Seattle is a fairly new and very modern looking city. It
is a city of coffee shops (not just Starbucks!), twenty and thirty "somethings",
mountaineering and high tech companies. Due to its proximity to the
Olympic Peninsula, Cascade Mountains and Puget sound, Seattle is really
a city that loves to be outdoors. There are many outdoor destinations
all within a days drive of downtown. Seattle sits at the edge of the
beautiful Puget Sound while behind the skyline in the distance rise the
prominent cascade peaks of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker.
Seattle is really the Mountaineering capital for the western USA. The
Mountaineers, the North West's premier mountaineering and outdoor
organization was formed in 1906. Many outdoor companies such as
REI,
Outdoor Research,
Cascade Designs,
Mountain Safety Research (MSR), and
Feathered Friends among others started here.
In addition to being the city where prominent outdoor companies got
their start, Seattle is also where household name companies started such
as Microsoft, Costco, Nordstrom and Starbucks.
With the exception of the Olympic Peninsula all the other attractions
listed below can be comfortably seen in 2-3 days. This is not an
exhaustive travel guide to Seattle - these are only the attractions that
Dave visited during his time in Seattle. Attractions are listed
alphabetically.
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Consider a several day trip to the Olympic Peninsula or to some
of the Puget Sound Islands across from Seattle. Car ferry trips are
available quite often especially in the summer. They leave from near
Pike's Market and also from Pier 52 along the Seattle harbor front. The
closest ferry on your way to the Olympic Peninsula would be from Pier 52
to Bainbridge Island - total crossing time is about 35 minutes. Food is
sold at Pier 52 near where the cars line up before driving onto the
actual ferry.
View driving into the Hoh Rain Forest |
Visit the Department of Transportation for more
information about the ferry trips and locations:
www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries
The Olympic Peninsula is a beautiful drive especially on a clear day. It
is intensely forested and you probably won't run into too many people -
its sort of like driving on parts of New Zealand's south Island. If you
plan on driving the 101 all the way around the Peninsula you should have
at minimum 3-5 days - as there are many beautiful places to stop and
hike - including near Lake Crescent (a very picturesque lake west of
Port Angeles on the 101), the Sol Duc Hot Springs and the great hiking
in the Hoh and Quinault Rain Forests. The Hoh is a good example of this
area's rain forests - several easy to hike trails area available as well
as the longer (multi-day) spectacular hike up to Mt. Olympus. Everything
is so green and moss literally is dripping from the trees.
Some areas of the rain forest get over 200 inches of rain in a single
year! You should not expect to absorb the beauty of the Olympic
Peninsula in one day - that simply is not enough time. Visit the
following two informative websites about the Olympic Peninsula. Official
Visitors guide:
www.olympicpeninsula.org and the National Park Service website:
www.nps.gov/olym
Flowers on the Olympic Peninsula and hanging bunches of peppers at
Pike's Market in Seattle
The famous Pike's Market is well worth a visit when you are in
Seattle. Its centrally located just up from the waterfront and spans
several blocks of shops. Pikes Market is home to the famous Pike's Fish
Throw; someone orders some fish from the vendor and their employees yell
out and then take the fish from the ice and throw them across the shop
to someone else who catches them and then wraps them up for the
customer. Lots of produce and fruit as well as specialty items are sold
in this market. It is one of America's premiere farmer's markets and in
the summer be sure to try the yellow red Rainier cherries.
