Washington Travel Guide

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2026 2026 Fodor’s Go List Destination

Whether you’re looking for hip cities, beautiful hikes, or laid-back beaches, the diversity of Washington state means there's something here for every type of traveler. In Seattle, you can sample farm-to-table treats at Pike Place Market and get a glimpse of the city lights at the top of the Space Needle, while smaller cities like Tacoma and Olympia entertain with quirky museums and small-town charm. Outdoor adventurers can explore national parks like Olympic, North Cascades, and Mount Rainier, as well hike up to Mt. St. Helens and the Cascade Mountains. Beach bums will find their bliss here too, with the San Juan Islands and Long Beach Peninsula offering plenty of swimming, surfing, and whale-watching.

Guidebooks for Every Journey

Fodor's Pacific Northwest: Portland, Seattle, Vancouver & the Best of Oregon and Washington

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Fodor's Seattle

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Fodor's Complete Guide to the National Parks of the USA: All 63 parks from Maine to American Samoa

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Fodor's Washington, D.C.: with Mount Vernon and Alexandria

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Fodor's The Complete Guide to the National Parks of the West: with the Best Scenic Road Trips

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The Best of the Pacific Northwest

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Guidebooks for Every Journey

Fodor's Pacific Northwest: Portland, Seattle, Vancouver & the Best of Oregon and Washington

Easy Planning
Local Writers
Itineraries
Helpful Maps

Buy Now See All Guideboks

Fodor's Seattle

Easy Planning
Local Writers
Itineraries
Helpful Maps

Buy Now See All Guideboks

Fodor's Complete Guide to the National Parks of the USA: All 63 parks from Maine to American Samoa

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Fodor's Washington, D.C.: with Mount Vernon and Alexandria

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Fodor's The Complete Guide to the National Parks of the West: with the Best Scenic Road Trips

Easy Planning
Local Writers
Itineraries
Helpful Maps

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Top Destinations

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Seattle

Seattle is a city of many neighborhoods: eclectic, urban, outdoorsy, artsy, gritty, down-to-earth, or posh—it's all here, from the quirky character of the Seattle Waterfront...

The Olympic Peninsula and Washington Coast

Wilderness envelops most of the Olympic Peninsula, an unrefined and enchanting place that promises craggy, snowcapped peaks, pristine evergreen forests, and driftwood-covered coastlines. This is...

Spokane and Eastern Washington

The Columbia Plateau was created by a series of lava flows that were later deeply cut by glacial floods. Because its soil is mostly made...

The San Juan Islands

The waters of the Pacific Northwest’s Salish Sea, between mainland Washington and Vancouver Island, contain hundreds of islands, some little more than rocky reefs, others...

North Cascades National Park

Countless snow-clad mountain spires dwarf narrow glacial valleys in this 505,000-acre expanse of the North Cascades, which encompasses three diverse natural areas. North Cascades National...

Mount Rainier National Park

Like a mysterious, white-clad chanteuse, veiled in clouds even when the surrounding forests and fields are bathed in sunlight, Mt. Rainier is the centerpiece of...

Olympic National Park

A spellbinding setting is tucked into the country's far northwestern corner, within the heart-shape Olympic Peninsula. Edged on all sides by water, the forested landscape...

Port Townsend

On a peninsula—the small, crooked arm of the Quimper on the northeastern tip of the larger, torch-shaped Olympic—Port Townsend is a place where the modern...

The Puget Sound Islands

The islands of Puget Sound—particularly Bainbridge, Vashon, and Whidbey—are easy and popular day trips for Seattle visitors, and riding the Washington State ferries is half...

Long Beach

Long Beach bears a striking resemblance to Brooklyn's Coney Island in the 1950s. Along its main drag, which stretches southwest from 10th Street to Bolstadt...

Sequim

Sequim (pronounced skwim), incorporated in 1913, is a pleasant old mill town and farming center between the northern foothills of the Olympic Mountains and the...

Port Angeles

Sprawling along the hills above the deep-blue Strait of San Juan de Fuca, Port Angeles is the crux of the Olympic Peninsula's air, sea, and...

Ocean Shores

Ocean Shores, a long stretch of resorts, restaurants, shops, and attractions, sits on the northern spit that encloses Grays Harbor. The whole area was planned...

Westport

Westport is a bay-front fishing village on the southern spit that helps protect the entrance to Grays Harbor from the fury of the Pacific Ocean...

Bainbridge Island

Of the three main islands in Puget Sound, Bainbridge has by far the largest population of Seattle commuters. Certain parts of the island are dense...

Forks

The former logging town of Forks is named for two nearby river junctions: the Bogachiel and Calawah Rivers merge west of town, and a few...

Ilwaco

Ilwaco (ill-wah-co) has been a fishing port for thousands of years, first as a Native American village and later as an American settlement. A 3-mile...

Vashon Island

Vashon is the most peaceful and rural of the islands easily reached from the city, home to fruit growers, commune-dwelling hippies, rat-race dropouts, and Seattle...

Port Gamble

Residents from the opposite side of America founded Port Gamble around a sawmill in 1853; hence its New England–style architecture mimicking founder Captain William Talbot's...

Mount Vernon

This attractive riverfront town, the county seat of Skagit County and founded in 1871, is surrounded by dairy pastures, vegetable fields, and bulb farms—the town...

Centralia

Centralia (sen-trail-ya) was founded by George Washington, a freed slave from Virginia, who faced serious discrimination in several states and territories before settling here in...

Arlington

Adorable Arlington, as picturesque as early Americana can be, is surrounded by pastures, woods, and the rich farmlands of the Stillaguamish River plain. On sunny...

Orcas Island

Orcas Island, the largest of the San Juans, is blessed with wide, pastoral valleys and scenic ridges that rise high above the neighboring waters. (At...

Sunnyside

The largest community in the lower Yakima Valley and the hometown of astronaut Bonnie Dunbar, Sunnyside runs along the sunny southern slopes of the Rattlesnake...

Dayton

The tree-shaded county seat of Columbia County is the kind of Currier & Ives place many people conjure up when they imagine the best qualities...

Ephrata

Ephrata (e-fray-tuh), a pleasant, small farm town and the Grant County seat, is in the exact center of Washington. It was settled quite early because...

Colville

This small town, the seat of Stevens County, sits in a valley surrounded by lakes, forests, and mountains. The town has many well-maintained old houses...

Coulee Dam National Recreation Area

Grand Coulee Dam is the one of the world's largest concrete structures. At almost a mile long, it justly deserves the moniker "Eighth Technological Wonder...

Clarkston

...

Cheney

...

Wenatchee

Wenatchee (we-nat-chee), the county seat of Chelan County, is an attractive city in a shallow valley at the confluence of the Wenatchee and Columbia Rivers...

Snohomish

Snohomish arose in 1859 in typical Northwest fashion: around a shack in the woods. When E.C. Ferguson transported his Steilacoom mansion here, through the sound...

Kennewick

In its 100-year history, Kennewick (ken-uh-wick) evolved from a railroad town to a farm-supply center and then to a bedroom community for Hanford workers and...

Benton City

The Yakima River zigzags north, making a giant bend around Red Mountain and the West Richland district before pouring into the Columbia River. Benton City—which...

Moses Lake

The natural lake from which this sprawling town takes its name seems to be an anomaly in the dry landscape of east-central Washington. But ever...

Cashmere

...

