I'm taking my family to Washington this summer. I've been up there with my wife many times and love it, especially the East Side where we have always stayed. We are renting a house with some of my extended family which will consist of six adults and four kids (oldest is seven). We are wanting to relax and enjoy some hiking and outdoor activities, especially with the two oldest who are boys. Ideally I would like to be no more than 30-40 minutes from Bellevue so that we could also do some things in town. However, I can't find anything on VRBO or other rental sites I'm aware of that would be desirable. What I am finding are some great rental houses in three general areas:

1. Whidbey & Camano Islands
2. Olympic Peninsula close to Port Angeles
3. Wenatchee Forest (Cle Elum or Leavenworth)

The only one of these I've been to is the Olympic Peninsula. I loved it and would go back, but it's a lot of driving to sites around there, which can be a pain with little kids. Anyway, I would love to get some suggestions from the forum. Also, if you know of a website or means where I could find something desirable near the East Side I would appreciate it.

If you do go to Whidbey/nearby - you could also take the ferry from nearby Anacotes over to Sydney/Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia - and maybe see some Orcas en route as we did.

You might consider ovrnighting there if you did that and plenty to do/see in/around Victoria - and in some places - it's almost like taking a trip to England..

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/sche...roundtrip=true

You could also take the ferry across from Port Angeles - out on the Olympic Peninsula - to Victoria, BC. We went on that one first - and after visiting Victoria and way out Tofino - we returned on the ferry from Sydney - through the San Juan Islands to Anacortes and on to a very nice B & B on Whidbey island. https://cohoferry.com/Schedule

Well, some thoughts.

First, none of these places are 20-30 min. from Bellevue, but you probably know that already.

Second, Whidbey and Camano Islands are VERY different. Camano is accessed only by road, and while there are some lovely properties (many waterfront houses etc.) on the island, there is very little commercial or recreational action - you usually need to go into Stanwood for much of anything, and Stanwood's not that big a place either.

Whidbey on the other hand has several interesting and scenic towns - Langley and Coupeville being the most attractive, along with some terrific state parks and other recreational options. You can take ferries to/from Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula, Mukilteo on the mainland, or drive via Anacortes to I-5. Aside from the marvelous Deception Pass, however, the north end of the island tends to be more built up and less attractive, due to the naval air station at Oak Harbor, and the refinery complex near Anacortes.

Third, "near Port Angeles" on the OP covers a lot of ground, some of it nice, some of it okay. Around Sequim you're in the "banana belt" - the rain shadow of the Olympics - where it's much drier and sunnier than west of PA; Sequim gets less than 1/4 of the rainfall annually that Forks gets, for example. So while on the OP timing is everything, it's less an issue on the north coast near PA/Sequim than it is closer to the Pacific.

Leavenworth and Cle Elem are VERY different places. Leavenworth obviously has the yodel-ay-hee-hoo "architecture" that's the town's claim to fame, but it's also very close to marvelous Lake Wenatchee, to funky Cashmere, and to Stevens Pass, each with their own hiking and touring options. However, Leavenworth is also a long way from Seattle/Bellevue.

Cle Elum is under an hour from Bellevue by I-90, but there's not a whole lot to do there, except maybe the "Suncadia" development (golf etc.) You could also visit historic Roslyn (where the "Northern Exposure" TV show was filmed) but it's sort of a "45 minute visit," kind of place, if you get my drift.

Of the list, I'd probably go with either Whidbey or the Olympic Peninsula, but I'd also recommend you have a look at some other locations. In a quick look on VRBO I saw some nice big properties available this summer in Mukilteo, Marysville, Richmond Beach, and on both Bainbridge and Vashon Islands. These would all be closer to Seattle/Bellevue, while still affording easy access to many outdoor activities.

Hope this helps a little.

Tomsd, thanks for the feedback.

Gardyloo, thank you for the detailed analysis of each area. That helps a lot. It sounds like I can cross Cle Elum off the list but keep Leavenworth on for consideration.

Yes, I knew the places I mentioned were all a lot further than I wanted to be from the East Side. That was why I wanted to get feedback on them, to see what area might be best in terms of fun things to do with our family and specifically the kids. I will have to look more closely at the areas you mentioned close to Seattle. Our budget for the week is under $2,800, which I should have put in my original post. I will have another look.

I agree with almost everything that Gardyloo wrote The part that differs is that we love the Leavenworth area. Yes, the town can be hokey, especially if it is a festival weekend. That said, the area has fantastic hiking all around it, and many vacation rentals. We have stayed in rentals all around the area numerous times. It is a great location for a group like yours, IME, as we have done the same thing. There is plenty of hiking, fishing, white water rafting, horseback riding and golf all right there.

BTW, if you go, The Hat Store in Leavenworth is a must with kids. It is hysterical to see the kids there, and then a fun toy store adjacent.

There are also quite a few wineries in the area, so the adults can enjoy those.

As much as I like Whidbey and the Olympics, for your group and what you are looking for, I think the Leavenworth area is the best fit.

Just to clarify, when you say East Side, do you mean "the Eastside" (as they are known locally) suburbs of Puget Sound (Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, etc.), or Eastern Washington? When you mentioned proximity to Bellevue, locals think of the Eastside as our east of Lake Washington suburbs, whereas we call over the mountains Eastern Washington. It would help to know what you actually want to do in our lovely state, and maybe two locations would be best...a few days on Whidbey and a few days in Leavenworth. Or a few days in Kirkland and a few days at Suncadia near Cle Elum.

voyager61, sorry I did not know Eastside was one word. My wife grew up in Bellevue and she always talks about the Eastside but I had never seen it written.

There are several things in and around Seattle I would love to do with the kids including the aquarium, the Pacific NW Wildlife Trek, the Woodland Park Zoo, Cougar Mountain, Twin Falls, Mount Si, Snoqualmie Falls, as well as several other parks I have visited. That being said we are going to at least stay several days on the Eastside after this gathering with my family so it's not essential that we are near Seattle for that part of the trip nor is it essential we do all of these.

I am going to have to look for more information on Whidbey Island and the area around Leavenworth and see which one most appeals to me. And I'm continuing to look for options closer to the city too. Thanks to all of you for feedback and any additional feedback would also be extremely helpful.

Seems like it might come down to a mountain vs. island choice. None of the places you mentioned are easily accessed from Whidbey or Leavenworth, so you would need to do most of those while staying in Bellevue or wherever you end up on the Eastside. Whidbey has charming waterfront spots like Langley and Coupeville, plus some nice state parks to hike around. Obviously Leavenworth will provide more strenuous and varied hiking because it's in the Cascade Mountains. You can day trip to Lake Chelan from there quite easily, which is a nice plus. I don't think you can go wrong either way, but if you are coming in the summer, make your reservations relatively early for either because they are popular destinations for people living in-state.

If you have enough time, I would also recommend the San Juan Islands or Methow Valley for a 3-night stay. Hiking is available in either location, plus really beautiful scenery.