| Pike's Market is home to the world's very first Starbucks Coffee Shop
located at 1912 Pike Place (opened in 1971). This very small coffee shop
is almost always very crowded. Some tour buses drop off their passengers
in the general vicinity and the lines can snake out the doorway. No
bathrooms are available - you will have to use the main Pike's Market
restrooms. Often you will find local musical talents performing in front
or nearby. A bronze plaque inside the store, next to a book of Starbucks
history are the two highlights from inside. You can also buy some "first
Starbucks" memorabilia. |
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Spend an afternoon wandering among the produce stalls or outside along
the fine selection of street shops. An open air plaza overlooks Puget
sound and the 5 freeway directly below. This is the only place in the
world that Dave has seen a policeman writing a clown a ticket! Allow at
least several hours and consider eating lunch here. For more information
visit:
www.pikeplacemarket.org
Pioneer Square is the home of Bill Speidel's Seattle Underground
Tours and his tours are well worth taking advantage of when you are in
Seattle. Unfortunately Bill passed on a while ago, but the tours guides
keep his unique perspective on history alive. Conveniently located in
Seattle's Pioneer Square your guide will lead a very humorous tour
lasting approximately 90 minutes through several blocks of subterranean
Seattle. You will surface at several points on the tour - and highlights
of the underground tour may change from year to year as underground real
estate becomes available to this company. Did you know that much of the
downtown Seattle used to be 10-15 feet lower than where it is now and
that here is an entire underground to the city? These tours provide a
unique insight into Seattle's downtown life 100 years ago. At the end of
the tour you will enter a gallery with more historical information and
then a gift shop. For more information visit:
www.undergroundtour.com More information about the
Pioneer Square in general is available here:
www.pioneersquare.org
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For outdoor lovers, visiting the flagship store of REI
is one of the must highlights of Seattle. It is located at 222
Yale Ave North - a parking garage is available for free for REI
shoppers. An attraction in and of itself, this store outranks
all other REI stores in terms of size, on site attractions, and
an unbelievable supply of outdoor equipment. This is REI's
flagship store and it really shows. Outside clocks show select
times at certain mountains and locations around the world -
fancy golden doors with the trademark ice axes grace the
entrance, and a huge fireplace sits inside. |
In addition there is a 65
foot climbing wall, mountain bike test trail, and other gear testing
stations. Also visit the "garage" downstairs which contains returned
items available at discounted prices. If you need a good resource of
information for what to do and see in the Seattle area, including maps
and visitors guides - be sure to use the REI Visitor's center located at
the main entrance. The staff here are very helpful. Next to the
visitor's center there is a small display of REI historical items.
Visit:
www.rei.com/stores/seattle
The Seattle Monorail is one of the first monorail systems in the
USA. When its running (see website for updates as its currently closed
in 2006), it services downtown Seattle to the Space Needle. This trip is
extremely fast and is a great alternative to taking a car. Visit:
www.seattlemonorail.com for more information. You can walk from the
Needle to downtown - and any of the major downtown attractions (Pike's
Market, Underground tours, Aquarium, etc). Expect to walk 20-30 minutes
from the Space Needle to reach the heart of Seattle's downtown.
The towering Space Needle is a required visit during any trip to
Seattle. It towers 520 feet above Seattle and you can be on the
observation deck via the high speed elevator in just 10 seconds! The
elevator attendants ask everyone in the elevator if they have any
questions about the Needle or Seattle in general. You had best make your
questions short answer ones as you have only 10 seconds on your up or
down trip! On a clear day you will have incredible views of Mt. Baker to
the North, Mt. Rainier to the South East, downtown Seattle and the
lovely shining Puget sound. You can walk in a circle, 360 degrees around
the top of the needle. Tour guides provided by the Needle will help
answer any questions you may have about Seattle and the Space Needle.
Choose from one of several powerful telescopes and or live interactive
TV screens to enhance your view of the city! To view the live web cams
and learn more about the Seattle Space Needle visit:
www.spaceneedle.com
All day parking in any of a number of open air lots near the Space
Needle typically will run about $10. Prominent signs listing the towing
company phone numbers are on the building walls near the parking lots.
There is plenty to do in the area right around the Space Needle.
Consider a visit to the Bilbao Guggenheim museum look alike building
located right next to the Space Needle. You can't miss seeing this wavy
shaped brightly colored building. It houses the "experience music
project" and the Science Fiction Museum. Entrance admissions to each
museum are separate. A free gallery displaying the clothes of about 20
famous musicians is available near the lobby. More info about the music
museum is here:
www.emplive.org and the Science Fiction museum here:
www.sfhomeworld.org
Front of the Music Project building located next to the Space Needle |