Omak

Omak is a small mill and orchard town in the beautifully rustic Okanogan Valley of north-central Washington. Lake Omak to the southeast, on the Colville...

North Central Washington

Wilderness embraces much of north-central Washington, replete with old timber towns, cascading creeks, glacial peaks, and low-hanging valleys dusted with wildflowers. The region’s natural beauty...

Pasco

Tree-shaded Pasco, a college town and the Franklin County seat, is an oasis of green on the Columbia River near a site where the Lewis...

Shaw Island

...

Pullman

This funky, liberal town—home of Washington State University—is in the heart of the rather conservative Palouse agricultural district. The town's freewheeling style can perhaps be...

Bellingham

The fishing port and college community of Bellingham has steadily transformed itself from a rough-and-tumble blue-collar town to the arts, retirement, and pleasure-boating capital of...

Quincy

On the fences along Interstate 90 to Gorge and north on Highway 281 to Quincy, crop-identification signs highlight what the Quincy Valley is known for:...

White Salmon

Tiny White Salmon, which sits on a bluff with commanding views of the Columbia River as well as the town of Hood River, is a...

Richland

Richland is the northernmost of the three municipalities along the bank of the Columbia River known as the Tri-Cities (the others are Pasco and Kennewick)...

Olympia

Olympia has been the capital of Washington since 1853, the beginning of city and state. It is small (population 48,000) for the capital city of...

Ritzville

...

Puyallup

Set before the towering forests and snowfields of Mt. Rainier is Puyallup (pyoo-al-lup), one of western Washington's oldest towns. The Puyallup Fair attracts all of...

Spokane

Washington's second-largest city, Spokane (spo-can, not spo-cane) takes its name from the Spokan tribe of Salish Native Americans. It translates as "Children of the Sun,"...

Tacoma

After decades of decline, Tacoma has been steadily undergoing a renaissance in recent years, with development around the waterfront and in other parts of downtown...

Walla Walla

A successful downtown restoration has earned Walla Walla high praise. The heart of downtown, at 2nd and Main Streets, looks as pretty as it did...

Ellensburg

This university town is one of the state's friendliest and most easygoing places. "Modern" Ellensburg had its origin in a July 4 fire that engulfed...

Stehekin

One of the most beautiful and secluded valleys in the Pacific Northwest, Stehekin was homesteaded by hardy souls in the late 19th century. It's actually...

Southeastern Washington

Just north of the Columbia River Gorge, southwestern Washington serves as a gateway to the Mt. Hood region in Oregon, as well as offering its...

Aberdeen

The pretty town of Aberdeen, on Grays Harbor at the mouth of the Chehalis River, is known for its lovely harbor, spread glittering and gray...

Goldendale

Although the actual town of Goldendale lies about 12 miles north of the Columbia River, this easygoing community is a good base for exploring the...

Chinook

The pleasant Columbia River fishing village of Chinook (shi-nook) takes its name from the tribe that once controlled the river from its mouth to Celilo...

Whidbey Island

Whidbey is a blend of low pastoral hills, evergreen and oak forests, meadows of wildflowers (including some endemic species), sandy beaches, and dramatic bluffs with...

Copalis Beach

A Native American village for several thousand years, this small coastal town at the mouth of the Copalis (pronounced coh-pah-liss) River was settled by European...

Lopez Island

Known affectionately as "Slow-pez," the closest significantly populated island to the mainland is a broad, bay-encircled bit of terrain set amid sparkling blue seas, a...

Stevenson

With the Bridge of the Gods toll bridge spanning the Columbia River above the Bonneville Dam, Stevenson acts as a sort of "twin city" to...

San Juan Island

San Juan is the cultural and commercial hub of the archipelago that shares its name. Friday Harbor, the county seat, is larger and both more...

Hoquiam

Hoquiam (pronounced hoh-quee-ahm) is a historic lumber town near Aberdeen and the mouth of the Hoquiam River. Both river and town were named with the...

Washington Cascade Mountains and Valleys

The San Juan Islands, the Olympic Peninsula, and the great swaths of midstate wilderness provide Washington’s favorite photo ops, but there are plenty of adventures...

Everett

Everett is best known for the Boeing Aircraft plant and for having the second-largest Puget Sound port (after Seattle). The naval station here is home...

Ashford

Adjacent to the Nisqually (Longmire) entrance to Mount Rainier National Park, Ashford draws around 2 million visitors every year. Long a transit route for local...

Gig Harbor

One of the prettiest and most accessible waterfront communities on Puget Sound, Gig Harbor has a neat, circular bay dotted with sailboats and fronted by...

Bremerton

Nearly surrounded by water, and with one of the largest navy bases on the West Coast, Bremerton is a workaday city of about 39,000 with...

Longview

...

Edmonds

This charming, somewhat suburban small city just north of Seattle has a waterfront lined by more than a mile of boutiques and restaurants, seaside parks...

Vancouver

...

Ferndale

...

Sedro-Woolley

On its way east from Interstate 5, Highway 20 skirts Burlington and Sedro-Woolley, the latter a former mill and logging town now considered the gateway...

La Conner

Morris Graves, Kenneth Callahan, Guy Anderson, Mark Tobey, and other painters set up shop in La Conner in the 1940s, and the village on the...

Montesano

Montesano was settled in 1852 at the confluence of the Chehalis, Satsop, and Wynoochee Rivers. Log-toting steamboats churned through the river passages from 1859 until...

Mossyrock

Another great outdoors destination, with opportunities for camping, fishing and boating in abundance, Mossyrock is a charming small town with two lakefront parks. The large...

Neah Bay

One of the oldest villages in Washington, Neah (pronounced nee-ah) Bay is surrounded by the Makah Reservation at the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula...

North Bend

This small town gets its name from a bend in the Snoqualmie River, which here turns toward Canada. The gorgeous surrounding scenery is dominated by...

Ocean Park

Ocean Park is the commercial center of the peninsula's quieter north end. It was founded as a camp for the Methodist Episcopal Church of Portland...

Packwood

Its location, between Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens, makes this delightful mountain village on U.S. 12 an attractive destination for those who plan to...

Yakima

The gateway to Washington wine country is sunny Yakima (pronounced yak-imah), home to more than 90,000 people within the city limits and another 25,000 in...

Poulsbo

Velkommen til Poulsbo (pauls-bo), a charming village on lovely Liberty Bay. Soon after it was settled by Norwegians in the 1880s, shops and bakeries sprang...

Marblemount

Like Sedro-Woolley, Marblemount is a former logging town now depending on outdoor recreation for its fortunes. Anglers, campers, hikers, bird-watchers, and hunters come and go...

Renton

...

Leavenworth

Leavenworth is a favorite weekend getaway for Seattle folks, and it's easy to see why: the charming (if occasionally too cute) Bavarian-style village, home to...

Snoqualmie

Although it's just a 30-mile drive from downtown Seattle, much of the densely wooded town of Snoqualmie (sno-qual-mie) feels as though it could be hours...

Glacier

The canyon village of Glacier, just outside the Mount Baker–Snoqualmie National Forest boundary, has a few shops, cafés, and lodgings. Highway 542 winds east from...

Washington Wine Country

The Yakima River binds a region of great contrasts. Snowcapped volcanic peaks and evergreen-covered hills overlook a natural shrub steppe turned green by irrigation. Famed...

