PNW Trip this Summer (Seattle, Bellevue: university, shop, buses)

[leastprime]

Core Seattle isn't very large. From the statiums/Amtrak station to Fremont ~6 miles (S-> N) and fairly flat.
West to East, from the Piers to Lake Washington about 3 miles. And work, not flat.
Can you manage a two sCooters or bRoke (lyft-Lime).

Urban hiking?

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by scocar

This is our plan. It is fairly locked in, with some flexibility:

SUN 7/31: Take the Amtrak from Portland to Seattle. Check into our Air Bnb (still looking for one) and just explore some food and beer in whatever neighborhood we end up in.

MON 8/1-THU 8/4: One day we want to ride a ferry to Bainbridge Island or the Kitsap Peninsula. One day we want to explore Seattle (Pike Street Market, MoPOP, etc). Two days for hiking, nature viewing.

We fly out early Friday morning so no time that day to do anything. I assume with this being a weekday vacation no day is better than another as far as being busy with the different places we want to visit.

What would be the best options for the most scenic hikes for fairly active, but novice hikers, that are a day trip away.

Will you be using public transit to get to hiking?

Trailhead Direct is a bus service that goes directly from Capitol Hill to the Snoqualmie Pass area which is really convenient. However, they only operate on weekends and some holidays in the summer so I don’t think it will be an option for you unless they expand their service this season.

You may still be able to get to certain areas on regular transit but be prepared for up to several hours each way. I would say you are better off going somewhere like Discovery Park which is a very large park with lots of hiking located in the city itself. And it would be easy enough for novice hikers.

If you do plan to rent a car, I’d say head over to Snoqualmie Pass. Lots of easy trails in that area like Twin Falls which I take visiting family/friends to if they aren’t experienced hikers.

WTA has a full list of Washington Trails and they’re a great resource as well:

https://www.wta.org/

[leastprime]

Hiking?
Urban Hiking?
Park setting Hiking?
Wide open space hiking?
Ebike hiking?
Transit hiking?
What do you want to do, see, experience?

[leastprime]

From South Seattle to North Seattle. Ebike/Escooter (Lime or other)
Museum of Flight, 3-5 hours. Take a Lyft to get there.
Chinatown (Amtrak Station) 1-2 hours depending if you eat.
Pioneer Square and Klondike NP 1-2 hours.
{Piers 1-2 hours.
Seattle Aquarium, 2-3 hours,
Bainbridge Ferry, 2 hours or alternatively Bremerton Ferry 3hour. Best viewing is at sunrise (very early) and sunset (very late) at this time of year.
Seattle Aquarium, 2-3 hours}
[detour to Pike Place, 2 hours. Please skip the coffee at SBux1. It's truly not worth the wait when there is better coffee everywhere else]
Pier 66-Cruise ship oogling. 30 minutes.
[Detour up to Seattle Center, Space Needle, Museum of Pop Culture, Chihuly Glass Museum]
North Piers and Cruise ship oogling.
Ballard Locks, fish ladder, and Garden.
That's about 5 miles, Flat, along the water front. Combination of walking, Ebike and Uber. 2 days.

West to East:
There is also Fremont, Wallingford, 45th street-Udub, Burke-Gilman Rails-to-trails/Sammamish River Trail for 25 miles to Issaquah, urban, suburban along the water.
At Udub/Husky stadium there is kayaking rentals. or walk across the bridge to MontLake to Seattle Arboretum, Japanese Garden (Portland's Japanese Garden is bigger and better). You can continue on west side of Lake Washington till either your legs give out or the battery on the ebike goes out.

If your are really for hike, Start at the Arboretum and hike up to InterLaken Park (there are stairs, lots of stairs) then to Volunteer Park (its a big park), Asian Museum, Cemetery, Glass Conservatory (smallish). At the other end of Volunteer Park is Capitol Hill/Broadway Ave (LGBTQ neighborhood) Essentially you are highest point of core seattle. Take the street car back to International District/Chinatown/Pioneer Sq/Colman Dock. Or street car to CalAnderson Park (Seattle Riots) & Denny. Walk down Pine/Pike to SBux Reserve #1, McMenamin's Six Arms Pub
(McMenamins (https://www.mcmenamins.com/ is one the earliest Portland's microbrewers, McMenamins are truly public houses and inns. Bothel's Anderson School has a public indoor swimming pool, a tahitian restaurant, a fine dining, movie & stage theater, pub, and of course hostel and private rooms.
Of course, a music venue of weekends.
In Portland, The it's the Crystal Ballroom and Inn and the Edgefield Farm (beer, wine, and whiskey breweries), lots of food venues, sauna/hot tub/womens spa. and of course outdoor music and smaller indoor music settings)

Seattle Center, Museum of Pop Culture, Chihuly Glass Museum 3-5 hours.
Southlake MoHai, Amazon HQ,

If you have a car, I'd recommend 1 day to "on the other side"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p5hktVIHAA.
East of the Cascades is a truly a different world.
lots to do on a Trip as this.
YTMV

[scocar]

Originally Posted by leastprime

Hiking?
Urban Hiking?
Park setting Hiking?
Wide open space hiking?
Ebike hiking?
Transit hiking?
What do you want to do, see, experience?

