side trip in a day
 

my daughter and i have acquired an extra day in august. we are staying at the sheraton in seattle. if i rent a car for the day where could we drive? enough time to have lunch and be back about 8pm. thanks for your help

What are your interests and what other things do you have planned?

we have a trip planned to tacoma to the glass museum, shopping, taking the ferry to bainbridge, just general sightseeing. i have been to washington, she never has. thought she might enjoy getting out of the city for a day maybe to a beach. we do like to hike.

Mt. Rainer is possible. Make lunch reservations at Paradise Inn.

Also, the Olympic National Park. Take your first hike at Hurricane Ridge. Have lunch at Crescent Lake Lodge (make reservations now). After lunch, take the hike to Marymere Falls (it goes through a rainforest). On the way back to Seattle, stop at Port Townsend.

Beaches: You could do a day trip to Port Townsend and the nearby state parks Fort Warden, Old Fort Townsend and Fort Flagler, or to Whidbey Island's Ebey's Landing and South Whidbey State Park. Those require ferry rides (to Bainbridge for Port Townsend) which might mean you cut out your already planned ferry ride.

I'd do Rainier, if the weather is nice (in August, it should be) and you like mountain scenery.

I would suggest you consider going to Mt. St. Helens. It is something you will never forget and, hey, you might even be there the next time she blows.

STCOLT

Port Townsend would definatly be my choice.

"Also, the Olympic National Park. Take your first hike at Hurricane Ridge. Have lunch at Crescent Lake Lodge (make reservations now). After lunch, take the hike to Marymere Falls (it goes through a rainforest). On the way back to Seattle, stop at Port Townsend."

That would make for an extremely hectic day!


If it's a weekday in August, the ferries should be ok, but if it's a weekend, there will be backups at the ferries, both ways.

Port Townsend is a great daytrip - as happytrails said, there's the beach at Fort Worden (are you Richard Gere Fans? An Officer and a Gentleman was filmed there), it's one of only two historic seaport towns on the West Coast (Mendocino is the other), so there's plenty of interesting buildings, good restaurants, and STUNNING views of the Olympic Mountains. A really nice mix for a day trip.

Forgot to add... on the way back into Seattle, you can have dinner in Bainbridge, there's several nice restaurants... I like the Harbor House Pub, with good pub food and an amazing veiw across the marina over to Seattle. Just gorgeous as the sun sets, and taking the ferry into Seattle at dusk/after dark is amazing with the city all lit up.