28 | Slumber in the Shadow of Mount Rainier
Pitched 5,400 feet up the mountain, Paradise Inn (360-569-2275; ranier.guestservices.com is the perfect hub from which to stage a reconnaissance of Mount Rainier National Park’s intricate system of trails. The guest rooms are spare and not much bigger than that cubicle you’re trying to escape—a welcome lodge-loafing deterrent, sure to spur you and your Timberlands into the wild. Hit the Nisqually Vista Trail, a mellow 1.2-mile loop with views of the mountain’s summit, or test your marching mettle on the nine-mile hike to Narada Falls, where glacier melt pours off a 168-foot cliff (trail info: nps.gov). Then double back to feast on salmon cakes, or bourbon buffalo meatloaf at the Paradise Inn Dining Room (ranier.guestservices.com). Crash in your rustic weekend abode away from home, and start all over the next day.
Drive time 1 hour, 48 minutes
When to go August
29 | Take a Flatland Voyage in the Methow Valley
Make the 240-mile push to the faux–Old West town of Winthrop in north-central Washington and you’ll be scissoring across the smoothest snow in the land in no time. Strap on your cross-country skis—or rent some at Winthrop Mountain Sports (509-996-2886; winthropmountainsports.com) —then hit the four-mile, impeccably groomed Thompson Road, which slides you past towering ponderosas and gives way, atop Thompson Ridge, to views of one of the most pristine valleys in the west. When you’re not gliding around Methow, wolf burgers at The Twisp River Pub (888-220-3360; twistriverpub.com) and rest your weary dogs at the cowboy-chic Sun Mountain Lodge (800-572-0493; sunmountainlodge.com).
Drive time 4 hours
When to go January through March
30 | Go Really, Really Retro
Turn the weekend into a trip back in time. At Fields Spring State Park (509-256-3332; parks.wa.gov), way, way up in the Blue Mountains, in the southeast corner of the state, your two-night home is a teepee. The canvas shelters, just like the Native Americans lived in, sleep six in a quiet, secluded spot in the park. Wander the park’s three miles of hiking trails, and make your way to the top of 4,500-foot Puffer Butte, which rewards you with a God’s-eye view of Grande Ronde River, a branch of the Snake River. For eats, pack your favorite camping food or, if you’ve had enough of the going-native schtick, drive 30 miles north to Clarkston and darken the door of Roosters Waterfront Restaurant (509-751-0155; roosterslanding.com) for a Reuben sandwich or Cobb salad.
Drive time 6 hours, 45 minutes
When to go June through September.
31 | Become a Slave to Vashon
The only problem with bunking at Vashon Island’s Artist’s Studio Loft Bed and Breakfast (206-463-2583; vashonbedandbreakfast.com) is that once you get settled into your digs—we recommend the River Birch Cottage—you won’t want to leave. Heck, it could be Sunday night before you finally drag your slumped frame out of this enchanted property—a paradise patrolled by two cats who greet you and purr while you enjoy breakfast on the porch. Bring bikes and you can zip up and down the roller coaster back roads that zag the tree-strewn island. Be sure to pedal over to the Hardware Store Restaurant (206-463-1800; thsrestaurant.com) and tuck into an open-faced fish sandwich or a grilled portobello sandwich. Then roll back to the cabin and catch up with your new feline friends. Just remember your human friends are expecting you back in the office come Monday morning.
Travel time 1 hour
When to go June, when the gardens are in full bloom
32 | Look a Killer in the Eye
There’s nothing—nothing!—like watching an orca breach a few feet away. Join Friday Harbor–based Western Prince Whale and Wildlife Tours (360-378-5315; orcawhalewatch.com) and you’ll come within eyeshot of the killer whale action throughout the San Juans. On our last outing with Captain Ivan Reiff and his crew aboard the biodiesel-powered Western Prince II, we spied the famous 80-plus-whale J Pod, countless bald eagles, seals, and porpoises that looked like they were racing the boat home for supper. Later, sink your fangs into burgers at Front Street Alehouse (360-378-2337; sanjuanbrewing.com) and sleep off your sea legs at the Friday Harbor House (360-378-8455; fridayharborhouse.com).
Drive time 3 hours
When to go May through August is prime orca-viewing season
33 | Reconnect with Your Wooden-Boat-Building Bad Self
Driving into Port Townsend on Highway 20 reveals a striking seaside panorama, with Whidbey and Vancouver islands in the distance. And then come the Victorian buildings, including Manresa Castle (360-385-5750; manresacastle.com), which is a great place for brunch and has rooms that are reputed to be haunted. Come for The Great Port Townsend Bay Kinetic Sculpture Race (ptkineticrace.org) in October, where the goal is to race hand-built contraptions to the finish line. The former Officer’s Quarters at Fort Worden State Park (360-344-4400; fortworden.org) are great for lodging families or groups of friends; the park hosts the Centrum (360-385-3102; centrum.org) writing and jazz festivals in summer. September sees the annual and much-beloved Wooden Boat Festival (woodenboat.org). The Salal Café (360-385-6532) makes the best breakfasts in town. The self-described “kooky” Landfall (360-385-5814) does a terrific Reuben for lunch. And Fins Coastal Cuisine (360-379-3474) offers fresh seafood with a view for dinner.
