family travel

BOOK: Best Hikes with Kids, Western Washington

You had a baby, shelled out the cash for a primo baby carrier, and have packed all the snacks (and the ten essentials!) Only question left is: where to hike? A completely revised edition of the popular book Best Hikes with Kids: Western Washington by hiking expert Susan Elderkin has just hit bookstores, and I was […]

Plan Now, Camp Later: Reserve Early for the Best Northwest Campsites

Skip the last-minute scramble before your summer camping trip by reserving your Washington state yurt or tent site early. Get more free advice on Northwest camping by subscribing here – it’s free. Remember the spontaneous camping trip? You’d wake up, have a yearning for fresh mountain air, pack the gear into the trunk and just […]

GO: Picnic Point Park, a Scenic Beach Escape on Puget Sound

The waterfront retreat known as Picnic Point Park is aptly-named; come on a sunny day or a clear evening near sunset and you’re going to spot plenty of couples on blankets with picnic baskets. It’s just a perfect spot for a romantic rendezvous. And at low tide, it’s the perfect spot for beach-combing. Set on the […]

Six Summer Day Trips from Seattle

Summer is half over! Does mid-August give you a mid-summer crisis, too? Six weeks of summer left, and I feel it’s passing way too quickly. It always does here. So I pull out my calendar, and I start scribbling trips in. Here are six sunny day trips from Seattle to squeeze the most out of summer. […]

Feed the Salmon Babies at the Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery

Plunk! Plunk! In one quick second, two small fistfuls of small brown pellets were hurled into a small pond where dozens of mid-sized brown trout scrambled to snag a tasty morsel. We were in Central Oregon near Camp Sherman on the Metolius River, where we’d stumbled upon an unlikely family-friendly destination–a state-run fish hatchery. Fish hatcheries are longtime residents on […]

Q: Family Resorts in Washington?

Dear TripFinder, My family used to visit Sunriver Resort near Bend, Oregon almost every summer, but now that we live in Seattle and not Portland the trip has gotten too long for a 3-day weekend. Are there any similar resorts in Washington state? Thank you, Jen Dear Jen, My family just dropped in on Sunriver […]

Q: Where to Camp with Kids near Seattle?

Dear TripFinder, We’d like to go camping this summer with our 5-year old son and 3-year old daughter. This will be our first time camping since we had children. Can you recommend a campground not more than 3 hours from Seattle that has things for kids to do? Many thanks, Jessica in Lynnwood Dear Jessica, […]

Q: Where to Go Cherry Picking?

Dear TripFinder, I would love to find a good orchard near Seattle to go cherry picking with my kids. I am willing to drive 2-3 hours. My goal is to buy tons of (ideally organic) cherries to make jam. I would be fun if there was a bit more than just cherry picking – […]

Q: Good Day Trips with Kids near Seattle?

Dear TripFinder, Can you recommend a fun, inexpensive day trip I could take with my 9 year old son? We’ve done whale-watching and hiking (but wouldn’t turn down a good trail). Thank you. Ann from Edmonds, Wash. Dear Ann, Yes! Summer lodging rates are more expensive and vacancy is scarce, so doing some of your local summertime […]

Northwest Getaway: The South Shore of Hood Canal

It’s barely noon when we pull into the tiny town of Union, one of a handful of communities that dot the south shore of Washington’s Hood Canal. Above us, periwinkle sky is peeking through clouds, and across the glacier-carved fjord sit snow-capped Olympic mountains. If Union has one thing going for it, it has location. […]

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