When we were starting to consider visiting and then moving to the PNW, we started a list of places that we were interested in visiting. It is an ever growing list. Places and experiences are added as they are found on FB, IG or word of mouth. As we visit each place, I will write our experiences and thoughts about each. Enjoy!
Seattle and surrounding area:
Anderson Park 7802 168th Ave NE, Redmond, WA 98052
Ardmore Park 16833 NE 30th St, Bellevue, WA 98008
Anacortes – (North of Everett) take the ferry
Ballard (Hiram M. Chittenden) Locks 3 ☆ 3015 NW 54th St, Seattle, WA 98107
Bellevue Botanical Gardens 3☆ 12001 Main St, Bellevue, WA 98005
Beaver Lake/ Evans Creek (the lower entrance off 202), Lake Sammamish state park (30 m in East of Seattle)
Blanca Lake, Henry M. Jackson wilderness (2 hrs East of Seattle)
Box car park– 1200 Millwright Loop West, Everett, WA
Bremerton: ferry and go visit the vintage flea market, Stephenson Canyon
Bridle Trails 2☆ 5300 116th Ave NE, Kirkland, WA 98033
Cape Disappointment (4hrs SW from Seattle)
Cedar River trail -17.3 mile multiuse trail 1060 Nishiwaki Lane Renton, WA 98057
Centennial trail- 30 mile multiuse trail in Snoqualmie, WA (35 min E of Seattle)
Couperville- Whidbey Island, Washington (1.5 hrs from Seattle, including ferry ride)
Cottage Lake – Numerous outdoor activities for the community to enjoy. Lake access allows for boating and fishing, and there are walking trails, picnic tables and bbqs, a picnic shelter, play area and restroom. The park is also home to the annual “Music in the Park” free outdoor summer community concerts. 18831 NE Woodinville Duvall Rd, Woodinville, WA 98072
Covell creek/Angel falls near Randle, WA (2hrs S of Seattle)
Cross island trail- Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 (1hr W of Seattle including a ferry ride)
Des Moines Creek trail – 2 mile paved trail. 22030 Cliff Avenue South, Des Moines, WA 98198
Deschutes falls- 25005 Bald Hill Rd., Yelm, WA 98597 (1.5 hrs S of Seattle)
Discovery Park in Magnolia 4☆ 3801 Discovery Park Blvd, Seattle, WA 98199
Downtown Camas – 216 NE 4th Ave Suite 102, Camas, WA 98607
East lake Sammamish trail
Ebey Island – North of Everett From north I5, east on Hwy 2, right on 51st to left/south on 43rd left on 38th, access is on the left. 25 acres of wetland, 20 acres of forested wetland
Evans Creek Preserve -4001 224th Ave NE, Redmond, WA 98053
Everett waterfront 4 mile paved trail 1205 Craftsman Way #200 Everett, WA 98201
Farrel McWhirter Park – 19545 NE Redmond Rd, Redmond, WA 98053
Flaming geyser state park – 23700 SE Flaming Geyser Rd, Auburn, WA 98092
Fremont Troll – N 36th St Seattle, WA 98103
Gasworks Park – 2101 N Northlake Way, Seattle, WA 98103
Gene Coulon beach park – 1201 Lake Washington Blvd N, Renton, WA 98056
Grass Lawn Park – 7031 148th Ave NE, Redmond, WA 98052 Tree-filled public park with tennis & basketball courts, sports fields & an extensive playground.
Green river gorge south of Kent
Granite Falls Fish Ladders. 40-foot waterfall running parallel to the fish ladder. Impressive during spring flows. 10630 Mountain Loop Hwy, Granite Falls, WA 98252
Hawkeye Point, Goat Lake 10.4 miles, roundtrip, Old Snowy, and Ives Peak
Heritage Park – 111 Waverly Way, Kirkland, WA 98033
Howarth Park -Secluded 28-acre beach park with an off-leash area for dogs, restrooms & a playground. 1127 Olympic Blvd, Everett, WA 98203
Japanese gulch – 1130 5th St Mukilteo, WA 98275
Japanese gardens Seattle. 3.5 acre Japanese garden in the Madison Park neighborhood of Seattle. The garden is located in the southern end of the Washington Park Arboretum on Lake Washington Boulevard East. 1075 Lake Washington Blvd E, Seattle, WA 98112
Jim Whittaker – Renton Issaquah Rd SE, Renton, WA 98059 This loop hike offers a diversity of steep forested hillsides, huge mossy boulders, and a low swampy area traversed via a narrow boardwalk.
Juanita Bay Park – 2201 Market St, Kirkland, WA 98033 110-acre urban wildlife habitat is home to songbirds, waterfowl & beavers plus native foliage.
Kabota Gardens historic Japanese garden- 20-acre Japanese garden in the Rainier Beach neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. A public park since 1987, it was started in 1927 by Fujitaro Kubota, a Japanese emigrant. 9817 55th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118
Kelsey creek- features hiking and jogging trails, picnic areas, a playground, wetlands, open grassy areas, creeks and forests. 410 130th Pl SE Bellevue, WA
Kerry Park – (Queen Anne neighborhood)- Small public park and viewpoint on the south slope of Queen Anne Hill in Seattle, Washington, United States. It overlooks Downtown Seattle and is located along West Highland Drive between 2nd Avenue West and 3rd Avenue West. 211 W Highland Dr, Seattle, WA 98119
Killen Creek to Glacier Lake, Mt Adams Wilderness (Gifford Pinchot National Forest.) 5.8 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Trout Lake, Washington that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate.
