48 Hours in Seattle

I was able to bookend my Olympic National Park trip with two full days in Seattle and managed to see some of the city’s greatest hits. Seattle felt like an Indie paradise - good coffee scene, accessible waterfront, and such fun boutique shopping - think maps, rocks and gems, and beautiful Indigenous art. I already can’t wait to come back and spend more time exploring the city. 

View of the Space Needle from Chihuly Garden & Glass

Friday Morning

After getting into Seattle late last night, I went for a morning food tour of Pike Place Market to (1) get associated with a bit of the city and some of its history and (2) try some of the best bites around. We had biscuits, cheese, samosas, chocolate, chai, salmon, and more! I enjoyed hearing some of the history of the market as well, and it was easy to keep track of spots which looked interesting that I wanted to come back and check out later. I spent the rest of the morning wandering the various floors of the market, popping into small shops and checking out the Gum Wall. 

Friday Afternoon

After a quick powernap to recover from my Pike Place Market Food Baby™, I headed out for a happy hour Harbor Cruise, which was included on my Seattle City Pass ticket. We spent an hour on the water, and were rewarded with views of the North Cascades and Mount Rainier, as well as some of the large-scale industrial quayside facilities, which were pretty cool especially for fellow maritime nerds. After the cruise, I met up with a friend to grab dinner and we ended up enjoying the evening at the Charter Hotel’s rooftop bar before heading out to catch sunset views from higher up over the city. Not bad for a first day in town! 

We spent the weekend exploring Olympic National Park - check out that trip here. 

Monday Morning

I had one more full day in Seattle before heading back to Boston and wanted to make sure I made the most of it! I started out with some brekkie from the Pike Place Market, including some delicious mini donuts and the richest mac’n’cheese from Beecher’s. I popped down to the waterfront to head to the aquarium as soon as it opened (also on my City Pass). While I’ve been to several aquariums around the world, I thought that Seattle’s coral and anemone exhibits were stunning! I also really enjoyed learning a bit about the unique ecology of the Salish Sea. 

Monday Afternoon

I had several more items to hit on my City Pass this afternoon, and luckily they were all in the same spot! I took the monorail up to Seattle Center to check out the Museum of Pop Culture, which was very cool - I likely wouldn’t have purchased a ticket if it hadn’t already been included in my Pass, but it was a super interesting stop, covering art, music, sci-fi, horror, and other genres. 

After taking a couple hours to explore the Museum, I headed up to the Space Needle observation deck to grab a beer and enjoy the views. As cool as this was, the star of the show today was definitely the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum right next door. I didn’t know much about what to expect going into it, and was absolutely blown away (ha). The sheer scale of the pieces was incredible! And so interesting to go and experience this right after spending the morning at the aquarium - so many similarities between the beautiful artwork and the lively corals and anemones. After catching one of the live glass blowing demonstrations, I grabbed a quick bite at the onsite bar (yum) before catching the monorail back to grab the airport train downtown. Thanks for a great trip, Seattle!

A Weekend in Olympic NP

Seattle and the Olympic Peninsula were the perfect place to start for my first ever taste of the Pacific Northwest - roaming elk, leaping salmon, and moss-laden forests made for a magical ambiance. It’s amazing what all you can see with only a weekend - read on for our itinerary and to hear about some of my favorite places!

Saturday Morning

We hopped on the 7am ferry from Seattle this morning to get an early start and made our way over to Bainbridge Island. This was my first time on a car ferry and I was very easily entertained, running around the decks to catch the best views of the Seattle skyline, Mount Rainier, and the North Cascades in the distance. The ferry trip lasted about an hour and we soon disembarked on the island, stopping for a quick coffee and brekkie in town - highly recommend Coquette Bake Shop for a pastry and a latte to start the day! 

We drove on to Port Angeles, where we headed uphill for our first stop in the park - Hurricane Ridge. Although the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center burned down in May 2023, the trip up to the top was still very much worthwhile - a half-hour of winding roads with incredible vistas and snow-capped peaks. As someone who spends most of her time at sea level, I was so amazed by the beauty of the mountains. And traipsing through the snow up at the trailheads by the parking lot was an extra dash of magic on the first warm spring weekend we’d had.

