•RESORTS in WASHINGTON STATE•

the BEST Washington state RESORTS for a getaway

01•13•2024

Whether you’re looking for a relaxing weekend away or an activity-filled adventure, there is a resort in Washington State that can provide you with the great getaway that you need. The resorts listed below are the places that we have visited and can recommend from experience. Whether you stay within the resort or use these places as home bases to explore the surrounding areas, these resorts promise majestic views, tons of activities and amenities, and some great dining options.

•Suncadia resort (cle elum, wa)•

Only 90 minutes outside of Seattle just over Snoqualmie Pass, Suncadia Resort is a beautiful and popular resort destination. With its huge evergreen trees, flowing rivers, and mountain views, the spectacular scenery is as much of a draw as its wide range of activities. There are a variety of lodging options available including Lodge and Inn guest rooms and suites in addition to vacation home rentals.

Suncadia offers multiple golf courses, several pools including an indoor pool with two slides, a fitness center, miles of hiking trails, and an on-site spa. Plus, there are several restaurants within Suncadia for you to choose from, or some of the rooms and all of the vacation home rentals come with their own kitchen if you’d rather eat in. There are lots of activities including archery, axe throwing, bike rentals, ATV tours, summer movie nights, tie-dye, and other fun activities. Plus, in the winter they offer a ton of cool seasonal activities such as ice skating, nordic ski and snowshoe trails, snowmobiling, and sledding.

Suncadia is one of our favorite places to visit. Check out my separate blog post about Suncadia!

•Skamania lodge (Stevenson, wa)•

Skamania Lodge is located in southern Washington on the Columbia River Gorge, about an hour east of Portland, Oregon. It offers expansive views of the spectacular Gorge along with a variety of onsite amenities and activities and lodge rooms with a Pacific Northwest vibe. If you’re looking for something unique, they offer treehouse accommodations that you can book for your stay!

If you’re here for a relaxing weekend or romantic getaway, enjoy the Gorge views from their grand lobby with floor to ceiling windows, or from the many Adirondack chairs on the expansive back lawn. You can roast marshmallows around the firepit and visit the onsite dining room or lounge for meals. They also offer onsite amenities including 9-hole and 18-hole golf courses, a large indoor pool, indoor and outdoor hot tubs, an outdoor fire pit, a spa, and a fitness center.

For those feeling more adventurous, visit the onsite adventure park where you’ll find zipline tours, an aerial adventure park, and axe throwing. Or use the Skamania Lodge as your basecamp to explore the Columbia River Gorge and some of the spectacular scenery and hiking in the area, including many waterfalls!

•Semiahmoo Resort (Blaine, WA)•

Semiahmoo is a great family-friendly resort north of Seattle close to the Canadian border. It’s right on the beach and offers views of Canada and Mount Baker on clear days. They have a few on-site restaurants, and tons of activities including a giant outdoor chess set, bonfire pits and complementary s’mores kits, a 50 seat movie theater with daily showings, an on-site spa, and a heated indoor-outdoor pool and hot tub. There is a Beach Activities Center that is open during the summer where you can rent kayaks and paddleboards, or you are welcome to bring your own, and they also offer complementary bike rentals. And there are plenty of sports in which you can partake including golf, tennis, and pickleball.

A visit to Semiahmoo could be combined with a visit to Mount Baker, North Cascades National Park, a visit to the nearby city of Bellingham, or a whale watching tour out of Bellingham.

•Sun Mountain Lodge (Withtrop, WA)•

Located in the Methow Valley in Winthrop, just east of North Cascades National Park, Sun Mountain Lodge is perched overlooking the valley and surrounding mountains. Offering both lodge rooms and cabins, this can be a great jumping off point to explore North Cascades and the small towns nearby. Check out my separate post about the National Park. Winthrop is known for being an old Western themed town and is quite popular and has plenty of shops and restaurants to explore, and it’s easily accessible from Sun Mountain.

Sun Mountain has a variety of amenities including two outdoor seasonal pools, two year-round hot tubs, onsite dining and a wine cellar, playgrounds, a game room, a fitness center, and a spa. There are also some cool activities to choose from including horseback riding, wagon dinner rides, miles of hiking trails, fishing, mountain biking, and e-bike rentals. Plus, in the winter there is a plethora of outdoor activities including cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and sleigh rides.

•Rosario Resort and Spa (Orcas Island, WA)•

Located on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands, this is the resort that is hardest to reach of those on my list, but worth the journey. The Rosario Resort offers a variety of rooms and suites that afford views of the Bay. We stayed in a Hillside Two Bedroom suite and it was very spacious with a full kitchen and awesome views. They have onsite dining options plus a spa and indoor pool with certain family swim times and other adult-only swim times. The Rosario also has a marina where you can enjoy seasonal whale watching tours, scenic cruises, and kayak tours.

