Seattle day trips

Hiking near Seattle

By Julian Smith

Set between lush mountains and island-dotted Puget Sound, America's Emerald City anchors the northwest corner of the country. As the gateway to western Canada and starting point for cruises to Alaska, Seattle sees plenty of traffic. For cruise passengers, it's the perfect opportunity to spend a day or two exploring the varied neighborhoods and wealth of outdoor activities around this distinctive port city.

First, a word of advice: Seattle's reputation for chilly, rainy weather is well-earned, so make sure to dress in layers (including a waterproof one) from spring through fall.

Getting around in the central part of the city is easy, since downtown buses are free to ride. To visit neighborhoods farther afield, you'll most likely have to rent a car.

Start out downtown, where hilly streets descend San Francisco-like to piers with great views of Puget Sound and, on clear days, the peaks of Olympic National Park across the water. Swing by the famous Pike Place Market, one of the oldest continuously operating public farmers' markets in the country, early in the day for a cup of coffee at the original Starbucks. (Notice the original logo is a bit more risqué than today's.)

Catch the fish-tossing show at the Pike Place Fish Market, browse the crafts and produce stalls, and rub the nose of Rachel (a 600-pound bronze pig and official market mascot) for good luck. Any coins dropped into this gigantic piggy bank are put toward social programs.

Here you'll also find one of the market's lesser known attractions: more than 40 different species of insects, scorpions, centipedes and spiders at the Seattle Bug Safari. Guides tell about the interesting lifestyles of every one, and you can touch some of them if you're so inclined.

Next to the market, the Seattle Art Museum recently added 118,000 square feet of gallery space to house their unparalleled collection of African, Asian and modern art. North of downtown is the museum's new Olympic Sculpture Park, an industrial zone reborn as a grassy stage for works by Alexander Calder and other artists. The views of Puget Sound and the city skyline are outstanding.

Head down to the Seattle Aquarium at Pier 59 to see sea otters, starfish and other undersea critters. Watch divers swim through the 120,000-gallon Windows on Washington Waters exhibit in the new Puget Sound Great Hall. At Pier 54 is another great spot for ogling: Ye Olde Curiosity Shop, a novelty gift store that's full to the rafters of oddities like ship models made of matchsticks, and the Mer-Family, consisting of a mermaid, a mer-baby, and a mer-pooch named "Petri-Fido." Cruise ships dock near here, and many of the surrounding piers have been converted into restaurants, shops and even a hotel, the venerable Edgewater.

The southern end of downtown is Seattle's historic heart, known as Pioneer Square. This is where the city got its start, even as the Great Seattle Fire of 1889 burned much of it to the ground. Today Pioneer Square is full of 19th century architecture, eclectic shops and eateries. Here you can descend into the city's past on an underground history tour. Your guide will show you the roads and storefronts that were buried (and preserved) when the city was rebuilt after the fire.

For the classic Seattle vista, head uphill to the Space Needle, whose skyward swoop was built during the 1962 World's Fair. From the 520-foot observation deck you'll get a great view of most of the city as well as Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker, looming to the east. The Pacific Science Center next door has a planetarium, an IMAX theater and exhibits on everything from dinosaurs to the human body.

You can't miss the unique architecture of the Experience Music Project (EMP), designed by "starchitect" Frank Geary. Funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, the building resembles billowing sheets of colorful fabrics frozen in steel. It houses a wide-ranging collection of music memorabilia—including guitars played by Jimi Hendrix—and changing exhibits on tuneful topics like hip-hop and Latin music. The best part, though, is the hands-on sound lab, where you can try playing various instruments or pull out all the stops in soundproof studio "pods." Attached to the EMP is the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, full of costumes and props from all around the universe: Captain Kirk's command chair, Darth Vader's helmet, first editions of famous sci-fi novels and ray-guns galore. It's hard to decide which collection kids love more.

Lake Union in the center of the city is popular with kayakers in the warmer months, but you can visit the Center for Wooden Boats on its southern shore any time. Most of their floating collection of historic handcrafted sailboats and rowboats are available for rent. They also offer sailing lessons and free cruises around Lake Union on Sunday afternoons.

The lake is part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal that divides the city in half. At the canal's western end, in the Ballard neighborhood, the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks control water levels as ships pass from freshwater Lake Washington to saltwater Puget Sound. Stop by to see impressive engineering in action, along with a fish ladder for spawning salmon. Ballard itself is an increasingly popular neighborhood with plenty of hip shops, cafes and restaurants, a Sunday farmers' market and beaches on the sound at Golden Gardens Park. Next to Ballard is the offbeat neighborhood of Fremont, which bills itself as the "center of the universe" (look for the sign) and boasts the largest statue of Vladimir Lenin in the United States. It's also home to the Fremont Troll, an 18 foot-high statue of a Volkswagen-chomping troll under the Aurora Avenue bridge.

To get outside the city, consider a day drive around Mt. Rainier, the centerpiece of the national park of the same name an hour to the south. The highest peak in the Cascade Range at 14,411 feet, it is considered an active volcano, though it last erupted in the 1800s. It's popular with climbers and hikers, who wander miles of trails through virgin Northwest forest. (Seattle residents know summer's clear weather has arrived if "the mountain is out," meaning it's visible from the city.)

East of Seattle, I-90 heads through Snoqualmie Pass (3,022 feet), a hotspot for outdoor activities year-round. Four ski resorts and trails galore through the adjoining national forests await just 50 miles east of the metropolis. Another popular escape is to take the 30-minute ferry ride from the downtown piers to the berry farms of Bainbridge Island. Along the way the views of water, mountains and city can't be beat. Once you arrive you can enjoy the pastoral scenery by foot, car or bicycle, or take advantage of the flourishing local arts at a gallery or performing arts center. Tillicum Village is on another island in the sound; you can take a narrated cruise here for a Native American feast and presentation of traditional stories and dances. Or hop aboard a Kenmore Air seaplane for a scenic flight over the city and the surrounding areas. They offer a marine wildlife tour in the spring to see sea lions, bald eagles and porpoises.

Even if the weather's not cooperative, you'll find that Seattle is the kind of place that inspires locals and visitors alike—and not just in terms of caffeine consumption. Cozy up indoors or wait for the sun, and you'll probably find yourself planning a repeat visit.

Julian Smith is a science and travel writer in Portland, Oregon.