Budget friendly vacation ideas in Washington State

This article was provided by our partners at BECU.

If you live in Washington and want to enjoy a break without breaking the bank, consider taking a summer vacation a little closer to home. Here are some ideas from our partners at BECU to help you save while exploring your own backyard.

While scrolling through Instagram pictures of tropical resorts, luxury lake homes and international excursions, you might think everyone is taking high-dollar vacations this summer.

But the prospect of spending thousands of dollars on a summertime getaway can be disheartening if you’re trying to save money and pay off debt. Even though travel costs have decreased since last year, airfare, hotel and care rentals can add up.

The good news is, if you live in Washington, you’re surrounded by great opportunities to explore and have fun. Here are some ideas to help you control costs in four main vacation spending categories: entertainment and activities, food, lodging and transportation.

Entertainment and Activities

One way to control costs on your vacation is by being selective about your entertainment choices. Here are some ideas.

Go Hiking

Enjoy trails ranging from easy to expert in Washington’s diverse geography. Trail access is typically free, but you may need to pay for parking and park entrance fees. Some trails in backcountry and wilderness areas require paid permits, and access may be limited through a permit lottery. Check the requirements before you get to the trailhead. If you’re new to hiking, learn how to stay safe before you go.

Washington offers thousands of hiking trails for any activity, skill level or season.

Visit Snoqualmie Falls

If you like waterfalls, this stop is for you. Plus, it’s free and viewing areas are ADA accessible. According to the Snoqualmie website the falls are more than twice as tall as Niagara Falls and the second-most visited natural landmark in Washington after Mount Rainier. After you visit the falls, you can head into town for local ice cream at Snoqualmie Ice Cream (temporarily located at 8125 Falls Ave.), or local beer at Snoqualmie Falls Brewery.

A visit to Snoqualmie Falls is free. You can choose an easy stroll to the top viewpoint, or, if you have more energy, take the trail to the bottom and back.

Play at the Beach

With more than 3,000 miles of outer coastline, Washington provides lots of opportunities to play at the beach. You could try surfing at Westport, exploring tide pools at Rialto Beach or clamming at Illahee State Park. (Clamming requires a license from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and you’ll need to check the health status of beaches with the Washington Department of Health.)

Enjoy beaches along the Pacific Ocean, Puget Sound, lakes and rivers across Washington

Visit a Lighthouse

With so much coastline, Washington also is a lighthouse fan’s dream with 30 lighthouse sites. One example: View the Cape Flattery Lighthouse from the rugged northwestern-most point of the lower 48 states. Be sure to stop at the Makah Indian Reservation to buy a recreation permit before you go, or buy and print a permit from the Makah website.

Lighthouses dot Washington’s shorelines. Some still have active lenses and you can go inside some for tours.

Go for a Scenic Drive

If you’re looking for a great view and have gas money as part of your vacation budget, Washington has some spectacular options. Here are a few favorites:

Mount Baker Highway, or Highway 542, winds east from Bellingham through Whatcom County, ending at an elevation of 5,140 at Artist Point, with stunning views of Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan. If you’re coming from the south, consider taking Chuckanut Drive to Bellingham.

Olympic Peninsula Loop on U.S. Highway 101 is a 300-mile route around the perimeter of Olympic National Park. Drive the whole loop or pick sections to see rainforests, Pacific Ocean beaches and lakes. Highway 101 is also the road to Forks, made famous by the “Twilight” movie series.

Highway 14 along the Columbia River Gorge is the Washington counterpart to the popular I-84 route on the Oregon side of the gorge. You’ll be treated to views of the Columbia River and Mount Hood, see the top windsurfing spots in the world, and you can visit a Stonehenge replica, built as a World War I memorial, at Maryhill.

A Stonehenge replica, built as a World War I memorial, is one of the scenic stops along Highway 14.

Take a drive to Paradise in Mt. Rainier National Park for breathtaking views.

Tour a Bunker

During World War II, military forts were built along the Strait of Juan de Fuca to defend Puget Sound. You can visit many of these sites, whether you’re interested in learning some history, or you like the spooky factor of walking around old bunkers.

Many locations require a Discover Pass or other paid parking permit. Here are some of the bunkers you can visit:

Camp Hayden in Port Angeles.
Fort Worden in Port Townsend.
Fort Casey on Whidbey Island.
Fort Ebey on Whidbey Island.
Fort Flagler on Marrowstone Island.
Fort Ward on Bainbridge Island.

Food

Whether you stay in a hotel, camp in a tent or crash with friends, meals can be one of the most expensive parts of any travel plan. Here are some ideas to control food costs:

Make Your Own Meals

If you pack your groceries (or buy them when you get to your destination) and limit yourself to one restaurant meal per day, you can reduce your food expenses and treat yourself to some truly delicious dining experiences.

