Things To Do
Some of our Tacoma Favorites
Parkway Tavern: Great casual neighborhood pub with beer, cider, and snacks. https://www.parkwaytavern.com/ Hank's Pizza and Beer: Another awesome low-key neighborhood bar with, you guessed it, pizza and beer. (They also have other food). https://www.hankstacoma.com/ Macaluso's Italian Restaurant (On the way to the zoo, if you're going!) https://macalusositalianrestaurant.com/ Pt. Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (Also Pt. Defiance is a public park, great trails for walking, flower garden!) https://www.pdza.org/ El Gaucho: Upscale, old-school steakhouse, has a live piano player, incredible food and cocktails. Romantic! https://elgaucho.com/tacoma/ En Rama: Intimate, great little restaurant in the old post office building. Our first date was here! Excellent whiskey sours. https://www.enramatacoma.com/ Netshed Number 9: Across the bridge in Gig Harbor: Great brunch! https://www.netshed9.com/ Tides Tavern in Gig Harbor Great place to have lunch and a beer. https://tidestavern.com/
Take the water taxi to West Seattle!
If you're in downtown Seattle, one of Megan's FAVORITE trips is to take the water taxi from Pier 50 to West Seattle / Alki Beach. It gives you stunning views of downtown Seattle from the water and is only $5 to ride! Once you arrive at the West Seattle dock, there is an awesome little restaurant called Marination Mai Kai for a quick bite or drinks. From here, I recommend renting a bike or scooter and cruising down to Alki Beach. Tons of restaurants and fun things to check out. You have arguably the best view of Seattle from Alki Beach!
Ballard (Hiram M. Chittenden) Locks
If you’re visiting Seattle, take a trip to the lovely neighborhood of Ballard and visit the locks! We highly recommend doing this! You might be thinking “big deal…” but the locks are “the busiest locking system in the nation”. You’ll get to see big and little boats pass through and see the locks in live action up close. It’s a Megan AND Slater beloved pastime :) The locks have a beautiful park you can walk around in, as well as walking across the locks to the Fish Ladder, where you might be able to see salmon traveling to spawn (they begin in mid-June). There is a whole viewing space to see them up close underwater. There are also plenty of seals hanging around during this time for snacks. Sunday is a great day to visit Ballard because they have an awesome farmer’s market with delicious food, as well as a vintage market you can shop around.
Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park is a beautiful place to visit. You'll need a car to get there (about 2 hours north of Seattle). Lots of people stay in Port Angeles, WA, and make their way into the park. The park has mountains, a rainforest, and the coast! Some wonderful hikes to look up: -Rialto Beach / Hole in Wall: amazing rock formations but it's really a walk on the beach, and make sure you go during low tide to access the rocks! -Hoh Rainforest / Hall of Mosses -Sol Duc Falls -Marymere Falls -Hurricane Hill via Hurricane Ridge -Mt. Storm King: amazing hike, but a little challenging! Klaloch Lodge has both a motel and oceanfront cabins- Meg has stayed here and loved it. https://www.thekalalochlodge.com/ Also, amazing beaches with tidepools: (if you get the timing right!) Kalaloch's Beach 4 Mora's Hole in the Wall Second Beach, Third Beach, and Ruby Beach https://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/tidepool-activities.htm
Port Angeles Ferry to Victoria, British Columbia
If you're visiting Port Angeles, a great day trip you can take is to walk on the ferry for a 90 minute ride through the scenic Olympic Peninsula to Victoria, BC. You will need your passport! Victoria is a super cute town, great for a day trip or overnight, don't need a car if you stay near the ferry terminal (lots of options!) Great food, they serve high tea, and lots of history. Bonus: they do incredible whale watching tours out of Victoria! https://princeofwhales.com/victoria-whale-watching/
Mt. Rainier National Park
Mt. Rainier will still have snow in June because of the elevation, but there are lots of excellent smaller trails and hikes you can do with beautiful views. Honestly, just driving through the park is breathtaking and worth the sights! There are also a lot of cute towns on the way to the park you can stay near- Ashford, Enumclaw, Elbe. The area is pretty remote but great for a cabin getaway.