Seaview

Seaview, an unincorporated town, has 750 year-round residents and several homes that date from the 1800s. The Shelburne Inn, built in 1896, is on the...

Cle Elum

A former railroad, coal, and logging town, Cle Elum (pronounced "klee ell-um") now caters to travelers stopping for a breath of air before or after...

Sekiu

The village of Sekiu (pronounced see-kyu) rests on the peninsula's northern shore, a rocky and roiling stretch of coastline inhabited for centuries by the Makah...

Prosser

On the south bank of the Yakima River, Prosser feels like small-town America of the 1950s. The seat of Benton County since 1905, it has...

Chelan

Lake Chelan, a sinewy, 50½-mile-long fjord—Washington's deepest lake—works its way from the town of Chelan, at its south end, to Stehekin, in North Cascades National...

Toppenish

This intriguing small town with a rustic Old West sensibility lies within the Yakama Reservation and blends history and culture, art and agriculture. You can't...

Winthrop

Before the cowboys came, the Methow Valley was a favorite gathering place for Native American tribes, who dug the plentiful and nutritious bulbs and hunted...

Zillah

The south-facing slopes above Zillah, a tiny town named after the daughter of a railroad manager, are covered with orchards and vineyards. Several wineries are...

Oysterville

Oysterville is a 19th-century waterfront village, with houses set in gardens or surrounded by greenswards. Signs posted on the fence of each building tell when...

Seattle

Seattle is a city of many neighborhoods: eclectic, urban, outdoorsy, artsy, gritty, down-to-earth, or posh—it's all here, from the quirky character of the Seattle Waterfront...

The Olympic Peninsula and Washington Coast

Wilderness envelops most of the Olympic Peninsula, an unrefined and enchanting place that promises craggy, snowcapped peaks, pristine evergreen forests, and driftwood-covered coastlines. This is...

Spokane and Eastern Washington

The Columbia Plateau was created by a series of lava flows that were later deeply cut by glacial floods. Because its soil is mostly made...

The San Juan Islands

The waters of the Pacific Northwest’s Salish Sea, between mainland Washington and Vancouver Island, contain hundreds of islands, some little more than rocky reefs, others...

North Cascades National Park

Countless snow-clad mountain spires dwarf narrow glacial valleys in this 505,000-acre expanse of the North Cascades, which encompasses three diverse natural areas. North Cascades National...

Mount Rainier National Park

Like a mysterious, white-clad chanteuse, veiled in clouds even when the surrounding forests and fields are bathed in sunlight, Mt. Rainier is the centerpiece of...

Olympic National Park

A spellbinding setting is tucked into the country's far northwestern corner, within the heart-shape Olympic Peninsula. Edged on all sides by water, the forested landscape...

Port Townsend

On a peninsula—the small, crooked arm of the Quimper on the northeastern tip of the larger, torch-shaped Olympic—Port Townsend is a place where the modern...

The Puget Sound Islands

The islands of Puget Sound—particularly Bainbridge, Vashon, and Whidbey—are easy and popular day trips for Seattle visitors, and riding the Washington State ferries is half...

Long Beach

Long Beach bears a striking resemblance to Brooklyn's Coney Island in the 1950s. Along its main drag, which stretches southwest from 10th Street to Bolstadt...

Sequim

Sequim (pronounced skwim), incorporated in 1913, is a pleasant old mill town and farming center between the northern foothills of the Olympic Mountains and the...

Port Angeles

Sprawling along the hills above the deep-blue Strait of San Juan de Fuca, Port Angeles is the crux of the Olympic Peninsula's air, sea, and...

Ocean Shores

Ocean Shores, a long stretch of resorts, restaurants, shops, and attractions, sits on the northern spit that encloses Grays Harbor. The whole area was planned...

Westport

Westport is a bay-front fishing village on the southern spit that helps protect the entrance to Grays Harbor from the fury of the Pacific Ocean...

Bainbridge Island

Of the three main islands in Puget Sound, Bainbridge has by far the largest population of Seattle commuters. Certain parts of the island are dense...

Forks

The former logging town of Forks is named for two nearby river junctions: the Bogachiel and Calawah Rivers merge west of town, and a few...

Ilwaco

Ilwaco (ill-wah-co) has been a fishing port for thousands of years, first as a Native American village and later as an American settlement. A 3-mile...

Vashon Island

Vashon is the most peaceful and rural of the islands easily reached from the city, home to fruit growers, commune-dwelling hippies, rat-race dropouts, and Seattle...

Port Gamble

Residents from the opposite side of America founded Port Gamble around a sawmill in 1853; hence its New England–style architecture mimicking founder Captain William Talbot's...

Mount Vernon

This attractive riverfront town, the county seat of Skagit County and founded in 1871, is surrounded by dairy pastures, vegetable fields, and bulb farms—the town...

Centralia

Centralia (sen-trail-ya) was founded by George Washington, a freed slave from Virginia, who faced serious discrimination in several states and territories before settling here in...

Arlington

Adorable Arlington, as picturesque as early Americana can be, is surrounded by pastures, woods, and the rich farmlands of the Stillaguamish River plain. On sunny...

Orcas Island

Orcas Island, the largest of the San Juans, is blessed with wide, pastoral valleys and scenic ridges that rise high above the neighboring waters. (At...

Sunnyside

The largest community in the lower Yakima Valley and the hometown of astronaut Bonnie Dunbar, Sunnyside runs along the sunny southern slopes of the Rattlesnake...

Dayton

The tree-shaded county seat of Columbia County is the kind of Currier & Ives place many people conjure up when they imagine the best qualities...

Ephrata

Ephrata (e-fray-tuh), a pleasant, small farm town and the Grant County seat, is in the exact center of Washington. It was settled quite early because...

Colville

This small town, the seat of Stevens County, sits in a valley surrounded by lakes, forests, and mountains. The town has many well-maintained old houses...

Coulee Dam National Recreation Area

Grand Coulee Dam is the one of the world's largest concrete structures. At almost a mile long, it justly deserves the moniker "Eighth Technological Wonder...

Clarkston

...

Cheney

...

Wenatchee

Wenatchee (we-nat-chee), the county seat of Chelan County, is an attractive city in a shallow valley at the confluence of the Wenatchee and Columbia Rivers...

Snohomish

Snohomish arose in 1859 in typical Northwest fashion: around a shack in the woods. When E.C. Ferguson transported his Steilacoom mansion here, through the sound...

Kennewick

In its 100-year history, Kennewick (ken-uh-wick) evolved from a railroad town to a farm-supply center and then to a bedroom community for Hanford workers and...

Benton City

The Yakima River zigzags north, making a giant bend around Red Mountain and the West Richland district before pouring into the Columbia River. Benton City—which...

Moses Lake

The natural lake from which this sprawling town takes its name seems to be an anomaly in the dry landscape of east-central Washington. But ever...

Cashmere

...

Omak

Omak is a small mill and orchard town in the beautifully rustic Okanogan Valley of north-central Washington. Lake Omak to the southeast, on the Colville...

North Central Washington

Wilderness embraces much of north-central Washington, replete with old timber towns, cascading creeks, glacial peaks, and low-hanging valleys dusted with wildflowers. The region’s natural beauty...

Pasco

Tree-shaded Pasco, a college town and the Franklin County seat, is an oasis of green on the Columbia River near a site where the Lewis...

Shaw Island

...

