🌲 Washington

About Washington

🏛 Space Needle, Seattle

Washington State is America's Pacific Northwest at its finest — a state of extraordinary ecological and geographical diversity that encompasses temperate rainforest, volcanic alpine wilderness, Columbia Plateau desert, and 3,000 miles of inland saltwater coastline in the Puget Sound, all within a few hours of each other. Its largest city, Seattle, has produced more world-defining companies per capita (Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing, Starbucks, Nordstrom, Expedia) than perhaps any other American city of its size, and that innovation culture has shaped a city of genuine international sophistication.

Seattle sits on a narrow isthmus between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, with Mount Rainier's 14,411-foot volcanic cone dominating the southeastern skyline on clear days — a view of rare dramatic power from a city center. Pike Place Market, established in 1907 and the oldest continuously operated farmers market in the US, sprawls across several levels above the waterfront — the original Starbucks store (still operating, always with a queue) is here, as are the famous fish-throwers, florists, craftspeople, and some of Seattle's finest dining establishments. The Space Needle, built for the 1962 World's Fair, offers 360-degree views from its 520-foot observation deck. Chihuly Garden and Glass, adjacent to the Needle, is one of the most beautiful dedicated exhibitions of a living American artist's work anywhere in the country.

Olympic National Park, on the Olympic Peninsula west of Seattle, is one of the most ecologically diverse national parks in the system — three distinct ecosystems within a single park boundary: the Hoh Rain Forest (one of only four temperate rainforests in the world), the alpine wilderness of the Olympic Mountains (rising to 7,980 feet with 60+ active glaciers), and 73 miles of wild Pacific Coast (one of the longest wilderness coastlines in the lower 48). Hurricane Ridge, accessible by road, offers year-round mountain views and skiing in winter. The Hoh Rain Forest's Hall of Mosses — ancient maple trees draped in luminous green moss in a cathedral-like space — is one of the most otherworldly landscapes in the American Northwest.

Mount Rainier National Park, a 2-hour drive from Seattle, centers on an active stratovolcano with more glacial ice than any other peak in the contiguous United States outside Alaska. The 93-mile Wonderland Trail circumnavigating the mountain is one of America's finest long-distance hikes. North Cascades National Park, the most rugged and least visited of the three Washington parks, protects 300+ glaciers in a wilderness of jaw-dropping alpine grandeur. The Columbia River Gorge, on the Oregon border, is a National Scenic Area with 90+ waterfalls within an hour's drive of Portland.

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