6 Gorgeous Fall Road Trips in the Pacific Northwest
Gas up the Subaru and hit the road on these epic Northwest adventures.
By Virginia Smyth October 2, 2017
This article originally appeared in the October 2017 issue of Seattle magazine.
I was 9 years old when my family embarked on our first road trip. It was epic. Thirty-three days, 19 states, 8,564 miles—and more national monuments and parks than I can remember. If there was a theme to that road trip, it was surely natural wonders. Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Monument Valley, Pike’s Peak, Craters of the Moon, the redwood forest—we saw it all and much more.
If you’re ready for your own road trip, we’ve done the planning for you. Whether you yearn to discover Washington’s natural wonders or want to build a trip around a passion—like small-town bookstores or vintage finds—these six itineraries will help you find your way.
Experience the Splendor of Western Washington’s Most Gorgeous Sights in 6 Days
Find Hot Springs, Hidden Waterfalls and More Off This Stretch of Central Oregon Highway
The Breathtaking Scenery (and Exceptional Wine) of British Columbia
The Perfectly Nostalgic Journey From Seattle to Sequim
Take a Northwest-Style Safari on the Olympic Peninsula
Some of Washington’s Best Indie Bookstores Require a Ferry to Get to
Road Trip Snacks Are Not to be Taken Lightly. Here’s What We’re Packing
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A New Place to Ice Skate by the Water
Hyatt Regency Lake Washington’s dockside rink offers lake views and eco-friendly synthetic ice.
Skating season has officially arrived. There’s a particular joy in gliding—or trying to—on cold days. I always go for the outdoor rinks, especially the ones strung with twinkling lights. It can be so romantic. And this year, there’s a new place to lace up. A 71-foot by 38-foot covered Glice rink is up and running…
Bergen: Finding a Home, Abroad
A trip across western Norway reveals strikingly Northwest sensibilities.
A few months ago, we randomly walked into Wallingford’s Fat Cat Records. Greeting us, face-out by the cash register, was not Nirvana, not Soundgarden, but Peer Gynt Suite, by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. Was this a Norse omen, a mischievous prank from Loki? For us, two Seattleites with a trip to Norway on the…
Hives Among the Headstones
Inside a north Seattle project reimagining cemeteries as sanctuaries for pollinators.
In many old stories, bees are more than just insects. They’re messengers—tiny intermediaries between the living and the dead. There was once even a custom in Europe and America known as “telling the bees:” When a family member died, or another significant life event occurred, someone would go to the hive to share the news….
Dispatches from Greenland, Part Two: Nuuk
An insider’s guide to Greenland’s mysterious, overlooked, and charming capital.
Greenland is too vast to take in all at once. Yet a few days in Nuuk—the island’s compact, curious capital, just a four-hour flight from Newark—offer a surprisingly complete portrait. Nuuk changes like the weather that shapes it: by turns wild and polished; intimate and bold. To Northerners, it feels as hectic as Manhattan; to…