Description
It’s time to set off on this amazing nine-night adventure to Seattle and the majestic Olympic National Park and Mount Rainier National Park.
First stop Seattle and 3 nights at the historic Edgewater Hotel whose previous guests include Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam, the Foo Fighters, and the Beatles who once famously fished from the window of their hotel suite. Borrow one of the hotel’s guitars, sheet music and record players to take your stay at the “Edge” to the next level.
The hotel’s well-appointed suites and convenient waterfront location on Pier 67 means that your close to everything this famous West Coast city has to offer. And after a busy day it’s nice to relax by a cosy fire while you watch the local ferries cruising by with your favourite drink in hand.
First stop must be the Space Needle, a Seattle icon that was built for the 1962 world fair where you’ll love the stunning views out over Elliot Bay towards the Cascade mountains from the Needle’s observation deck. Once you’ve seen all that the Space Needle has to offer be sure to take a ride on the Seattle Centre Monorail as it weaves its way between the city’s skyscrapers on its way to the Westlake Centre.
Other popular attractions include the Seattle Aquarium, the Seattle Great Wheel, the Museum of Flight, Pike Place Market, and the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) where colourful exhibits delve into the history of indie video games, Nirvana, the Seattle Seahawks and lots more – the kiddie in you will love it!
If time permits take a ferry ride across the stunning Puget Sound , sit back, enjoy the bracing fresh air and breath-taking scenery.
Next up a chance to take in the stunning scenery and wildlife of the Olympic National Park with a three-night stopover at the charming cabins of Kalaloch Lodge. Set against a backdrop of towering evergreen pine trees and just a short walk from the driftwood dotted Pacific shore, your cabin’s coastal location just inside the National Park means that it’s only a short drive to the beautiful hikes and waterfalls of the famous Hoh Rainforest and Lake Quinault at the Southern end of Olympic National Park.
Olympic National Park covers nearly a million acres of magnificent wilderness spanning thousands of years of human history. With its majestic snow-capped mountains, temperate rainforests, and a truly diverse wildlife population a stay at Olympic National Park is an outdoor lover’s paradise. There’s also seventy odd miles of rugged Pacific coastline just waiting for you to explore. Popular activities include hiking, fishing, and backpacking as well as boating, beachcombing, and wildlife spotting, it’s all here waiting for you at this wonderful World Heritage Site.
We’ve seen Seattle, we’ve explored Olympic National Park and now it’s time for our final stopover with a short stay at the Paradise Village Hotel and Cabins, Ashford. The hotel has an ideal setting near Ashford town and just a short drive to the west entrance of Mount Rainier National Park. A Washington icon, Mount Rainier is an active volcano towering in at over 14,000 feet keeping watch over the magnificent 369 square mile nature reserve that bares its name.
There are lots of ways to experience Mount Rainier National Park so let’s get those hiking boots laced up and get started. The park is home to more than three hundred miles of hiking trails and there are a number of short self-guided nature walks dotted throughout the park. It’s fun to see how many of the local residents you can spot including the chipmunks, marmots, squirrels, pikas, deer and birds amongst the magnificent trails, waterfalls, rivers and canyons of the park. You might even get lucky and bump into an elusive elk or mountain goats – better keep the camera handy for a bunch of memorable holiday snaps.
Take a trip up to the summit of Crystal Mountain on the Gondola for some epic views of Mount Rainer and the surrounding Cascades.
With hiking and lots more in the spring and Summer, and skiing and snowboarding in Winter, Mount Rainier really is an all year-round attraction!
Call one of our travelplanners 020 3542 8888 to book this amazing Seattle & Pacific Coast National Parks multi-centre holiday.
