Six awesome (and affordable) day trips from Seattle

This mountainous landmark is so essential to local life that Seattlites use it to describe the weather — and everyone’s mood improves when “the mountain is out.” After a two-hour drive southeast, a $30 vehicle fee (passengers included) provides one-day access to wildflowers at Paradise, high-altitude views at Sunrise, and glimpses of a glacier around Carbon River. Try a mid-week visit for fewer crowds on trails and parking lots. Before setting out, brush up on sustainability tips (sorry, no pets allowed) from the park rangers to minimize your impact and keep this beloved city escape in pristine condition.

If each of the Pacific Northwest islands chose an adjective to introduce themselves, Bainbridge Island’s would be “sophisticated”. This trip starts with skyline views on a 35-minute ferry ride west across the Puget Sound from downtown Seattle (around $20 for car & driver, reservations recommended). Once you arrive, the free Bainbridge Museum of Art showcases contemporary art, while the Bainbridge Japanese Exclusion Memorial ensures that local history isn’t forgotten. Try picking your own blueberries, get lost in nature at the Bloedel Reserve, or try a road trip scavenger hunt to find the labyrinth mosaic and Frog Rock on either side of the island.

Cities like Austin and Portland have famously embraced the joy of weirdness, an idea that has been alive and thriving on Vashon Island for decades. Grab breakfast in the residential neighborhood of West Seattle before driving onto the Vashon Island ferry at the Fauntleroy dock (around $25 for car & driver). On Vashon, Point Robinson Park & Lighthouse includes the potential for whale watching from the shores, and KVI beach is known for its driftwood and bonfires (though the locals kindly ask that you don’t combine the two). Treat your eyes to local arts and crafts at the Gather gallery and the natural beauty of Japanese gardens at Mukhai. When your stomach starts growling, head to the Hardware Store—actually a restaurant slinging burgers and breakfasts.

Seattle is surrounded by gorgeous water features, from the lakes surrounding the city to the Pacific Ocean stretching west. A 45-minute drive east adds one more water-based attraction to the mix—the over 250-foot Snoqualmie Falls (famously featured in David Lynch’s cult classic Twin Peaks). Skip the main paid parking lot and go for free parking in the upper or lower lots. Then hike for less than a mile to multiple viewing platforms to feel the falls spray on your face. Train aficionados should stop by the nearby free Northwest Railway Museum, just a few minute’s drive to the south. 

A flight from Seattle to Germany runs around 10-15 hours, but a two-hour drive east of Seattle takes visitors to a little Bavarian village. The smell of a traditional sausage garten (with vegan options included) lures hungry visitors to their wooden benches after a day of tubing on the Wenatchee River or hiking the Icicle Gorge Nature Loop. From Thanksgiving to February, Leavenworth turns up the holiday charm with twinkling Christmas lights, a Nutcracker Museum, a reindeer farm, and Krampus Night celebrations in early December. 

The SeaTac International Airport is named after two major cities: Seattle and lesser-known Tacoma, roughly 30-45 minutes to the south. A focus on revitalization in recent years has cultivated artsy, second-city vibes in Tacoma that include a downtown mural walk and an ornate Bridge of Glass made by renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly—a free alternative to the local Museum of Glass. Take a waterfront walk along Ruston Way to reach the Tacoma Chinese Reconciliation Park, with trails, landscaping, and a pavilion designed to cultivate healing and harmony in response to the 19th-century Tacoma Chinese Expulsion. Time your visit around the Third Thursday of the month for an artwalk and free or discounted access to Tacoma’s museum district.