregon, directly across the
Columbia River.
The Cascade Range
Dividing the
state roughly into eastern and western
regions, the Washington Cascades are
actually two very distinct mountain
ranges. The North Cascades are jagged,
glaciated granite peaks, while the cen-
tral and southern Washington Cascades
are primarily volcanic in origin. Mount
St. Helens, which erupted with awe-
inspiring force in 1980, is the only one
of these volcanoes to be active in recent
years, but even Mount Rainier, the
highest mountain in the state, is merely
dormant and is expected to erupt again
sometime in the next few hundred
years (probably with devastating effect
considering the large population that
now resides at the foot of the moun-
tain). Within this mountain range are
North Cascades National Park, Mount
Rainier National Park, Mount St.
Helens National Volcanic Monument,
the third deepest lake in the country
(Lake Chelan), half a dozen ski areas,
and a couple of interesting little theme
towns. If you're thinking about a sum-
mer vacation in these mountains, keep
in mind that the snow at higher eleva-
tions (where you'll find the beautiful
wildflower meadows) often doesn't
melt off until well into July.
