Living in Seattle gives you access to almost any outdoor recreation you can think of from camping and hiking to kayaking and rock climbing. In addition, the city of Seattle has much to offer from shopping at the historic Pike Place Market to running around Green Lake.
Great alpine and cross-country skiing is easily accessible from Seattle. Crystal Mountain has over 3,000 vertical feet of skiing with amazing views of Mount Ranier. For the more adventuresome, Whistler/ Blackcomb in British Columbia is only four hours from Seattle. This massive resort has some of the best skiing in North America with over 8,000 acres of skiable terrain and more than 5,000 vertical feet of skiing. Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens national parks are a short distance from Seattle. Numerous trails and campgrounds abound in these parks and throughout the Pacific Northwest. You can take the ferry from Seattle across Puget Sound to the Olympic Peninsula. The Olympic National Park contains over 922,000 acres of protected alpine, rain-forest, and ocean-coast lands separating the Puget Sound basin from the Pacific Ocean. The numerous trails take you through rain forests, along the coast, and up inspiring peaks and ridge top meadows.
The city of Seattle is built on seven hills, each providing a unique flavor and atmosphere. The individual neighborhoods offer different opportunities for dining, shopping, artistic, and cultural experiences. There are many attractions in downtown Seattle. Pike Place Market is one of the oldest markets in the country. The market offers locally grown fruits and vegetables, seafood, crafts, and many other products. Along the waterfront, the Seattle Aquarium features over 200 fish native to Puget Sound. At the northern end of downtown is the Seattle Center, home to the 1962 World's Fair. Here you can go up the Space Needle to see some of the best views of the city. The Woodland Park Zoo is an award-winning zoo hailed for its naturalistic habitats for animals. This 92-acre park houses almost 300 animal species.
Seattle has many sports teams including the Seahawks, the Mariners, and the Sounders. Qwest field, home to the Seahawks, and Safeco Field, home to the Mariners, are both located downtown and offer breathtaking views of downtown Seattle and of the Puget sound.
Seattle Highlights
- City of Seattle
- Seattle Aquarium
- Seattle Center
- Seattle Public Library
- Pike Place Market
- Woodland Park Zoo
- Seattle Opera
- Benaroya Hall
- Seattle International Film Festival
- Bumbershoot
- Seafair
Outdoor Recreation
- Washington State Tourism
- Olympic National Park
- Mt. Rainier National Park
- Mt. St. Helens National Park
- Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Park
- State Parks
- WA Trails