Olympic Peninsula
The dramatic promontory known as Cape Flattery is the most northwesterly point in the lower 48 states. From the four observation points atop the wild,…
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Olympic Peninsula & Washington Coast
The Olympic Peninsula is an unblemished wilderness of the highest order, with an interior that brings to mind a unicorn fantasy novel and an end-of-the-continent coastline that makes Big Sur look positively calm. Then there's the precipitation. While Seattleites whine about a little winter drizzle, the Hoh Rain Forest is drowning in up to 200in of rain a year. There's an upside to all this water, of course: it's green here, a thousand verdant shades of it, if you stare hard enough. And it's virgin, too. Untouched in over a millennium are sapphire lakes, rarely climbed mountains, and ancient cedar and spruce trees older than most of Europe's medieval castles. It took a lucrative series of vampire novels to put the Olympic Peninsula on the world's radar, but Twilight is only 1% of what this wild, fog-shrouded landmass is about.
Attractions
Must-see attractions
Vancouver National Historic Reserve
Washington Coast
Situated within easy walking distance of the city center is Vancouver's most important historical monument, and also one of the most important statewide…
Olympic Peninsula
Hosted by the Makah Indian Reservation, this museum displays artifacts from one of North America's most significant archaeological finds and is reason…
Washington Coast
At this reconstructed fort, park rangers and actors in period costume skillfully summon the era from 1825 to 1845, when it served as headquarters of the…
Cape Disappointment State Park
Washington Coast
Cape Disappointment State Park (2 miles southwest of Ilwaco) is home to wild beaches, sea-smashed cliffs, the remains of Fort Canby and 8 miles of…
Washington Coast
This small but thorough museum draws kids and adults alike into hands-on displays about local animals and ecosystems, industries, cultures and treasures…
Olympic Peninsula & Washington Coast
Olympia's capitol complex is set in a 30-acre park overlooking Capitol Lake with the Olympic Mountains glistening in the background. The campus' crowning…
Olympic Peninsula
Declared a national monument in 1909 and a national park in 1938, the 1406-sq-mile Olympic National Park shelters one of the world's few temperate…
Articles
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Art
Viva vinyl in Seattle: finding Emerald City’s music through its record storesAug 15, 2014 • 6 min read
Guidebooks
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