Pullman

This funky, liberal town—home of Washington State University—is in the heart of the rather conservative Palouse agricultural district. The town's freewheeling style can perhaps be...

Bellingham

The fishing port and college community of Bellingham has steadily transformed itself from a rough-and-tumble blue-collar town to the arts, retirement, and pleasure-boating capital of...

Quincy

On the fences along Interstate 90 to Gorge and north on Highway 281 to Quincy, crop-identification signs highlight what the Quincy Valley is known for:...

White Salmon

Tiny White Salmon, which sits on a bluff with commanding views of the Columbia River as well as the town of Hood River, is a...

Richland

Richland is the northernmost of the three municipalities along the bank of the Columbia River known as the Tri-Cities (the others are Pasco and Kennewick)...

Olympia

Olympia has been the capital of Washington since 1853, the beginning of city and state. It is small (population 48,000) for the capital city of...

Ritzville

...

Puyallup

Set before the towering forests and snowfields of Mt. Rainier is Puyallup (pyoo-al-lup), one of western Washington's oldest towns. The Puyallup Fair attracts all of...

Spokane

Washington's second-largest city, Spokane (spo-can, not spo-cane) takes its name from the Spokan tribe of Salish Native Americans. It translates as "Children of the Sun,"...

Tacoma

After decades of decline, Tacoma has been steadily undergoing a renaissance in recent years, with development around the waterfront and in other parts of downtown...

Walla Walla

A successful downtown restoration has earned Walla Walla high praise. The heart of downtown, at 2nd and Main Streets, looks as pretty as it did...

Ellensburg

This university town is one of the state's friendliest and most easygoing places. "Modern" Ellensburg had its origin in a July 4 fire that engulfed...

Stehekin

One of the most beautiful and secluded valleys in the Pacific Northwest, Stehekin was homesteaded by hardy souls in the late 19th century. It's actually...

Southeastern Washington

Just north of the Columbia River Gorge, southwestern Washington serves as a gateway to the Mt. Hood region in Oregon, as well as offering its...

Aberdeen

The pretty town of Aberdeen, on Grays Harbor at the mouth of the Chehalis River, is known for its lovely harbor, spread glittering and gray...

Goldendale

Although the actual town of Goldendale lies about 12 miles north of the Columbia River, this easygoing community is a good base for exploring the...

Chinook

The pleasant Columbia River fishing village of Chinook (shi-nook) takes its name from the tribe that once controlled the river from its mouth to Celilo...

Whidbey Island

Whidbey is a blend of low pastoral hills, evergreen and oak forests, meadows of wildflowers (including some endemic species), sandy beaches, and dramatic bluffs with...

Copalis Beach

A Native American village for several thousand years, this small coastal town at the mouth of the Copalis (pronounced coh-pah-liss) River was settled by European...

Lopez Island

Known affectionately as "Slow-pez," the closest significantly populated island to the mainland is a broad, bay-encircled bit of terrain set amid sparkling blue seas, a...

Stevenson

With the Bridge of the Gods toll bridge spanning the Columbia River above the Bonneville Dam, Stevenson acts as a sort of "twin city" to...

San Juan Island

San Juan is the cultural and commercial hub of the archipelago that shares its name. Friday Harbor, the county seat, is larger and both more...

Hoquiam

Hoquiam (pronounced hoh-quee-ahm) is a historic lumber town near Aberdeen and the mouth of the Hoquiam River. Both river and town were named with the...

Washington Cascade Mountains and Valleys

The San Juan Islands, the Olympic Peninsula, and the great swaths of midstate wilderness provide Washington’s favorite photo ops, but there are plenty of adventures...

Everett

Everett is best known for the Boeing Aircraft plant and for having the second-largest Puget Sound port (after Seattle). The naval station here is home...

Ashford

Adjacent to the Nisqually (Longmire) entrance to Mount Rainier National Park, Ashford draws around 2 million visitors every year. Long a transit route for local...

Gig Harbor

One of the prettiest and most accessible waterfront communities on Puget Sound, Gig Harbor has a neat, circular bay dotted with sailboats and fronted by...

Bremerton

Nearly surrounded by water, and with one of the largest navy bases on the West Coast, Bremerton is a workaday city of about 39,000 with...

Longview

...

Edmonds

This charming, somewhat suburban small city just north of Seattle has a waterfront lined by more than a mile of boutiques and restaurants, seaside parks...

Vancouver

...

Ferndale

...

Sedro-Woolley

On its way east from Interstate 5, Highway 20 skirts Burlington and Sedro-Woolley, the latter a former mill and logging town now considered the gateway...

La Conner

Morris Graves, Kenneth Callahan, Guy Anderson, Mark Tobey, and other painters set up shop in La Conner in the 1940s, and the village on the...

Montesano

Montesano was settled in 1852 at the confluence of the Chehalis, Satsop, and Wynoochee Rivers. Log-toting steamboats churned through the river passages from 1859 until...

Mossyrock

Another great outdoors destination, with opportunities for camping, fishing and boating in abundance, Mossyrock is a charming small town with two lakefront parks. The large...

Neah Bay

One of the oldest villages in Washington, Neah (pronounced nee-ah) Bay is surrounded by the Makah Reservation at the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula...

North Bend

This small town gets its name from a bend in the Snoqualmie River, which here turns toward Canada. The gorgeous surrounding scenery is dominated by...

Ocean Park

Ocean Park is the commercial center of the peninsula's quieter north end. It was founded as a camp for the Methodist Episcopal Church of Portland...

Packwood

Its location, between Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens, makes this delightful mountain village on U.S. 12 an attractive destination for those who plan to...

Yakima

The gateway to Washington wine country is sunny Yakima (pronounced yak-imah), home to more than 90,000 people within the city limits and another 25,000 in...

Poulsbo

Velkommen til Poulsbo (pauls-bo), a charming village on lovely Liberty Bay. Soon after it was settled by Norwegians in the 1880s, shops and bakeries sprang...

Marblemount

Like Sedro-Woolley, Marblemount is a former logging town now depending on outdoor recreation for its fortunes. Anglers, campers, hikers, bird-watchers, and hunters come and go...

Renton

...

Leavenworth

Leavenworth is a favorite weekend getaway for Seattle folks, and it's easy to see why: the charming (if occasionally too cute) Bavarian-style village, home to...

Snoqualmie

Although it's just a 30-mile drive from downtown Seattle, much of the densely wooded town of Snoqualmie (sno-qual-mie) feels as though it could be hours...

Glacier

The canyon village of Glacier, just outside the Mount Baker–Snoqualmie National Forest boundary, has a few shops, cafés, and lodgings. Highway 542 winds east from...

Washington Wine Country

The Yakima River binds a region of great contrasts. Snowcapped volcanic peaks and evergreen-covered hills overlook a natural shrub steppe turned green by irrigation. Famed...

Seaview

Seaview, an unincorporated town, has 750 year-round residents and several homes that date from the 1800s. The Shelburne Inn, built in 1896, is on the...

Cle Elum

A former railroad, coal, and logging town, Cle Elum (pronounced "klee ell-um") now caters to travelers stopping for a breath of air before or after...

Sekiu

The village of Sekiu (pronounced see-kyu) rests on the peninsula's northern shore, a rocky and roiling stretch of coastline inhabited for centuries by the Makah...

Prosser

On the south bank of the Yakima River, Prosser feels like small-town America of the 1950s. The seat of Benton County since 1905, it has...

