State of beauty
Washington is a naturally beautiful state with mountains, lakes, rivers, rain forest, high desert and the Pacific coast, all offering the venues for activities that appeal most to active venturers. Active travelers are captivated by the sense the state has not lost its natural charm; it retains a pristine quality and has not become overly commercial.
Visitors also come to its cities, towns and valleys to enjoy urban culture and art scenes, to sample seafood and other fine dining experiences and to taste the local wines.

About Washington state
Active travelers are Washington state’s biggest fans. They like the variety of lifestyles available to vacationers and believe the state offers more diversity than almost any other destination in the world.
Venturers and centrics sprinkle their conversations with comments about the natural beauty that is apparent almost regardless of where you go. Tall, snow-capped mountain ranges provide the setting for skiing, hiking, camping or personal meditation. And clean, clear water everywhere — oceans, the inland waters of Puget Sound, harbors, lakes and streams — invites visitors to sail, man a powerboat, swim or just enjoy its calming effects.
In reality, travelers of all personality types appreciate the chance to be active outdoors in Washington.
Enthusiasts also cite Washington’s abundance of man-made attractions, such as good ski resorts, fabulous restaurants and interesting, well-maintained cities that seem to have escaped overdevelopment or excessive commercialism.
Although Seattle is the city visitors like best, most references are to other parts of the state. It’s not that enthusiasts don’t appreciate Seattle’s charms. It’s that the state’s natural beauty and the many opportunities to do things outdoors override most thoughts about city life.
A few words about the infamous weather: Washington sometimes is criticized for its high annual rainfall and for its relatively cool climate, but the centrics and venturers who like the state believe the weather borders on the ideal. They like its coolness which is invigorating for those inclined to get out and do things, whether those things are moderate-paced walks or active sports. Indeed, the state, in America’s Pacific Northwest, boasts a milder climate along its coastal areas west of the Cascade Mountains than its northerly location would suggest.
In any case, if you need to see the sun, vacation elsewhere — or go inland. Consider this: The inland Tri-Cities region boasts it has 300 days a year of sunshine. It is in the heart of wine country and calls itself a golf destination.

• Go whitewater rafting in September on the Tieton River.

• Do you whale watching by sea kayak. Or, see whales by taking a cruise from Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.

• Rent a teepee at the Yakama Nation Resort RV Park and Cultural Center and immerse yourself in the story of the Yakama people as revealed at the center there.

• Come to Washington state for a camping trip. Cook out, swim, fish, hike and take in the state’s natural beauty.

• Go fishing. Choose the Columbia or the Willapa River for salmon and sturgeon. You can also fish for salmon on the ocean.

• Ski in the winter, but in the summer, go mountain climbing. For a unique choice, climb St. Helens.

• Sample some of the game served in Washington, such as buffalo, elk or venison — even ostrich.

• Take a float plane out to San Juan Island; charter a sailboat or go diving while there.

• Hike into the Mount Baker Wilderness, walking on Iron Goat Trail, an abandoned stretch of right-of-way that once belonged to the Great Northern Railway.

• Go llama trekking in the mountains.

• Take the 101 Highway loop around Olympic Peninsula. Stop at the Olympic National Park’s visitor center (Port Angeles), catch Ruby Beach on the western coast (rugged and strangely scenic) and don’t miss the Hoh Rain Forest (up to 200 inches of rain a year; magical and mystical with moss on all trees, some of which reach nearly 300 feet in height). Plan to do some hiking.

• Go clam digging on Long Beach Peninsula. A license is required, and the season is generally a few days of each month October through April.

• Take a float trip through the Skagit River Bald Eagle Natural Area in December or January to look for bald eagles. Elsewhere, at varying times of the year, birders can find more bald eagles plus peregrine falcons, redtailed hawks, snow geese and trumpeter swans.
Washington State Tourism worked with Audubon of Washington to create birding trail maps available at http://wa.audubon.org/birds_GreatWABirdingTrail.html

• Tillicum Village on Blake Island serves up a Native American experience. Accessible by tour boat from Seattle’s waterfront, it offers native salmon dinner buffets and traditional Northwest Coast Indian dancing.

• Or, attend a powwow. In Toppenish, the annual midsummer event includes an Indian village — and a rodeo.

• Take a cooking class at Methods in the Vancouver National Historic Reserve. Classes are held in the restored historic buildings of Vancouver Barracks, which once were part of a military post.

• Watch traditional blacksmiths at work, or take classes, at a traditional operating blacksmith shop, found between Belfair and Shelton. Blacksmithing also is part of the living-history demonstrations at Fort Vancouver, the original 1825 trading post for the Hudson Bay Company.

• Drink it up: Washington Apple Country Tours in Cashmere offers wine tours that can include tastings and lunch. A few breweries (in Bellingham, Spokane, Yakima, for example) are available for touring, too.

• For a real oddity, tour Sky River Mead, a “meadery” that produces the world’s oldest known alcoholic beverage, in Everett.

• Visit an alpaca or llama farm; they are common in Washington. Buy a sweater or scarf made with the animals’ lightweight but warming fibers.

• Visit Mount Rainier, a national park and a short drive from Seattle. A 14,410-foot volcano, it has a permanent glacial cap. Particularly attractive in the summer when wild flowers bloom. The park is closed in the winter, except for low-altitude roads.

• Drive some or all of the 400-mile Cascades Scenic Loop, a stretch of highway circling the state from Puget Sound across the Cascades into high desert. 

• Visit Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Overlooking the waterfront, the long narrow complex stretches across nine acres and offers an enticing display of fresh seafood, produce, and arts and crafts.
Also, take in Pioneer Square Historic District, just south of downtown, an area rebuilt after an 1889 fire; it’s good for walking tours.

• Eat the fresh fruit grown here — apples, cherries, pears.

• Seattle’s Space Needle provides a view of the entire city. Choose a clear day for visiting so you can see great distances and the snow cloud tops of Mount Olympus and Mount Rainier. The pictures can be stunning.

• Visit the Museum of Flight, housed in the old Red Barn (Boeing’s first manufacturing plant) south of Seattle, which documents the history of flight from medieval times through the modern era. War planes and commercial aircraft (including a Concorde) are on display.

• Watch whales without even getting on the water, on San Juan Island, such as at the tellingly named Whale Watch Park.

• Visit the Cranberry Museum in Long Beach, and walk through its demonstration farm, available year-round but best mid-September to mid-October.

• Relax in a full-service spa. Or, find a health club where you can work out or take yoga classes.

• Visit the Lewis and Clark interpretive center, one of several in the state, at Cape Disappointment (formerly Fort Canby) State Park. As a bonus, the center and its grounds also offer another chance to watch whales without going to sea.