As mentioned in the beginning of this guide, Seattle officials are expecting 750,000 soccer fans to descend upon the city this summer. While we’ve done our best within these pages to show visitors a good time, we also know this World Cup madness hits locals differently. Our city’s population could essentially double for a month. That means twice as many people riding buses, ferries, and trains; twice as many people zipping by on those obnoxious Lime scooters; twice as many people lining up for a scoop of Seattle Fog at Hellenika Cultured Creamery at Pike Place Market. (It is worth the wait, for the record.)
So tourists, avert your eyes. This section isn’t for you. This section is for our fellow full-time Seattleites, the people who read the tourism forecast and cringe. This section is all about running away, with a list of places we’ve been that are off the beaten path, but reachable within a few hours or less.
The Sou’wester
Seaview, WA
Enough with sportball; what you really need is tire tracks on the beach, fried oysters, and a half-alligator man named Jake. A short four(ish)-hour trek from the Emerald City, Long Beach, and its petite suburb of Seaview, are comparable to Oregonian coastal meccas, except here the sea is flanked by glorious paved bike paths along wind-whipped sand dunes, you can drive your vehicle to the ocean’s edge, and everything is a bit more salty and less touristy. The best thing about Seaview is Sou’wester Historic Lodge & Vintage Travel Trailer Resort, where you can book dreamy sleeping arrangements in midcentury Airstreams, cozy cabins, or its 1892 namesake lodge. (Hot tip for artists: Sou’wester is an arts nonprofit that offers discounted weekday stays for self-guided artists’ residency.) If van glamping isn’t your thing, there are many other hotels and reasons to get away to the longest continuously drivable beach in the US: The Shelburne (the longest continuously operating hotel in the state) is definitely haunted and boasts unparalleled Victorian shuffleboard opportunities. Get stoned and hit up the Candy Man for their dark chocolate-covered sea foam and Dylan’s Cottage Bakery for scratch-made donuts before bellying up to the air hockey table at the Funland Family Entertainment Center. If you’re feeling fancy, get the Peruvian mango scallops at the Depot or cocktails at the Pickled Fish (where you can gaze nine glittering miles out to see). If you lean divey, settle in for a well whiskey and pull tabs at Long Beach Tavern. And of course, say hello to Jake at Marsh’s Free Museum. AMANDA MANITACH
Olympic Railway Inn
Sequim, WA
If you want to inject your small-town getaway with just the right amount of kitsch, hop on the Edmonds–Kingston Ferry and head to Sequim, where the Olympic Railway Inn will make all your weird little weekend dreams come true. The “inn” is actually a small field outfitted with nearly a dozen refurbished cabooses, all decked out inside with their own theme. Lavender Limited is done up in shabby chic lace and ruffles. And it’s Christmastime year-round in the Olympic Mountaineer car, which is filled with snowy mountain scenes and a tub that looks like Santa’s sleigh. There’s a wizard train, a steampunk train, a train for wine lovers. I once stayed in the Orient Express car, which is covered floor to ceiling in black-and-gold Art Deco decor, and boasts a giant jacuzzi tub that you’d think would’ve run out of hot water by the time I filled it all the way up past my shoulders, but it did not! What’s more, the small pond just a few steps away from the train cars was full of baby ducks and tiny frogs, and we spotted an egg-filled robin’s nest tucked away in the caboose’s wheel well. For those three days, I felt like a train-hopping Disney princess. Choo-choo! MEGAN SELING
Headquarters Tavern’s Meat Raffle
Mineral, WA
Here’s a twofer. If you want to escape into nature and if you don’t know what to cook for dinner, all you need to do is go to Meat Draw. It’s a little over 81 miles away from Seattle in a stopover town called Mineral. They’re known for their lake, their proximity to Mount Rainier National Park, and, uh, that might be it. There’s one post office, a little market, and one bar. Every Thursday, the bar, Headquarters Tavern, hosts a meat raffle. Pay in, get raffle tickets. The entire pool table is covered in meats from the butcher in the next town over. There are two buckets involved in Meat Draw. One for the winner, one for the meat. If you win, the bar owner—those who know her call her