Seattle proper gets most of the attention, and the city earns it. But things to do in the Seattle area extend well beyond the city limits. The greater metro region stretches from the Cascade foothills in the east to island-strung Puget Sound in the west, and the communities outside downtown often have the best hiking, the quieter waterfronts, and the day trips that feel nothing like a city visit. This guide covers the best of it: Bellevue and the Eastside, Snoqualmie Valley, Vashon Island, Whidbey Island, Issaquah, and the communities along the north Sound, all within 30 to 90 minutes of the city. For coverage of Seattle proper, see the things to do in Seattle guide.
The Eastside: Bellevue, Kirkland, and Redmond
Bellevue sits directly across Lake Washington from Seattle, connected by the I-90 and SR-520 floating bridges. It’s Washington’s third-largest city, but the parks and waterfront districts are the reason to visit.
Bellevue Downtown Park is a 21-acre space a few blocks from the Bellevue Square shopping corridor, with a half-mile perimeter walk, a wading pool open in summer, and a large reflecting pond. Mercer Slough Nature Park, just south, covers 320 acres of wetlands with paved and unpaved trails, a blueberry farm open for u-pick in season, and canoe launches onto the slough. The slough itself is a calm, marshy waterway with good birdwatching year-round.
In Kirkland, the waterfront district along Lake Washington is walkable and summer-friendly. Juanita Beach Park has a swimming beach, a fishing pier, and views across the lake toward Seattle. The stretch of restaurants on Lake Street sits directly above the water.
Redmond anchors the Eastside tech corridor, but Marymoor Park is the reason to go. At 640 acres, it’s the largest park in King County, with a velodrome, a climbing wall, off-leash dog areas, a community garden, and summer concerts at the amphitheater. The Sammamish River Trail, which connects Marymoor to Bothell, is a 10-mile paved path with steady views over the river, minimal elevation change, and good cycling year-round. Lime and other dockless bike-share services work here; you don’t need to bring a bike.
Sound Transit’s East Link light rail extension, opened in 2024, now connects downtown Seattle directly to Bellevue and Redmond without requiring a car or a bridge crossing. Trains run every 8 to 12 minutes during peak hours.
The Snoqualmie Valley
Snoqualmie Falls is the most visited natural attraction in Washington State, and the 268-foot drop into a pool below earns that. The falls are taller than Niagara by about 100 feet. A short paved walk from the free parking area leads to an observation deck at the rim. A longer trail descends to the base, roughly one mile round-trip with 300 feet of elevation change. The falls are visible year-round; they’re at full roar from late fall through early spring after heavy rain.
The town of Snoqualmie is five minutes from the falls and is the location used for exterior shots in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks. The Snoqualmie Depot, the old Northern Pacific Railroad station, serves as the town’s main landmark and doubles as the show’s fictional sheriff’s department. The Puget Sound Railway Historical Association runs seasonal train excursions east to North Bend.
North Bend sits at the base of Mount Si, one of the most-hiked trails in the state. The Mount Si Trail climbs 3,150 feet over eight miles round-trip to the summit ridge, with views back over the Snoqualmie Valley and west toward Seattle on clear days. The trailhead is three miles east of North Bend via NF-9030 Road, and the parking lot fills by 8am on summer weekends. Come early or use the shuttle from North Bend when available.
For more waterfall hikes accessible from this corridor and across the state, see the hidden waterfalls guide.
Vashon Island
Vashon Island sits in Puget Sound between Seattle and Tacoma, reachable by Washington State Ferries from both directions. From the Fauntleroy terminal in West Seattle, the crossing takes 20 minutes. Foot-passenger tickets don’t require reservations. The Tahlequah ferry at the island’s south end connects to Point Defiance in Tacoma, adding a second access point for visitors arriving from the south.
The island has roughly 11,000 full-time residents and no traffic lights. The main commercial strip in Vashon town is three blocks of coffee shops, bookstores, and restaurants. The pace is deliberate, and that’s the point.
Vashon is known for its farm stands and cycling. The main loop around the north island covers about 20 miles on rolling roads, passing several working farms. Misty Isle Farms and Pheasant Fields Farm both have roadside stands open in season. For walking terrain, Fern Cove Shoreline Preserve on the northwest edge of the island has direct beach access on a quiet cove with good tide pools at low water.