Chelan

Lake Chelan, a sinewy, 50½-mile-long fjord—Washington's deepest lake—works its way from the town of Chelan, at its south end, to Stehekin, in North Cascades National...

Toppenish

This intriguing small town with a rustic Old West sensibility lies within the Yakama Reservation and blends history and culture, art and agriculture. You can't...

Winthrop

Before the cowboys came, the Methow Valley was a favorite gathering place for Native American tribes, who dug the plentiful and nutritious bulbs and hunted...

Zillah

The south-facing slopes above Zillah, a tiny town named after the daughter of a railroad manager, are covered with orchards and vineyards. Several wineries are...

Oysterville

Oysterville is a 19th-century waterfront village, with houses set in gardens or surrounded by greenswards. Signs posted on the fence of each building tell when...

Seattle

Seattle is a city of many neighborhoods: eclectic, urban, outdoorsy, artsy, gritty, down-to-earth, or posh—it's all here, from the quirky character of the Seattle Waterfront...

Port Townsend

On a peninsula—the small, crooked arm of the Quimper on the northeastern tip of the larger, torch-shaped Olympic—Port Townsend is a place where the modern...

Long Beach

Long Beach bears a striking resemblance to Brooklyn's Coney Island in the 1950s. Along its main drag, which stretches southwest from 10th Street to Bolstadt...

Sequim

Sequim (pronounced skwim), incorporated in 1913, is a pleasant old mill town and farming center between the northern foothills of the Olympic Mountains and the...

Port Angeles

Sprawling along the hills above the deep-blue Strait of San Juan de Fuca, Port Angeles is the crux of the Olympic Peninsula's air, sea, and...

Ocean Shores

Ocean Shores, a long stretch of resorts, restaurants, shops, and attractions, sits on the northern spit that encloses Grays Harbor. The whole area was planned...

Westport

Westport is a bay-front fishing village on the southern spit that helps protect the entrance to Grays Harbor from the fury of the Pacific Ocean...

Forks

The former logging town of Forks is named for two nearby river junctions: the Bogachiel and Calawah Rivers merge west of town, and a few...

Ilwaco

Ilwaco (ill-wah-co) has been a fishing port for thousands of years, first as a Native American village and later as an American settlement. A 3-mile...

Mount Vernon

This attractive riverfront town, the county seat of Skagit County and founded in 1871, is surrounded by dairy pastures, vegetable fields, and bulb farms—the town...

Port Gamble

Residents from the opposite side of America founded Port Gamble around a sawmill in 1853; hence its New England–style architecture mimicking founder Captain William Talbot's...

Centralia

Centralia (sen-trail-ya) was founded by George Washington, a freed slave from Virginia, who faced serious discrimination in several states and territories before settling here in...

Gig Harbor

One of the prettiest and most accessible waterfront communities on Puget Sound, Gig Harbor has a neat, circular bay dotted with sailboats and fronted by...

Twisp

...

Bellingham

The fishing port and college community of Bellingham has steadily transformed itself from a rough-and-tumble blue-collar town to the arts, retirement, and pleasure-boating capital of...

Cheney

...

Stehekin

One of the most beautiful and secluded valleys in the Pacific Northwest, Stehekin was homesteaded by hardy souls in the late 19th century. It's actually...

Vancouver

...

White Salmon

Tiny White Salmon, which sits on a bluff with commanding views of the Columbia River as well as the town of Hood River, is a...

Stevenson

With the Bridge of the Gods toll bridge spanning the Columbia River above the Bonneville Dam, Stevenson acts as a sort of "twin city" to...

Goldendale

Although the actual town of Goldendale lies about 12 miles north of the Columbia River, this easygoing community is a good base for exploring the...

Marblemount

Like Sedro-Woolley, Marblemount is a former logging town now depending on outdoor recreation for its fortunes. Anglers, campers, hikers, bird-watchers, and hunters come and go...

Snohomish

Snohomish arose in 1859 in typical Northwest fashion: around a shack in the woods. When E.C. Ferguson transported his Steilacoom mansion here, through the sound...

Clarkston

...

Benton City

The Yakima River zigzags north, making a giant bend around Red Mountain and the West Richland district before pouring into the Columbia River. Benton City—which...

Colville

This small town, the seat of Stevens County, sits in a valley surrounded by lakes, forests, and mountains. The town has many well-maintained old houses...

Sekiu

The village of Sekiu (pronounced see-kyu) rests on the peninsula's northern shore, a rocky and roiling stretch of coastline inhabited for centuries by the Makah...

Dayton

The tree-shaded county seat of Columbia County is the kind of Currier & Ives place many people conjure up when they imagine the best qualities...

Ashford

Adjacent to the Nisqually (Longmire) entrance to Mount Rainier National Park, Ashford draws around 2 million visitors every year. Long a transit route for local...

Ephrata

Ephrata (e-fray-tuh), a pleasant, small farm town and the Grant County seat, is in the exact center of Washington. It was settled quite early because...

Bremerton

Nearly surrounded by water, and with one of the largest navy bases on the West Coast, Bremerton is a workaday city of about 39,000 with...

Kennewick

In its 100-year history, Kennewick (ken-uh-wick) evolved from a railroad town to a farm-supply center and then to a bedroom community for Hanford workers and...

Everett

Everett is best known for the Boeing Aircraft plant and for having the second-largest Puget Sound port (after Seattle). The naval station here is home...

Moses Lake

The natural lake from which this sprawling town takes its name seems to be an anomaly in the dry landscape of east-central Washington. But ever...

Winthrop

Before the cowboys came, the Methow Valley was a favorite gathering place for Native American tribes, who dug the plentiful and nutritious bulbs and hunted...

Omak

Omak is a small mill and orchard town in the beautifully rustic Okanogan Valley of north-central Washington. Lake Omak to the southeast, on the Colville...

Olympia

Olympia has been the capital of Washington since 1853, the beginning of city and state. It is small (population 48,000) for the capital city of...

Pasco

Tree-shaded Pasco, a college town and the Franklin County seat, is an oasis of green on the Columbia River near a site where the Lewis...

Puyallup

Set before the towering forests and snowfields of Mt. Rainier is Puyallup (pyoo-al-lup), one of western Washington's oldest towns. The Puyallup Fair attracts all of...

Pullman

This funky, liberal town—home of Washington State University—is in the heart of the rather conservative Palouse agricultural district. The town's freewheeling style can perhaps be...

Tacoma

After decades of decline, Tacoma has been steadily undergoing a renaissance in recent years, with development around the waterfront and in other parts of downtown...

Quincy

On the fences along Interstate 90 to Gorge and north on Highway 281 to Quincy, crop-identification signs highlight what the Quincy Valley is known for:...

Ellensburg

This university town is one of the state's friendliest and most easygoing places. "Modern" Ellensburg had its origin in a July 4 fire that engulfed...

Richland

Richland is the northernmost of the three municipalities along the bank of the Columbia River known as the Tri-Cities (the others are Pasco and Kennewick)...

Seaview

Seaview, an unincorporated town, has 750 year-round residents and several homes that date from the 1800s. The Shelburne Inn, built in 1896, is on the...

Ritzville

...

Chelan

Lake Chelan, a sinewy, 50½-mile-long fjord—Washington's deepest lake—works its way from the town of Chelan, at its south end, to Stehekin, in North Cascades National...

