Submitted by Superb-Film-594 t3_11e6qyy in Washington
Hi there, friendly Wisconsinite here.
My wife and I are going to visit some friends in Gig Harbor in about 2 weeks. We all decided to rent a place in Port Angeles and will be checking out some things in the surrounding area for the weekend. But our friends will be going back to work for the last bit of our trip, so we have like a day and a half to ourselves (and 2 nights). We'd really like to do a little more exploring, as we don't often get a chance to travel. Given the time of year, I know that Mount Rainier and the surrounding area requires snow chains. Are there other areas like this as well?
Since that's not really an option for our rental vehicle, I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions for cool sightseeing (lakes, waterfalls etc.), that wouldn't take us further than 1-2 hours from Seattle? We fly out at 9:20am our last day, so we wouldn't want to have too long of a drive back to the airport that morning. We like hiking, and wouldn't mind putting on some miles if the weather is accommodating.
This time of year, is it safer to stay near the coast, or is it fairly mild away from the mountains? Here's some places that seem appealing to us:
Mount Si
Snoqualmie
Mount Pilchuck
Lake 22
Rattlesnake Ledge
We appreciate any suggestions offered. FYI, we have already visited the San Juan Islands, which we love, but would like to try somewhere new. Thanks!
mobleyd t1_jacxhup wrote
You can walk on the ferry to Victoria, BC and spend the day there before catching a return ferry.