For the San Juan Islands farther north in Puget Sound, see the full San Juan Islands guide.
Whidbey Island and Deception Pass
Whidbey Island is the longest island in the contiguous United States, and it divides into distinct zones. The south end is primarily residential. The center, around Coupeville and Penn Cove, is farming country with a small historic town on the water. The north end is anchored by Deception Pass State Park, one of the most visited state parks in Washington.
Deception Pass is the narrow tidal channel between Whidbey and Fidalgo Islands, crossed by a 1935 bridge. The park covers 4,100 acres on both sides, with saltwater and freshwater beaches, 30 miles of hiking trails, and dramatic tidal flows visible from the bridge walkways. The Pass Lake loop on the Fidalgo side is 2.5 miles through quiet second-growth forest above the water. Washington State Parks maintains a full trail map and day-use parking information.
Coupeville, 20 miles south of the bridge, is one of the oldest incorporated towns in Washington State. It sits on a bluff above Penn Cove, and the mussels farmed in that cove are served across the Pacific Northwest. They’re available fresh at the Coupeville Wharf. Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve surrounds the town and preserves working farmland as part of the national park system. The prairie above Ebey’s Landing offers one of the few open coastal walks in the region.
To reach Whidbey from the Seattle area, most visitors take the Mukilteo ferry (25-minute crossing to Clinton on the south island) or drive north over the Deception Pass Bridge from Anacortes. For ferry schedules and tips on avoiding summer backups at Mukilteo, see the Washington State Ferry guide.
Issaquah and Tiger Mountain
Issaquah sits 17 miles east of Seattle via I-90 and earns a stop for both its historic downtown and the hiking that begins at the edge of town.
Tiger Mountain State Forest covers 13,000 acres of trails east of downtown. The West Tiger 3 trail, the most-traveled route on the mountain, is a 4.8-mile round-trip with 2,100 feet of elevation gain from the main trailhead on SE 79th Street. Views from the summit ridge look back over Issaquah, Lake Sammamish, and Seattle on clear days. Start before 8am on summer weekends; the trailhead parking lot overflows by mid-morning and there is no overflow option.
Downtown Issaquah has a small historic commercial district on Front Street. Behind the main block, at Issaquah Creek, is a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife salmon hatchery. Adult chinook and coho return to spawn here in October and November; watching the annual salmon run is free and takes about 20 minutes. It’s one of the more unusual free activities in the area and worth timing a fall visit around.
Edmonds and Mukilteo
Edmonds, 15 miles north of Seattle on Puget Sound, is a small ferry port with a compact downtown two blocks from the water. The Edmonds-Kingston ferry crosses to the Kitsap Peninsula in 30 minutes, offering a quieter boarding alternative to the downtown Seattle terminal for drivers heading to the Olympic Peninsula.
Edmonds Underwater Park is a marine preserve just north of the ferry dock, designated as a dive park since 1970. The shallow reef supports lingcod, cabezon, giant Pacific octopus, and cloud sponge. It’s one of the most accessible shore dives in the Pacific Northwest for certified divers, with good visibility from late summer through fall.
The Edmonds waterfront walkway connects the ferry dock to Brackett’s Landing, a sand-and-pebble beach with picnic tables and direct views of the Olympic Mountains on clear afternoons. It takes 20 minutes to walk end to end and requires no planning.
Mukilteo is four miles south of Edmonds and the main departure point for the ferry to Clinton on Whidbey Island. The Mukilteo Lighthouse, built in 1906, sits at the tip of the ferry dock and is open for tours on weekend afternoons from April through September.
Planning Your Visit
Most of these destinations require a car. Metro Transit’s network doesn’t reach Tiger Mountain’s trailheads, Vashon Island, or Whidbey efficiently. The exception is the Eastside: East Link light rail now connects Seattle to Bellevue and Redmond, and Sounder commuter rail reaches Edmonds from Seattle’s King Street Station.
June through September is the reliable window for all of these destinations. Trails are snow-free, ferries run full schedules, and farm stands are open. The Snoqualmie Valley and Tiger Mountain trails are hikeable year-round in dry weather, though Mount Si can hold snow on the upper half through April. For a full breakdown of season-by-season conditions across Washington, see the best time to visit Washington State guide.
