jillc1

Heading to Seattle for long w/e to visit my nephew at UW early summer. Looking for some adventure activities that may be either within a couple hour drive- such as kayaking to see wild life/ whales, etc. Or a ferry trip out of Seattle. (day). He lives near the university- any thoughts on a reasonable hotel/ B&B or other- -(Ravena area) and just some fun things to do in the area- will have only 2-3 days with him. He has suggested a trip to Port Townsend for a night- and I'm thinking "staycation" in Seattle- but open to suggestions! thank you.

suze

University Inn, Watertown Hotel, Graduate Seattle (formerly Deca), University Motel Suites - all in U-District or Silver Cloud at University Village are hotels in that general area. Ravenna is mostly a single family residential area, I am not aware of other hotels there but may be B&Bs not sure.

suze

Agua Verde Paddle Club | Kayak & Paddle Board Rentals in Seattle
This is a mexican restaurant and boat rental place (single or double kayak or SUP) in the U-District.

Gardyloo

Hotel costs in the cruise season, even in north Seattle, are just very high, so if you can find a B&B or AirBnB, great, but still expect pretty high prices. Suze didn't mention the new Residence Inn in the University District, nor the TraveLodge across the street from University Village. There are also a couple of places near the Northgate shopping center that have reasonable access to Ravenna (which is where I live.) However for just a couple of nights I'd probably just suck it up and go for convenience, but it's your money.

There are a couple of day trips from Seattle that are quite worthwhile. One is the "Whidbey loop" that includes lovely Whidbey Island, marvelous Deception Pass and Fort Casey State Parks, and two or three very pretty waterfront villages, and the other is the "Vashon loop" which includes Vashon Island and downtown Tacoma, which offers a surprising amount of things to do. Google the places shown on the maps.

Whidbey loop map - https://goo.gl/maps/sSPux79bdBR2

Vashon loop - https://goo.gl/maps/k4ELyzDg6Jv

Pictures -

Deception Pass, Whidbey





Vashon -





Re whale watching - the resident orcas in Puget Sound and the southern Salish Sea are reportedly becoming increasingly stressed by whale watchers, so while there are conscientious operators, the whole business is currently a bit out of favor. The nearest whale watching companies to Seattle are all quite long drives, so if it was me I'd probably pass on that recommendation.

There are kayaks available (also canoes) in Seattle from several locations for paddling around the various lakes and waterways (also Elliott Bay) if you want to stay in town. If you stay in town, I'd also highly recommend visiting Fishermen's Terminal and the Ballard locks, to get a sense of the importance of the fishing and maritime businesses in our watery city. There are numerous cool things to see in do in both areas.

In June the volume of water coming over Snoqualmie Falls (45 minutes east of the city off I-90) is still quite spectacular, so I'd try to include a morning or afternoon heading east. Map of a "Twin Peaks" route - https://goo.gl/maps/PEid972hRzv

Fodorite018

Since your nephew is at UW, I would bet he has seen most of the touristy stuff in Seattle so that is probably why is he suggested to get out of the city. Since you want to see it though, can you split your time? Port Townsend is nice, but not an adventure type of place, although Fort Worden is fun to explore. PT is just pretty sedate and does tend to attract an older crowd. Whidbey is nice too, better than PT IMO, but still not much for adventure, more exploring. What about heading over towards Leavenworth and go white water rafting on the Wenatchee River? Early June is perfect timing for that. There is also great hiking over there.

jillc1