Since joining Seattle Met in 2011, Allison Williams has overseen the magazine’s travel and outdoor coverage, including deep dives into Olympic National Park, the Columbia River, and a Burger King drive-thru in Canada. She edits the travel-focused blog Tripster and contributes service, news, interview, and narrative pieces to the magazine, including long-form features about mountain mysteries and puppies in prison. She’s earned awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and been nominated for a City and Regional Magazine award. 

Allison was raised here in Olympia and studied writing at Duke University, Oxford University, Columbia Journalism School, and University of Alaska. She began her career in New York City in the newsrooms of Metro newspaper and Time Out New York, then hightailed it back to her native habitat so she could write guidebooks and climb mountains.

Warm-Ups

Short Winter Day Trips from Seattle

Funky bookstores, niche museums, and warm bone broth, all within two hours.

01/19/2024 By Allison Williams

Desert Chill

Firebirds Hockey Turns Palm Springs into a Sports Town

What it's like to take a road trip to the Kraken's minor league squad.

01/08/2024 By Allison Williams

Out of Office

The Best Places Our Travel Editor Went in 2023

Never unpack, never surrender.

12/29/2023 By Allison Williams

Get There By Chairlift

This Canadian Ski Resort Offers Cabins Right on the Slopes

Red Mountain Resort is redefining the "ski in, ski out" model of a winter getaway.

12/15/2023 By Allison Williams

Snow Town

The Growing Glacier of Mount Baker

One northern Washington town finds new life on a quiet highway east of Bellingham.

12/08/2023 By Allison Williams

Snow Bound

What's New This Season at Washington's Biggest Ski Areas

New lifts, new lodges, and a lot more tacos—change is afoot at Crystal Mountain, Stevens Pass, and Summit at Snoqualmie ski areas.

12/01/2023 By Allison Williams

Basics

How to Learn to Ski in Seattle

The tricks, tips, and techniques for getting into the Northwest’s snowiest sport.

11/30/2023 By Allison Williams

Join Us

How Ski Clubs Made Skiing a Sport

The social organizations that built Seattle’s snow sport culture have a new form today.

11/29/2023 By Allison Williams

Indie Cred

These Are Washington’s Independent Ski Areas

Small and locally owned mountains offer character—and affordability.

11/28/2023 By Allison Williams

Snow Bound

Skiing Is Stupid. Do It Anyway.

The sport is expensive, hard, and dangerous—but it’s a dreamy way to spend a Northwest winter.

11/27/2023 By Allison Williams

Fix You

How to Fix Sea-Tac Airport

Pickeball courts, cookies, and perks for taking transit: 10 ways we think our local travel experience could be improved.

11/20/2023 By Allison Williams

Asked/Answered

Can You Drive Between the Monorail Columns on Fifth Avenue?

We're not asking if you do it, we're asking if it's legal.

11/13/2023 By Allison Williams

Map Quest

The Marvels of an I-5 Road Trip

The interstate hides more cuisine, culture, and calming nature than you’d think. Take the off-ramp already.

11/10/2023 By Allison Williams

Out East

Arrowleaf Bistro Is Blossoming in Winthrop

With the kind of fine dining that can be done in jeans, the Methow Valley manages to get even more appealing.

11/07/2023 By Allison Williams

Love Letters

Ballard's Creepiest Curiosity Shop Reminds Us to Be Weird

Fancy stuffed roadkill, glowing uranium dinner plates, and a real human skeleton? This is the place.

10/23/2023 By Allison Williams

If By Sea

Seattle’s Seaplanes Take Off in a New Direction

After 77 years, Kenmore Air keeps the iconic propeller planes flying across the Seattle landscape. Where do they go from here?

10/20/2023 By Allison Williams

Ice Bold

Matty Beniers: Kraken Superstar and Budding Restaurant Critic

Last season’s NHL rookie of the year has confidence in a Seattle team he thinks can go all the way.

10/10/2023 By Allison Williams

Spinster Chic

Practical Magic Is a Washington Movie

Witches and '90s fashions: The movie was Pacific Northwest at its heart.

10/09/2023 By Allison Williams

Broad Strokes

Vancouver Art Gallery Ponders the Question of Emily Carr

Few Americans have heard of her, but she's one of Canada's most famous painters.

10/06/2023 By Allison Williams

Turn Around Bright Eyes

Another Solar Eclipse Is Coming to the Northwest This Month

But it's not quite the same as the 2017 blockbuster.

10/03/2023 By Allison Williams