Seattle's parks offer a welcome reprieve from the city's dazzling, yet exhausting, industrialization. Those looking for a wilder slice of nature should head to Blake Island State Park. The 475-acre island is the birthplace of Seattle's namesake Chief Sealth and has stunning views of the city's skyline and the Olympic Mountains, as well as countless hiking trails, miles of shoreline and tributes to the area's original inhabitants, the Native American tribes who call the Puget Sound home.
All of Blake Island is a state park and the only way to get there is by private boat or on a tour with Argosy Cruises. The tour lasts four to five hours and includes a traditional salmon bake, a visit to a recreated indigenous village and a show featuring Native American storytelling.