The hiking is more "wide open space hiking" I would presume. The hiking is more about the scenery than the exercise. We are looking for the most scenic hikes, that are not too difficult and a fairly convenient day trip from Seattle. We planning on using Turo to rent a car when we need to, but not have one the entire time.

[leastprime]

How are your feet and legs? Can you walk up inclines? Can you walk declines?
Can/have you riden a bicycle, Ebike/Escooter?

[scocar]

Originally Posted by leastprime

How are your feet and legs? Can you walk up inclines? Can you walk declines?
Can/have you riden a bicycle, Ebike/Escooter?

Feet and legs are in good shape. We are in our early 50's and just don't hike regularly so I don't want to get us in a situation where we bite off more than we can chew. But we exercise fairly regularly and are definitely not sedentary. My GF would tell you she isn't the most graceful person in the world so paths without steep inclines or declines would probably be best. She has also never ridden a bike and would not be comfortable on a scooter.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by scocar

This is our plan. It is fairly locked in, with some flexibility:

SUN 7/31: Take the Amtrak from Portland to Seattle. Check into our Air Bnb (still looking for one) and just explore some food and beer in whatever neighborhood we end up in.

MON 8/1-THU 8/4: One day we want to ride a ferry to Bainbridge Island or the Kitsap Peninsula. One day we want to explore Seattle (Pike Street Market, MoPOP, etc). Two days for hiking, nature viewing.

We fly out early Friday morning so no time that day to do anything. I assume with this being a weekday vacation no day is better than another as far as being busy with the different places we want to visit.

What would be the best options for the most scenic hikes for fairly active, but novice hikers, that are a day trip away.

Some suggestions (feel free to mix and match):

Sun: If you catch the 8:25am train, you'll get into Seattle around 11:45.am, unless there are delays. Leaving at noon, gets you to Seattle around 3:25pm. The first will give you time for lunch and some additional afternoon sight-seeing time. The second just checking in and dinner. Depending on where you choose to stay, you might:

Ballard: Lunch: Ray's Cafe (upstairs, https://www.rays.com/cafe/) at Ray's Boathouse. Outside dining on a deck on Puget Sound, view of the Olympic Mountains. Walk to Shilshole Marina (walk around the south side for open water views) and Golden Gardens Park (and Beach). Alternative: Take-out Fish and Chips at the Lockspot Cafe (https://www.facebook.com/TheLockspotCafe/) to eat at The Chittenden (Ballard) Locks (and Botanical Gardens and Fish Ladder - all free, see https://botanicgardens.uw.edu/washin...t/maps-trails/). Dinner and Beer: Do a Beer Crawl, visiting some of Ballard's breweries (with Food Truck bites available at many of them): https://www.visitballard.com/wp-cont...AP-WEBPAGE.png (Look for deals at Groupon.) Or get dinner in Ballard's Historical District (Market St & Ballard Ave) and then crawl the brew-pubs.

Mon: Walk on the Bainbridge Ferry (~half hour each way). Have lunch or dinner at one of the many offerings available: https://www.google.com/maps/search/w...!3m1!4b1?hl=en

Note: This shouldn't take more than half a day, unless you decide to extend your visit to Bainbridge to a full day: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-...Vacations.html

Tues: Visit Pike Place Market (catch the EB #40 bus at Market St/Ballard Ave or the SB RapidRide D-Line at Market St/15th Ave, then get off at Pine or Pike St and walk west). For great views of the Waterfront and Elliott Bay, have breakfast or lunch at Athenian Seafood Restaurant and Bar (ask for a "window" table) or Lowell's Restaurant (view seating up two flights of stairs). Wander the several levels of the Market. Take the Monorail from Westlake Center to the Seattle Center: https://www.seattlecenter.com/visitor-info/map For discounted admissions to attractions at the Seattle Center and elsewhere, see: https://www.citypass.com/seattle

Weds: Visit some of Seattle's great parks: Woodland Park Zoo (included in City Pass) and Green Lake, Discovery Park, The Arboretum, Gas Works Park, etc. (For instance, take the #44 trolleybus from Ballard to 1) Fremont Ave and walk north to the Zoo, 2) Stone Way and cross 45th St to visit Archie McPhee's (a Seattle institution: https://archiemcpheeseattle.com/) or walk north to Green Lake, 3) Wallingford Ave and walk south to Gas Works Park, 4) The Ave (45th St & University Way) for shops, stores, coffee bars, and lots of cheap eats, or 5) to the end of the line (Husky Stadium and Light Rail Station), then walk south across the Montlake Bridge and turn left to visit the Arboretum (free, see https://botanicgardens.uw.edu/washin...t/maps-trails/). For Discovery Park, take WB #44 to the Ballard Locks, cross the Shipping Canal to Commodore Way, turn right and then left to go to Discovery Park (see: https://www.alltrails.com/parks/us/w...discovery-park).

Thurs: Rent a car for a day-trip outside of Seattle. For instance: Snoqualmie Falls (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...ashington.html), Cougar Regional Wildland Park (https://aqua.kingcounty.gov/gis/web/...n_brochure.pdf), Mountain Loop Scenic Byway (https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE...eprd530006.pdf), etc.

[happygrrrl]

I'll never understand why someone wants to travel to an area known for stunning natural beauty & then stays in urban areas but yeah ok

[leastprime]

^ Wheels, time, money, and unfamiliar driving, that's why.