Long days, blooming gardens, showers and sun: It must be May!
Here are five ways to revel in the wonders of late spring in the Pacific Northwest.
1. Get away.
Spring travel can be the passport to sanity until summer. Book a long weekend in San Francisco, where the new Exploratorium will rock your world. Or if your family is clamoring for theme parks, consider a visit to Hollywood’s Universal Studios, which, our writer argues, is better than Disneyland. Or go rustic at a beachside yurt or platform tent in the woods. Visit us here for these and many, many more family travel ideas.
2. Dig for your dinner.
To feel like a real Northwesterner, pull on rain boots and head to the beach for clamming — ’tis the season. Dig in the muck for buried treasure, and within an hour or so, your dinner will be unearthed. We have it all dug out for your in our complete when-and-where clamming guide.
3. Zip it.
Zip line courses are popping up around the Sound, designed to challenge, thrill and teach about forests and their critters. The newest is the Bellevue Zip Tour, a two-and-a-half-hour experience through the old maples and Douglas firs of Eastgate Park. Here's the scoop on this and other local zip courses.
4. Hike to a roaring waterfall.
The Cascade Mountain Range is named for them — hundreds of waterfalls, big and small. And spring is the most dramatic time to see them. For young kids, try the two-mile jaunt to Franklin Falls off I-90, a historic trail where you can see actual ruts from pioneer-era wagon wheels. Wallace Falls in the North Cascades is another gem. Find guides to these, plus more kid-friendly waterfall hikes here.
5. Find a secret garden.
Spring is the perfect time to discover a new spot to renew your family. How about a pocket park that’s also a cosmological adventure (Fremont Peak Park) or a blooming spot designed to teach about honeybees (West Seattle Bee Garden)? Find 10 of the Seattle area’s most fragrant, unique and kid-friendly gardens here.