Pack Your Meal as Part of the Fun

Pack your meals to make eating part of your outdoor experience. Whether you’re hiking, road-tripping, beachcombing or visiting a park, plan to enjoy your surroundings while you take in a meal. Bonus: You don’t have to take a break from your activity to go find a restaurant.

Prepare Local Food

The diversity of Washington’s geography supports a wide variety of food. Here are a few suggestions for places to pick up local food that you can take back to your kitchen and prepare:

Pike Place Market in Seattle.
Shellfish farms like Hama Hama and Taylor Shellfish.
Berry and apple farms in Whatcom County.
Farmers markets across Washington like The Scale House Market in Spokane.
Dungeness crab at dockside fish markets and grocery stores.
Farm stands, orchards and other produce in Yakima Valley.

Crabbing in the Puget Sound makes the perfect meal for seafood lovers. Licenses are required for this activity.

Shop at local farmers markets for the fresh produce and regional specialties.

Lodging

Lodging can be another big chunk of vacation expenses.

Staying with friends and family can be fun — and economical. If you take your friends out for a meal or two to repay their kindness, you’ll still spend less than the cost of a hotel stay.

But what if you don’t know anyone who lives in your vacation destination or just prefer not to stay with friends? Here are a few money-saving options.

Go Camping

Washington is home to beautiful camping options, offering an array of mountain, rainforest, desert, beach, lake and river locations.

If you’re a new camper and starting from scratch, getting geared up can be an investment. You’ll want to build savings goals into your budget for purchases like a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, stove and cooler. But once you have your setup, you’ll have plenty of options for low-cost accommodations.

Camping can be a low-cost lodging option that gives you a chance to connect with nature and unplug.

Here are some examples:

Washington State Parks campsites cost $12 for a primitive campsite, up to $56 for a full-utility campsite.

National Parks campsites costs vary by park and by campsite. Olympic National Park, for example, costs $15 to $24 for a campground spot. Some National Parks also have entrance fees. For example, Olympic National Park charges $30 for a standard non-commercial vehicle with up to 15 passengers.

Washington Department of Natural Resources manages 80 campgrounds in the state. Campsites are free, but they are first come, first served, and you do need to have a Discover Pass.

If you’re not quite ready for tent camping, you can spend a little more for a “glamping” experience in a yurt or cabin, but be aware: Some cabin rentals can rival the cost of a hotel stay.

Sort by Hotel Price

If you don’t already have your heart set on a destination and you just want to get away for a few days, consider choosing your vacation spot based on the price of lodging.

Go to a hotel or vacation rental website, enter your vacation dates and sort by price. For example, a search on Booking.com for three-star accommodations in Washington for a week in July, flexible dates and two adults returned 1,217 properties. The lowest price was $310 for a hotel in Yakima, including breakfast — so maybe a winery tour is in your future.

Transportation

Transportation costs — including flights, rental cars, gas and ride services — can add up.

Even though airfare is the lowest it’s been in three years, according to Hopper, you can cut out a big chunk of your vacation expenses by finding fun and relaxation closer to home.

U.S. domestic flights still average $265 per round trip, and international travel prices are much higher.

Here are some transportation suggestions to get you to your local vacation spot and enjoy the sights once you’ve reached your destination.

Take Local Public Transit

Many Washington cities and counties offer bus services and other types of public transportation.

King County Metro is the largest local public transportation agency in the region, serving Seattle and all the surrounding cities and unincorporated areas of King County. An adult single-ride fare is $2.75 and a regional day pass is up to $6.

You can even take the bus to popular hikes along I-90 near North Bend using Metro’s Trailhead Direct service. No gas or parking money required.

Other fun and affordable public transit options include Seattle’s South Lake Union Streetcar and Seattle Center Monorail and Sound Transit’s Link light rail.

Ride the Ferry

In addition to being a great option for getting you to and from a destination, ferries can be an affordable alternative to water tours and cruises.

Riding a ferry can be an affordable way to get your vacation destination or just get out on the water.

Washington State Ferries are a division of the Washington State Department of Transportation and an extension of the state highway system. Ferry routes (PDF) connect passengers to locations throughout the Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands.

Prices vary, but as an example, from Seattle, an adult can walk on the ferry to Bainbridge Island for $10.25. The ride back to the city is free. If you decide to drive on the ferry with an adult passenger and two kids under the age of 18, you’ll pay $33.45. That’s a pretty good deal, considering you aren’t paying for airfare.

If you’re planning to travel to Port Townsend or the San Juan Islands, you can save yourself a long wait during busy travel times by making a reservation.

Find Activity-Based Transportation

If your vacation involves a specific activity, like hiking, mountain biking, wine tasting or brewery tours, check if shuttle services are available.

Here are some examples:

Little Hopper provides shuttle service for craft brewery and winery tours in Yakima Valley.

