Best sunny weekend get away within driving distance of Seattle? (Sammamish: home, live in)

[hello_im_sean]

Thinking about moving to Seattle some day, it honestly seems like i'd fit right in there. I feel so out of place on the east coast. Only thing that keeps bugging me is the long rainy months and short summer. Is there anywhere within driving distance, preferably not over 3 hours that could be a sunny vacation spot? San Juan island and the rain shadow in general a good weekend getaway? Leavenworth? Cle Elum? They all have caught my attention. I was wondering if anyone could tell me a bit about these places and where they themselves prefer to escape the city to on the weekend if they'd like.

[BellevueNative]

Wine country in eastern Washington, or Lake Chelan.

[hello_im_sean]

What are your experiences like there? What do you like about them?

[Hemlock140]

The areas you mentioned are sunnier and warmer but really only in May-June and early October when we still have rain.
From November through about now Leavenworth and Cle Elum are likely to get snow. Even Sequim where they get sun almost all year is not warm in fall-spring, the sun is there in the afternoon but it may still be in the 40s. We rarely travel to warmer areas in summer because it is so perfect here. November - April is a good time to look for a warm weekend trip, but you have to go to farther south, such as Southern CA, Arizona. Next week I'll be in Las Vegas where it's in the low 80s. "Escaping the city" is not a problem, I work in Seattle but live in Sammamish at over 600' elevation in a woodsy area so I escape when I go home every day.

[hello_im_sean]

I see what you're saying. A mountain get away still sounds nice though, even if it only has sunnier weather for a few months in the spring and fall. Something about the mountains, the woods, and even the snow just has a cozy and homely allure to me.

[BellevueNative]

Have you been here? You need to just come visit and travel around the area before you decide to move here. I wouldn't necessarily think of the mountains as a sunny getaway. It's often cloudy there, too. If you want a sunny getaway, people here go to California, Arizona or Hawaii most often.

[Botev1912]

LA is 2.5 hours away by plane. The other sunny place that is 3.5 hours by car is Tri-Cities where the weather is sunny 9 months of the year.

[ctr88]

It's a good idea to think out your sunny escapes before you move up. The last 8 days in a row in Seattle have seen almost zero sun and deep grey overcast. The weather has been in the mid 50's but feels more like high 40's b/c lack of sun.

[TwoByFour]

True sunshine is hard to find anywhere in the Pacific Northwest from October - May or June. There is more sunshine east of the Cascades but places like Cle Elum will not always be far enough east. And a lot of the time winter gloom hangs over the entire state.

I would not move to Seattle if you need a lot of sunshine in your life. Part of the Seattle experience is the dark, brooding, drippy ambiance of much of the year. I am surprised the region does not grow more poets. At any rate, if you need to fight that type of environment, you probably don't belong in it.

[Hemlock140]

I have the news on right now, and the forecast for the next 7 days is rain rain rain rain rain rain rain. Typical spring, but that's why everything is green.