Northwest Washington

Updated October 3, 2026

Northwest Washington runs from the Canadian border to the south end of King County, and from the San Juan Islands to the crest of the North Cascades. It holds the busiest cities in the state and, an hour or two beyond them, some of its wildest country.

Six counties make up the region on the state road map: Island, King, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish and Whatcom. That puts Seattle, Bellingham and Everett in the same region as the Skagit Valley tulip fields, the ferry islands and the Mount Baker backcountry.

Use this page as the index. If you know where you are headed, start with a town guide. If you are going somewhere smaller, scroll down to the towns without a guide of their own, where every coffee shop, market, museum, golf course and local business we list is filed under its town.

What Northwest Washington is known for

When to go

Getting around

• By car: I-5 is the spine, running north from the King County line through Seattle, Everett, Mount Vernon and Bellingham to the border at Blaine. I-90 crosses the Cascades at Snoqualmie Pass, US 2 at Stevens Pass, and Highway 20 through the North Cascades in summer only. Check current pass and road conditions.
• By ferry: Anacortes to the San Juan Islands, Mukilteo to Clinton on Whidbey Island, Coupeville to Port Townsend, and Fauntleroy to Vashon. Seattle and Edmonds sail west across the sound to Bainbridge, Bremerton and Kingston. The Anacortes to Sidney, British Columbia route has been suspended since 2020. Read the ferry guide.
• By air: Sea-Tac is the main airport. Paine Field in Everett has Alaska and Horizon flights to western cities, and Bellingham International sits about 20 miles from the border.
• By train: Amtrak Cascades stops at Tukwila, Seattle, Edmonds, Everett, Stanwood, Mount Vernon and Bellingham on the way to Vancouver, British Columbia.

Northwest Washington town guides

Locals on the podcast

Conversations from the Exploring Washington State Podcast with people who live here.

• Rochelle Robinson’s Bellingham: what the city would put on a dating profile.
• Scott Price’s Whidbey Island: why a tight knit island community is worth the ferry.
• Paul Tolmé’s Seattle: the city’s cycling culture, from the Cascade Bicycle Club.
• Lauren Loebsack on the North Cascades Highway: what it takes to drive, and keep open, Highway 20.
• Mark Everton on Seattle Southside: coffee, UFOs and small adventures in SeaTac, Tukwila and Des Moines.
• Daisey James on Bellingham disc golf: how a pandemic hobby became a community.

Small towns in Northwest Washington

These towns do not have a full guide yet. Everything we list in each one is right here, grouped by county.

King County

Skagit County

Snohomish County

Whatcom County

Coffee roasters in Northwest Washington

Shops in our coffee directory that roast their own beans.

• Bellingham Coffee Roasters Bellingham
• Boon Boona Coffee Renton
• Camber Coffee Bellingham
• Cracken Coffee Roasters Everett
• Honeymoon Bay Coffee Roasters Oak Harbor
• Huxdotter Coffee Renton Renton
• Makario Coffee Roasters Everett
• Makeworth Coffee Bellingham
• Red Door Coffee Roasters Everett
• The Coffee Shop by Hammerhead Coffee Roasters Bellingham
• Visible Coffee Roasters Mill Creek Mill Creek
• Woods Coffee Bakerview Square Bellingham
• Woods Coffee Barkley Bellingham
• Woods Coffee Boulevard Park Bellingham
• Woods Coffee King St Bellingham
• Woods Coffee Lakeway Bellingham
• Woods Coffee Meridian Bellingham
• Woods Coffee Renton Renton
• Zoka Coffee Greenlake Seattle
• Zoka Coffee Kirkland Kirkland
• Zoka Coffee South Lake Union Seattle
• Zoka Coffee University District Seattle

Northwest Washington state parks and rest areas

Parking at a Washington State Park needs a Discover Pass: $45 a year or $10 a day. How the Discover Pass works and where to buy it.

State parks (44)

• Bay View State Park
• Birch Bay State Park
• Blind Island Marine State Park
• Bridle Trails State Park
• Cama Beach Historical State Park
• Camano Island State Park
• Clark Island Marine State Park
• Dash Point State Park
• Deception Pass State Park
• Doe Island Marine State Park
• Federation Forest State Park
• Flaming Geyser State Park
• Fort Casey Historical State Park
• Fort Ebey State Park
• Hope Island Marine State Park Skagit County
• James Island Marine State Park
• Jones Island Marine State Park
• Joseph Whidbey State Park
• Kanaskat-Palmer State Park
• Lake Sammamish State Park
• Larrabee State Park
• Lime Kiln Point State Park
• Matia Island Marine State Park
• Moran State Park
• Mount Pilchuck State Park
• Nolte State Park
• Obstruction Pass State Park
• Olallie State Park
• Patos Island Marine State Park
• Peace Arch Historical State Park
• Posey Island State Park
• Rasar State Park
• Rockport State Park
• Saddlebag Island Marine State Park
• Saint Edward State Park
• Saltwater State Park
• Skagit Island Marine State Park
• South Whidbey State Park
• Spencer Spit State Park
• Squak Mountain State Park
• Stuart Island Marine State Park
• Sucia Island Marine State Park
• Turn Island Marine State Park
• Wallace Falls State Park

Rest areas (9)

• Bow Hill Rest Area I-5 Northbound
• Bow Hill Rest Area I-5 Southbound
• Custer Rest Area I-5 Northbound
• Custer Rest Area I-5 Southbound
• Iron Goat Rest Area US 2 Multidirectional
• SeaTac Rest Area Northbound I-5
• Silver Lake Rest Area I-5 southbound
• Smokey Point Rest Area I-5 Northbound
• Smokey Point Rest Area I-5 Southbound

Everything we list in Northwest Washington

• 150 local businesses
• 60 coffee shops
• 49 museums
• 82 golf courses
• 63 farmers markets
• 44 state parks
• 9 rest areas

Read next

Questions people ask

Counties

Island County · King County · San Juan County · Skagit County · Snohomish County · Whatcom County

Explore Washington's other regions

• Olympic Peninsula and South Sound

Region boundaries come from the Washington State Department of Transportation, and every listing gets its region from its county. See how the six regions work.