Pacific Northwest Vacations | Washington Coast Islands Puget Sound Travel Guide

Washington Coast, Puget Sound, and Islands

The Washington Coast builds in magnificence as you travel through sheltered bays and protected wetlands up to the glaciated Olympic National Park. Filled with the largest Cedar, Fir and Pine on record, this temperate rainforest feels like the edge of the world, but also comforts backpackers with rustic lodges and hot springs. To understand this mighty peninsula and the nearby San Juan Archipelago and Puget Sound, you have to picture glaciers in place of the ocean, carving out fjords and creating a sailors paradise.

A network of ferries wind through the Straight of Juan de Fuca connecting Seattle, Port Angeles, Victoria, the San Juan Islands and Bellingham. Exploring these passages takes all the stress out of traveling and offers easy access to the restaurants, wineries, sea kayaking and whale watching that is found in the area. And although the border between Canada and the U.S. may get a little blurry in these waters, you'll find the character to be distinctly Pacific Northwest.