Socially distanced attractions and activities for a road trip across the Pacific Northwest that are actually worth the stop
Capilano Suspension Bridge Park in British Columbia, Canada.Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
- The coronavirus pandemic has made it unsafe to travel internationally and travel experts previously told Business Insider that they expect people to turn to road trips this summer.
- We surfed Trip Advisor for the highest-rated attractions in the Pacific Northwest within recommended social distancing guidelines.
- While there is some debate over which states and regions are included in the Pacific Northwest, Business Insider looked at British Columbia and the US states of Washington, Idaho, and Oregon for this article.
- Travelers should consult the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines before embarking on any summer travel.
With many international travel restrictions in place, travelers are hitting the road, quite literally, for the summer. Travel experts previously told BI that they expect to see vacation trends shift from traveling by plane to that by car and RV.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
Sources: Business Insider, Business Insider
Here are the top-rated attractions across the Pacific Northwest that are worth a socially distanced visit.
An SUV parked on a road in Yellowstone National Park, Idaho.
Tyler D. Rickenbach/Aurora Photos/Getty Images
Oregon: Drive through Wildlife Safari in Douglas County, Oregon, to see animals from all over the world without leaving your car.
Google Maps
Source: Wildlife Safari
For about $20 a person, you can drive slowly through this 4.5-mile park filled with animals from Africa, Asia, and North and South America.
Sources: Trip Advisor, Wildlife Safari
The park, which Trip Advisor reviews say takes about 1.5 hours, is ideal for social distancing because you don't even have to leave your car — the animals come to you.
Sources: Trip Advisor, Wildlife Safari
Further north in Oregon, towards Portland, explore Silver Falls State Park inside the state's temperate rainforest.
Google Maps
Sources: Trip Advisor, Oregon State Parks
Pay $5 for parking and hike the trails and see waterfalls.
Silver falls state park, Oregon.
Prisma by Dukas/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Sources: Trip Advisor, Oregon State Parks, The Culture Trip
Some parts of the park are closed due to the pandemic, like the visitors center and one of the play areas. Oregon State Parks warns that you may have to turn around if the trails are too crowded.
Silver falls state park, Oregon
Prisma by Dukas/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Source: Oregon State Parks
On the south coast of Oregon, just north of Gold Beach, take a stroll through a garden packed with life-size dinosaur sculptures.
Google Maps
Source: Trip Advisor
The Prehistoric gardens cost between $8 and $12 to enter, depending on your age. Kids under two can go in for free.
Source: Trip Advisor, Prehistoric Gardens
The attraction is currently open, but patrons have to stay six feet apart from other groups, per guidelines set by Governor Kate Brown.
Sources: Oregon Health Authority, Prehistoric Gardens
Washington: In Tacoma, Washington, stretch your legs and take some photos at the Chihuly Bridge of Glass.
Google Maps
Source: Atlas Obscura
The 500-foot bridge has thousands of glass sculptures displayed on it and is above an art museum dedicated to glass. Trip Advisor reviews recommend viewing this free attraction at night when it's lit up.
Washington State, Tacoma, Museum Of Glass, Chihuly Bridge Of Glass, Glass Art In Side Pannels.
Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images
Source: Atlas Obscura, Trip Advisor
While it's partially covered, the attraction is outdoors, making social distancing possible.
Pedestrians and Tacoma's Union Station are reflected in the Chihuly Bridge of Glass near the Tacoma Museum of Glass, Monday, May 6, 2013, in Tacoma, Wash. After a hot, sunny weekend in Washington state, forecasters say the fair weather should continue most of this week.
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
Source: Atlas Obscura, Trip Advisor
West of Seattle, in Olympic National Park, drive up to Hurricane Ridge to take a hike or just enjoy the view.
Google Maps
Source: Trip Advisor
It costs $30 per vehicle to get inside the park. Trip Advisor reviews say the view is worth the 17-mile drive up a winding road.
Washington State, Olympic Peninsula, Olympic National Park, View From Hurricane Ridge, Clouds.
Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images
Source: Trip Advisor, National Parks Service
The Hurricane Ridge area reopened after coronavirus-related closures, Penninsula Daily News reported on June 25. A July 10 update from the National Parks Service confirms remains open.
Washington State, Olympic Peninsula, Olympic National Park, Hurricane Ridge, Black-tailed Deer In Wild Flowers.
Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images
On the eastern border of Washington, pick and purchase some fresh produce at Green Bluff — a cluster of local farms.
Google Maps
Source: Trip Advisor
Each farm has its own schedule, so be sure to check their individual websites to see if they are open before going. Links to these sites are accessible through the Green Bluff Growers website.
Apple growers begin picking their crop September 18, 2006 in Green Bluff, Washington. The annual apple harvest is underway in Washington State, the nation's top apple producer, generating nearly half of the U.S. apple crop.
Jeff T. Green/Getty Images
Source: Trip Advisor, Green Bluff Growers
They also might have their own coronavirus safety guidelines. For example, Beck's Harvest House is open for the summer season, but they are requiring social distancing and offering smiles in place of handshakes.
Lexi Pearson (L) and her mother Andrea Pearson (R) pick Honey Crisp apples at the U-pick orchard on Walters' Fruit Ranch on September 18, 2006 in Green Bluff, Washington.
Photo by Jeff T. Green/Getty Images
Source: Green Bluff Farms
Idaho: Across Washington's eastern border, explore the City of Rocks in southern Idaho.
Google Maps
Sources: Trip Advisor, National Parks Service
This national reserve is rich with granite rock formations that stretch as high as 70 feet. It is free to enter.
Pinyon pine forest, boulders, pinnacles and mountains of the City of Rocks National Reserve in southeastern Idaho; once a stop on the trail in the 1840s by immigrants bound for California and now a rock-climbing, wilderness and hiking area.
UniversalImagesGroup/Contributor/Getty Images
The reserve asked park-goers to social distance and to turn around if the parking lot is full in a Facebook post from late June.
A plaque depicting pioneers viewing the spires of the Twin Sisters granite formation in the City of Rocks National Reserve, Idaho, is shown June 14, 2006. A national climbing organization is asking the Park Service to reconsider its 1998 ban on climbing the Twin Sisters, which are considered natural historic landmarks along the California Trail.
AP Photo/Chris Smith
Source: City of Rocks/Facebook
Freak Alley Gallery is the biggest outdoor gallery of murals in the Northwest, per Trip Advisor.
in downtown Boise features walls of alleyways covered in artwork between 8th and 9th streets.
Joe Jaszewski for The Washington Post via Getty Images
Source: Trip Advisor
It's free to access and outdoors, making social distancing possible.
The Freak Alley Gallery in downtown Boise features walls of alleyways covered in artwork between 8th and 9th streets.
Joe Jaszewski for The Washington Post via Getty Images
Source: Trip Advisor
In east Idaho, catch a movie at the Spud Drive-In in Driggs.
Google Maps
Sources: Trip Advisor, Spud Drive-In
At this drive-in theatre, you can watch a movie from on a gigantic screen from your car and tune in to the film's audio on the radio.
Sources: Trip Advisor, Spud Drive-In
Tickets cost up to $9.50 depending on your age. There are new coronavirus-era restrictions, like parking six feet apart and ordering tickets and food online.
Sources: Spud Drive-In, Spud Drive-In
British Columbia: Across the border into Canada, take a stroll through British Columbia's Butchart Gardens.
Google Maps
Non-essential travel into Canada is currently off-limits, and the US Department of State advises against international travel.
Sources: Butchart Gardens, Trip Advisor
The gardens include 55 acres of flowers and other plants from around the world. It costs up to $35 per person to enter, depending on your age.
A woman takes pictures in the Rose Garden at The Butchart Gardens on July 2, 2011 in Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The 55-acre garden features Italian, Japanese, and Mediterranean plant life and is major tourist destination near Victoria.
George Rose/Getty Images
Sources: Butchart Gardens, Trip Advisor
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, there are new regulations like limiting how many people can view the gardens at a time and staying six feet apart from other groups.
Butchart Gardens on August 30, 2014 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Santi Visalli/Getty Images
Sources: Butchart Gardens, Trip Advisor
Northeast of the gardens, walk across a suspension bridge above the Capilano River.
Google Maps
It costs about $50 to enter, and Trip Advisor reviews say that the views from the bridge are spectacular.
Capilano Suspension Bridge. Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. Vancouver. British Columbia. Canada
Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The park reopened in June with coronavirus-era regulations. For example, you must not have left Canada in the last two weeks in order to enter.
Capilano Suspension Bridge. Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. Vancouver. British Columbia. Canada.
Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Source: Capilano Suspension Bridge Park
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