Find a hotel in:  Florida | California | Nevada | Georgia | Colorado

Although Seattle is one of America's most likeable and vibrant cities, well worth a few days of anybody's time, perhaps its greatest asset for visitors is its proximity to the glorious rural scenery of Puget Sound. The islands here are stepping stones to the Olympic Peninsula to the west, whose mountains are home to rare elk and lush vegetation that merges into rainforest, and whose wilderness beaches have remained unchanged for centuries. The Olympic National Park, which occupies the bulk of the peninsula, is dazzling, and a hike along one of its clearly laid-out trails can be a highlight of any trip. Just make sure that you don't mind the wet, often stormy weather of western Washington, which only offers predictably warm temperatures and blue skies during the summer.

Hotels in Mercer Island, Washington

Hotels in Woodland, Washington