I love Seattle! There are so many things to see and do. I highly recommend everyone to visit Washington because it’s so pretty. What I didn’t expect when we moved to Washington was how pretty it really was and how much there is to do. I think we really explored Washington while we lived there. Of course, I would love to go back and see more and really explore some of the areas. We rushed through the Olympic Peninsula. These are cities to visit in Washington other than Seattle that I always recommend.
Tacoma
I really love Tacoma, and I wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I would. There is so much to see and do there. It doesn’t get the respect it should as a cities to visit in Washington. Tacoma is about an hour’s drive south of Seattle. Point Defiance Park/5 mile drive and trails is a great park for sightseeing by car and/or foot. There are plenty of places to park and then walk the trails. If walking isn’t your thing you can still see so much for your car. I drove around and saw a few deer on the road. We all stopped and watched them do their thing.
A few breweries that I loved: Odd Otter Brewery which reminded us a lot of Fox Brewery. 7 Seas Brewery and Taproom overlooks the water and they have good beers too.
A place that is great for a family with kids is Point Ruston. You can rent bikes and petal the whole community. There are vendors and restaurants all along the water. TIP: If you know you are going here make a reservation.
Obviously, I went to several Tacoma Rainiers games while I lived there. My favorite was the Triple-A All-Star game because it was a great time to catch up with friends from other Triple-A teams. Plus to see all see an All-Star game is phenomenal.
Yakima
The Palm Springs of Washington. I mean who doesn’t want to visit the Palm Springs of Washington. I love seeing and doing unique things in each state so that’s why this is on my list of cities to visit in Washington. Even though, Yakima is a drive-through place to visit. There isn’t that much to see or do but many people told us it’s a place we must see. (Mostly the sign that says Yakima – The Palm Springs of Washington) I obviously stopped to get the picture, but it was in the middle of a dust storm. It was horrible because dust was everywhere, but I love how the pictures turned out. Yakima is known as one of the largest areas for producing fruits and hops. If you like craft beer, there is a very good chance that the hops came from Yakima.
Spokane
This is probably one of my favorite cities in Washington to visit other than Seattle! It’s also on the other side of the state. These two towns are similar but very different. There is so much to do for everyone – Couples, Families, Individuals. I would recommend staying at a hotel downtown and then walking everywhere because parking is SO hard to find. The hotel that we stayed in offered free bike rentals. One of my favorite things in Spokane was a large red radio flyer wagon.
Of course, a baseball game was on the agenda – Spokane Indians. This stadium is connected to the fairgrounds so when the fair is in town – the team is away. I really liked the stadium but the one thing I hated was the amount of stairs.
Leavenworth
This is probably on everyone’s list as #1 cities to visit in Washington. It’s probably on a lot of people #1 places to visit in general. While I didn’t spend much time in Leavenworth as I wanted it is still a cool town. If I make it back to Washington, Leavenworth is definitely on my list to visit. Leavenworth is in the middle of the state and if you are traveling to Eastern Washington you have to pass through it. I drove through the village once to see everything. I would recommend getting there early because there is not a lot of parking. Two Wondering Soles has a great post about things to do in Leavenworth. Whimsy Soul posts about 15 things to do in Leavenworth.
Olympic Pennisula
I did this trip in ONE day, but it really should have been AT LEAST a few days. The bare minimum should be a weekend – leave Friday after work get to the beginning of the Pennisula and be back home Sunday afternoon. I woke up really early and drove the whole Peninsula. It was fun BUT also very exhausting. This is another place when I make back to Washington, I want to do this right!
Part of the Olympic Peninsula was filmed for the Twilight movies. There is a part of the town (Forks) that is all Twilight-themed. I knew some of the characters but everything didn’t make sense because I had never seen the movie.
Whidbey Island
This was the island. I probably spend more time here than anywhere else in Washington. Anytime we wanted to get away for the day this was our place. I think it’s a hidden gem in Washington, and I always recommend it. This can be done in a day or a few days. I only have done it in a day. TIP: I recommend starting in Everett. Take the ferry and follow the main road around the island back to the mainland TIP: If you do this get there early because the line can back up pretty quick. It is not uncommon to wait at least 2 hours to get on a ferry. We never had this happen but we know others who did. This ferry you can board by bike, foot, or car. I always got onto the ferry by car, and it was a surreal experience the first time.
Bellingham
Bellingham is a really interesting town. I could spend more time there if I still lived in Washington. Chuckanut Drive is a 24-mile scenic drive that connects Skagit County to Bellingham and Whatcom Count. It’s also Washington’s first scenic byway, which I did not know. Whatcom Park is a pretty park with lots of waterfalls. Fairhaven Village is the downtown area with tons of shopping and places to eat.
Everett
Obviously, I need to include Everett because it was home Everett has something for everyone. One of my favorite things about Everett is how close to water it is. During the offseason, it was not uncommon to get Jack in the box, go down to Mukilteo, and build a bonfire. We would eat breakfast and watch the animals either go south or come back north. I think this is where my obsession for seals came from. There are so many bars and restaurants for the whole family. I might have to do a whole post about Everett because it was a pretty awesome town.
Other Towns
There are so many other places that I could have put on this list. I didn’t include any that were close to Seattle, because you could do a lot of those while in Seattle. I could have added Bellevue to the list. There is a lot of shopping, but I didn’t spend a lot of there. Olympia is the state capital but I didn’t go there when I lived in Washington. I tried to keep it to places where I spent a good amount of time. Redmond would be another one that could be added to the list. There are a lot of unique places to eat and lots of shopping. Bremerton would be on some people’s list, but I had to go to Bremerton for work and wasn’t that impressed. The coolest thing I liked about Bremerton was the ferry right there and back. They sell alcohol and I just thought that was the coolest thing ever. Anacortes was a favorite for a few friends, but I never made it up there.
Washington was a state I never thought I would live, but I am so glad that I got the opportunity. I met some amazing people that I’m still friends with today. Plus, there is a lot of things I want to see or experience again with more time.