Skip to content

The 12 Best Northwest Vacations

No matter your pleasure, there's a PNW escape for you.

By Seattle Magazine Staff May 17, 2017

Vacations-landing-good

Staycations are all well and good. And that three-day weekend? It can offer the quick recharge you need.

But there are times when life calls for a real vacation—the kind that stretches to a week or even longer. This kind of getaway calls for a destination with a lot to offer: space for solitude, room to gather with family and friends, and recreation that’s right at hand. Luckily for us, nearly every corner of our state (and region) offers a paid-time-off worthy destination—maybe even one we return to year after year.

So, stretch out and join us as we visit some of our region’s best vacation destinations.

Roche Harbor Resort on San Juan Island

Nantucket Meets Northwest in Seabrook

Whistler Recreation Amps Up for Summer

Beyond the Brats, Leavenworth is a Gateway to the Outdoors

Amenity-Rich Suncadia Offers Vacation Perks Close to Home

Near Bend, Three All-Encompassing Communities Lure Vacationers

Tofino is a Cozy Surf Town With a Stellar Food Scene

The Columbia Gorge is Filled With Wine and Waterfalls

Explore the ‘Alps of the Northwest’ From Joseph, Oregon

Find a Soulful Retreat Near Lake Chelan

Play Lighthouse Keeper for a Week at Dungeness Spit Lighthouse

Cannon Beach is a Classic Oregon Beach Town

 

Follow Us

The Rise of the Experience Economy

The Rise of the Experience Economy

REI brings back guided travel, betting that memories matter more than stuff.

In my household, with two young boys under the age of five, we often have to remind them to take things back. Did you really mean to tell dad that his dinner isn’t good? You might want to take that back. Did your brother deserve to be hit? Let’s rethink that one. Extreme analogies aside,…

Bellevue Is Treating Accessibility Like Infrastructure

Bellevue Is Treating Accessibility Like Infrastructure

A partnership with Wheel the World makes it easier to plan travel with verified details.

For a lot of people, the hardest part of travel planning isn’t arranging flights or booking a hotel. It’s figuring out whether a place will actually work for your needs once you get there. Bellevue has partnered with Wheel the World, a travel platform used worldwide, to verify accessibility details for hotels, attractions, restaurants, and…

Northwest Enters Winter After Warmest Fall on Record

Northwest Enters Winter After Warmest Fall on Record

Unseasonably high temperatures and rain instead of snow have pushed regional snowpack to record lows for this point in the season.

Across the Northwest, a record-warm fall and lack of snowpack going into the winter is putting more drought pressure on Oregon, Idaho, Washington and western Montana. Despite record rain in western Washington recently, and earlier this year in central and southern Oregon, the showers are filling up already overdrawn reservoirs in many areas, scientists said…

Renew Yourself in Bellingham, Washington
Sponsored

Renew Yourself in Bellingham, Washington

Images courtesy of Visit Bellingham Unwind and reset in 2026 with a trip to peaceful Bellingham, Washington. Located between the stunning Cascade Mountains and the tranquil Salish Sea, there’s no better place for a trip packed with quiet moments in nature combined with the amenities of a culturally rich college town. Bellingham is known for…