I grew up in one of the prettiest corners of America—the Pacific Northwest—smack dab between Seattle and Vancouver B.C.. I return every summer with my family to enjoy the long summer days and endless blue skies, but surprisingly, I’ve never thought to publish a guide to the area. Maybe it’s because it feels like home to me, rather than a holiday destination, but every year I’m asked for my recommendations. This year I’ve finally written them down.
I grew up in Skaggit county, surrounded by snow-capped mountains (even volcanoes!) on all sides, lakes, bays, rivers and all manner of waterways weaving through every nook and cranny, and evergreen islands beckoning from blue grey waters of Puget Sound. In recent years, cultural and culinary attractions have flourished too, meaning there’s a lot more than natural beauty to my childhood home.
So I’ve compiled a list of my favourite places in the area, from Seattle to the San Juan Islands. It’s a somewhat scattergun collection and for sure there is more to discover than I’ve recorded here (if you have your own recommendations, please add them to the comments). Otherwise I hope this gets you planning a getaway to the PNW. I may be biased, but you’ll have a hard time finding a more gorgeous destination in America. And while it is wet and rainy much of the year, the summers are reliably sunny and extra beautiful as a result.
EDISON: I grew up just down the street from this charming little town, which, in recent years, has become a real destination with its weekly farmers market, tasty cafes, cute shops and notable galleries. It’s tiny (you can literally walk from one end of town to the other in three minutes!), but every shop in town is worth entering. You might pass through this town on your way out to the San Juan Islands or Deception Pass.
- Mariposa Taqueria — A charming little taco restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. (I believe it’s only opened from Friday to Monday, but best to call before you visit to be sure.)
- The Bread Farm — an artisan bakery with the area’s best breads and a selection of cookies and baked goods.
- Hedgerow Boutique — An absolute gem! This gorgeous little boutique has a selection of beautiful homewares, fashion, jewellery, vintage finds and other lust-worthy knick-nacks. It’s the type of shop you’d find in a trendy Seattle neighbourhood, and yet… it’s in the tiny town of Edison.
- Tweets Cafe
- Smith & Vallee Gallery –Located in a restored 100-year-old school house, this pretty gallery represents artists from across the Northwest and beyond. They host an exhibition the first Saturday of every month, but remain opened throughout the week.
- The Lucky Dumpster — A quirky shop chock full of knick-knacks, pottery, vintage finds and other odds and ends.
DECEPTION PASS and WHIDBEY ISLAND: Deception Pass is a beautiful area to explore with lots of different walking trails and picnic spots. And crossing the famous Deception Pass Bridge takes you to Whidbey Island, which also has some beautiful areas worth seeing.
–Bowman Bay and Rosario Beach walking trail — these family-friendly walks are some of our favourites in the entire area and you’ll get beautiful views of the Deception Pass bridge from the Lottie Bay/Lighthouse Point area.
–Deception Pass Bridge — such amazing views from here!
–Cranberry Lake — another beautiful spot in the Deception Pass park. A wonderful swimming spot just off the beach.
–Ebey’s Landing walking trail and beach, Whidbey Island (see photos above) — a wonderful family-friendly walk with vast stretches of coastline and beach views.
–Fort Casey, Whidbey Island — we visit Fort Casey every summer and our kids never tire of exploring and climbing on the fort’s bunkers. We also love spending time on the beach just below — a great spot for finding agates and driftwood!
THE SKAGIT VALLEY (Mount Vernon & Fir Island): I grew up here in the Skagit Valley, just down the road from Snowgoose Produce. Skagit Valley is known for its farmlands and local produce. Driving around the back roads you’ll discover many fruit stalls selling seasonal fruit and berries. (You would drive through this area on your way out to the San Juan Islands or Deception Pass.)
–Snowgoose Produce — Our favourite fruit and veg stall selling local and organic produce. Also speciality ice cream cones the size of your head!
–Roozengaarde Flower Farm — a shameless plug of my father’s flower farm… but really it’s the most beautiful place to visit when the tulips are in bloom (in late March/early April), and a great place to have a picnic if you’re in the area.
–LaConner Flats — pretty gardens with beautiful flowers, fruit trees and berry bushes. Some goats too.
ANACORTES (en route to the San Juan Islands): To access the San Juan Islands, you’ll take a ferry from Anacortes. We don’t usually spend much time in this little town, so I don’t know it very well. But the Donut House is a must-stop on your way to the ferry terminal!
The Donut House — serves traditional, old-school donuts that are seriously delicious. I literally dream about these donuts all year long. My mouth waters just thinking about them now. The maple bars! Best enjoyed on a ferry boat in the middle of the San Juan Islands. : )
SAN JUAN ISLANDS: No trip to Washington State would be complete without a visit to the San Juans. The ferry trip alone is such an iconic experience. There are four major islands in the San Juans with ferry access: San Juan Island, Lopez Island, Shaw Island and Orcas Island. You can read more about the different islands here.
-San Juan is always a tourist destination with its charming seaside town of Friday Harbour.
-My family’s little island is located just off Lopez Island, so we spend most of our time on Lopez and love that friendly little island. Lopez Village has become such a cute little destination in the last few years with wonderful cafes, shops and a great organic food shop, which makes grocery shopping a treat!
LUMMI ISLAND: A small island in the Puget Sound off of Bellingham. I have actually never been, but have heard such wonderful things about The Willows Inn — an award-winning restaurant and charming hotel. Several friends and family members have stayed here and give it two thumbs up.