Spokane

Washington's second-largest city, Spokane (spo-can, not spo-cane) takes its name from the Spokan tribe of Salish Native Americans. It translates as "Children of the Sun,"...

Arlington

Adorable Arlington, as picturesque as early Americana can be, is surrounded by pastures, woods, and the rich farmlands of the Stillaguamish River plain. On sunny...

Walla Walla

A successful downtown restoration has earned Walla Walla high praise. The heart of downtown, at 2nd and Main Streets, looks as pretty as it did...

Bellevue

...

Aberdeen

The pretty town of Aberdeen, on Grays Harbor at the mouth of the Chehalis River, is known for its lovely harbor, spread glittering and gray...

Bow-Edison

...

Chinook

The pleasant Columbia River fishing village of Chinook (shi-nook) takes its name from the tribe that once controlled the river from its mouth to Celilo...

Camano Island

...

Copalis Beach

A Native American village for several thousand years, this small coastal town at the mouth of the Copalis (pronounced coh-pah-liss) River was settled by European...

Edmonds

This charming, somewhat suburban small city just north of Seattle has a waterfront lined by more than a mile of boutiques and restaurants, seaside parks...

La Conner

Morris Graves, Kenneth Callahan, Guy Anderson, Mark Tobey, and other painters set up shop in La Conner in the 1940s, and the village on the...

Ferndale

...

Lynden

...

Glacier and Mt. Baker

...

Wenatchee

Wenatchee (we-nat-chee), the county seat of Chelan County, is an attractive city in a shallow valley at the confluence of the Wenatchee and Columbia Rivers...

Longview

...

Hoquiam

Hoquiam (pronounced hoh-quee-ahm) is a historic lumber town near Aberdeen and the mouth of the Hoquiam River. Both river and town were named with the...

Mossyrock

Another great outdoors destination, with opportunities for camping, fishing and boating in abundance, Mossyrock is a charming small town with two lakefront parks. The large...

Leavenworth

Leavenworth is a favorite weekend getaway for Seattle folks, and it's easy to see why: the charming (if occasionally too cute) Bavarian-style village, home to...

North Bend

This small town gets its name from a bend in the Snoqualmie River, which here turns toward Canada. The gorgeous surrounding scenery is dominated by...

Montesano

Montesano was settled in 1852 at the confluence of the Chehalis, Satsop, and Wynoochee Rivers. Log-toting steamboats churned through the river passages from 1859 until...

Packwood

Its location, between Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens, makes this delightful mountain village on U.S. 12 an attractive destination for those who plan to...

Neah Bay

One of the oldest villages in Washington, Neah (pronounced nee-ah) Bay is surrounded by the Makah Reservation at the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula...

Poulsbo

Velkommen til Poulsbo (pauls-bo), a charming village on lovely Liberty Bay. Soon after it was settled by Norwegians in the 1880s, shops and bakeries sprang...

Ocean Park

Ocean Park is the commercial center of the peninsula's quieter north end. It was founded as a camp for the Methodist Episcopal Church of Portland...

Renton

...

Sunnyside

The largest community in the lower Yakima Valley and the hometown of astronaut Bonnie Dunbar, Sunnyside runs along the sunny southern slopes of the Rattlesnake...

Snoqualmie

Although it's just a 30-mile drive from downtown Seattle, much of the densely wooded town of Snoqualmie (sno-qual-mie) feels as though it could be hours...

Yakima

The gateway to Washington wine country is sunny Yakima (pronounced yak-imah), home to more than 90,000 people within the city limits and another 25,000 in...

Woodinville

...

Cashmere

...

Cle Elum

A former railroad, coal, and logging town, Cle Elum (pronounced "klee ell-um") now caters to travelers stopping for a breath of air before or after...

Glacier

The canyon village of Glacier, just outside the Mount Baker–Snoqualmie National Forest boundary, has a few shops, cafés, and lodgings. Highway 542 winds east from...

Prosser

On the south bank of the Yakima River, Prosser feels like small-town America of the 1950s. The seat of Benton County since 1905, it has...

Sedro-Woolley

On its way east from Interstate 5, Highway 20 skirts Burlington and Sedro-Woolley, the latter a former mill and logging town now considered the gateway...

Toppenish

This intriguing small town with a rustic Old West sensibility lies within the Yakama Reservation and blends history and culture, art and agriculture. You can't...

Oysterville

Oysterville is a 19th-century waterfront village, with houses set in gardens or surrounded by greenswards. Signs posted on the fence of each building tell when...

Zillah

The south-facing slopes above Zillah, a tiny town named after the daughter of a railroad manager, are covered with orchards and vineyards. Several wineries are...

Lynden

...

Seattle

Seattle is a city of many neighborhoods: eclectic, urban, outdoorsy, artsy, gritty, down-to-earth, or posh—it's all here, from the quirky character of the Seattle Waterfront...

Port Townsend

On a peninsula—the small, crooked arm of the Quimper on the northeastern tip of the larger, torch-shaped Olympic—Port Townsend is a place where the modern...

Long Beach

Long Beach bears a striking resemblance to Brooklyn's Coney Island in the 1950s. Along its main drag, which stretches southwest from 10th Street to Bolstadt...

Sequim

Sequim (pronounced skwim), incorporated in 1913, is a pleasant old mill town and farming center between the northern foothills of the Olympic Mountains and the...

Port Angeles

Sprawling along the hills above the deep-blue Strait of San Juan de Fuca, Port Angeles is the crux of the Olympic Peninsula's air, sea, and...

Ocean Shores

Ocean Shores, a long stretch of resorts, restaurants, shops, and attractions, sits on the northern spit that encloses Grays Harbor. The whole area was planned...

Westport

Westport is a bay-front fishing village on the southern spit that helps protect the entrance to Grays Harbor from the fury of the Pacific Ocean...

Forks

The former logging town of Forks is named for two nearby river junctions: the Bogachiel and Calawah Rivers merge west of town, and a few...

Ilwaco

Ilwaco (ill-wah-co) has been a fishing port for thousands of years, first as a Native American village and later as an American settlement. A 3-mile...

Mount Vernon

This attractive riverfront town, the county seat of Skagit County and founded in 1871, is surrounded by dairy pastures, vegetable fields, and bulb farms—the town...

Port Gamble

Residents from the opposite side of America founded Port Gamble around a sawmill in 1853; hence its New England–style architecture mimicking founder Captain William Talbot's...

Centralia

Centralia (sen-trail-ya) was founded by George Washington, a freed slave from Virginia, who faced serious discrimination in several states and territories before settling here in...

Gig Harbor

One of the prettiest and most accessible waterfront communities on Puget Sound, Gig Harbor has a neat, circular bay dotted with sailboats and fronted by...

Twisp

...

Bellingham

The fishing port and college community of Bellingham has steadily transformed itself from a rough-and-tumble blue-collar town to the arts, retirement, and pleasure-boating capital of...

Cheney

...

Stehekin

One of the most beautiful and secluded valleys in the Pacific Northwest, Stehekin was homesteaded by hardy souls in the late 19th century. It's actually...

Vancouver

...

White Salmon

Tiny White Salmon, which sits on a bluff with commanding views of the Columbia River as well as the town of Hood River, is a...

Stevenson

With the Bridge of the Gods toll bridge spanning the Columbia River above the Bonneville Dam, Stevenson acts as a sort of "twin city" to...

