Family Vacation Planner 2020: Our Travel Guide for Seattle-Area Families

While road trips can be grand family adventures, sometimes we just need a quick weekend escape. This can be a lower-stress change of scenery where relaxing is a big part of the itinerary. These nearby getaways also suit when you don't have so much time. This isn't Europe, after all. Few of us are logging six weeks of vacation per year. (Sigh.)

• Amazing kid-friendly lodges around the Northwest beckon to families with lakefront locales, board games by the fire, driftwood to climb on and trails to wander.
• A jaunt to this oceanside community provides the kind of vacation that you don't need another vacation to recover from. Swim, eat s'mores, play on the beach. Ahhh.
• The stately lodge at Mount Rainier, aptly named Paradise Inn, got a recent overhaul. It's a terrific spot to press pause on your home to-do list and bask in the stunning grandeur of our own backyard.
• There's a bustling, cosmopolitan city less than a tank of gas away from the Seattle area. It's got international flair, tasty fare, a fascinating island market and lots more fun stuff to do with kids.
• Fall is an ideal time to visit our state's little Bavaria, with gorgeous fall leaves lining the way, but sunny Leavenworth just over the mountains is a great family getaway any time of year.