Ebey's
Landing National Historical Reserve is part
of Whidbey Island just off the coast of
Northern Washington. Much history
exist from the pioneer days such as the
Crockett Blockhouse build in 1855 to protect
settlers from Indians who were thought to be
hostile. The island history states
back to the the 1300's and was
explored by Lieutenant, Joseph Whidbey in
1792. Even evidence of Chinese
settlers is prevalent. The Island
still lives like rural America and the
scenery is outstanding. Access is availalble by car or the Mukilteo-Clinton
ferry, which runs regularly from Seattle.
The weather year round makes the island tour
by bicycle very enjoyable or drive the
island by car. The island is
definitely a day trip with all available to
tour but, do to fret, the hotel link above
offers many hotels right on the island.
Places to visit include Fort Ebey State
Park, Ebeys Landing Fort Casey historical
State Park, Rodena Beach or just tour the
island on bicycle. Ebeys Landing
offers bird watching, camping, hiking
museum, nature walks, places to shop,
wildlife viewing, boating, fishing,
kayaking, and scuba diving at
Fort Casey Underwater Reserve.
For more information visit the
NPS.Gov website or for ferry
information visit the
U.S.Dot website.
Operating
Hours:
The park operating hours change each season.
Please visit
NPS.Gov for operating hours.
McLoughlin House
Open Wed - Sat 10am - 4pm
Sundays 1pm to 4pm.
Closed Monday and Tuesday
Museum and history buffs, this is a good
stop in touring the National Parks with much
in history and culture to offer.
Events year round are worth scheduling for
and visit NPS.Gov (link above next to the
photo) for the 2010 events. Fort
Vancouver was a major economic center of the
region in the 1800's with a major location
for fur trade in the region. Also, a
large archaeology collection for the museum
goers. Being a multi-cultural
community when developed with more than 35
different ethnic groups, Fort Vancouver
offered the first education in area, medical
care, build a major saw mill, built ships
and supplied most of the dairy to the
region.
The McLoughlin House, which is of the photo
above, was added to the National Park System
and is connected to Fort Vancouver as part
of that National Park. The house was
restored and added as part of the historical
presence of the park to commerate John
McLoughlin, who was known as the father of
Oregon.
The park in whole offers guided tours, self
guided audio tours, cultural demonstrations
and historical weapons programs.
Events offer fun for entire families
including the kids such as the Kids
archeological dig. Visit the park
website for program times and details.
Visitor Information:(360) 854-7200 Wilderness Information Center
- (360) 854-7200
Operating
Hours:
The park operating hours change
each season. Please visit
NPS.Gov for operating
hours.
Included Operating Hours at
NPS.Gov North Cascades Visitor
Center
Park and Forest Information
Center
Wilderness Information Center
Golden West Visitor Center
Chelan Ranger Station
Glacier Public Service Center
The North Cascades National Park Complex
includes the North Cascades National Park,
Ross Lake, Lake Chelan National Recreation
Areas and are all part of the Stephen Mather
Willderness. First reading about this
area, which the National Park Services
describes as "Jagged peaks, deep valleys,
cascading waterfalls and over 300 glaciers,"
I thought about the painting above from
Artist Donny Hickmott; which was ever so
fitting for this National Park.
The North Cascades Visitor Center is easily
accessible by car. Two hiking trails
worth the view, the Sterling Munro Trail and
the Happy Creek Forest Walk are boardwalk
paths taking hikers over a beautiful view
across the forest. Two additional
trails, the Newhalem Creek Rockshelter Trail
and the River Loop Trail. For the
museum seekers I mentioned above, the
Newhalem Creek Rockshelter Trail ends at an
Archeological site.
The park offers all the amenities expected
of a National Park that include guided
tours, hiking, climbing, boating and
fishing, bird and wildlife viewing,
horseback riding, and educational programs.
The camping facilities offer camping from a
car, RV, boat camping, or natural forest
camping. With nearly 140 backcountry
campsites available that include boat-in
sites and high mountain plains camping with
facilities including toilets, tent pads and
some of the campsites offer grills and
picnic tables. But, permits are
required and they are offered at a first
come first serve basis. So, do not
wait to late summer to make a decision for
this vacation.
Operating
Hours:
Due to the many locations associated with
the park and the weather, please visit
NPS.Gov website for detailed operating hours
for:
Longmire Museum
Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center
Ohanapecosh Visitor Center
Sunrise Visitor Center
The Wilderness and Climbing centers are
closed for the season and will start opening
May 28 except white River camping area is
not scheduled to open until June 25.
Mount Rainier is beautiful and a summer
climate that often participates but, being
in a northwest Pacific climate, the weather
can change at any time; this means wet, cool
weather is possible durubg the summer
months. Mount Rainer is perfect for
the scenic type of vacation by bicycle,
hiking, scenic drives or mountain climbing.
Boating, fishing and camping is also offered
at the park with campgrounds located at
Cougar Rock, Ohanapecosh, and White River.
White River is the highest elevation at
4,400 ft.
Bicycles are not permitted on the hiking
trails but, are permitted on the roads
anywhere in the park. September
through October, which is when the park
traffic dissipates is when many bicyclists
take the trip. The park is not well
known for boating and fishing although is
permitted. Boating is permitted in all
lakes with the exception of Frozen Lake,
Reflection Lakes, Ghost Lake and Tipsoo
Lake. The park area does not have
"Native fish", which means no limits on the
number of fish that can be take from the
lakes.
Much forest exist nearby that includes
Giffor Pinchot national Forest, Pacific
Crest Scenic Trail, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie
National Forest, Wenatchee National Forest
and Federation Forest State Park.
VacationsNationalPark.Com will be adding
section on the national forests by the end
of the year.
