Top 5 most beautiful places in Seattle area (Bellevue, Renton: floor, shops)

[bloom]

What are your top 5 most spectacular places in Seattle area?

[Hemlock140]

Hurricane Ridge
Snoqualmie Falls
Deception Pass
Lake Quinault
San Juan Islands

[sean98125]

Do you mean in Washington State, or within a certain distance of Seattle, or in Seattle itself?

[wutitiz]

downtown Bellevue.

[bloom]

Originally Posted by sean98125

Do you mean in Washington State, or within a certain distance of Seattle, or in Seattle itself?

Less than 1 hour drive, say 60 miles from and within and including Seattle proper.

Or how 'bout make 2 categories here for listings: local (per above) and a bit more remote

[Ira500]

1.The Smith Tower. 1914 skyscraper. It's just cool, and you can go to the observation floor filled with Chinese antiques.

2.The walk along Harbor Avenue in West Seattle towards Alki, on the water overlooking downtown Seattle. It's magical.

3. The conservatory in Volunteer Park. Lots of exotic plants. The place has been there forever, and it's one of a kind.

4. Hiking in the Issaquah Alps. Cougar Mountain has some wonderful trails, and is maybe half an hour from downtown Seattle. In that no man's land between Maple Valley and Renton and Issaquah, Echo Mountain is something you can climb to the top of and down in 45 minutes, and you get rewarded with a pretty great view of Mt. Rainier, if it's out.

5. Kitsap County has some real beauty. Bainbridge Island, of course, but I'm pretty taken with Poulsbo. Great views of the Olympic mountains and water, but in a funky old Scandinavian town setting. It's vibrant, it's fun, and the town has a great feel.

[Kayela]

Within Seattle:

1. Walk west along Highland Drive from Queen Anne Ave N - you'll know when you've gone far enough. Some of the hands-down best views in the entire city.

2. Seattle Asian Art Museum + Volunteer Park. Pretty amazing.

3. Gasworks Park - what other city would have taken something so ugly and made it such a kewl park? The views of DT across SLU are pretty sweet.

4. Alki - 'nough said.

5. Dining on the top floor of the Marriot Renaissance at 6th & Madison. Alright, it ain't the Smith Tower, but it has ~270 degrees of view from south to north, nice ambiance and it's one of the best places in the city to watch the sun set.

Cascades:

1. Mt Rainier - ok, you just have to.

2. Snow Lake - this is the stuff postcards are made of.

3. Snoqualmie Falls - One of my favorite spots after all these years. There is a lovely lodge there, etc, but the falls would be amazing no matter what.

4. I'm putting Leavenworth in here. It's an entire town of holy-crap-over-the-top faux Bavarian tourist trap, and I gotta say - they put their all into it. Quite frankly I can respect that. It's pretty amazing. There is also some of the best german sausage outside the Bavarian meat shop there. Also, gorgeous mountain scenery, lots of outdoor recreation and some surprisingly unique shops. I always find some neat treasures here.

5. Mt Baker - ok - kinda pushing it for 'Seattle area'. It's a bit remote, but the wilderness around here isn't something you'll find much of in the lower 48. If you truly want to get away from it all - it has some of the best, unapologetically bare-bones skiing you'll find. However, the drive to the top isn't for the faint of heart.

[Botev1912]

Alki Beach/Harbor Avenue
Discovery Park
Space Needle
downtown Bellevue
Deception Pass

[west seattle gal]

The whole fricken place has gorgeous views, they are hard to escape.

[Bimmerfanboy]

Originally Posted by west seattle gal

The whole fricken place has gorgeous views, they are hard to escape.

Except when its cloudy and drizzling for 9 months.