For our first hike of the day, we walked out to Devil’s Punchbowl, which boasted beautiful crystal blue waters. The walk itself was just over 2 miles roundtrip and took us along a flat bike path and through a tunnel before branching off onto a short trail down by the water and across a short bridge. This spot looks like it would be fantastic for a swim (when a bit warmer!). 

We next headed over to enjoy our pack lunch on the shores of Lake Crescent by the lodge. We cozied up on a log and watched the water ripple over the rocks while enjoying our sandwiches and snacks. This was the perfect place to take a rest, and the views were stunning! Once we got moving again, we headed out on a brief walk to Marymere Falls, the trailhead for which was right next door to the Lake Crescent Lodge parking lot. This was our first real taste of the mossy forest, and we got to enjoy some winding paths up and around the rocks to eventually be rewarded with views of the falls from a few different vantage points. At less than 2 miles roundtrip, this was a perfect, easy post-lunch stroll. 

Saturday Afternoon

To kick off our afternoon, we drove onward towards the Sol Duc Falls trailhead. On our way, we couldn’t help but notice some signs on the side of the road noting the salmon runs. We pulled over to take a look at what ended up being one of my favorite memories of the trip - watching the salmon leap upstream! The water was rushing so powerfully, it’s a wonder how they do it, and I was thrilled each time one leapt up the rapids. 

And I thought the day couldn’t get any better… but the Sol Duc Falls hike proved me wrong! This was another short out and back trail at 1.6 miles roundtrip, and the falls at the far end were so worth it. There were so few others out on the trail with us, it truly felt like we had it all to ourselves. The forest was so quiet and soft, with a thick coating of moss on the downed trees and rocks along the streams we passed. The falls themselves were beautiful and so unique with the three separate spouts shooting down the rock face into the canyon. 

Stunning Sol Duc Falls

Saturday Evening 

To wrap up this very full day, we drove on to Forks, where we were staying in an Airbnb for the night, and made a mad dash to catch the sunset from La Push Beach. I’m so glad we did - we got to see the sun disappear perfectly behind a small sea stack on the horizon and watched a couple of sea lions playing in the waves along the coast. As is was getting dark, we swung back through town to grab a pizza and some beers to be enjoyed alongside a roaring fire at our home for the night. Needless to say, after such a full day of adventuring, we slept great.

Sunday Morning

We got another fairly early start for the day and grabbed some coffees in town around 7am as we headed towards our first stop of the day - the Hoh Rainforest. Once more, there were so few others out and about at this time, which made for a lovely and peaceful drive. I definitely recommend staying overnight in Forks to beat the crowds here, as the out and back road can get backed up during the busy season. It was so quiet, we even got to witness a herd of elk crossing the road right in front of us, calm as could be! The Rainforest itself was mystical - quiet and still, with curtains of moss hanging from each branch and log along the path. It almost felt like a Dalí painting, with the forest melting around us… After finishing the main loop by the Visitor Center (0.75 mi), we added on another short loop that took us past the nearby riverbank, dipping our hands (and faces) into the icy fresh water. 

Sunday Afternoon

For our next stop, we popped out to the coast to visit Ruby Beach and strolled along the sand for a ways. We saw some pretty incredible sea stacks and poked our heads in some tunnels during our frolicking. Couldn’t help but dip our bare feet in as we waded through some shallows in an effort to keep our boots (now safely held in hand) dry. Definitely refreshing! We got to enjoy the rest of our pack lunches in the parking lot overlooking the beach before getting back on the road. 

We kept on to the Quinault Rainforest where we hiked along the edge of Lake Quinault to the historic Quinault Lodge. This was such a peaceful stroll and we didn’t pass a single other person until we got to the Lodge, where we enjoyed some time sitting by the water and soaking in a bit of sun. We also checked out the nearby Big Spruce Trailhead, where we got to see the world’s largest Sitka Spruce - such a special trip.

After getting sick of the trails (really though, we basically had to tear ourselves away), we hopped back in the car for the rest of our long drive back to Seattle. As soon as we got back to town, we grabbed some quick burgers and shakes from Dick’s, a Seattle staple, and started to build back all that energy we’d spent exploring this weekend. All in all, a 10/10 adventure!

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Our route over the course of two days.