If you’re making a vacation out of visiting Seattle and want to check out some of the fun things to do outside the city, here are some places to check out. You can make a day trip out of all these locations but may want to consider an overnight stay with some due to the distance from Seattle.  We’ve been to most of these places and would be happy to answer any add’l questions you have.

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Winery and Brewery Tours and Tastings
While the majority of wineries are located in Eastern Washington, Woodinville is home to a few wonderful wineries and breweries.  It’s about 35 minutes away and you can find the Red Hook Ale Brewery, Columbia Winery and Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery there.

Snoqualmie Falls
More than a hundred feet higher than Niagara, Snoqualmie Falls beckons visitors from Seattle, just 25 miles down the highway.  The Salish Lodge is also located here where you can find fine dining and a luxurious spa.  These falls are probably best known for their appearance in the television series, Twin Peaks.

Boeing Factory Tour
This is 25 miles north of Seattle in Everett, WA and showcases Boeing’s product line.  As part of the tour, visitors will tour the largest building in the world by volume (472,000,000 cubic feet). On the Boeing flight line, visitors will see airplanes in various stages of flight test and manufacture for airline customers around the world.

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Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
At 8:32 Sunday morning, May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted.

Shaken by an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, the north face of this tall symmetrical mountain collapsed in a massive rock debris avalanche. Nearly 230 square miles of forest was blown down or buried beneath volcanic deposits. At the same time a mushroom-shaped column of ash rose thousands of feet skyward and drifted downwind, turning day into night as dark, gray ash fell over eastern Washington and beyond. The eruption lasted 9 hours, but Mount St. Helens and the surrounding landscape were dramatically changed within moments.

We recommend going to the Johnston Ridge Observatory where you’ll have an amazing view into the crater (it is 5 1/2 miles away from the crater) of this erupted volcano and learn so much at the on-site visitor center.  Open daily from 10am - 6pm and takes a little over 3 hours to get there from Seattle.

Mt. Rainier
This is likely the mountain that the captain points out to you as you descend into Seattle from the sky.  It is the highest peak in the Northwest at 14,411 feet and is about a 2-hour drive south of Seattle.  Grayline Sightseeing actually offers a guided day tour here to the visitor center located at Paradise.  Otherwise, you can drive yourself and get lost in the beauty of the Nisqually Nat’l Forest.  There is great hiking and climbing here.

Victoria
Victoria is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.  It’s a really fun trip into this very English city.  If you go here, we recommend visiting the Butchart Gardens and getting High Tea at the Fairmont Empress.  There is a daily high speed ferry to take you to Victoria from Seattle’s waterfront via the Victoria Clipper, which also offers day tours.  The ferry ride itself is about 2.5-3 hours long.  There are lots of B&B’s and hotels to stay at if you decide to make this an overnight trip.

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Vancouver, B.C.
Vancouver is about a 2.5-3 hour drive up north and is an amazing city to visit.  Go shopping along Robson St., rent a bike and ride along the Seawall at Stanley Park, stop by Granville Island to get fresh fruits & vegetables at their Public Market, or walk along the Capilano Suspension Bridge.

Portland, OR
It takes about 3 hours to get down to Portland and is a really quaint city.  Visit the Rose & Japanese Gardens, buy a used book at Powell’s (the largest new & used bookstore in the world) or check out the Science Museum.  Or better yet-take advantage of no sales tax and go shopping along NW 23rd Ave!