Out of all the states I’ve ever visited, Washington has to be my favorite. Alaska seems to take the hearts of most mountain-obsessed travelers, but I find Alaska very damp and often quite cloudy. It is also extremely expensive to travel to and within Alaska, so I’ve only been once when my Grandma paid for everything.

Washington, on the other hand, is an absolute gem. Not only does it have the popping city of Seattle (yes, the city where Greys Anatomy was based in), it also has gorgeous mountain landscapes, ecologically unique forests, and crystal clear glacier lakes. In this post, I’ll talk about my Washington experiences with Northwest Youth Corps and camping with my dad. Enjoy!

1. Leavenworth

I didn’t get to see much of Seattle; in fact, I think I didn’t even touch the Seattle ground outside the Airport both times I visited. But because I don’t only want to geek about hiking and mountains in this post, I’ll take a minute to talk about my absolute favorite city in the United States: Leavenworth. Leavenworth is a gorgeous Bavarian-influenced town nestled right within the mountains. All of the buildings have the same European style, and much of the tourism is centered around its unique European architecture and feel. However, Leavenworth was not always a European town; it got its Bavarian influence when the railroad rerouted around Leavenworth. Many of the tourists left, so businesses began to close. The European style was then born as an effort to save the town from becoming yet another ghost town. Now, it is one of the most popular gems in Washington. I visited in passing with my youth corps group; we rolled in our rig and took a shower in the state park for the first time in 5 weeks (best shower ever btw). We then spent the whole day playing frisbee in one of the mountain-front parks and shopping in the cute European towns.

2. Wenatchee State Park

I spent quite a bit of time around Wenatchee State Park, as it is the headquarters of the Washington branch of NYC. The state park itself consisted of a beautiful lake with a big sandy beach and a backdrop of snow-capped mountains. I would definitely recommend camping somewhere nearby and going on some of the many hikes around the lake. It is also right within the Wenatchee State Forest, so just like I mentioned on my earlier posts, it is possible to camp without a permit in the national forest as long as you follow the regulations.

If you do decide to camp, it is important to note that there are an INSANE number of mosquitoes at night. I literally got eaten alive, and there was nothing I could do about it because I wasn’t allowed to bring bug spray (smells attract bears). But honestly, it’s worth the low risk of being a bear’s dinner to get through a peaceful, mosquito-free night. I am not kidding when I say there was not a square inch on my legs and arms that did not get bitten.

3. Vancouver Island

In this excursion, you will need your passport because Vancouver Island is in Canada! My dad and I decided to take a day trip here because I wanted to “visit” a college (that was our excuse to see some more wilderness). The shortest way to get there is via ferry from Port Angeles Washington to Victoria on Vancouver Island. The ride was really beautiful, especially because the ferry weaved around and through the gulf islands that border Canada.

Once on the island, there are a lot of interesting hiking opportunities. All in one day, my dad and I were able to hike in old growth forests, go on a nice two hour forested drive through a dense pack of evergreens, and take a long walk along the beach at sunset without seeing a single person. A lot of Vancouver island is pristine, untouched wilderness. However, Canada also has loose logging regulations, so there were several patches of really ugly deforestation. The loggers also destroyed a lot of the old growth forests in Vancouver island, so it was honestly hard to find a hike that would feature some several hundred year-old trees. Luckily, I was able to find one hike through Avatar Grove that featured some gnarly ancient trees with a rainforest-type feel surrounding them. It is a pretty non-technical hike, so I’d definitely recommend to people of all fitness levels.

If you want a nice coastal hike and opportunity for a polar plunge, my dad and I hiked part of the Juan de Fuca trail. It was absolutely gorgeous at sunset, and featured views of Olympic National Park in Washington!

4. Bear Creek Mountain

My favorite hike on both of my trips was probably the Bear Creek Mountain trail. This was partly because I did work maintaining the trail for a week with my crew and because it was absolutely gorgeous. I remember seeing only one person that entire week on the trail; I conversed with the hiker, and she told me that I had to get to that summit while I was there because it was one of the most gorgeous in the state. Unfortunately, we had long work days, so it would have been nearly impossible to get a group to want to summit at 8pm instead of eating dinner. So, being the total goon I am, I set my alarm for 3am and set off on the trail before sunlight. This was totally against the rules (we weren’t supposed to leave camp without permission), but ever since that hiker told me I had to see the top, I knew I HAD to see the top.

I was honestly terrified during the forest portion of the hike. I kept on hearing strange sounds that I thought were bears, but I couldn’t do anything about it because I only had a small headlight that gave me 1 foot of visibility! I ran about 5 miles up the mountain until I came across a nice lookout, then I sat down and watched the sun rise from behind Mount Rainier. A deer even ran out in front of me while I was soaking in the morning sun. Once I realized I was 30 minutes behind schedule, I booked it down the mountain, fell down two switchbacks, and made it back in time for 7am breakfast. Now that I think back on it, I probably should have told someone else other than my tentmate (lots of things could have gone wrong), but it was also one of my most exhilarating adventures and favorite views, so I would 10/10 recommend.