Purple—will come over with a bucket. First, you’ll be exposed as a “Meat Draw Virgin” since everyone else is a local. They’ll hoot and holler at you. (The swearing if you win over and over is all in good fun… I think.) Then, you’ll draw a number from the bucket. That’s your cut of meat. You can win a chuck roast, a rack of ribs, cow tongue, chicken breasts, beef Wellington, any cut of steak you can imagine, and so on. My mother-in-law doesn’t buy meat anymore, she just goes to Meat Draw and lets fate guide her menu. The best part of Meat Draw is that all the entry fees go toward purchasing next week’s batch of meats. It’s socialism! But, uh, don’t mention that in the bar. Anyway, go to Meat Draw, find a good fridge, and stay for the weekend. You can stay in a yurt, pitch a tent on a property listed on Hipcamp, or find a cabin. Hike around the lake, take the whiskey train on the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad, go fishing, catch a movie in Morton, the nearby major town of between 1,100 to 1,200 people. Then, go home and cook your meat. NATHALIE GRAHAM
Cape Flattery Trail
Neah Bay, WA
You’ll feel like you’re standing at the edge of the world when you reach the overlook at the end of the Cape Flattery Trail. And really, you are. Cape Flattery, just outside of Neah Bay, which is part of the Makah Reservation, is the northwesternmost point of the continental United States, and the views are postcard-perfect. Bright blue waves crash into the oversized rocks that dot the horizon, and windblown trees defy gravity by stretching out to the sky from the sides of the surrounding cliffs. From that observation deck, I spotted a family of sea lions splashing in the surf and half a dozen different kinds of seabirds bobbing in the wind, while others have seen whales and porpoises. It’s the kind of scenery that convinces people to leave everything they know behind and move to the Pacific Northwest on a whim. And the smell! The salt, the air, the trees. It’s surprisingly accessible, to boot. Sights as stunning as these are generally reserved for cloud-kissing mountaintops or grueling miles of hiking. Here, you just park at the trailhead (you can buy the required recreation pass for $20 at makah.com), and follow the .75-mile sun-dappled trail, which is so soft and squishy with moss and layers of pine needles it feels like you’re running around on one of those bouncy-bottomed children’s gyms. MEGAN SELING
Rialto Beach
Olympic National Park
Nothing compares to camping on Rialto Beach. The camping area is just off the shores of the Pacific Ocean, where the rocky beach gives way to soft, forested land. The sound of powerful waves will sing you to sleep and wake you up in the morning. You’ll be able to tidepool near the famous Hole-in-the-Wall cut off. When the tide is right, you can walk through the cut-out. When it’s wrong, best not do that. Rialto Beach camping is like baby backpacking. You can park your car about 1 mile from the overnight camp sites. It’s not a hard trek, but schlepping a bunch of shit always adds up. Still, it’s close enough that you could bring a bunch of fresh groceries, a cast-iron pot, and make the best meal you’ve had in your life over a fire. Before you do any of that, you’ll need a Wilderness Permit to camp overnight. You can pick that up on your way in Port Angeles. They’ll also give you bear canisters to store your food (and anything that might smell like food). The journey out there is fun, too. From Seattle, you’ll take the ferry and trace your way through the Olympic Peninsula. If you want, you can take a detour through vampire country (Forks), too. NATHALIE GRAHAM
Portland
Oregon
If you’re feeling extra grumpy about the World Cup crowds invading your space, but don’t want to escape to the woods or sleep on the beach, head south to Portland, Oregon, Seattle’s smaller, younger, friendlier, more affordable PacNW BFF. No planning is required, just track down a copy of our sister paper, Portland Mercury, and go do, eat, and see whatever it is they tell you to. Hell, they even have soccer! The MLS team, Portland Timbers, won’t be playing during the World Cup break, but you’ve got several chances in June and July to catch the city’s USL W team, the Portland Cherry Bombs, in their inaugural season. There’s a thriving bar and restaurant industry, a local music scene bursting with artistry and innovation, plus no sales tax! Wait a minute… why do we live in expensive, dusty-ass Seattle? Viva la Portland! MEGAN SELING