There’s a lot going on in western Washington, so when my sister, Jennie, and her husband, Cory, asked if they could come visit and get a good variety of city and nature exploring, we knew we had a challenge on our hands! Below we outline our best idea for getting in a variety filled weekend in western Washington!
On Friday, Jennie and Cory explored the heart of Seattle by foot while we were at work. We will be doing the same in a couple weekends, so stay tuned for a more specific downtown Seattle post! We took the Bainbridge Island ferry over after work that night and met them for a seafood dinner on the water at Ivar’s Acres of Clams. It is anywhere from a 25-35-minute drive from Silverdale. The Bainbridge ferry terminal is pretty congested, so we parked our car in their public lot for $6. The Bainbridge ride takes about 35 minutes to downtown, but it is free for foot passengers when you’re headed eastbound! When you are exiting the Seattle Ferry terminal, you can take a left and Ivar’s will be 1.5 blocks down the sidewalk. If you can, make a reservation because this is a hoppin’ place during peak hours! It’s on the expensive side, but not ridiculous for good seafood with a view of Puget Sound! Some of our favorite dishes were the clam chowder and Pier 54 Cioppino (a big bowl filled with a great variety of seafood). We were able to sit right on the water here and watch the beautiful sunset!
View of downtown Seattle from the Bainbridge ferry.
Ivar’s Acres of Clams
View of downtown Seattle from the Bainbridge ferry.
Ivar’s Acres of Clams
Sunset off Ivar’s deck!
The Pier 54 Cioppino!
Sunset off Ivar’s deck!
The Pier 54 Cioppino!
After dinner, we snagged an Uber up to Capitol Hill, a lively nightlife area of Seattle. Of course, our first stop was an ice cream shop! We hit Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream, an organic ice cream shop, before starting our bar hopping ventures. It was busier than a lot of the bars, but do not fret, their line moves quickly. As we glided across every rainbow crosswalk in Capitol Hill, we began to feel overwhelmed by the number of bars/restaurants. Olive Way is a street with several establishments, so this a great spot to bar hop. This weekend our favorite in this area was Hula Hula because they had a cool volcano bowl drink with a burning flame, constant karaoke going on in the background, and a fun Hawaiian vibe! We also stopped by Pine Box, a former mortuary, and Mezcaleria Oaxaca, a Mexican bar with a nice rooftop. After these, we headed back to the Bainbridge ferry terminal to catch the second to last ferry of the night a little after midnight as we knew it was going to be an early morning. The price to come back on foot was $8.25 per person.
Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream in Capitol Hill.
Flaming Volcano drink at Hula Hula!
Night time view of downtown Seattle from the Bainbridge ferry.
Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream in Capitol Hill.
Flaming Volcano drink at Hula Hula!
Night time view of downtown Seattle from the Bainbridge ferry.
On Saturday morning, we drove up for ~2 hours to the northern part of Olympic National Park. We parked in the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center parking lot after a steep climb and stopped in the visitor center for a bathroom break and a look at a cool topographical map of the entire Olympic Peninsula. For those who do not know, Hurricane Ridge has probably one of the best maintained paved roads up to their two-story visitor center, so it is extremely popular. Be prepared for a more congested hike than other spots on the peninsula. From this parking lot, we started on the Big Meadows Trail, then took a right on the Cirque Rim Trail, then took a left on the High Ridge Trail, up to a lookout at Sunrise Point. At this lookout you can see over the Juan de Fuca strait to Canada! We made a U-turn at this point and hiked back to the Klahhane Ridge junction where we took a left slightly down the hill. We hiked the Klahhane Ridge Trail for a little under three miles before finding a good spot to stop and eat lunch with a view! Our total hike on this ridge was 6.2 miles and it was nice because there was a good mix of up and down elevation the entire time instead of the usual up all the way to a summit and then back down. There are several trails in this Hurricane Ridge area, so you can make your hike as long or short as you’d like! We chose this distance in the interest of time, so we could fit more in our day! If you get there after noon or 1:00 p.m., be prepared to sit in your car for a time while they single file everyone through the park entrance station. When we left the park, there was a line of cars for ~one mile.
Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center with a view!
Topographical map of the Olympic Peninsula.
The trails you can access from the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center Parking Lot.
Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center with a view!
Topographical map of the Olympic Peninsula.
The trails you can access from the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center Parking Lot.
Sunrise Point – That’s Canada in the background!
Lunch with a view!
Found some mountain goats!
Sunrise Point – That’s Canada in the background!
Lunch with a view!
Found some mountain goats!
Another mountain goat coming right at us!
Klahhane Ridge Trail
Another mountain goat coming right at us!
Klahhane Ridge Trail
From here, we drove a quarter mile to the Marymere Falls Trailhead Parking Lot. The Marymere Falls Trail is an easy, 2.2-mile round trip hike through green forest to a pretty waterfall. There is another hike that veers off this trail, Mount Storm King, which sounds like a great challenging hike, but we didn’t have time for this one.
Marymere Falls
We wanted to squeeze in a few other things on this night, so we hit the road back east. We stopped in Port Gamble to break up our ride a little bit and check out the cute, white picket fence town, that as Jennie puts it, “looks like a movie should be shot there.” From here, we drove up to Point No Point recreation area where we walked the beach and were able to get a faint view of Mount Rainier.
Sunset at Point No point
We finished our day at Silver City Restaurant & Brewery in Silverdale. This was our second time at this restaurant and we liked it again! They have solid beer, food (including gluten-free), and desserts. We became loyalty members here (which is free to sign up) and now we get frequent deals, so we will probably be back!
On Sunday morning, our first stop was Sluys, a bakery in downtown Poulsbo. They advertise having gluten-free options, but on the day we went, they only had two options. For those who eat gluten, there a plenty of delicious goodies to choose from! We all grabbed a treat and walked down to the waterfront to enjoy it. From here, we drove to downtown Bainbridge where we rented tandem kayaks through Exotic Aquatics. We parked on Brien Drive in a two-hour parking spot and were able to walk down to the dock where Exotic Aquatics stores their kayaks. On the weekends, Exotic Aquatics is pretty busy, so we recommend booking ahead online. We got lucky and grabbed a two-hour rental which was plenty of time for us to kayak to the edge of the harbor for a great view of the downtown Seattle skyline (until a cloud erased it for a while) and meander the entirety of Eagle Harbor. We saw some cool boats, nice houses, and found a seal which we named Fred! He hung out with us for a while, we think expecting to be fed. If you do not care for kayaking fun and love wine/liquor, Bainbridge Island has numerous wineries and distilleries to visit.
Exotic Aquatics Kayak and SUP Rentals on Bainbridge Island
Exotic Aquatics Dock
Exotic Aquatics Kayak and SUP Rentals on Bainbridge Island
Exotic Aquatics Dock
Kayaking Eagle Harbor with a view of downtown Seattle!
What’s up, seal?!!
Kayaking Eagle Harbor with a view of downtown Seattle!
What’s up, seal?!!
Kayaking helped us work up our own appetite for an awesome lunch at the Harbour Public House. This is a restaurant in Bainbridge right on the water where you must be 21+ to enter. We highly recommend waiting for a table on the deck with their giant umbrella! From here, you get a great view of the marina and downtown Seattle! They have good breakfast, seafood, and summer drinks menu here. We don’t think you can go wrong with any choice.
Harbour Public House
Local things at the Harbour Public House
The inside of the renovated historical house on the water.
Harbour Public House
Local things at the Harbour Public House
The inside of the renovated historical house on the water.
Menu filled with local pub grub!
View of the marina and downtown Seattle from the Harbour Public House deck!
Menu filled with local pub grub!
View of the marina and downtown Seattle from the Harbour Public House deck!
After lunch, we walked a few blocks up the hill to Winslow Street and of course, Mora Iced Creamery. This is the best ice cream place we’ve been to in a while! It’s a little pricey, but very quality ice cream. We then perused the rest of the shops on Winslow before sending Jennie and Cory off on the ferry back to Seattle to catch their flight back to Minnesota.
Cute waterfront sidewalk near the Harbour Public House.
Mora Iced Creamery
Exploring Bainbridge Island
Cute waterfront sidewalk near the Harbour Public House.
Mora Iced Creamery
Exploring Bainbridge Island
This was a whirlwind weekend, but we hope we gave you some ideas for a variety filled western Washington adventure!