We've spent a lot of time in Washington and this is our favorite Washington Itinerary...
Day 1: Early flight-Whidbey Island- Stayed in Seattle
Day 2: Seattle
Day 3: Seattle- (Late afternoon Ferry to Bremerton) Stayed in Sequim
Day 4: Sequim & Hurricane Ridge- Stayed at Whisky Creek
Day 5: Olympic Naional Park- Stayed at Whisky Creek
Day 6: Olympic National Park- Stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge
Day 7: Spent day at Great Wolf Lodge- Spent night near Seatac.
Day 8: Flight home
Video of our trip...
DAY 1- Whidbey Island
We visited Whidbey Island on a Saturday in July... along with all of Seattle😳. We drove over Deception Pass Bridge and took the ferry to leave the island. We were going against traffic so we didn't have to wait in long ferry lines. We did Whidbey Island a few years ago when we drove the North Cascades Scenic Highway... Another great trip in Washington State (but Olympic National Park is still our favorite 😃). We stopped at Greenbank Farm for some yummy pie! If you have more time another option is to do a whale watching kayak tour on Friday Harbor. We did this a few years ago and it was amazing!
I feel like this gives new meaning to Tree Hugging and I love it!
Deception Pass State Park
Day 2- Seattle
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| It was Greg's idea to visit to the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks. He loved visiting when he was a kid. So glad we came it's a mesmerizing sight of human engineering at it's best to watch boats being raised and lowered. Nearby is a salmon ladder. It was crazy to see the salmon trying to make it up the ladder to return to their fresh water beginnings. |
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| We loved the Theo Chocolate Factory. We took the "Kids Chocolate Story Time Tour". It was just us and another family. They shared a really cute story, gave us lots of chocolate samples then we toured the factory... My girls were in Heaven! |
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| How could you not want to see this?! It's under the North end of the George Washington Memorial Bridge. Sculpted by 4 artist who were trying to rehabilitate the area. |
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Not too far from the Fremont Troll... the "Sleepless in Seattle House Boat"! I saw people kayaking around it and one of my friends just posted on Facebook that she rented a hot tub boat on Lake Union. I'll be trying this out on my next visit! |
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| You can buy a combo ticket for Chihuly Garden and Glass and the Space Needle Observation Deck. We loved the different galleries and garden! It was amazing to see how his glass framed the Space Needle beautifully. Chihuly is a Washington native... I've been a fan for a long time. You can read about me meeting him here, or see some pics from his exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden. |
Day 3- Seattle-Sequim
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| I was excited to finally do Bill Speidel's Underground Tour! This was a really interesting tour and we loved learning about the history of Seattle. If your bringing kids I recommend bringing a small flashlight. There are lots of dark areas and it will make the tour more enjoyable for them to see what's in some of the dark corners. |
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| Gum Walls, Trolls, Underground Tours, Vampires... Washington state has a little bit of everything! The Market Theater Gum Wall is near Pike Place Market. |
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| We stopped at Pike Place Market and watched them throw fish around then ate yummy Macaroni & Cheese from Beecher's Handmade Cheese. We really wanted to try dessert from the Russian Bakery Piroshky Piroshky but the line was too long! We took a late afternoon ferry from Seattle to Bremerton. We took the Bremerton ferry instead of Bainbridge Island just because its a longer and prettier ferry ride. We stayed in Sequim since we had a lot planned the next day. |
DAY 4- Sequim & Olympic National Park
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| Sequim has earned the nickname "Lavender Capital of North America". Surprisingly they get little rain here. They have dozens of Lavender Farms in Sequin. We visited the Purple Haze Lavender Farm which is one of a few who grows, harvests, distills and sells it's own lavender. |
One of our favorite finds... Olympic Game Farm in Sequim. You purchase the bread to feed the animals there… we got 5 loaves. It was a rush!
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| The drive to Hurricane Ridge is beautiful! You'll find a few kid friendly hikes near the Visitor Center. We hiked the Cirque Rim Trail, Big Meadow Trail and the High Ridge Trail. Our girls were excited to find snow and especially snow in a heart shape! We also saw deer right on the trails! |
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| We spent two nights in a motorhome on Whiskey Creek Beach. We found Whiskey Creek Beach NW on Airbnb they also have cabins to rent if your interested. We loved staying here it's beautiful and the girls enjoyed walks on the beach looking for shells and hermit crabs. One night we even made s'mores. In the distance we could see Canada... It would have been nice to spend another night here. You can stay at a few of the different Lodges in the park but they fill up fast and are pricey (in July). |
DAY 5- Olympic National Park
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| A short drive from Whiskey Creek is the Lake Crescent Lodge. Behind the Lodge is an easy 1.8 mile round trip hike to Marymere Falls. |
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| We were so excited to return to Lake Crescent! We had a picnic on the lake then rented a canoe at the Lake Crescent Lodge and tried to soak up all the beautiful views. The water was clear and calm and it was a relaxing way to spend the afternoon as a family. This was one of our kids favorite activity's while visiting Olympic National Park! |
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| The Sol Duc Falls are a 1.6 mile hike round trip. We hiked through a beautiful forest filled with moss and fern. A bridge over the falls allows you to get pictures from different angles. |
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| After the hike we were ready to relax from a long day of fun. We soaked in the Hot Springs @ the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort until we were pruney... The girls loved this! |
DAY 6- Olympic National Park
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| We started our day with a stop in Forks... Made popular from Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Novels. We came through years ago while I was reading the books and did a full on Twilight Tour. Check that out here. We only made 2 stops this time. 😏 |
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| One of my favorite hikes in Olympic National Park is in the Hoh Rain Forest. The Hall of Mosses! Just as described... lots of Moss! I think coming from the desert makes it EXTRA special! I really love moss, trees with green leaves, rain, etc. 😏 |
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| Not too far from the Hoh Rain Forest is Ruby Beach. Pack a lunch and spend some extra time here. Let the kids run around while you relax. |
DAY 7- Great Wolf Lodge
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| My girls have been begging us to visit a Great Wolf Lodge for the past few years. We were so excited to find one nearby on this vacation! We spent one night here and let the girls swim the next day as well (after you check out you can continue to swim). We spent the last night at a hotel near the Sea-tac Airport since we flew home early the following day. |
Day 8- Flight Home 😭
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| Mount Rainier |
List of our activities:
Whidbey Island: Deception Pass State Park, Greenback Farm for Pie, Coupeville- shopping.
Seattle: Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, Theo Chocolate Factory, Fremont Troll, Sleepless In Seattle House Boat, Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass, Underground Tour, Pike Place Market, Market Theater Gum Wall.
Sequim: Lavendar Farms, Olympic Game Farm.
Olympic National Park: Hurricane Ridge (Cirque Rim Trail, Big Meadow Trail, High Ridge Trail), Hike to Marymere Falls, Rent canoes at Lake Crescent Lodge, Hike to Sol Duc Falls, Swimming at Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort, Stop in Forks for Vampire mania, Hoh Rain Forest: Hike Hall of Mosses, Ruby Beach, Lake Quinault Rainforest Nature Loop, Quinault Big Spruce Tree hike.
Grand Mound: Great Wolf Lodge
*Remember to buy a cooler... Not a lot of food options in Olympic National Park. It was nice to have for picnics.
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