Seattle Travel Guide for First-Time Visitors: Where to Stay, Things to Do & Tips
A Visitor’s Guide to Sunny Seattle
Seattle seemed as good a place as any to head for after our time in Wyoming was up. With little intention to head back east before the holidays, and an early end to our season working in the Bighorn Mountains, we decided to shift gears from park-camping to city-living. In a very cool apartment on the ground floor of an old, beautiful house in downtown Seattle, we set up shop for several weeks and began exploring all that the Emerald City had to offer. I had no expectations for this one, and as always ended up being pleasantly surprised.
We stopped in Spokane, roughly 8 hours out from the coast, and were supremely surprised by the beautiful parks which straddled the Spokane River that dissects the downtown. After a solid night’s rest in the Howard Johnson’s (very inexpensive, and very nice) outside town, we explored the riverwalk and got some good stretching in before our straight shot to the Puget Sound portion of the Pacific. Having spent several weeks in California a few summers earlier, I was curious how Washington and Oregon would compare. The ride across the evergreen state was surprisingly khaki-colored, the land parched from a dry, hot summer. We stopped in Moses Lake for some tacos before setting our heading to Seattle, our accommodations a stone’s throw from the downtown area.
Staying in Downtown Seattle; The Best Option for Weekend Trips
If only in town for a few days, you will be glad you chose the downtown district near Public Market for your accommodations. Centrally located to the many famous attractions Seattle has to offer, the accessibility and options of the area make it ideal for those who are on shorter trips. Various boutique and brand name hotels are scattered throughout the city center. The further out from the water, the more suburban it gets, with an eclectic mix of AirBnB homes ranging from turn-of-the-century Victorians to brand new, ultra-modern constructions. This range of architecture gave the city and it’s neighborhood a unique personality and appeal that made our month their all the more memorable. Like the tech professionals and nature-loving hippies that coexisted together, the dual aesthetic of Seattle makes it a one of a kind city where each blocks offers originality and appreciation.
2. Lake Washington
A beautiful freshwater lake located on the east side of the city, Lake Washington is a tiny but beautiful swimming area with beaches and parks scattered along it’s picturesque shores. Located at the far east end of our block, the pleasant walk there through the crisp August air was only accentuated by the (very) brisk temperature of the crystal clear waters. The little spits of sand are tiny, and did fill up quite quickly with sunbathers on particularly gorgeous days. If lounging or swimming is not your speed, trails that run parallel to the water offers bikers, hikers and joggers endless miles of beautiful routes to ride and run on. Among the many blessings we experienced during our summer in Seattle, the views of mount Rainier (far right side of the picture) were pristine every day.
4. Gasworks Park
Located on the Northeast side of town, Gasworks Park offers one of the best vantage points in the city for seeing and snapping pics of the iconic Seattle skyline. Paved trails offer smooth, easy walks, and spacious lawns of manicured grass give city-dwellers the chance to sprawl our for picnics and naps with the backdrop of the space needle and downtown set back in the distance. On the way there, feel free to stop by our absolute favorite find in Seattle, Dick’s Drive-In. Straight out of the ‘50s with their ultra cheap prices and fresh-cooked fries and burgers, this restaurant was a staple of ours during our stay in Seattle. If you are even the slightest fan of a decent burger, I assure you this spot is well-worth the visit.
Best Area to Stay in Seattle
The most striking thing about the area we stayed, known as the Central District, was how spacious the neighborhood was. Long broad blocks with tall homes and big trees offered an amazing hybrid of urban and suburban that I have not really seen anywhere else. We found a ground floor apartment that made up the front corner of a large, elegant home with eclectic neighbors and colorful gardens. “Trusted House Sitters”, a website were people can offer to babysit people’s in exchange for staying at their home, is a phenomenal site we used several times on our West Coast Trip. Per usual, we were glad to have a tiny kitchen at our disposal, with a living room ideal for relaxing in after our long, pleasant outings to downtown and Lake Washington. Being about a half hour on foot, or five minutes by car, to the popular downtown area of Seattle, we were glad to be in a quiet neighborhood with a cutesy vibe. If in an AirBnB is more your speed, we highly recommend the Central District. It’s close to the action, but far from any chaos, and offers a “communal” feeling often sought after but rarely found when on vacation.
