Seattle/Puget? Travel advise wanted!!
 

Vacationing in and around Seattle the week of July 4th. Family with teens renting a minivan. Any good driving/outdoor recommendations to make the most of our time? It will be our first vacation in the Northwest!

We'll, that's a pretty general question considering you can drive scenic shoreline for days, mountains for a week, ocean beaches, waterfalls, National Parks, another country two hours away. I always recommend a trip to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. You can leave the car, walk on the ferry and spend the day. The ferry trip is worth it by itself. Also, head across Puget Sound to Port Townsend, walk out on Dungeness Spit, stop at the Sequim Animal Park and drive through the bison range. In another direction, drive up to Paradise on Mt. Rainier and continue on to the Mt. Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument. If you want to take the time, continue down to the Columbia Gorge and drive the still open sections of the original highway. Also, don't miss the big sights in the city like Pike Place Market, the Waterfront, baseball at Safeco Field (to watch the visiting team win). Teens would probably like Seattle Center for the trip up the Space Needle and the Experience Music Project. If you have any more specific interests there are several people on this forum who are Seattle experts. You there Gardy?

WOW, those all sound great, Thanks. Any recommendations on Lodging or should we do mostly day trips from Seattle?
Also, hotels are cheaper near the airport. Should we stay out there or is it better to be downtown?

Some of my suggestions are not really doable as day trips. Kind of depends upon what you want to do. You can go to Friday Harbor as a day trip, but get an early start. The drive is a bit less than 2 hours each way but the ferry trip is over an hour. You'll want to have lunch up there, shop for a while, and I suggest returning via Deception Pass and down Whidbey Island. Stop at Coupeville and visit the shops. That route will take longer on the way back and you could choose to stay up there somewhere. Beware of travelling via ferry on weekends if you plan to include the car, waits of several hours and longer are no uncommon.

Port Townsend/Sequim can be done in a long day trip too, but I would stay up there (Juan de Fuca Cabins or Log Cabin Resort at Lake Crescent, except you'd be fishing for a cancellation this late). If you stay up there, visit Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park. You could also continue around the Pacific Coast side of the park and stay at Kalaloch IF you could get a cabin.

If you want to go down to Columbia Gorge, you will need a multi-day trip. You've got to take in the waterfalls, Maryhill Museum, watch the death-defying wind surfers. Skamania Lodge is a gem, but the much lesser known Bonneville Hot Springs Resort is fine and easier to get into. And the huge pool is great. There are also some standard motels on the Oregon side at Cascade Locks and Hood River.

When you're staying in Seattle, you might try to get into the hotels on the outskirts of downtown. I like the Silver Cloud or the Marriot at Lake Union, but there's a big fireworks show over the Lake so I'd be surprised if you found a room. Check out the list on NWsource.com.

There are many other options, but you'd have to be more specific about what you're interested in.

I would spend some time in Seattle at the beginning or end of the trip and to have a great experience, I would go to Mt. Rainier; Mt. St. Helens; Cannon Beach, OR; Columbia River Gorge; and return to Seattle via Snoqualmie Pass (I-90), Stevens Pass (Route 2), or, if time permits, the North Cascade Hightway (Route 20) via Soap Lake and Grand Coulee.