Kirkland Watershed – Scenic neighborhood wooded tract features many hiking trails, a creek & benches for resting. 4500 110th Ave NE, Kirkland, WA 98033
Lacamas Heritage Trail (near Camas in southwest WA.) This shared-use trail is nestled on the Westside of Lacamas Lake and Lacamas Creek and provides superb opportunities to view birds, rock formations and waterfalls
Lake Fenwick – 2.7 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Kent, Washington that features a great forest setting and is good for all skill levels. 25828 Lake Fenwick Road Kent, WA 98032
Lake Meridian – a recreation paradise and the place to go for all things water. 14800 SE 272nd Street Kent, WA 98042 1☆
Lake 22 (NE of Everett) MODERATE with some rocky steep climbs. The center of an oasis of alpine wetland nestled on the northern shoulder of Mount Pilchuck. Mountain Loop Hwy, Granite Falls, WA 98252
Langus riverfront – Waterfront spot with a 3-mile trail, a boat launch & fishing pier, plus bird-watching opportunities. 400 Smith Island Rd, Everett, WA 98201
Lords hill – The park contains over six miles of designated trails. From the higher points within the park, one can capture panoramic views of the surrounding Snohomish River valley and distant mountain ranges. 12921 150th St SE, Snohomish, WA 98290
Nolte State Park-Franklin, near Enumclaw Miles: 1.4 mile loop. The loop trail around Deep Lake at Nolte State Park is a good option for cold, rainy days when you want to get out into the woods without venturing too far from the comforts of town. 36921 Veazie Cumberland Rd SE, Enumclaw, WA 98022
Lake Ingalls via Ingalls Pass – 2 hours east of Seattle. 11.1 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Ronald, Washington that features a waterfall and is rated as difficult.
Lake Wilderness Park – Beautiful trails foliage, Ducks Lake and a fabulous playground. 22500 SE 248th St, Maple Valley, WA 98038
Leavenworth 2 hrs. east
Longviewpeak steep 3mile trail in Renton, WA
Loup Loup Ski Bowl luge sledding at! The first of its kind in WA, luge sleds are steerable sleds used on groomed trails. Take a snow-cat ride to the top then glide down the runs – either on a single or double sled.
Luther Burbank Park on the north end of Mercer Island. If you park in the north lot, there’s a huge playground with a zip line,, a dog park, a walking trail to the north of the playground, and a short trail downhill from the playground down to the lake. The docks are fun to walk on even if you don’t have a boat. https://www.mercerisland.gov/parksrec/page/luther-burbank-park
Marine view
Meadowdale beach park – Edmond
Met market-Kirkland
Millcreek canyon earthworks
Millersylvania state park in Olympia, mostly flat
Moulton falls
Mountain Loop Scenic Byway
Northwest trek wildlife Eatonville (very south of Puyallup)
Ocean shores
Okanogan
Pacific beach with ocean crest resort
Ports towns
Rainbow falls St park. West of Chehalis
Rattlesnake Lake
Redmond Watershed Preserve (Tree frog Loop to start with)
Redmond Ridge
Robinswood park Bellevue, WA
Saltwater state park Des Moines 1.5 mile loop
Sammamish river trail, Power line trail
Schmitz Park Seattle West Seattle near Alki
Seahurst beach- Burien, WA
Seward Park trails
Seattle North Country
Shadowlake preserves Renton, WA open Tues- Sat
Silver Star and Columbia River Gorge
https://dotsonstories.blogspot.com/2015/04/easy-eastide-hikes-with-kids.html
Snoqualmie Falls
Spencer Island Everett
Underground tours – downtown
Tolt pipeline 15286 Redmond-Woodinville Rd NE, Woodinville, WA 98072
Wallace Falls
Weowna park off West Lake Sammamish= shorter hikes, and a couple of waterfalls.
Westport coast. Look for festivals in spring summer time ocean area 3 hrs.
Whatcom falls (very north of Everett in Bellingham)
Wright Park – Tacoma – too hot in summer
Rent a heated cabin at Cama Beach on Camano Island.
Great wolf lodge
Seabrook -parks, the beach and a two and half hour drive.
Whidbey Island -ferry ride, fun on the beach and Langley is a cute town that has a great pizza place called Village Pizzeria for take out!
Lime Kiln Park
Tacoma:
Pt defiance Park and rose garden
Rouston Park – Tacoma
Olympic National Park:
Shi Shi beach – tip of Olympic park on coast
OLYMPIC GAME FARM Sequim
Ruby beach
Hoh
Salmon cascades exibit
Ancient grove
Murhut falls Olympic park
La push beach
Sol Duc falls
North Cascade National Park:
Wing Lake and Black Peak via Heather Pass
Gothic Basin, North Cascade NP
Hidden Lake, North Cascade NP
Mt Rainier:
Spray Park and Observation Rock, Mt Rainier NP
Tatoosh Peaks (Pinnacle Peak, Plummer Peak, and Denman Peak), Mt Rainer NP
Naches Loop trail, in the Mt Rainier National Park.
Grove of The Patriarchs, Mt. Rainier National Park. Perhaps one of the easiest hikes within Mount Rainier National Park, visitors walk across a suspension bridge, through a forest of old growth trees – some a thousand years old! -onto an island in the middle of the Ohanapecosh River.
Mt St Helens:
Nehalem, WA: ladder Creek falls (2 hrs. east of Seattle, WA)
Deep Breath Adventures 