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Water has always played a significant role in the settlement, commerce, and recreation of Washington. Rivers and streams meander across the landscape, peaceful lakes provide prime spots for fishing and swimming, dramatic waterfalls thunder over cliffs, and the constant ebb and flow of the tides lap at the state’s western shores. Long before the arrival of roads and railways, the rivers, streams, and water passages served as the transportation network within the area. Canoes, sailing ships, steamships, tugs, fishing boats, and even military ships have graced the waters of Washington. Many communities were built along the water, to take advantage of its rich harvest. Shipbuilding companies, canneries, fisheries, dams, and lighthouses represent the Evergreen State’s intrinsic connection to the water.
The tour follows the wooded eastern shore of upper Hood Canal, cuts through logged-off land to Sinclair Inlet, and skirts the numerous bays and coves of the west shore of Puget Sound. The tour twists and turns through wooded areas alternating with truck farms, berry fields, and grazing land.
The tour follows the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway along a relatively flat coastline with broad sandy beaches. Multiple state parks provide access to the coastline for recreation and several port cities abound with fresh seafood.
This tour follows the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway through the Olympic National Park and with frequent access to beaches along the Pacific Coast.
This tour follows the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway along SR 101, leaving the well-settled industrial and agricultural region at the head of Puget Sound, heads northward through sparsely populated prairies and logged-off hills to Hood Canal, and then pursues a quiet way along the wooded western shore to Quimper Peninsula and Discovery Bay.
This tour follows SR 101 along the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway with side trips along the Strait of Juan de Fuca Highway National Scenic Byway and the Cape Flattery Tribal Scenic Byway.
The tour crosses through rich agricultural lands along the flats and deltas of the Skagit, the Stillaguamish, and the Snohomish Rivers, which with their tributaries reach back through many miles of rolling land and wooded foothill to the Cascade Mountains.
This section of the Pacific Highway lies through Washington’s State Capital and some of its largest cities. Skirting the bays of lower Puget Sound, the tour passes through the State’s most densely populated and most highly industrialized area, yet woodland stretches and thinly settled fanning districts are met with just outside these centers.
Follow the last segment of Lewis and Clark’s adventure along the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. This tour follows the Columbia River as it winds out to the ocean.
The tour follows the wooded eastern shore of upper Hood Canal, cuts through logged-off land to Sinclair Inlet, and skirts the numerous bays and coves of the west shore of Puget Sound. The tour twists and turns through wooded areas alternating with truck farms, berry fields, and grazing land.
This tour follows an old stage route connecting Mary’s Corner with Vancouver, on the Columbia River. The tour follows the Chehalis, Newaukum, and Columbia rivers.
This tour follows the Whidbey Scenic Isle Way, following state routes 20 and 525 through farmland and historic towns on Whidbey Island along a portion of the Cascade Loop Scenic Byway.
This tour follows the San Juan Islands Scenic Byway. Follow the historic canoe route of the Coast Salish people aboard Washington State Ferries from Anacortes to the beautiful San Juan Islands. Once there, the Islands are easily accessible by multiple modes—walking, bicycling, transit, automobile, and even by kayak.
This tour follows the Whidbey Scenic Isle Way, following state routes 20 and 525 through farmland and historic towns on Whidbey Island along a portion of the Cascade Loop Scenic Byway.
The tour follows the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway as it skirts the many-fingered upper reaches of Puget Sound, and then cuts across to Hood Canal, which it follows to Quimper Peninsula. Swinging in a westerly direction, the route roughly parallels Juan de Fuca Strait then turns to the south following the Pacific Coast.
This tour roughly follows the north/south route of the old Pacific Highway, SR 99. Today, many parts of the old highway still exist, and long sections of this historic route can be driven from the Canadian border to Vancouver.
This tour spans the state from the fresh water harbor along the Snake River across the rugged Cascade Mountains to the saltwater of Grays Harbor.
The tour follows the course of the Lewis and Clark scenic byway along the Columbia River along the Oregon border. The landscape changes dramatically between the east and west sides of the state and passes through several scenic areas.
Beginning among brown, treeless hillsides, the Lewis and Clark Highway threads downstream along the Columbia River through a deep and spectacular gorge which, laying open a cross section of the otherwise unbroken 2,000-mile Cascade-Sierra mountain chain, separates the states of Washington and Oregon.
This tour covers 52 miles, starting with the state capital of Olympia, through the lumber town McCleary, the bulb farms of Satsop, timber-wealth-built Montesano on to Aberdeen and Hoquiam.
Explore the maritime and agricultural history of Bainbridge Island. The tour loops around the full island with side trips out to notable points, forts, and waterfront communities. The core tour can be done by car or by bicycle, though there are frequent hills on the island.
The deep, glacially sculpted channels of the Puget Sound are rich in islands. This tour explores three of the major islands. Each island tour is geographically separated and best approached as individual trips due to the logistics of ferry travel. The San Juan Island tour follows the San Juan Islands Scenic Byway.
Like the verdant crest of a young mountain, Vashon Island stretches for 14 miles along the west shore of the Sound, midway between Seattle and Tacoma, its fertile heights, above the timbered slopes, dotted with orchards and fields.