Goldendale

Although the actual town of Goldendale lies about 12 miles north of the Columbia River, this easygoing community is a good base for exploring the...

Marblemount

Like Sedro-Woolley, Marblemount is a former logging town now depending on outdoor recreation for its fortunes. Anglers, campers, hikers, bird-watchers, and hunters come and go...

Snohomish

Snohomish arose in 1859 in typical Northwest fashion: around a shack in the woods. When E.C. Ferguson transported his Steilacoom mansion here, through the sound...

Clarkston

...

Benton City

The Yakima River zigzags north, making a giant bend around Red Mountain and the West Richland district before pouring into the Columbia River. Benton City—which...

Colville

This small town, the seat of Stevens County, sits in a valley surrounded by lakes, forests, and mountains. The town has many well-maintained old houses...

Sekiu

The village of Sekiu (pronounced see-kyu) rests on the peninsula's northern shore, a rocky and roiling stretch of coastline inhabited for centuries by the Makah...

Dayton

The tree-shaded county seat of Columbia County is the kind of Currier & Ives place many people conjure up when they imagine the best qualities...

Ashford

Adjacent to the Nisqually (Longmire) entrance to Mount Rainier National Park, Ashford draws around 2 million visitors every year. Long a transit route for local...

Ephrata

Ephrata (e-fray-tuh), a pleasant, small farm town and the Grant County seat, is in the exact center of Washington. It was settled quite early because...

Bremerton

Nearly surrounded by water, and with one of the largest navy bases on the West Coast, Bremerton is a workaday city of about 39,000 with...

Kennewick

In its 100-year history, Kennewick (ken-uh-wick) evolved from a railroad town to a farm-supply center and then to a bedroom community for Hanford workers and...

Everett

Everett is best known for the Boeing Aircraft plant and for having the second-largest Puget Sound port (after Seattle). The naval station here is home...

Moses Lake

The natural lake from which this sprawling town takes its name seems to be an anomaly in the dry landscape of east-central Washington. But ever...

Winthrop

Before the cowboys came, the Methow Valley was a favorite gathering place for Native American tribes, who dug the plentiful and nutritious bulbs and hunted...

Omak

Omak is a small mill and orchard town in the beautifully rustic Okanogan Valley of north-central Washington. Lake Omak to the southeast, on the Colville...

Olympia

Olympia has been the capital of Washington since 1853, the beginning of city and state. It is small (population 48,000) for the capital city of...

Pasco

Tree-shaded Pasco, a college town and the Franklin County seat, is an oasis of green on the Columbia River near a site where the Lewis...

Puyallup

Set before the towering forests and snowfields of Mt. Rainier is Puyallup (pyoo-al-lup), one of western Washington's oldest towns. The Puyallup Fair attracts all of...

Pullman

This funky, liberal town—home of Washington State University—is in the heart of the rather conservative Palouse agricultural district. The town's freewheeling style can perhaps be...

Tacoma

After decades of decline, Tacoma has been steadily undergoing a renaissance in recent years, with development around the waterfront and in other parts of downtown...

Quincy

On the fences along Interstate 90 to Gorge and north on Highway 281 to Quincy, crop-identification signs highlight what the Quincy Valley is known for:...

Ellensburg

This university town is one of the state's friendliest and most easygoing places. "Modern" Ellensburg had its origin in a July 4 fire that engulfed...

Richland

Richland is the northernmost of the three municipalities along the bank of the Columbia River known as the Tri-Cities (the others are Pasco and Kennewick)...

Seaview

Seaview, an unincorporated town, has 750 year-round residents and several homes that date from the 1800s. The Shelburne Inn, built in 1896, is on the...

Ritzville

...

Chelan

Lake Chelan, a sinewy, 50½-mile-long fjord—Washington's deepest lake—works its way from the town of Chelan, at its south end, to Stehekin, in North Cascades National...

Spokane

Washington's second-largest city, Spokane (spo-can, not spo-cane) takes its name from the Spokan tribe of Salish Native Americans. It translates as "Children of the Sun,"...

Arlington

Adorable Arlington, as picturesque as early Americana can be, is surrounded by pastures, woods, and the rich farmlands of the Stillaguamish River plain. On sunny...

Walla Walla

A successful downtown restoration has earned Walla Walla high praise. The heart of downtown, at 2nd and Main Streets, looks as pretty as it did...

Bellevue

...

Aberdeen

The pretty town of Aberdeen, on Grays Harbor at the mouth of the Chehalis River, is known for its lovely harbor, spread glittering and gray...

Bow-Edison

...

Chinook

The pleasant Columbia River fishing village of Chinook (shi-nook) takes its name from the tribe that once controlled the river from its mouth to Celilo...

Camano Island

...

Copalis Beach

A Native American village for several thousand years, this small coastal town at the mouth of the Copalis (pronounced coh-pah-liss) River was settled by European...

Edmonds

This charming, somewhat suburban small city just north of Seattle has a waterfront lined by more than a mile of boutiques and restaurants, seaside parks...

La Conner

Morris Graves, Kenneth Callahan, Guy Anderson, Mark Tobey, and other painters set up shop in La Conner in the 1940s, and the village on the...

Ferndale

...

Lynden

...

Glacier and Mt. Baker

...

Wenatchee

Wenatchee (we-nat-chee), the county seat of Chelan County, is an attractive city in a shallow valley at the confluence of the Wenatchee and Columbia Rivers...

Longview

...

Hoquiam

Hoquiam (pronounced hoh-quee-ahm) is a historic lumber town near Aberdeen and the mouth of the Hoquiam River. Both river and town were named with the...

Mossyrock

Another great outdoors destination, with opportunities for camping, fishing and boating in abundance, Mossyrock is a charming small town with two lakefront parks. The large...

Leavenworth

Leavenworth is a favorite weekend getaway for Seattle folks, and it's easy to see why: the charming (if occasionally too cute) Bavarian-style village, home to...

North Bend

This small town gets its name from a bend in the Snoqualmie River, which here turns toward Canada. The gorgeous surrounding scenery is dominated by...

Montesano

Montesano was settled in 1852 at the confluence of the Chehalis, Satsop, and Wynoochee Rivers. Log-toting steamboats churned through the river passages from 1859 until...

Packwood

Its location, between Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens, makes this delightful mountain village on U.S. 12 an attractive destination for those who plan to...

Neah Bay

One of the oldest villages in Washington, Neah (pronounced nee-ah) Bay is surrounded by the Makah Reservation at the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula...

Poulsbo

Velkommen til Poulsbo (pauls-bo), a charming village on lovely Liberty Bay. Soon after it was settled by Norwegians in the 1880s, shops and bakeries sprang...

Ocean Park

Ocean Park is the commercial center of the peninsula's quieter north end. It was founded as a camp for the Methodist Episcopal Church of Portland...

Renton

...

Sunnyside

The largest community in the lower Yakima Valley and the hometown of astronaut Bonnie Dunbar, Sunnyside runs along the sunny southern slopes of the Rattlesnake...

Snoqualmie

Although it's just a 30-mile drive from downtown Seattle, much of the densely wooded town of Snoqualmie (sno-qual-mie) feels as though it could be hours...

Yakima

The gateway to Washington wine country is sunny Yakima (pronounced yak-imah), home to more than 90,000 people within the city limits and another 25,000 in...

Woodinville

...

Cashmere

...