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND: A 35-minute ferry ride from downtown Seattle. My family has a few beach cabins on the beach here, which have been in my family since my great grandparents’ discovered this pretty spot. I grew up spending my summer holidays running up and down that rocky beach and swimming in the freezing waters. (See the Bainbridge Island Visitor’s Guide for more info on things to do on the island.)
–Via Rosa Italian deli — A wonderful must-visit Italian kitchen and restaurant serving proper pizzas and delicious take-away foods.
–Mora ice creamery — Our favourite place to grab ice cream on the island.
-Town & Country Market grocery store —
–Eagle Harbor Book Co. — A charming local bookstore with a wonderful children’s section. On a rainy day, we come here!
–Churchmouse Yarns — A little yarn shop in the centre of town — a perfect place to pick up yarns for beach crafting, weaving or knitting projects.
-Farmers Market every Saturday in the Town Square/City Hall —
SEATTLE: Hopefully some day I can write up a separate guide with our favourite places in Seattle, but for now here is a quick list of places we love in this pretty city…
Restaurants:
–Oddfellows: Favourite breakfast spot in Capitol Hill. That entire street is so cute with a great bookshop next door and good shops too. One of my favorite shops, Totokaelo, is on this street.
–Walrus and the Carpenter in Ballard — so cute! great place to eat fresh oysters.
–Bar Melusine in Capitol Hill — another great place for oysters.
–Essex and Delancey — Essex is the bar and Delancey is the neighbouring sister pizza restaurant. Grab a drink while you wait for your table!
–Revel –Korean street food
–Le Pichet in the Pike Place Neighbourhood
–Matts in the Market in Pike Place Market
–Volunteer Park Cafe just outside Volunteer Park
Shops:
–Glasswing Shop in Capitol Hill
–Totokaelo — in Capitol Hill (next to Oddfellows Restaurant)
–Elliot Bay Bookstore — (next to Totokaelo above)
–Barneys in downtown Seattle
–Les Amis in Fremont
And some other favourite things to do in Seattle:
-Volunteer Park Conservatory – This is in Volunteer Park and totally worth going to. You can walk up the water tower and see a beautiful view of the city. If you don’t have time to visit Volunteer Park Cafe for a meal you can always go for a pastry and coffee.
-Discovery Park – You can walk around in the woods or down by the beach.
-On a Sunday, the Fremont and Ballard farmer’s markets are awesome.
-Pike Place Market is a classic tourist spot, but a good one.
-On a hot, sunny day, it’s fun to go to the little toddler pool in Green Lake where there will be lots of families and children to play with.
I lived in the PNW for 7 years and it really is one of the most gorgeous places you can see.I agree with you, 100%. We lived in Bend OR and our little one was born there. I have myself a little pacific north-westerner here. The landscapes in the area are so beautiful and dramatic. So so pretty. And cities are incredibly cool, packed with good restaurants, awesome shopping and very kind people. I have lived in a few different places in the US but for sure the PNW is one of my favorite areas in the country. Awesome photos, Courtney.
Thanks so much for this Courtney! My husband and I are right in the middle of planning a trip from Northern California (where we have family friends) up the coast to Seattle and on to Vancouver and the rest of Canada, so this is perfect timing. Really appreciate you taking the time to set this out. Love, Jess in London
Oh that sounds like such a wonderful trip! I’m so happy my tips are helpful. A bit random, but hopefully you can piece things together. 🙂 x
It looks so beautiful and calm. What made you prefer far Australia?
Love seeing your photos from your WA travels. My husband, I and our 2 young children live in West Seattle. I grew up in Washington for the most part (Wenatchee and Bellingham for college…eventually settling in West Seattle). We vacation every summer on San Juan island renting a family house and highly recommend staying near Roche Harbor. I know San Juan Island better than the others…we love the Lavendar farm, alpaca farm, Saturday farmers market, and exploring the islands by kayak (whether you own or rent) it is a beautiful way to see the coastline of them! Thanks again for sharing! I love reading about your adventures and dream of visiting Australia one day.
I’m saving this for next time! We moved to Montana from the east coast just about a year ago and we’re loving exploring the great northwest. Lopez was one of my favorite stops during our roadtrip last fall–we camped on the beach and helped pick grapes at the vineyard. Such bliss!
Dear Courtney and family. We’ve been following your adventures around the world… and after a little while packed our bags ourselves and spent 12 months on the road with our two girls. On the way, we also stopped in the beautiful Washington State which is very dear to you – as we understood reading your blog post about it. Thanks for mentioning your favourite places, which we managed to explore (or at least some of them). We published all about our adventures in the PNW two days ago. If you are interested, here’s the link: https://myblueberryhouse.com/2018/08/23/a-taste-of-washingtons-diversity/ Thanks again for sharing your experiences – and good luck with the renovation of your new home in Australia. We keep following 🙂
Oh my gosh, what beautiful photos of your time in Washington State! It makes me feel so nostalgic to see photos of that beautiful corner of the world and some of our very favourite spots. The donuts! The San Juan Islands! Deception Pass! Thanks so much for sharing this link with me an for your kind comment. x
So happy to hear that you like our pictures of our time in Washington State – and getting back to us. Hope that the renovations of your house go well and that life in Australia gives you all the things you were hoping for. x