Top 4 Things to do in Downtown Seattle
1. Pike’s Place
Located in the heart of the downtown, Pike’s Place is an expansive area filled with various grocery stalls, independent shops, art galleries, and luncheon eateries. The “fish-throwers” at the seafood stall in the epicenter of the market are particularly entertaining to watch. Twenty pound salmon and cod are thrown between workers across the customer counters and ice mounds piled high to keep the catch fresh in the warm summer air. The original Starbucks is also located on this bock, though very long lines prevented us from sampling their signature Pike’s Place Roast, though every other location in the country also serves this as their house blend.
3. Seattle Aquarium/Waterfront
An excellent item for your afternoon itinerary, the Seattle Aquarium is a prime activity that can be enjoyed without straying far from the city center. Located along the water just below Pike’s Place, it’s long stretch of local eateries and scenic views of the Puget Sound make it a pleasant outing with a variety of options. Ivar’s seafood bar is a local favorite for fresh fish-and-chips and chowder, and the aquarium itself offers excellent packages that I imagine would be an ideal activity for rainy days. A personal favorite of mine, the Bainbridge Ferry, is only $25 roundtrip, and is a fun way to take in the scenery and feel the fresh Pacific air that funnels around and over the Olympic Peninsula.
The Greater Puget Sound Region
The sheer density of this corridor of the country is impressive to say the least, and our month in the region hardly gave us enough time to cover even the basics. The greater Puget Sound region, stretching from Olympia in the south all the way to Everrett near the Canadian border, has that rare mix of calm seaside aesthetics with physically intense natural landscapes. The cold Pacific waters remain calm and glass-like with their deep blue hues and steel-coated bays flanking the western sides of these urban centers. To the east, the very far edgesof the Cascade Range curl up to the coast, with the small space between the ocean and the mountains now it’s own sea of cities with peaks of skyscrapers. I hear it rains a lot, too, but we hardly saw any.
Although Tacoma was nice enough, and granted it was a random weekday, Olympia’s hippy vibes and hodgepodge downtown made it a more enjoyable and productive day, exploring funky blocks and checking out independent shops owned by local characters. The Filibuster had some particularly fun drinks and food options, while Rainy Day Records had an extensive collection of vintage music materials. There were countless other cute and quirky shops thats lined the streets of Olympia, making the afternoon stroll leisurely end enjoyable. The waterfront area is as equally pretty as the rest of Puget Sound, and after a quick driveby of the capital building, I was rolling north on my way back to the Emerald City. It had definitely been worth the trip.
Tacoma vs Olympia? An Easy Day Trip
If you’re in the region for an extended stay and find yourself getting bored, or just enjoy scratching cities off your list, Tacoma and Olympia are two places well worth the short trip. Accounting for traffic, getting from the heart of one downtown to the next takes roughly 45 minutes from Seattle to Tacoma, and another 45 minutes from Tacoma to Olympia. The highway drive down there still offers beautiful vistas of the Pacific Northwest, and it felt good to take a trip down the road after a couple of weeks of urban living. Both cities were smaller in stature and fewer in activities, making it ideal to check out in a day.
Seattle in Summary
The best experiences often occur when there are no expectations. Seattle had never been on our radar, and the Pacific Northwest seemed too far and obscure to even contemplate. Having been fortunate enough to spend a solid month there living like a local in an appealing part of the town, it truly did impress us more than we could have anticipated. The pleasant weather of the warm summer months and gorgeous scenery found everywhere, from the Puget Sound to Mount Rainier, made each day as pleasant as the last. The variety of shops and restaurants was a welcome sight after months in the mountains, and the modern feel of Seattle combined with it’s historic personality made it a one of a kind city. If ever in the region, or if you are planning your next trip, Seattle in the summer offers an amazing combination of urban attractions amidst the beautiful nature of the Pacific Northwest.
First Time in the Pacific Northwest
With an affinity for urban environments, especially after 2 months in the mountains, I was ecstatic to not only be heading for a major metropolis, but also to cross more spots off my West Coast bucket list. Upon disembarking from our hotel gig, we mapped out a decent route across southern Montana and into the panhandle of Idaho. One thing we loved about driving cross-country, was the distinct aesthetic each state offered in terms of their geographical features, and the colors those features emitted. The darker greens of the Canadian Rockies in summer gave way to the bright blue lakes, shimmering fields and rolling hills of the Gem State. Our August was warm and sunny, a climate contrary to every weather report I had ever heard concerning the Pacific Northwest.