Cle Elum

A former railroad, coal, and logging town, Cle Elum (pronounced "klee ell-um") now caters to travelers stopping for a breath of air before or after...

Glacier

The canyon village of Glacier, just outside the Mount Baker–Snoqualmie National Forest boundary, has a few shops, cafés, and lodgings. Highway 542 winds east from...

Prosser

On the south bank of the Yakima River, Prosser feels like small-town America of the 1950s. The seat of Benton County since 1905, it has...

Sedro-Woolley

On its way east from Interstate 5, Highway 20 skirts Burlington and Sedro-Woolley, the latter a former mill and logging town now considered the gateway...

Toppenish

This intriguing small town with a rustic Old West sensibility lies within the Yakama Reservation and blends history and culture, art and agriculture. You can't...

Oysterville

Oysterville is a 19th-century waterfront village, with houses set in gardens or surrounded by greenswards. Signs posted on the fence of each building tell when...

Zillah

The south-facing slopes above Zillah, a tiny town named after the daughter of a railroad manager, are covered with orchards and vineyards. Several wineries are...

Lynden

...

The Olympic Peninsula and Washington Coast

Wilderness envelops most of the Olympic Peninsula, an unrefined and enchanting place that promises craggy, snowcapped peaks, pristine evergreen forests, and driftwood-covered coastlines. This is...

Spokane and Eastern Washington

The Columbia Plateau was created by a series of lava flows that were later deeply cut by glacial floods. Because its soil is mostly made...

The San Juan Islands

The waters of the Pacific Northwest’s Salish Sea, between mainland Washington and Vancouver Island, contain hundreds of islands, some little more than rocky reefs, others...

Washington Wine Country

The Yakima River binds a region of great contrasts. Snowcapped volcanic peaks and evergreen-covered hills overlook a natural shrub steppe turned green by irrigation. Famed...

Washington Cascade Mountains and Valleys

The San Juan Islands, the Olympic Peninsula, and the great swaths of midstate wilderness provide Washington’s favorite photo ops, but there are plenty of adventures...

Southeastern Washington

Just north of the Columbia River Gorge, southwestern Washington serves as a gateway to the Mt. Hood region in Oregon, as well as offering its...

North Central Washington

Wilderness embraces much of north-central Washington, replete with old timber towns, cascading creeks, glacial peaks, and low-hanging valleys dusted with wildflowers. The region’s natural beauty...

The Olympic Peninsula and Washington Coast

Wilderness envelops most of the Olympic Peninsula, an unrefined and enchanting place that promises craggy, snowcapped peaks, pristine evergreen forests, and driftwood-covered coastlines. This is...

Spokane and Eastern Washington

The Columbia Plateau was created by a series of lava flows that were later deeply cut by glacial floods. Because its soil is mostly made...

The San Juan Islands

The waters of the Pacific Northwest’s Salish Sea, between mainland Washington and Vancouver Island, contain hundreds of islands, some little more than rocky reefs, others...

Washington Wine Country

The Yakima River binds a region of great contrasts. Snowcapped volcanic peaks and evergreen-covered hills overlook a natural shrub steppe turned green by irrigation. Famed...

Washington Cascade Mountains and Valleys

The San Juan Islands, the Olympic Peninsula, and the great swaths of midstate wilderness provide Washington’s favorite photo ops, but there are plenty of adventures...

Southeastern Washington

Just north of the Columbia River Gorge, southwestern Washington serves as a gateway to the Mt. Hood region in Oregon, as well as offering its...

North Central Washington

Wilderness embraces much of north-central Washington, replete with old timber towns, cascading creeks, glacial peaks, and low-hanging valleys dusted with wildflowers. The region’s natural beauty...

North Cascades National Park

Countless snow-clad mountain spires dwarf narrow glacial valleys in this 505,000-acre expanse of the North Cascades, which encompasses three diverse natural areas. North Cascades National...

Mount Rainier National Park

Like a mysterious, white-clad chanteuse, veiled in clouds even when the surrounding forests and fields are bathed in sunlight, Mt. Rainier is the centerpiece of...

Olympic National Park

A spellbinding setting is tucked into the country's far northwestern corner, within the heart-shape Olympic Peninsula. Edged on all sides by water, the forested landscape...

Coulee Dam National Recreation Area

Grand Coulee Dam is the one of the world's largest concrete structures. At almost a mile long, it justly deserves the moniker "Eighth Technological Wonder...

North Cascades National Park

Countless snow-clad mountain spires dwarf narrow glacial valleys in this 505,000-acre expanse of the North Cascades, which encompasses three diverse natural areas. North Cascades National...

Mount Rainier National Park

Like a mysterious, white-clad chanteuse, veiled in clouds even when the surrounding forests and fields are bathed in sunlight, Mt. Rainier is the centerpiece of...

Olympic National Park

A spellbinding setting is tucked into the country's far northwestern corner, within the heart-shape Olympic Peninsula. Edged on all sides by water, the forested landscape...

Coulee Dam National Recreation Area

Grand Coulee Dam is the one of the world's largest concrete structures. At almost a mile long, it justly deserves the moniker "Eighth Technological Wonder...

The Puget Sound Islands

The islands of Puget Sound—particularly Bainbridge, Vashon, and Whidbey—are easy and popular day trips for Seattle visitors, and riding the Washington State ferries is half...

Bainbridge Island

Of the three main islands in Puget Sound, Bainbridge has by far the largest population of Seattle commuters. Certain parts of the island are dense...

Vashon Island

Vashon is the most peaceful and rural of the islands easily reached from the city, home to fruit growers, commune-dwelling hippies, rat-race dropouts, and Seattle...

Shaw Island

...

San Juan Island

San Juan is the cultural and commercial hub of the archipelago that shares its name. Friday Harbor, the county seat, is larger and both more...

Orcas Island

Orcas Island, the largest of the San Juans, is blessed with wide, pastoral valleys and scenic ridges that rise high above the neighboring waters. (At...

Lopez Island

Known affectionately as "Slow-pez," the closest significantly populated island to the mainland is a broad, bay-encircled bit of terrain set amid sparkling blue seas, a...

Whidbey Island

Whidbey is a blend of low pastoral hills, evergreen and oak forests, meadows of wildflowers (including some endemic species), sandy beaches, and dramatic bluffs with...

The Puget Sound Islands

The islands of Puget Sound—particularly Bainbridge, Vashon, and Whidbey—are easy and popular day trips for Seattle visitors, and riding the Washington State ferries is half...

Bainbridge Island

Of the three main islands in Puget Sound, Bainbridge has by far the largest population of Seattle commuters. Certain parts of the island are dense...

Vashon Island

Vashon is the most peaceful and rural of the islands easily reached from the city, home to fruit growers, commune-dwelling hippies, rat-race dropouts, and Seattle...

Shaw Island

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San Juan Island

San Juan is the cultural and commercial hub of the archipelago that shares its name. Friday Harbor, the county seat, is larger and both more...

Orcas Island

Orcas Island, the largest of the San Juans, is blessed with wide, pastoral valleys and scenic ridges that rise high above the neighboring waters. (At...

Lopez Island

Known affectionately as "Slow-pez," the closest significantly populated island to the mainland is a broad, bay-encircled bit of terrain set amid sparkling blue seas, a...

Whidbey Island

Whidbey is a blend of low pastoral hills, evergreen and oak forests, meadows of wildflowers (including some endemic species), sandy beaches, and dramatic bluffs with...

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