Visit Walla Walla’s website has a list of wine tours and transportation options.

Olympic Hiking Co. Trailhead Shuttle offers transportation to backpackers who want to leave a car at one end of their point-to-point trip through Olympic National Park.

Talking Rocks Outdoor Company, based in Enumclaw, specializes in trailhead shuttle service to the South Cascades.

Enjoy a winery tour and explore vineyards in Washington.

While on vacation, sip and learn the history of popular Washington wines.

Resources

Figuring out where to go and what to do can be overwhelming. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

Local newspaper entertainment guides: The Seattle Times, for example, has an event and entertainment guide called “The Ticket,” and The Stranger has “EverOut.”

Tourism bureaus and organizations: State of Washington Tourism, Visit Seattle, Visit Spokane and Yakima Valley Tourism are examples.

Bargain-based listings: Greater Seattle on the Cheap has a whole website dedicated to low-cost fun.

Your local library: Public libraries are great places to find free entertainment, festivals, classes, art and history.

This article was written by Katie J. Skipper, BECU Community Content Manager. Katie manages the BECU Blog and writes about personal finance topics including credit cards, budgeting, debt management, loans, taxes, home improvement, inflation, fraud and scams. She also writes about race, gender and social equity, and features the stories and expertise of BECU employees and community members. A former journalist, she has reported for daily newspapers in Washington and Montana, including The Daily (Everett) Herald, Great Falls (Montana) Tribune and The Bellingham Herald, covering a range of topics including government, law and justice, and the environment.

Thank you to BECU for sponsoring The Whole U!

Getting involved in ecological restoration

Volunteers to plant trees

Celebrated forest ecologist and UW Professor Emeritus Jerry Franklin once thought he’d been grabbed by Sasquatch while conducting research in Gifford Pinchot National Forest in southwest Washington.

It turned out to be a mature Douglas fir shedding 1,000 pounds of its bark. Professor Franklin, a longtime steward of old growth forests and advocate for ecological restoration, has yet to meet Sasquatch. But for those hoping to, engaging in ecological restoration projects in the forests of the Pacific Northwest is a great place to start.

Ecological restoration is a process of active intervention in the recovery of damaged or destroyed ecosystems – the damage often being a result of human activity like over-farming, pollution, and natural resource depletion such as logging and mining.

Once the ecosystem is restored and thriving, ongoing stewardship of the ecosystem is necessary to nourish marine and animal life, reduce carbon emissions, and sustain our cultures, communities, and economies.

Watch: What is ecosystem restoration?

Restoration ecology, meanwhile, is the scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration. The Restoration Ecology Network, part of the UW Botanical Gardens in the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, is a center for ecological restoration and conservation providing opportunities for UW students to conduct research on and gain experience with local restoration projects.

On every continent and in every ocean

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2021-2030 as the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a universal call for the prevention of degradation and revival of earth’s ecosystems – from forests and grasslands to oceans and peatlands – for the benefit of people and nature.

The UN program envisions restoration work not as isolated projects but as a coordinated, worldwide movement to revive and strengthen the diverse ecosystems upon which all life on Earth relies.

Restoration is not a substitute for conservation

Ecologists stress the importance of conservation efforts to sustain biodiversity and prepare for the ongoing effects of climate change, pollution, and unsustainable exploitation of limited natural resources.

Facilitating the revitalization of a damaged ecosystem is only one component, however, of conserving and maintaining Earth’s ecosystems.

Small actions can have a big impact

Ecological recovery work might be as unassuming as pulling invasive blackberry bushes or other weeds, planting seeds or seedlings, or collecting native seeds. In the Pacific Northwest, an area known for trailblazing ecological restoration initiatives and with diverse and relatively healthy native ecosystems, there are any number of opportunities to engage with restoration projects.

Take action: Volunteer, donate or advocate

Your support of UWCFD-member nonprofits as a donor, volunteer or advocate demonstrates your commitment to creating and stewarding thriving and resilient ecosystems in your own communities and across the state. Consider setting up payroll deduction or making a one-time gift through the UWCFD to any of the following organizations doing ecological restoration work in Washington.

What impact can volunteers make?

Read about the years-long restoration of the Pratt Lake Trail near Snoqualmie Pass, where Washington Trails Association (WTA) has been hosting annual work parties and Backcountry Response Teams since 2016 as a part of their Lost Trails Found campaign. WTA hosts a variety of other volunteer restoration opportunities as well, including trail work parties (families welcome!), weeklong volunteer vacations and youth volunteer vacations.

UW Botanic Gardens’ Rare Care program offers volunteer projects across the state working to conserve Washington’s native and rare plants. Volunteers gather data, manage the rare seed vault, collect seeds and support outreach events or other special projects.

Forterra works for healthy ecosystems and resilient communities across Washington. Summer and fall restoration projects need volunteers to help with removing invasive plants, clearing trails and more. Forterra also offers year-long volunteer forest steward opportunities.

