National parks attract nature lovers

When visiting Seattle Washington it is almost impossible not to see the beautiful scenery surrounding this great city. I can think of only a few cities in America that are ideally located for taking advantage of natural beauty. Not only is the surrounding area beautiful, but the climate here is also very mild for most of the year. Rain is a problem for some, as about 50 percent of this city rains. I'd probably sacrifice humidity and avoid high temperatures for a few rain showers, but that's just me.

visiting Seattle 

It may appear that I'm not the only one who has noticed the beauty that seems to surround the Seattle area, as there are several nature preserves in these areas, which is a sure sign that someone else has noticed. Actually, that's what I'm going to talk about. National parks are within driving distance of Seattle Washington. If you're into nature, any of these parks have something to offer, and if you're adventurous, you can try visiting them all (although I feel like you'd be hard-pressed to get the most out of your national park experience in one day).

The first national park on my list is the one that comes to mind first when I think of Seattle, even though it's more of a monument than a park. It is called Mt. Holy. Helens National Volcanic Monument and was created for research, education and recreation purposes. Within the 110,000-acre Volcanic National Monument, nature is left to recover from this disaster. Most recently, Mount St. Helens exploded in 1980.

The next national park on my list is actually a national park called Mt. Rainier National Park is also just outside of Seattle. Mount Rainier is an inactive volcano and the park was established in 1899. Nearly two million people visit the park annually. There are many activities to enjoy here from camping, hiking, horseback riding, hiking and fishing to simple nature walks to enjoy the beautiful nature. This is one park that I really don't recommend trying to get through in a day, there is so much ground to cover and if you rush you might miss out on something really cool. 

I understand that time is limited and you may not have time to thoroughly explore everything the park has to offer in one vacation. If so, I highly recommend finding one or two things to do and see while you're there and focus all your efforts on those things.

Located about two hours outside of Seattle, Washington is North Cascades National Park. These mountains, often called the North American Alps, are incredibly beautiful. Many activities are available in the park, such as camping, hiking, backpacking, fishing, and rafting on the Skagit and Stehekin rivers. For me, it would be enough to just enjoy the amazing views of this national park without benefiting from the other activities available. It's a great way to spend a day, two days or an entire vacation. I especially recommend the river rafting if you have kids. It's a great way to enjoy time together and make everyone happy. You might be able to get them to take off their headphones for a while.

Everyone has certain things that appeal to them the most on vacation. For me, a lot of attraction comes from things I can see, touch, smell and experience. Nature is one of those things that we can't always experience at home, or if we can, we take it for granted. Being able to experience the best that nature has to offer on vacation is a wonderful thing. I hope you visit at least one of these parks during your visit to Seattle.

Location:

Share :