Seattle Travel Forum

Hi, I'm going to be in Seattle for a week or so in April. Has anyone got any sugesstions on what we can do during our stay? Must see's / do's? So far we have the obvious things like Pike place market and the Space needle. We were also thinking about hiring a car for a day and going to one of the national parks? Any suggestions on where would be good? how long would it take to drive to a national park?

Any suggestions would be very welcome.

Ian.

If you rent a car for a day, a nice drive would be to Snoqualmie Falls.

Yeah, I'd definitely recommend a car. In April Mt. Rainier is still going to be snowed in, so you can't get to the great hikes. But there is no reason why you can't get over to the Olympic Peninsula. The Hoh rainforest is really fun (and wet). I'd take an entire day if you are going that route, plus the ferry ride is fun and gives you great views of the Seattle waterfront.

Other options would be a ferry ride to the San Juan Islands. Friday Harbor is a neat little town and you can spend half a day exploring San Juan Island.

Victoria BC is just a boatride away and is a fabulous day trip from Seattle.

You can visit my Seattle page. One of the things we did that was a blast and not too expensive was take a Ghost tour. It's posted on my tips!

Seattle has some cool museums. I would check them out. And when you're at the Space Needle check out the "Experience Music Project" if you're into music.

If you are interested in history, especially some really unusual history, take the Underground Tour. Seattle was originally at a lower level, and there are still old streets below the city. On the tour you will go below today’s Seattle and walk some of these old streets. You will learn about Seattle's very colorful past, such as how the cities founding fathers' arguments led to Seattle's complicated street system, and how the solutions to the town’s plumbing problems affected the town's elevation.

I forgot this one, Seattle also has a pretty decent Aquarium if you are interested in that sort of thing. It isn't as large as some I have been to, but we still enjoyed it.

The Woodland Park Zoo is probally my favorite or second favorite zoo I've ever been to!

I'd also recommend checking out University of Washington's campus

In April, our flowering trees and bushes should be out and the city starts to look pretty spectacular. On the Univ. of Wash. campus is a long pedestrian "boulevard" that goes to a large fountain, and is lined by flowering cherry trees, if those are out during the week you are here. The Arboretum has wonderful areas of native rhododendrons and azealeas. There are also the Japanese Gardens, if you like gardens. The two art museums -- downtown Seattle Art Museum, and Capitol Hill Asian Art Museum -- are rather worldclass. There is fascinating architecture downtown, including a brand-new library by architect Rem Koolhous.

A good day excursion from downtown is to take the Bainbridge Island ferry (30 minutes) across Puget Sound, and have a walk in the small town there, with maybe lunch and a look at art galleries.

For an April drive, most of the National Parks at high elevation will still be snowed in. You could go to the Olympic Peninsula, visiting historic and artsy Port Townsend along the way, then the port town of Port Angeles, and continue around to the Pacific Ocean side, stopping at the Hoh Rainforest area for a wonderful walk. But, I would recommend staying overnight somewhere, as this is too long to do in one day. Places to stay overnight out there: Kalaloch Lodge, Lake Quinault Hotel (very historic lodge), or continue south to the seaside communities around Long Beach (many hotels and motels and cabins). Enjoy!

THE EMP, EXPERIENCE MUSIC PROJECT WAS REALLY SWEET. A HUGE BUILDING WITH 3 FLOORS OF COOL THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN CONNECTION WITH EXPERIENCING MUSIC !!!!!!
Seattle being the place that jimi hendrix grew up, there was a lot of films and gear that jimi used during his performances on and off stage
ALSO A GREAT FILM CLIP OF THE BEATLES PLAYING WASHINGTON DC IN 1964~~~!!!!!!
FILMS OF JANIS JOPLIN AND A GROUP OF MUSICIANS FROM THE 60'S
THERE ARE ALSO ROOMS PEOPLE CAN GO TO LEARN AND JAM ON INSTRUMENTS........
THE PLACE IS GREAT FOR EXPLORING THE IDEAS OF MUSIC...........

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Address: HARRISON AND 5 th AVE NORTH
Directions: ONE OF MANY GREAT PLACES TO CHECK OUT IN THE SEATTLE CENTER
EACH COLOR ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE BUILD REPRESENTS SOME MUSICIAN.........
PURPLE IS FOR JIMI'S "PURPLE HAZE'....................