What to do in Seattle or Salt Lake City?

[HHMcG]

Not Budget Board related, but I spend so much time here I felt most comfortable asking here.

My family is planning a trip this summer that starts in Seattle and ends in Salt Lake City. We will be spending 2 1/2 weeks in between visiting National Parks. But I don't want to missing seeing a bit of these cities. We could add one day to our trip to do this.

Right now my schedule has us landing at SEATAC around 11am, getting our rental car and catching a ferry (I thought that would be fun) and then heading out to the Olympic Peninsula, not to return to the city. Should we spend our arrival day in Seattle and then headed out to Olympic the next morning? What MUST we see in Seattle?

At the end of our trip we will be leaving Jackson Hole and driving the 250+ miles to Salt lake City. We could leave Jackson Hole in the morning or afternoon depending how many more site we want to visit. (We will be in Jackson Hole 3 nights.) If we leave early and have an afternoon/evening in SLC what should we see? We have a 10am flight out the next day, so where would be a convenient place to spend the night?

We also have a free half-day planned somewhere along Rt 90 in Washington/Idaho/Montana if anyone has a suggestion of a town to visit there.

Oh we will be traveling the second half of August, if it makes a difference.
TIA!


I am having a blast planning this trip but it sure isn't Disney World.

 

[pblack]

In Seattle you must go to Pike Place Market, it's an open air market with all kinds of vendors and people. The original Starbucks is also located here if you are interested in coffee/Starbucks. You can also walk to the mall (I don't remember exactly how far, or I believe you can take the subway/lightrail/whatever it's called in Seattle). From the mall they have a little monorail that will take you over to the space needle and a indoor food court that has lots of good options for lunch. If you're interested in baseball you can take a tour of the Seattle Mariners stadium. It isn't badly priced and it's a pretty cool tour (even if you're not a Mariners fan). The football stadium is also directly across from the baseball stadium, but i'm not sure if they offer tours or not.

 

[afan]

I grew up and live near Seattle and if your focus is on parks, there's nothing must do in Seattle. August is our busy tourist month and the first weekend is seafair and the fleet is in town so even busier.

Without knowing where you are going after the Olympics I would say go to my rainier, snoquolme falls which is off I 90 going over the mountains. Detour up to highway 2 and stop in Leavenworth on your way to eastern Washington.

I'm guessing you'll take the ferry to port Angeles. It's got some good things to do there as well. Go further west and see thr pacific ocean.

There's too many other things to see than another big city around here. I like seattle but there's so much else out there.

Grand coulee dam or any along the Columbia river in eastern WA are interesting and have tours.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

When we had 2 days in Seattle (before sailing to Alaska) we first went to the Space Needle to have a look around. To me, that was an icon of Seattle and didn’t want to miss it. While at the top, dh saw Mt. Ranier in the distance and wanted to go there. Not enough time to go that first day after flying from Philadelphia but we went the next day. I had already booked a tour of the Boeing factory the next morning so we headed to MR immediately after.

It was a lot to squeeze into 1 day but we’re used to being on the go when on vacation. There’s so much more we wanted to do but never enough time.

 

[Pooh2]

We did a day in Seattle, doing the Duck Tour for a nice overview in the morning (very fun tour guide!), booked lunch in the Space Needle on Open Table (the line for the restaurant was much shorter than the elevator for just sight seeing and lunch included the elevator ride in the cost). Then we took the monorail over to the downtown area and stopped into Pikes Peak Market area and walked around that area for a bit. Very fun city!

 

[barkley]

if you are landing at 11 a.m. by the time you get your luggage and your rental car there won't be much time to do anything in town what with the traffic and trying to find parking so I would suggest you just pass on trying to do anything and enjoy the ferry ride.

I'll echo that Leavenworth is a great little side trip. if you want to stick to staying on 90 and you are adventurous then you could do the mica moon ziplines in liberty lake, but if you don't have hard and fast lodging reservations I would recommend squeezing in a 1 night stay at the silver mountain resort in Kellogg b/c it has a nice climate controlled indoor waterpark included in the price of staying there (you may welcome it after all the driving).

 

[Alexle2007]

I’ve been to SLC for work. I always stayed downtown and the airport was not far from it. I did the Mormon temple which was ok but do not complete the card at the end unless yo want them showing up on your doorstep. DH and I went out to the Olympic site which was neat to see them practicing the aerial jumping into the swimming pool and we found a water park in the SLC area that we hit since it was hot!

 

[Gamora]

If you prefer being out in nature, Seattle has some whale-watching tours available. I like to visit iconic sites, like the Needle, the first Starbucks, and the Pike Place market, like others have mentioned. Pike Place Market is pretty much a must for touring!

 

[vickiemariko]

I live in SLC. I'd stay downtown. It's about 15 minutes from the airport. My favorite hotels are the Grand America ($$$), Hotel Moneco ($$), and the Marriott at City Creek ($$). The Mormon temple is downtown and cool to just walk around, you don't need to do a tour. City Creek Mall is right across the street from the Temple and is really nice. Lots of shopping, restaurants, and it's quite pretty. The capitol is also right by downtown and an easy site to check out.

 

[AlohaNow]

When we visited SLC we toured the temple and spent a day at the Olympic Center in Park City. Park City was so great! We also visited East High School, where they filmed the High School Musical trilogy. Yes, in real life it is ‘East High’ and their colors are red and white. We were there on a weekday in the summer and the staff was so welcoming to movie fans who were just dropping in to take photos. We recreated some dance scenes in the cafeteria and got pictures at Sharpay’s locker. I still can’t believe they just let everyone in (we weren’t the only ones there for this reason) and let us run around the building, dancing and acting like fools!