Travel time 1 hour, plus 35 minutes on Bainbridge Island ferry
When to go Year-round
34 | Get Bronzed at the Brews and Blues Festival
Nearly any reason to visit Joseph, Oregon, is a good reason. Nearby Wallowa Lake State Park (oregonstateparks.org) is a blue gem surrounded on three sides by 9,000-foot mountains, and the town is a bustling center of Western-style storefronts and art. Seven life-size bronze statues on Main Street depict everything from Native American chiefs (the town was named after Nez Perce Chief Joseph) to a Schwarzenegger-like shirtless cowboy with six-pack abs. A tour of the Joseph Bronze foundry (josephbronze.net) shows how bronze is cast. And Joseph is nearly irresistible when the annual Bronze, Blues and Brews Fest (bronzebluesbrews.com) takes over Joseph City Park with 50-plus microbrews on tap, food, and national and regional blues musicians showing off their chops (Becki Sue and Her Big, Rockin’ Daddies stole the show last year). Make a family vacation of it with a stay at the Flying Arrow Resort (flyingarrowresort.com) on the lake,
or bunk in town at the Craftsman-style Bronze Antler Bed and Breakfast (bronzeantler.com).
Drive time 6 hours, 48 minutes
When to go Bronze, Blues and Brews Fest, August 8
35 | Join the stampede
The Omak Stampede (509-826-1983; omakstampede.org) in the 4,700-cowpoke frontier town of Omak, Washington, is smaller in scale than the Pendleton Roundup. But what Omak’s rodeo lacks in size it smashes its Oregonian competition in thrills. The signature event, the Suicide Race, sees riders and their horses thunder down a near-vertical, 225-foot hill toward the Okanogan River. Swing by the Breadline Café (509-826-5836; breadlinecafe.com) for grub—we swear by the 10-ounce Cattleman’s Steak—and the Omak Inn (509-826-3822; omakinnwa.com) for shut-eye.
Drive time 4 hours
When to go The rodeo is August 6–9
36 | Celebrate July 4, Old School
At first glance, the quiet shoreline enclave of Steilacoom, Washington, doesn’t appear to offer much beyond its most well-known claim to fame: It’s the state’s first incorporated town. But at no time is the town’s pride in the past stronger than at the Annual Old-Fashioned Hometown Independence Day celebration (steilacoom.org), when residents line the streets, wave flags, and cheer on homemade floats, hot rods, and war heroes. Fourth of July falls on a Saturday this year, so enjoy a long weekend at the contemporary bed-and-breakfast Inn at Saltar’s Point (253-588-4522; innatsaltarspoint.com). Explore the town’s pioneer history—it was the premier trading post in the 1850s before the Northern Pacific Railway snubbed the seaport and laid tracks through Tacoma instead—at The Steilacoom Museum (253-584-4133; steilacoomhistorical.org). Sip root beer floats at the oldest known soda fountain in the Pacific Northwest at the Bair Drug and Hardware (which is open just one day a year, July 4). And, of course, catch the evening fireworks display at Sunnyside Beach.
Drive time 1 hour
When to go July 4
37 | See Stars in Sun Valley
No other ski resort is as unabashed in catering to the stars as Sun Valley (208-622-4111; sunvalley.com). Its first early hobnobbers of the 1930s, Clark Gable and Errol Flynn, were imported from Hollywood by resort founder Averell Harriman. Today you’re just as likely to carve powder turns next to Clint Eastwood or Oprah. Bunk right in the middle of town in Ketchum at the Premier Resort (800-635-4444; premier-sunvalley.com). Choose between Baldy Mountain—for the adventurous athlete—or Dollar Mountain—a beginner’s hill with legendary instruction. Slice around on skates at the local rink, and you might even fall down next to Olympic athletes Johnny Wier or Sasha Cohen. Keep an eye out for Hollywood’s more august celebs at the classic Sun Valley Lodge Dining Room (208-622-2800) as you nosh on elk loin with huckleberry and port wine sauce, or throw back shots with the younger crowd at the Pioneer Saloon (208-726-3139; pioneersaloon.com).
Drive time 10 hours, 30 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes by plane)
When to go Christmas; it’s more crowded, but plenty of stars spend their holidays here
Published: January 2009
