After the Alaska cruise and two wonderful weeks of van-camping and hiking in Banff National Park and Jasper National Parks, we returned to where we started: Seattle, WA. We met up with a good friend who thankfully played tour guide for us. With a full day to spend in Seattle before the next leg of our trip, we were determined to make the most of it.

Pike Place Market

There’s no trip to Seattle without a visit to Pike Place Market. Our breakfast of champions was a blackened salmon sandwich and clam chowder from Market Grill. The hustle and bustle of the open air market, smell of fresh flowers and produce, and my all-time favorite dried cherry producer (Chukar Cherries) are to me what makes Pike Place Market, THE Pike Place Market. (Small tangential thought: Go to Ayoub’s Dried Fruit & Nuts in Vancouver for an also amazing selection and THE BEST dried strawberries ever.)

Bainbridge Island

For all of the little trips we’ve taken to Seattle, we still hadn’t visited Bainbridge Island. Until this trip! We boarded a 35-minute ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island which offered spectacular views of Seattle’s skyline and a nice breezy ride.

Fletcher Bay Winery

We didn’t make it very far onto Bainbridge Island after disembarking the ferry before getting lured by the promise of tasty wine at Fletcher Bay Winery. This winery has a modern interior and relaxing rooftop patio where we enjoyed a couple bottles of wine and a flight tasting.

Drive Seattle to Olympic National Park

Next stop: Olympic National Park!

There are many ways to get you (and your personal vehicle) from Seattle to Olympic National Park:

Take a ferry across Puget Sound.

Depending on where in Seattle you’re starting from, you can choose from the Bainbridge Island Ferry (that we we boarded the day prior), the Edmonds-Kingston ferry, and the Kingston Fast Ferry to get you from Seattle to Olympic National Park. However only the Bainbridge Island and Edmonds-Kingston ferries allow passenger vehicles on board, while the Kingston Fast Ferry allows pedestrian passengers only. After the ferry ride, an approximately 70-mile drive will bring you from either Bainbridge Island or Kingston to Port Angeles where the Olympic National Park Visitor Center is.

Drive directly from Seattle to Olympic National Park.

The Olympic Peninsula and Olympic National Park is accessible via direct drive even without a ferry ride. We were told that the direct drive might end up taking around the same amount of time as the ferry route due to the need to arrive early and prepare for ferry embarkation. We opted to drive and take in the scenery on the way.

Finnriver Farm & Cidery

124 Center Rd, Chimacum, WA 98325

Located in Chimacum, WA, Finnriver Cidery was our first stop on the drive from Seattle to Port Townsend to kick off our trip to Olympic National Park. This local farm and orchard makes craft apple cider, and lots of it! There are usually over 15 unique ciders on their draft list.

Sequim Lavender Fields

The town of Sequim, Washington is known for their lavender fields. Our driving route from Seattle to Olympic National Park brought us through Tacoma and Sequim before arriving in Port Angeles. We stopped for some lavender ice cream and romping in lavender fields while in Sequim.

Hurricane Hill Trail

Our first trek within the gorgeous Olympic National Park was upon us along Hurricane Ridge. This trail is just 17 miles south of Port Angeles and is a 3.4-mile out-and-back paved trail full of switchbacks through grassy mountains. The Hurricane Hill Trail is a good place to see the rare Olympic marmot. The switchbacks take you higher and higher, up to the summit of Hurricane Hill (it’ll be windy!). You’ll enjoy good panoramic views of the ice-capped Bailey Range mountains all along the trail, but honestly the view at the top is not infinitely better than the view from right at the parking lot so don’t feel bad if you don’t have time to complete the entire trek.