Need one more day of activities for Portland and Seattle

[ccudmore]

We are into the last few days of a 2 week swing through Oregon and Washington with our 3 kids (ages 15, 13 and 10). We've been travelling with very little planned in advance which has been very liberating. Tonight we are in Portland and all we have to do is to be in Seattle for Tuesday night for a flight home on Wednesday morning. That gives us 2 final days and I'm looking for suggestions on what to do with teens/Tweens in the cities. So far we've seen the waterfront (fish market, aquarium, Ferris wheel) in Seattle and the Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood in Portland. Also plan to see the EMP, space needle and glass gardens in Seattle.

Anyone have any suggestions of things we should see in the area? Thanks.

 

[bcla]

Edgefield in Troutdale for a meal. It's right off of the Columbia River and along the way if you're going to see Multnomah Falls. It was formerly the Multnomah County Poor Farm, and has since been converted into a hotel, restaurants, brewery, and several bars. Kids will love it because there's so much to explore on the grounds.

http://www.mcmenamins.com/54-edgefield-home

I'd probably recommend Mt. St. Helens over Mt. Hood.

 

[endy]

Are the Mariners in town? Can't beat a baseball game. Or the Sounders? We saw a Sounders game last summer and I must say it was very different from games on tv.
The Museum of Flight is quite interesting. As well Northwest Trek if you feel like driving. Great wildlife park, amazing that you see something like 5 different zones (plains, wetlands, hill, forest, kind of stuff, sorry for the scientific words ). Close to an hour south of Seattle.
If it's really hot there's the Wild Rivers or Wild Waves water park.
We really like South Center mall - right of the 5 at Tuwilika. There's outlet malls way to the north on the I5 and another at North Bend to the east.

If you're at EMP there's a Ride the Duck across the street. We had a blast on it.
Look into the Seattle city pass it's a great deal if you're already doing the tower and EMP, it would give you a few more things to do. It's available at attractions when you're buying tickets.

There's also the locks, a local would have to tell you more. We ran across them by accident, there grounds are beautiful, the building was closed when we were there but we watched a few boats, ships and kayaks go thru.

I'm with you on the travel without plans part, I've found a lot of 'off the beaten path' fun. It's hard travelling with a teen and I only have one.

We've been in Seattle 3 times and each time I like it more, really hoping to make it in Sep.

Enjoy your last few days.

 

[nkereina]

Love Seattle! I'm probably too late with this info, but maybe it can help someone else. Two biggest attractions are the Pike Place Market and Space Needle. The Market is near the waterfront which is nice to stroll, and check out the mountains in the distance and the cruise ships in port. Other favorite activities:

*Ferry to Victoria, British Columbia. Will take the whole day and you need a passport, but it's beautiful!!!!

*Seattle Duck Boat Tour. Sees the main sights on land, and then turns into a boat that goes into Lake Union. You boat through the cool house boat/floating home community, and go past the infamous Sleepless in Seattle house baot.

*Boat tour from Mercer Island. Beautiful area, and the tour goes past where the University of Washington Huskies play as well as Bill Gates' home!

*Seattle Underground Tour. Cool tour near the waterfront that goes through the "buried" city of Seattle. Cool tour.

*Mount Rainier. It's a good two hour drive south of Seattle but it's so worth it! It's a National Park and the mountain is just amazing. You can drive to the summit yourself, or park and take a bus to the top. Last time we went was in July and there was three feet of snow at the top!

 

[bcla]

Love Seattle! I'm probably too late with this info, but maybe it can help someone else. Two biggest attractions are the Pike Place Market and Space Needle. The Market is near the waterfront which is nice to stroll, and check out the mountains in the distance and the cruise ships in port. Other favorite activities:

*Ferry to Victoria, British Columbia. Will take the whole day and you need a passport, but it's beautiful!!!!

*Seattle Duck Boat Tour. Sees the main sights on land, and then turns into a boat that goes into Lake Union. You boat through the cool house boat/floating home community, and go past the infamous Sleepless in Seattle house baot.

*Boat tour from Mercer Island. Beautiful area, and the tour goes past where the University of Washington Huskies play as well as Bill Gates' home!

*Seattle Underground Tour. Cool tour near the waterfront that goes through the "buried" city of Seattle. Cool tour.

*Mount Rainier. It's a good two hour drive south of Seattle but it's so worth it! It's a National Park and the mountain is just amazing. You can drive to the summit yourself, or park and take a bus to the top. Last time we went was in July and there was three feet of snow at the top!

Going to Canada by boat can be done with a passport card or enhanced driver license.

The only practical way to the summit of Mount Rainier is through a technical mountaineering trip. It's not like Pikes Peak in Colorado, where you can drive to the top. The closest places to the summit (over 14,000 ft elevation) are at Paradise (5,400 ft) or Sunrise (6,400 ft). Neither gets you close to the summit; the roads get you to the base. We were at Paradise hiking on the trails in the area, and talked to people coming back from summiting trips. Most were wearing sneakers or sandals after taking off their hard mountaineering boots.

http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/upload/mount rainier park map.pdf

3 feet of snow would be nothing at the summit, even in July. The mountain has several glaciers.

 

[bcla]

If you want to get to the summit of Mount Rainier, you're going to need a permit and some technical expertise and probably a guiding service. The equipment needed will include serious mountaineering clothing, an ice axe, mountaineering boots, gaiters, crampons, climbing ropes, etc. It's not a trivial hike, but a serious expedition. Six people died this year from a fall.

 

[nkereina]

Going to Canada by boat can be done with a passport card or enhanced driver license.

The only practical way to the summit of Mount Rainier is through a technical mountaineering trip. It's not like Pikes Peak in Colorado, where you can drive to the top. The closest places to the summit (over 14,000 ft elevation) are at Paradise (5,400 ft) or Sunrise (6,400 ft). Neither gets you close to the summit; the roads get you to the base. We were at Paradise hiking on the trails in the area, and talked to people coming back from summiting trips. Most were wearing sneakers or sandals after taking off their hard mountaineering boots.

http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/upload/mount rainier park map.pdf

3 feet of snow would be nothing at the summit, even in July. The mountain has several glaciers.

Obviously summit was the wrong word used in my PP. I don't mean the peak of the mountain - I'm referring to the elevation that has the Visitor Center where the buses go and where you're free to do some beginner hiking and play in the snow. We found that to be an easy drive coming from Seattle, albeit a two hour one.

And yes, the passport card/enhanced driver's license are options for crossing as well but I'd be surprised if many residents of states who don't border Canada/Mexico even have these.

 

[bcla]

Obviously summit was the wrong word used in my PP. I don't mean the peak of the mountain - I'm referring to the elevation that has the Visitor Center where the buses go and where you're free to do some beginner hiking and play in the snow. We found that to be an easy drive coming from Seattle, albeit a two hour one.

And yes, the passport card/enhanced driver's license are options for crossing as well but I'd be surprised if many residents of states who don't border Canada/Mexico even have these.

Of course I'm having fun, but "summit" means a spot that's higher than any of surrounding land. There are plenty of places where one can get to a summit without technical skills. There's Pikes Peak in Colorado that can be accessed by train or driving, as well as Rendezvous Peak in the Tetons, which can be accessed by tram.

 

[ccudmore]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. We're actually Canadian and had started the trip from Victoria so that wasn't something we wanted to go back to

We ended up going up to the Timberline Lodge by Mount Hood which was gorgeous. Then discovered the Wild Waves park in Seattle. Nice little theme park and water park to cool down. A bit run down and crowded but it hit the spot for the kids.

Also took in a Mariners game which was a real treat.

Enjoyed the North West - it was a great trip.