Nearby to the Rosario you can explore the state parks on the island – Moran State Park and Obstruction Pass State Park. Moran State Park is home to Mount Constitution, the highest point in the San Juan Islands. You can drive to the top where you’ll find sweeping views of the surrounding islands and even Mount Baker and the North Cascades mountains on clear days. You can also explore the town of Eastsound which has a ton of cute shops, restaurants, and a weekend farmers market in the summer. Don’t miss the bakery Brown Bear Baking, which is so popular that there is normally quite a line, and the Clever Cow Creamery.

To get to Orcas Island you must take a ferry from Anacortes, which is about 90 minutes north of Seattle. The ferry ride is about an hour long. Be sure to book tickets well in advance of your trip, especially in the summer months, and arrive well before your scheduled departure time.

•Campbell's Resort (Chelan, WA)•

Campbell‘s is a lakefront resort located in central Washington in the town of Chelan. Its rooms all have either patios or balconies overlooking the lake and the two seasonal pools and hot tubs. I wouldn’t say that this is a fancy resort by any means, but it’s a cool location, especially for a summer visit with the family. You can partake in a variety of summer activities on the lake including boating, kayaking, parasailing, and jet skiing, and also visit the nearby outdoor water park Slidewaters. In January, Chelan also holds Winterfest, which I have wanted to try but haven’t made it to yet. Campbell’s does have an onsite restaurant and there are plenty of restaurants within walking distance in Chelan, or you can also drive a bit to Manson to find additional options. Don’t miss the Lake Chelan Artisan Bakery – they have delicious pastries!

We also normally use Campbell’s as a starting point for a visit to Stehekin, which is at the northern end of Lake Chelan and reached by ferry from the town of Chelan. You can visit Stehekin as a day trip, but I recommend staying longer as it’s such a unique place! Check out my separate post about visiting Stehekin if you’re interested!

•Great Wolf Lodge (Grand MounD, WA)•

I had to include Great Wolf Lodge because it’s one of my kids’ favorite places to go! Only about 90 minutes south of Seattle you’ll find this indoor waterpark. Great Wolf Lodge makes a great family getaway during those rainy winter months in the Pacific Northwest!

If you’ve never been to a Great Wolf Lodge, they offer a variety of room types including some themed rooms that kids will love with bunk beds inside “cabins” or “camps” within the hotel room. And of course there’s the huge indoor waterpark with tons of slides, a wave pool, pools with other activities such as basketball, and hot tubs. They also have other attractions such as an arcade, MagiQuest, Build a Bear, indoor mini golf, and a super cool outdoor high ropes course that our kids loved to do on a sunny day! They also offer other activities throughout the day including character appearances, a clock tower show with music, story time, crafts, and a dance party. There are several onsite dining options, or try Burger Claim next door, which we really enjoyed.

•Salish Lodge (Snoqualmie, WA)•

The Salish Lodge is an elegant hotel perched above the beautiful Snoqualmie Falls. I stayed at this hotel long before I moved to Washington, and it’s very nice, but it has become quite expensive, so I haven’t stayed here since. Plus, I live 15 minutes away now!

Due to its position above the falls, you can’t actually see the falls from the rooms, but some rooms do offer views of the river and hydroelectric plant, and some rooms have patios. All rooms have gas fireplaces and a modern upscale Pacific Northwest vibe. They have two onsite restaurants, a neat gift shop, and a spa. But the main attraction is walking the nearby paths and seeing the roaring Snoqualmie Falls. You can also check out the surrounding area that is a short drive away, including Snoqualmie and North Bend. See my separate post about exploring the Snoqualmie Valley area!

•Lake Crescent Lodge (Olympic National Park)•

The Lake Crescent Lodge sits right on the banks of Lake Crescent within Olympic National Park, and it’s one of our absolute favorite places to go! The lodge sits right on the south shore of the lake and you can choose from cabins, hotel rooms, and motel rooms. We usually stay in one of the Singer Tavern Cottage cabins and we love these little cottages because they are near the water and they have a small porch and outdoor seating to sit and relax and take in the views. We have also managed to snag reservations for a historic Roosevelt Cabin, and it was pretty awesome and more spacious. It had a small fridge and microwave, which most of the other rooms do not offer, plus a wood burning fireplace. Note that there are no rooms with air conditioning or wi-fi, and reservations fill up really far in advance.

The water here is so clear and surrounded by lush, green mountains, and it’s simply a beautiful setting. There are kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards available for rent, a restaurant, and a gift shop. There is a beach for swimming and a dock where you can jump into the water. Every time we go, my husband and kids jump in and swim in the lake, which is FREEZING. There are awesome hikes within walking distance including Mount Storm King, which offers amazing views of the lake, and Marymere Falls, which is a shorter and easier trail to a waterfall.