 

[HHMcG]

Thank you all for the great advice. I've been reading along and just slow to respond. You all gave me some great insight.

Without knowing where you are going after the Olympics I would say go to my rainier, snoquolme falls which is off I 90 going over the mountains. Detour up to highway 2 and stop in Leavenworth on your way to eastern Washington.

I'm guessing you'll take the ferry to port Angeles. It's got some good things to do there as well. Go further west and see thr pacific ocean.

Grand coulee dam or any along the Columbia river in eastern WA are interesting and have tours.

Thank you for the great suggestions. We will be spending a night on the coast (part of the NP extends out there). It will be my kids first time putting their toes in the Pacific so we wouldn't miss that.
After Olympic we are headed to Mt Rainier. I'm trying to decide if a side trip to Mt St Helen's is worth it? No one mentioned it so that might be my answer.
I love the idea of Snoqualmie Falls or Leavenworth if we have time fr a side trip.

When we had 2 days in Seattle (before sailing to Alaska) we first went to the Space Needle to have a look around. To me, that was an icon of Seattle and didn’t want to miss it. While at the top, dh saw Mt. Ranier in the distance and wanted to go there. Not enough time to go that first day after flying from Philadelphia but we went the next day. I had already booked a tour of the Boeing factory the next morning so we headed to MR immediately after.

It was a lot to squeeze into 1 day but we’re used to being on the go when on vacation. There’s so much more we wanted to do but never enough time.

We are arriving from Philly also.

if you don't have hard and fast lodging reservations I would recommend squeezing in a 1 night stay at the silver mountain resort in Kellogg b/c it has a nice climate controlled indoor waterpark included in the price of staying there (you may welcome it after all the driving).

That sounds perfect. Just what we will need to break up driving!

If you prefer being out in nature, Seattle has some whale-watching tours available.

The reviews I read of our coastal lodge said we MAY be able to see whale from the beach. I am really hoping so. I don't think we have time for a tour but I would love to see some.

 

[afan]

After Olympic we are headed to Mt Rainier. I'm trying to decide if a side trip to Mt St Helen's is worth it? No one mentioned it so that might be my answer.

For where you are going it's kind of out of the way so it would depend on what your goals are for seeing it. I last went about 25 years ago and all we did was go to the visitors center and look up at the crater. I'm not sure what more there is to do aside from that. I've never heard of anyone hiking/climbing in the area, that's all generally done at Mt. Rainier. It's neat to see but I would take the side trip to Snoqualmie Falls or Leavenworth before going down to Mt. St. Helen's.

The reviews I read of our coastal lodge said we MAY be able to see whale from the beach. I am really hoping so. I don't think we have time for a tour but I would love to see some.

Where are you staying? It may be possible but I'm not sure which ones. I think by summer the orcas will be hanging out more in the San Juans than out in the actual ocean. They occasionally venture into Puget Sound, but never anything to expect.

 

[DianeW]

I live just north of Salt Lake. There's lots to do right downtown. City Creek Mall and Temple Square are right smack in the middle of the city. The State Capitol is just up the hill. If you have more time, you could head to Hogle Zoo (still in the city) and/or This is the Place - Heritage Park (a pioneer living history museum...think Williamsburg meets Little House). Even more time, head up into our gorgeous mountains to Park City. Beautiful downtown area, plus gorgeous scenery, and an Alpine Slide. Just ask if you want more detailed info...we love visitors to our city!!

 

[HHMcG]

For where you are going it's kind of out of the way so it would depend on what your goals are for seeing it. I last went about 25 years ago and all we did was go to the visitors center and look up at the crater. I'm not sure what more there is to do aside from that. I've never heard of anyone hiking/climbing in the area, that's all generally done at Mt. Rainier. It's neat to see but I would take the side trip to Snoqualmie Falls or Leavenworth before going down to Mt. St. Helen's.



Where are you staying? It may be possible but I'm not sure which ones. I think by summer the orcas will be hanging out more in the San Juans than out in the actual ocean. They occasionally venture into Puget Sound, but never anything to expect.

If we went to Mt St Helens we would go to Johnston Ridge Observatory. Which seems to have the best views of the crater but a longer drive.

We are staying at Kalaloch Lodge. The reviews I read just mentioned whales. I didn't even consider Orcas as an option.

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

The gardens at the temple in Salt Lake City are absolutely gorgeous. Definitely worth going to walk around.

 

[afan]

If we went to Mt St Helens we would go to Johnston Ridge Observatory. Which seems to have the best views of the crater but a longer drive.

We are staying at Kalaloch Lodge. The reviews I read just mentioned whales. I didn't even consider Orcas as an option.

The observatory is where most everyone goes. It would only be worth going if it's clear out, there's no point if you can't see it. It's not unusual to hear the term 'the mountain is out' referring to Mt. Rainier and that it's not cloudy out. Same for Mt. St Helens.

I didn't realize the park went all the way to the pacific ocean and that the lodge was closer to it than the straight. I would imagine grey whales are what they mean but I don't know that they would be going south already in August. This site has some info on where you can see marine life https://thewhaletrail.org/where-and-when-to-see-whales

 

[Deb & Bill]

We went to a practice of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the evening when I was in SLC for business years ago.

If you are going to anywhere in the vicinity of the Timberline Lodge, it is really neat. It's at Mount Hood.