Travel
Best Hikes into Old Growth Forest
Grove of the PatriarchsMount Rainier Difficulty: Easy; 1.5 miles round-trip, 50-foot elevation gain Location: About a two-hour drive from Seattle, on the southeast side of Mount Rainier National Park, via Enumclaw. Nearest town: Packwood, 14 miles. $15 park entrance fee; dogs prohibited; nps.gov If you like your trees old—really old—this easy one-and-a-half-mile lollipop loop is a…
Best Hikes to see Wildflowers
Two hikes boasting riotous wildflower displays and gorgeous mountain views.
Sourdough Ridge TrailSunrise, Mount Rainier Difficulty: Easy; 2.5 miles, 400-foot elevation gain Location: Two hours from Seattle in the northeast corner of Mount Rainier National Park. Nearest town: Enumclaw, 60 minutes. $15 park entrance fee; dogs prohibited; nps.gov For subalpine meadows bursting with extravagant color, head to Sunrise, the highest spot you can drive to on…
Best Hikes for Wildlife Spotting
Hike these trails to find owls and marmots and nearly 200 species of birds—oh my!
Golden Gate TrailParadise, Mount Rainier Difficulty: Moderate; 3 miles, approx. 1,000-foot elevation gain Location: About two and a half hours southeast of Seattle at Paradise on Mount Rainier. Nearest town: Ashford, 23 miles. $15 park entry fee; dogs prohibited; nps.gov In late summer, this trail cuts through a meadow so awash with vivid wildflower color, it…
Lighthouse Keeper: The New Dream Job
The email got me dreaming: Seattle mag writer Joe Follansbee sent word that his new book, the Fyddeye Guide to America’s Lighthouses, is now available. Joe, a consummate storyteller and maritime expert, has a boundless enthusiasm for these beautiful and historic beacons, as do I, after a weird and wonderful week I spent living in…
RedTri: Enjoy Fall Colors in Seattle Parks
While ours is a more muted display compared to New England, there’s plenty for the whole family to see here in the Northwest, including brilliant colors not only found on deciduous trees and shrubs but also grasses, meadows, berries and even still-in-bloom dahlias. You don’t have to venture far, as our local parks have lots…
Two Reasons to Go to Puyallup
Fun ideas for taking a road trip down south.
WHERE: Western Washington Fairgrounds in Puyallup, Washington. WHY: For the 31st annual Northwest Wood Carvers Association show and sale (11/12–11/13; $7, kids younger than 12 free), where carvers display some 300 original woodcarvings, many in the Northwest Native American tradition. Visitors can take part in woodcarving demos, and, of course, in buying original works of…
Climb a Mountain Without Breaking a Sweat
Take the new gondola at Crystal Mountain Ski Resort.
Ski bunnies and snowboarders, prepare to be totally stoked: This month marks the opening of Crystal Mountain Ski Resort, where the new Mt. Rainier gondola awaits. Built at a cost of $8 million and open since January, it’s the first such high-wire act at any ski resort in Washington—and by all accounts, it provides unbelievably…
Trip Report: How Seattle Compares to NYC, Part 4
Catch Up: Read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 My last day in New York was spent at the home of one of my oldest friends, who lives with her husband and two kids in Brooklyn Heights. After four days and long nights of walking in fashionable shoes, my feet were sausage, so my friend lent me…
Trip Report: How Seattle Compares to NYC, Part 3
Catch up: Read Part 1 and Part 2 Friday is chock full of eating, and also of meeting: Anna Roth, whom I’ve had many friends in common with, who was a fellow Citysearcher back in the day, and who is the author of West Coast Road Eats. Yet it took until last week, in the Big Apple, for us…
Trip Report: How Seattle Compares to NYC, Part 2
[Read Part 1 Here] After my enjoyable but less than awesome lunch at Red Rooster, I headed back downtown to take a long afternoon walk. I needed to get a little exercise, to see my old neighborhood. I needed to walk my old favorite streets: Jane Street, Greenwich Avenue, Perry. I needed to make room, too, because…
Trip Report: How Seattle Compares to NYC, Part 1
Back from four nights and days of eating (and don’t forget all that drinking!) in New York City, my home for three years several years ago. Unlike many of the food-crazed, when I’m in New York, “the food thing” is only a part of what I want to experience. My old favorite walk–down Greenwich Street from the…
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