Forterra partner Green Redmond Partnership is building a sustainable network of healthy urban green spaces, with the next volunteer work party scheduled for September 25 at Smith Woods.

Tilth Alliance, a food equity collective based in Wallingford, encourages volunteers to learn by doing working alongside their staff at community learning gardens and the Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands – Seattle’s largest urban farm. Depending on the time of year, projects may include weeding, harvesting food for local food banks, preparing beds for planting, or caring for natural areas. They also offer group work parties. No experience necessary, and gloves and tools provided.

Puget Soundkeeper Alliance works to meaningfully decrease pollutants reaching Puget Sound through monitoring, citizen enforcement and pollution prevention. The Alliance invites volunteers to participate in the 2021 Seattle Summer Cleanup Series through August, conducting marine debris cleanup on the water in canoes or kayaks on land near our many shorelines.

Learn more

Green City Partnerships engage community volunteers to help restore and maintain our urban green spaces while strengthening community and creating a culture of environmental stewardship across our region.

The Urban Forestry Commission of the City of Seattle advises the City Council on policy and regulations governing the protection, management, and conservation of trees and vegetation in the City of Seattle.

The Society for Ecological Restoration UW Chapter brings together UW students with a common interest in the practice of ecological restoration and a common goal of restoring and sustaining the biodiversity of the UW campus.

The Veterans’ Ecological Trades Collective exists to support veterans and allies in acquiring skills that launch or refine careers in Conservation, Agriculture, Forestry and Ecological Design. The organization provides educational programs and outdoor work parties tackling projects like noxious weed removal, trail clearing, and small farm construction.

The UN Development Program’s Learning for Nature initiative is offering a free self-paced course on Ecosystem Restoration. Though intended for policymakers, the course is open to anyone interested.

Juicing vs. blending: What’s the real difference?

We all know fruits and vegetables are good for us — but did you know eating five or more servings a day can lower your risk of stroke by up to 26% and reduce your chance of dying from cardiovascular disease? Research has even found that the antioxidants in fruit and vegetable juices may help delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

The bottom line: the more produce you eat (or drink), the better. But getting in all those servings isn’t always easy — especially on busy days. That’s where juicing and blending come in.

What’s the difference?

Juicing extracts the liquid from fruits and vegetables, leaving behind most of the pulp and fiber. The result is a thin, concentrated beverage rich in vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients — but without the filling fiber. Juicing requires a juicer designed to separate juice from pulp.

Blending, on the other hand, uses the whole fruit or vegetable. Everything you put in the blender ends up in your glass, creating a thicker drink (a smoothie) with more fiber and volume. You can use a standard blender or a higher-power version like a Vitamix.

Example: You’ll need about two oranges, one stem of kale, half a red pepper, one cup of berries, and one stalk of broccoli to make one cup of juice — but the same amount of produce makes roughly three cups of smoothie.

Juicing at a glance

Produces a smooth, nutrient-dense drink in a smaller amount of liquid.
Works well for those who need a low-fiber diet or prefer lighter beverages.
Because it’s concentrated, keep portions smaller to avoid excess sugar.
Requires more produce per serving, which can make it more expensive.

Example: Two oranges, one stem of kale, half a red pepper, one cup of berries, and one stalk of broccoli make about one cup of juice.

Blending at a glance

Uses the entire fruit or vegetable, keeping all the fiber intact.
Results in a thicker, more filling drink that supports digestive health.
Lets you add extras like nuts, seeds, yogurt, or oats for healthy fats and protein.
Produces a larger portion — about three cups of smoothie from the same amount of produce used for one cup of juice.

Which one is healthier?

Both can be part of a healthy lifestyle — it depends on your needs and preferences.

Choose juicing if you want a quick vitamin boost or need to reduce fiber temporarily. Just keep portions small to avoid excess sugar.
Choose blending if you want the benefits of fiber, protein, and healthy fats. Smoothies keep you fuller longer and support digestive health.
Do both! Alternate between juicing and blending to mix things up and use produce before it spoils.

Tips for juicing and blending success

Keep fruit to 1–2 servings per drink (½–1 cup) to avoid excess sugar.
Load up on greens — kale, spinach, parsley, and cabbage taste milder than you might think.
Add citrus (especially lime or lemon juice) to cut any bitterness.
For juicing, use high-water veggies like cucumber and celery for extra volume.
For smoothies, add water, coconut water, or milk to reach your ideal consistency.
Invest wisely — higher-horsepower machines perform better and last longer.

Whether you prefer the clean taste of fresh juice or the hearty texture of a smoothie, both are easy ways to boost your daily fruit and veggie intake — and reduce food waste in the process. Always consult your medical provider before making significant dietary changes, especially if you have a medical condition.