FlightCancelled

Following the *A business sale today, I have an upcoming MR to Seattle in just two weeks where I was able to get almost 40 hours before returning back home. I have a 350 USD certificate with United available which expires in not too long, and I am considering just taking a day trip by air to some other city (maybe San Fransisco, who knows). Would really appreciate advise, as I have never been to the west coast before. Visiting Everett is maybe another option, though after browsing some I think that would require a rental car? Same goes with visiting the the city of Snoqualmie (where Twin Peaks was shot). Not really too interested in having to rent a car.

Would appreciate tips and advice if anyone has!

Gardyloo

Both the Boeing plant and Snoqualmie Falls (site of the "Great Northern" hotel in Twin Peaks, other scenes were shot in North Bend, not Snoqualmie) really require a car, so if the car's out your best bet is probably to stay in town. However, there's still plenty to do.

You can visit the Pike Place market, the US' oldest continuously running farmers market, or ride a ferry to Bainbridge Island or the water taxi to West Seattle (great restaurant on the W. Seattle dock - Marination Ma Kai). Work off the food by walking out to Alki Beach, with views of the Olympic mountains and passing ferries.



Or visit the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field - accessible by easy bus ride. (The MoF IMO is in second place only to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in the US.)

Eat great food, go to a baseball game at Safeco Field, right downtown, visit galleries and museums, take a very fun boat tour out into the bay and back through the Ballard locks to Lake Union with its houseboats. (Ballard, by the way, has a very rich Scandinavian history, as does all of Seattle.)

Lots of things to do without a car. With a car, however, the sky's the limit.

EmailKid

I've done SEA with a car and without. I like it with car better, and you can get pretty good rates.

With a car you can drive to Olympic National Park and do some hiking.

You can also do a day trip to Victoria, British Columbia via Victoria Clipper. That is rather enjoyable, though a LOT of time on a boat if only a day trip.

But agree, PLENTY to do in Seattle. Look for things to do in Seattle thread in this forum.

lonelycrowd

These aren't the places that most Seattlites would expect a first time visitor with a tight schedule to prioritize, but I completely understand wanting to get off the beaten path and see some places off the tourist trail!

There are definitely public transportation options to get to both locations. The train and bus network in the Seattle area is not up to Scandinavian standards, but options are decent for an American city. It's possible to take an Amtrak train to Everett in the morning and catch a "Sounder" commuter rail train back on weekday afternoons if you're looking to walk around downtown Everett. You could probably use Uber to get to the Boeing factory tour if you were so inclined. There's also a tour operator offering to pick you up from downtown for $59, if so inclined.

As for Snoqualmie, it's accessible by bus from downtown Seattle via Sound Transit bus #554, connecting to King County Metro bus #208. Here is a timetable showing how you could leave downtown (on a weekday) at 8:39am and get to the center of Snoqualmie by 9:54am. I'm pretty sure that bus actually stops at the waterfall if you're interested. Note that you would need to transfer between buses at the Issaquah transit center; tell the driver of the first bus where you're going and they would probably be happy to make sure you find the second one. You'd stay on the bus a little longer if you want to get to North Bend, where the series was actually filmed, and you should get some nice scenery along the way.

Let us know if you successfully make either trip!