Well, have you? You will get asked if you have watched this show before a few times during your visit to the Snoqualmie, Washington area. (The show premiered in 1990 and was based in the Snoqualmie area… it’s ok if you didn’t watch, I’ll save you from the theme music and rough acting, though, it is pretty cool to see the same area in a TV show.)
Washington is a beautiful state, at least from the drive from the airport to the surrounding Snoqualmie area. The Western Hemlocks are tall and skinny and multiplied, and you will be in awe over the mountains.
My husband booked a surprise trip for my birthday over Labor Day weekend in 2020. He booked the flights, rental car, hotel (with dinner and brunch reservations), horseback riding, and planned a nice hike in the area.
We flew during Covid-19. Flying was pretty much the same with exception of hand sanitizer everywhere, at least 50% fewer people (including the parking lot at the airport), people standing 6 feet away most of the time, no random person in the middle seat, and having to wear a mask the whole flight. Not too bad actually if you think about it, with exception of the mask, pretty ideal.
Our direct flight to Seattle-Tacoma Airport from Pittsburgh was about 5 hours, and our flight home was a little under 5 hours. At the Seattle Airport, you have to take a bus to the rental car area, allow at least 20 minutes for this once you get there and also for your return home.
We got in on a Friday around 7 pm and headed right to the Hotel Lodge. My husband booked us at the most beautiful hotel overlooking the Snoqualmie Falls- the Salish Lodge and Spa. We received a text message from “Cooper” at the lodge reaching out to us to let us know if we had any questions and looked forward to seeing us. About 30 minutes later, we pulled in to the lodge and noticed the parking lot was rather large but went straight to the valet. It turns out the parking lot is an extension to the tourist parking area so the valet and parking for hotel guests is separate. Our room was upgraded and exactly what you would picture for a lodge hotel room. The room had a fireplace, wooden table accents, a nice large 2-person shower that included the most pleasant-smelling misting spray with slippers and ropes to go along. There was a hand-written card to greet us with a bag of caramel popcorn to munch on.
We freshened up, changed, put on our masks, and headed straight to The Attic, (one of the restaurants inside the hotel with windows to overlook the falls, and also happened to be on our floor, along with the Spa that made the halls smell great every time we got off the elevator). We had a nice spaced out table from others, ordered a few drinks and food. We had a cup of chowder and the banana pudding. Yes, a random choice, but were sold on the banana pudding since the first choice was out, and we couldn’t have been happier with the pudding. We finished our drinks and walked outside to see the falls.
The falls and the walking area are off of the hotel property but connected. We were the only few people out there so we enjoyed walking the entire stretch and lookout points together. The falls were beautiful at night, the lights were shining right on the water flowing, and the hotel was lit up. A perfect picture.
On Saturday, we had brunch reservations at The Dining Room (the other restaurant inside the hotel). This area also overlooked the falls and was beautiful. We had the most energetic and nicest waitress. We were given an entire plate of additions for our coffee (chocolate, whip cream, nuts, sugars), and of course, had to have the traditional biscuit. The biscuit comes out, you add your butter and jam, then they take the honey from the hotel honey bees (the honey bees and their hives are on the other side of the hotel, upon a hill behind a large fence where there is overflow tourist parking). The hold the honey up high and drizzle it over your biscuit to replicate and honor the waterfall. The breakfast was pretty good as well, a standard egg/ meat/ toast, and also a mushroom pesto omelet.
Then we headed into the overcast day to go #horseback riding about 30 min away, by Equine Escapes. Kelly, the owner, told us to were long pants and a shoe that had some sort of heal. Of course, I took a cowgirl hat, but I opted to wear a helmet instead. We met on a road where a trailhead was in the Maple Valley area. There were 2 other groups with us, so a total of 8 people. Kelly gave us instructions on how to work with and how to guide the horse. We each saddled up and went for a 2-hour trail ride. It was amazing, the horses were beautiful and calm and sweet. I had the chance to ride Jack, my husband had the chance to ride Dakota. Every horse had its own personality and different traits. It was a calming and great experience and still thinking about it now. We were there longer as it did take time for all of us to mount up and also get off of the horses when we were done.
After the ride, and getting used to how our legs felt we freshened up at the hotel and headed down into the town of Snoqualmie, only a few minutes away. We opted to drive, but you could have walked. There is a little strip of shops and restaurants and a few tourist attractions for trains and trees. We walked over to the Snoqualmie Falls Brewery and grabbed a drink, some poutine, and got ready to watch the Kentucky Derby outside. Surprisingly, there were only a handful of people interested in it.
After the most exciting 2 minutes in sports, we walked to a garage winery that my husband had found in some research. Mt. Si Winery. This is known as a ‘garage winery’ and we had no idea what to expect. There were a few signs on the road that lead us by foot into the neighborhood streets then up to a house in a cul-de-sac. We walked up the driveway and sure enough, was a mini-winery. We had just missed the pressing of grapes they picked in the morning, and their friends and family were all around sipping on some wine. We were greeted with a welcome and smiles. We had a hefty tasting of 4 delicious wines for $20 per person, a walk-through of the garage, and great conversations with everyone that was there. We grabbed a bottle to take back to the hotel.
We headed back to the hotel to see the falls in daylight. When we came up to the roundabout out of town we were backed up in traffic. There were so many tourists going to see the falls. Yes, we joined right in to see the falls during the day.
We had a diner that evening at the Patio of the hotel, a part of The Dining Room. We were outside under a clear tent with strung lights. We enjoyed a glass of wine and dinner. We then grabbed our bottle of wine from Mt. Si and walked around the grounds of the hotel. We people watched and saw a few brides and weddings.
On Sunday, we grabbed our complimentary Salish Lodge Trail Mix and we headed into the sunny day to North Bend, about 30 minutes away, to stop for coffee at Huxdotter Coffee. It was a great place for specialty coffee, pastries, and a small breakfast sammi. We drove for about 20 min. and came up to the trailhead opening of Annette Lake Trail. During our research, it was mentioned it was a 7- mile hike to the lake, when we got there and looked at the map it was 8 miles. This hike was pretty tough. We averaged under 24 min. mile including our 15 min stop at the lake. The views were worth the pain and sweat. The lake was beautiful and sat in the mountains, and the trails lead through a few openings of the other Cascade peaks. This trail did have an increase of over 2000 feet, so be prepared for ear popping.
Our legs were shaky and we were hungry so tacos seemed fitting. We went to Rio Bravo in North Bend and enjoyed seating outside. This is a quick, must stop, the tacos were great! We then freshened up at the hotel and made our way to a winery that the family recommended to us from Mt. Si. We made our way down a road with houses spaced pretty far apart, to a home called Château NoElle Vineyard and Winery. We walked up the driveway to a beautiful yard with tables, a tent, and grapevines. There was seating all around the yard. We had a tasting of 4 great wines for $15 per person (these pours were on the much smaller side of tastings). We walked around the smaller vineyard in the yard and ended up with a bottle to go.
We headed back to the hotel, ordered a wood-fired oven pizza to our room, and took it outside to enjoy with the wine.
Overall Snoqualmie is a beautiful, calm area. It is the perfect weekend getaway with so many activities to do, both indoor/ outdoor, and high and low energy. The Falls are a must-see view, and would 100% recommend staying at the Salish Lodge and Spa. Check out some of the amazing pictures:
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