I am currently traveling from Maryland to Seattle every other week and am interested in some day trips near the Seattle area. Particularly interested in waterfalls, wildflowers and mountains. I would like suggestions on possible photo opportunities. Thanking you in advance for your time. I shoot Canon DSLR and 35mm but like the results from my old "hassy".
Thanx,
Bob
Come on, you Washington guys and gals, help the man! As a Portlander, all I know about that place up North is its huge, so you'll need local knowledge to find wild enclaves nearby.
Since I am from the Portland area, I can't really give you much good info up around Seattle. But areas around Portland are very convenient for day trips.
First I would suggest you check out the Events and Locations links on this forum for some good ideas.
This time of year you will find the Columbia River Gorge very scenic (lots of waterfalls and green moss and leaves). Head east on I-84 from Portland and there is a nice scenic highway between about exit #18 and exit #35 that has lots of great opportunities and good hiking as well.
I believe that the wildflowers in the gorge are also beginning to peak. If you head further east on I-84 you will find the Tom McCall natural area (sorry the precise name escape me) around Rowena.
Of course, Mt. Hood is a great option and the Oregon coast as well. Olympic National Park is just west of Seattle and full of rainforest. I have been there this time of year and found it to be great.
Hope this helps to get you started. The options are really endless even within just a few hours of Seattle.
This can be done in a long day trip. Since you will be in the area every other week, I would take I-90 east from Seattle over Snoqualmie pass to Cle Elum then US-97 north over Blewett pass until it hits US-2. Head back west on US-2 to I-5 then south back to Seattle.
This will give you a good feel for the area and allow you to scout out where you might want to head back to on a return trip.
Some nice areas with mountains, flowers and falls/fast moving water are also the Denny Creek area along I-90 before Snoqualmie pass and Salmon La Sac which is on the other side of the mountains by Cle Elum.
Posted by Tomas Kaspar on April 25, 2007 at 6:30 PM
Mt. Rainier, but with only one day it will be hard to really enjoy anythig around here. The traffic is getting crazy up here. Maybe get on ferry and see the eastern side of Olympics (Hurricane Ridge etc.). You might want to spend one night at Alki beach at sunset, or Kerry overlook to get that classic Seattle shot. I agree with Doug that the Denny Creek area is really nice one, and it is a reasonable day trip.
Tomas
Posted by Tomas Kaspar on April 25, 2007 at 6:31 PM
You might want to post something rigt before you go, and let us know how much "free" time you have.
Thanx for all the input. I will try to schedule an extra day or weekend in Seattle on one of my trips and will post the weekend prior to departure.
Bob
Discussion
6 repliesThanx,
Bob
Since I am from the Portland area, I can't really give you much good info up around Seattle. But areas around Portland are very convenient for day trips.
First I would suggest you check out the Events and Locations links on this forum for some good ideas.
This time of year you will find the Columbia River Gorge very scenic (lots of waterfalls and green moss and leaves). Head east on I-84 from Portland and there is a nice scenic highway between about exit #18 and exit #35 that has lots of great opportunities and good hiking as well.
I believe that the wildflowers in the gorge are also beginning to peak. If you head further east on I-84 you will find the Tom McCall natural area (sorry the precise name escape me) around Rowena.
Of course, Mt. Hood is a great option and the Oregon coast as well. Olympic National Park is just west of Seattle and full of rainforest. I have been there this time of year and found it to be great.
Hope this helps to get you started. The options are really endless even within just a few hours of Seattle.
Best regards,
-Brett
This can be done in a long day trip. Since you will be in the area every other week, I would take I-90 east from Seattle over Snoqualmie pass to Cle Elum then US-97 north over Blewett pass until it hits US-2. Head back west on US-2 to I-5 then south back to Seattle.
This will give you a good feel for the area and allow you to scout out where you might want to head back to on a return trip.
Some nice areas with mountains, flowers and falls/fast moving water are also the Denny Creek area along I-90 before Snoqualmie pass and Salmon La Sac which is on the other side of the mountains by Cle Elum.
Tomas
Bob