Operating Hours: Open 365 days
a year, 24 hours a day, dependent of
weather. Recorded Road Information: (360)
565-3131 Visitor Center: (360) 565-3130 NPS.Gov
website
Olympic National Park is another of
Washington's wonder wilderness National
Parks but, this park also offers a strip
that runs along the coast for 73 miles.
Offering wilderness, wildlife, mountains, as
well as the ocean, the park is a nature
lover's paradise. Along the coastal
line is the mouth of two rivers, the Hoh
River and the Quileute River. The
mouth of the Quileute river is the town of
La Push, a small town that is home to the
Quileute Native American Tribe. The
town has a reputation for good surfing
waters and whale watching. The park
has gained popularity also for hiking with
the Ozette Loop, which is a 9-mile trail for
hiking where a 3-mile stretch is a walk
built of boards that runs through a swamp
that is home to cedar trees. The view
is breathtaking and even during the summers
the glacier topped mountains shine their
white tops. 90% of the park is
considered wilderness, so Olympic National
Park is a nature lover's paradise but, due
to being wilderness, extra precautions must
be taken when visiting the park.
The park offers hiking, backpacking, camping
and fishing with roads through out the park
for those who wish for a leisurely ride
through paradise. U.S. Highway 101
offers access to all areas of the park that
include: Elwha, Fairholme, Heart o'the
Hills, Hoh Rain Forest, Hurricane Ridge,
Kalaloch, Barnes Point, Mora, Port Angeles,
and access to Seattle via ferry. The
day walks of many from easy going to more
challenging offer beautiful scenery and an
abundance of wildlife. Olympic
National Park contains the largest wild herd
of Roosevelt elk in the world and many other
species of wildlife can be expected to be
seen, which means caution as mentioned above
is appropriate. Longer trips and
backpacking where camping is desired, a
permit is required for all backcountry
camping. Established campsites for RVs
and all established campsites offer toilets,
picnic tables and fire pit but, no water or
hookups are available. Fishing is also
permitted if the rivers and ocean but, all
fishing areas have regulations. PDF
files of the regulations are available at
the NPS.Gov webssite.
Ross Lake National Recreation area is is
part of the North Cascades National Park
Complex and contact information is available
in the above section.
Ross Lake National Recreation area is
outlined by the Skagit River corridor from
Canada to the western part of the Cascades.
Accessible through scenic State Route 20 and
the North Cascades Highway.
The Wilderness Information Center is located
in Marblemount Washington
Operating Hours Ross Lake National Recreation area is
part of the National Cascades National Park
Service Complex. Please visit the
NPS.Gov website for operating hours.
Ross Lake National Recreation Area was
created from the Skagit River and three
lakes were formed: Ross Lake, Diable Lake
and George Lake. The recreation
area offers fishing, hunting, canoeing,
kayaking, mountain climbing and camping.
Campgrounds are accessible via the North
Cascades Highway to the camping grounds of
Newhalem Creek, Colonial Creek and Goodall
Creek. All three locations offer RV
camping and the hotel link above is for
hotels in the Marysville, WA area for those
who do not like sleeping in the wilderness.
Hotels are also available through Peabody
Travel in Sedro Wooley, which you can find
by clicking the hotel link at the top of
this page. Those into scenery need to
visit Desoloation Peak Lookout where the
view offers the areas of the vistas of the
North Cascade Mountains including Hozomeen
Mountain. Access to the recreation
area and another campground is via the
Silver Skagit Road, which is a gravel road
but accessible by car to the Hozomeen
campground. Permits are available at
the Marblemount information center for
boat-in camping, which is allowed along Ross
Lake and Diablo Reservoir.
Olympic
Peninsula's Oak Bay Getaway
Waterfront property with beach and views
like no other. Enjoy the views of the
Puget Sound's Oak Bay, shipping lanes,
cascade mountains in the distance. Take
long walks on the beach, explore the
tidal flats, have an evening beach.
Great Rates & Specials!
View Details
Olympic
Peninsula: Gig Harbor, Washington
Vacation Rentals Crystal
Chalet - Crystal Mountain Greenwater,
Mount Rainier, Washington
Rates From US $395 Per Night
View Details
Olympic
Peninsula, Washington Vacation Rentals A variety
of unique lodging opportunities from
small cabins and B&B's to larger homes
accommodating entire family reunions.
All are exceptional both in amenities
such as hot tubs or jacuzzi's and for
ambiance.
Rates From US $75 - 300
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Coastal,
Washington Scuba & Snorkeling The world
leader in dive travel for over 26 years.
We specialize in the best tropical dive
destinations throughout the world. Call
our staff of trained travel
professionals, who are also all
certified divers, to book your next
tropical adventure.
Great Rates & Specials!
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Islands:
Whidbey Island: Clinton, Washington
Vacation Rentals Swim,
fish, waterski or kayak right from the
front yard. Wonderful 3 bedroom home on
Deer Lake on the south end of Whidbey
Island.
Rates From US $200 Per Night
View Details
North
Cascades: Wenatchee Forest, Washington
Vacation Rentals The
Dirtyface Lodge is a spacious and
inviting mountain retreat located in
Lake Wenatchee, just outside of
Leavenworth, Washington. The lodge is
situated on 3 wooded acres in the
desirable Whispering Pines Neighborhood
with over 5,000 square feet
Rates From US $595 Per Night
View Details
Islands: San
Juan: Orcas, Washington Whale Watching Orca
Whale Watching tours from Orcas Island.
Small, Fast Boats. Intimate and Upclose
Experience with the Whales and Wildlife.
Charter Fishng and Kayak Tours are also
available.
Rates From US $79 Per Trip
View Details
