gss517

Hello all! I to thank you for the input in advance. Next weekend I'm going to the Seattle. We arrive on Thursday night and leave Sunday late afternoon (only 2.5 days). I know it's not alot of time, but we want to do some outdoor activities. We would like to do a seakayaking tour and do some hiking. I have read that sea kayaking in the San Juan Islands is really nice and the trails by Mt. Rainier are great. Can we do both?

Sunday we were thinking to walk around Seattle before heading home.

Does anyone have any ideas of what my best options will be?

Thanks!!!

NWWanderer

Mt. Rainier Nat'l Park is still closed due to storm damage and will be through early May. And there would still be too much snow for hiking anyway. Given the limited amount of time you have, I'd suggest heading up to Twin Falls State Park, about 45 minutes east of Seattle. If you google it, you can get info about the trail--it's about a 3-4 mile roundtrip with some lovely waterfalls along the way and at the top. You can stop and see Snoqualmie Falls on the way to or from.

And you can rent kayaks from the NW Outdoor Center on Lake Union right in Seattle. I'm not sure if the outfitters who do day trips in the San Juans will be offering trips this early in the spring--I just looked up the company I've gone with a couple times, Outdoor Odesseys, and their trips don't start until June. So you may have to do some digging to find a place that offers trips this time of year.

gss517

Thanks NWWanderer,
Wow looks like we're coming in too early. After your post I checked the hiking and you're right, everything is closed so it doesn't look like we'll be visiting the mountain trails. I've also heard San Juan Islands is pretty cold too this time of year. So now we're at plan B. We didn't want to be in Seattle until Sunday. We're from Chicago and nature is a sight for sore eyes especially when we live in the urban jungle. I think our next option is the Olympic penninsula and wine country. We want to definitely see the coast. Can we do both there?

Thanks again for the feedback!

NWWanderer

Well, it's really too far for a day trip to get all the way out to the coast on the Peninsula (if by "coast", you mean the Pacific ocean as opposed to Puget Sound). So you might want to consider staying overnight somewhere out on the Peninsula on Sat night and driving straight to the airport on Sunday (if you do that, I'd drive around via Bremerton and Tacoma rather than taking the ferries back just because it adds an unknown timing element that can be stressful when you're trying to catch a flight). Or you could drive all the way around the Peninsula and come back to Seatac via Olympia.

If you do stay overnight out there and have time, the 9 mile Lake Ozette triangle trail near Neah Bay that goes out to the beach and back via another route is a great hike.

gss517

Thanks NWWander,

This is what we decided to do. Flying into Seattle on Thursday night. Driving to Gig Harbor and spending the night. Friday morning going up to Port Townsend and spending the day there. Then take the ferry to Whidbey Island and spending Friday night in Coupeville. Exploring Whidbey on Saturday and staying there another night. On Sunday morning take the ferry from Clinton and drive down to Seattle have lunch.

Hope this works!

Thanks again.

NWWanderer

That sounds like it'll work, logistically. You won't really be getting the old growth "big tree" NW hiking experience though with that itinerary--so if you at least want to get a sense of what that's all about, try to make it out as far as Lk Crescent on the Peninsula and do the Marymere Falls trail before heading to Port Townsend and the ferry to Whidbey (that's the closest trail I can think of on your route that will give you at least a taste of old growth--maybe someone else will chime in with other suggestions).

Be sure to include Deception Pass at the north end of the island when you're exploring Whidbey (actually now that I think about it, I think there is some old growth forest in the park here--but I'd still go to Lk Crescent if you can make time). I also enjoy hiking at Fort Casey.

Have fun! Hopefully the weather will cooperate this weekend.

ALF

Given the time of year and limited time frame, this sounds like a good choice for an itinerary. From the Port Townsend area, it is not too far (less than an hour) to Port Angeles, which has a fine walk out onto the huge Dungeness Spit beach. You can also drive up into the Olympic Mountains on the Hurrican Ridge road. Coming from Chicago, you may be sick of snow, but on a nice day, the views from Hurricane Ridge are spectacular.

I too would echo NWW's suggestion to visit Deception Pass State Park, which indeed has old-growth forests. There are a number of nice hiking trails there, including one that goes from the spectacular Deception Pass Bridge down to West Point. Other good trails leave from Rosario Bay and/or Bowman, on the Fidalgo Island side of the Park.

One of my most favorite locations in all of Washington is Mt. Erie, on Fidalgo Island, about 10 minutes north of Deception Pass. On a good day, from the top of Mt. Erie you can see Mt. Rainier, Mt. Baker, and Vancouver Island. There are also a bunch of nice hiking trails. Mt. Erie is hard to find, so here are directions: From Deception Pass, follow Route 20 toward Anacortes. Turn left onto Campbell Lake Road, then right onto Heart Lake Road (at general store). After a couple of miles, turn right onto the poorly-marked Erie Mountain Drive, then continue to the top of Mt. Erie.

We have gone sea kayaking just fine at this time of year out of Fidalgo Island, which, strictly speaking, is one of the San Juan Islands. You can go on a nice half-day tour with Anacortes Kayaks (www.anacorteskayaktours.com).

I would then suggest driving back to Seattle via Rte 20 and Interstate 5, instead of back-tracking all the way down Whidbey Island, to take the ferry. From Anacortes, it is less than 2 hours to Seattle.