Rainforest, glaciers, wild coast, and a 172-island archipelago
The wettest spot in the contiguous US (Hoh Rainforest, 140 inches annually) sits 30 miles from one of the driest (rain-shadowed San Juan Islands, 19 inches). Port Angeles is the gateway to Olympic National Park; Hurricane Ridge climbs 5,000 feet in 17 miles to an alpine view over the park interior. Friday Harbor reaches the San Juans — three resident pods of killer whales, madrone-and-fir forest, the rain shadow that makes the islands the sunniest place west of the Cascades.