•Kalaloch Lodge (Olympic National Park)•

The Kalaloch Lodge is another great place to stay in Olympic National Park. Kalaloch’s lodging sits atop a bluff that overlooks the ocean and includes a variety of cabins and lodge rooms. There is also a restaurant and gift shop located in the main lodge building, as well as a small convenience store with an espresso bar in an adjacent building. We always stay in one of the ocean view cabins that have a kitchen and fireplace, and they are great. They have full kitchens and outdoor seating to enjoy the wonderful views of the coastline! From the lodge you can head right down to the beach, and you can walk from there north to the Tree of Life. Note that there are no rooms with air conditioning and the cabins do not have wi-fi.

The lodge offers some yard games and board games to check out. But the main attraction here is the nearby scenery. You can easily drive north to Ruby Beach and the Hoh Rainforest, or just explore the beaches around Kalaloch, including tide pooling. Also, some people visit in the winter for some epic storm watching, which I have always wanted to try!

•Quileute Oceanside Resort (La Push, WA)•

We stayed at the Quileute Resort as an alternative to Kalaloch on a visit to Olympic National Park, and we were pleasantly surprised! We stayed in one of the Deluxe Cabins, and we were blown away by the views when we entered the cabin! With two walls of windows and separated from the ocean by only a small dune and driftwood, you have a front row seat to watch eagles, seals, and surfers, all of which we saw during our visit. This place had the largest population of bald eagles that we have ever experienced, and it was so cool to see them soaring overhead and squawking at each other. Besides the cabins, they also offer motel style rooms and two RV parks. Our cabin had a full kitchen, so we mostly ate in as nearby restaurants are scarce. Also, they do have a small grocery store on-site, and the small town of Forks (known as the setting for the Twilight book and movie series) is less than 25 minutes away and offers additional stores and restaurants.

We used the Quileute Resort as a home base to do some hiking nearby, including several beach trails such as Second Beach and Third Beach.

•Alta Crystal Resort (Enumclaw, WA)•

The Alta Crystal Resort is a perfect jumping off point for a visit to Mount Rainier National Park, especially if you are looking to visit the eastern Sunrise side of the park. They offer both suites and cabins. We stayed in the Tahoma Cabin and loved it – it was very spacious with a kitchen and a private hot tub on the back deck. There is also an onsite heated year-round pool and hot tub.

Nearby to Alta Crystal you will find abundant hiking, you can visit Mount Rainier National Park, and you can also drive up to Crystal Mountain ski resort, which has a summertime gondola ride where you’ll find spectacular views of Mount Rainier at the top. During the winter Alta Crystal also offers shuttle service to and from the Crystal Mountain ski resort.

•Willows Lodge (Woodinville, WA)•

This luxury lodge is located only a half hour outside of Seattle in the wine country of Woodinville. The Willows Lodge offers onsite dining, an outdoor relaxation pool and sauna, and a spa. You can bike or stroll along the nearby Sammamish River Trail, visit the nearby wineries, or just relax onsite by your gas fireplace or in your soaking tub.

•Other Resorts in Washington State•

I don’t want to issue recommendations for resorts that I haven’t been able to visit, but I also hate to leave them off the list! Here are some places that I still have on my bucket list for the future:

Alderbrook Resort (Union) – This luxury resort is situated right on the Hood Canal with many water-focused activities for guests to enjoy including an indoor saltwater pool and a variety of rentals such as kayaks and hydrobikes.
Ocean Crest Resort (Moclips) – This resort is located on the Washinton coast about a half hour north of Ocean Shores. They have an indoor heated pool and hot tub and an onsite restaurant that receives great reviews.
Sleeping Lady Resort (Leavenworth]) – Near the Bavarian mountain town of Leavenworth, the Sleeping Lady Resort is an upscale rustic retreat to enjoy after a day exploring Leavenworth or nearby hiking. They offer a seasonal pool and hot tub and a game room that they call the Play Barn.
Snug Harbor Resort (San Juan Island) – This resort offers waterfront accommodations on San Juan Island. They provide complimentary kayaks, paddle boards, and bikes for guests, and modern cabins with full kitchens. You do have to take a ferry boat here from Anacortes.
Iron Springs Resort (Copalis Beach) – Located between Seabrook and Ocean Shores, at this resort you’ll find a variety of cabins with full kitchens, fireplaces, and views of the beach and ocean.
Canyon River Ranch (Ellensburg) – Although not near a typical hot tourist destination, this resort is situated on the Yakima River and offers a year-round outdoor heated pool and hot tub and an onsite restaurant that gets great reviews.
Ross Lake Resort (North Cascades National Park) – This resort with floating cabins is located in North Cascades National Park. They have a waiting list a mile long and people try for years and years to get reservations here. Well, we all can dream, right? The resort is only accessible by hiking or by boat, but it seems like an awesome place to check out if you ever get the chance.

Do you want to visit these great resorts in Washington? Save this page for later!

Facebook Print Pin