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Accommodation in WashingtonFinding a
place to stay in Washington can be a challenge. That’s why Destination Highways
Washington maps provide a one-stop reference for hotels, motels, B&Bs and
resorts in less populated areas. If you want more specific information or
accommodation ratings, local tourist information offices or chambers of commerce
(see maps for locations) provide the most comprehensive information on
accommodation in any given area. They also carry the free Washington State
Visitors’ Guide which is put out annually by the Washington State Hotel and
Motel Association. Many tourist info offices and chambers of commerce are closed
Saturdays and Sundays.
Camping in
Washington
There are four basic types of campgrounds in Washington State: Private, State Park, National Park and National Forest/Recreation Area. If your idea of roughing it consists of carrying the topbox into the Best Western, you probably have one question when it comes to campgrounds: Do they or do they not have flush toilets?
Destination Highways understands. CG means it has flush toilets;
BCG (Backcountry Campground) means it doesn’t. A Campground icon without a CG or BCG indication means casual camping is offered.
Private Campgrounds
With very few exceptions, private campgrounds offer at least flush toilets and showers. Many have a range of other facilities as well, such as swimming pools, jacuzzis, and video arcades. Nothing like getting back to nature.
STATE PARKS (SP)STATE PARKS (SP) Washington State Park campgrounds are very
civilized places. Flush toilets, picnic tables and coin-op showers are among the
luxuries you can expect at the 85 parks with individual campsites. Reservations
can be made for 45 of these up to 11 months in advance by calling 1.888.226.7688
(1.888.CAMPOUT) 7am - 8pm PST seven days a week. You can also reserve online at
http://www.parks.wa.gov
Either way, a non-refundable fee of $6 and the first night’s fee will be billed to your Visa or Mastercard. (See Appendix: State Park Campgrounds for which are on the reservation system.) All other state park campgrounds are available on a first-come, first-served basis. You can try phoning the local number indicated on the map to determine same day availability but the park rangers are often out moving the lawn sprinklers around and won’t always answer the phone.
NATIONAL PARKS (NP)
National Park campgrounds vary from comfortable to rustic. All are on a first come, first served basis — with the exception of Mt Rainier’s Cougar Rock and Ohanapecosh CGs. From late June to Labor Day, you can only stay at these two campgrounds if you have a reservation. You can make reservations up to 240 days in advance by phoning
1.800. 365.CAMP (2267) or reserving online at
http://www.reservations.nps.gov
NATIONAL FOREST (NF) AND RECREATION AREAS (NRA)Most, but certainly not all of these campgrounds are BCGs. Reservations can be made at many of the more luxurious sites by contacting the National Recreation Reservation Service at
1.888.448.1474 or online at
www.reserveusa.com. A minimum advance booking of three to five days is usually required but half the sites are kept open on a first-come, first-served basis.
NOTE: We have endeavored to list every campground that appears in the featured areas of our maps. Backcountry Campgrounds that require significant off-road travel, or those whose operating status is questionable have been omitted.
DRINKING IN WASHINGTONBeer and wine are readily available at grocery stores. Hard liquor, on the other hand, can only be purchased at designated liquor stores. These have more limited hours and can be more difficult to locate. You must be 21 years old to purchase or drink any alcohol in Washington.
Lounges (usually connected to restaurants) and pubs sell hard liquor for on-premises consumption seven days a week. You don’t need to order food to drink in a lounge or pub. Bar and Grills are a holdover from an older time and are required to serve food along with any hard liquor, beer or wine sales. Food ranges in quality but in general, they’re more bar than grill. Taverns are limited to beer and wine but you don’t have to eat. Which is a good thing, since if they serve food, it’s rarely any good. You can, however, expect to find an excellent selection of pull-tabs.
RIDING UNDER THE INFLUENCE
Police roadblocks are not employed in Washington. However, as
in most North American jurisdictions, drinking and riding in Washington can
hardly be considered a state-sanctioned activity. If your blood alcohol level
exceeds .08 (80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood), you can be
convicted a DUI offence. You may also be immediately prohibited from driving for
a period of 90 days. If you’re under 21 and get dinged, it’s much longer.
FERRIES IN WASHINGTON
Washington State Ferries, part of the Washington State
Department of Transportation (WSDOT), has taken over enough private ferry routes
to become the nation’s largest fleet. A few private and county-run routes still
exist. If the boat looks full, do what you can to get in front of the pylons, or
at least in sight of the attendant. While there are no guarantees, they’ll
almost always find a way to squeeze you on. For individual ferry information,
see Appendix: Ferry Routes and Schedules.
ROAD NAMES AND SIGNAGE
In Washington, it’s not unusual to see a road undergo
numerous name transformations from beginning to end, for no apparent reason
other than a slight alteration in the road’s direction. Many times it will
change to yet another name before you even notice the previous shift. In an
attempt to help you in this maze, there will sometimes be a brown sign with a
name and a white direction indicator sitting on top of a green sign listing the
current name of the road you are on. This just means that the road identified by
the brown sign is thataway. Now isn’t that helpful?
GRAVEL ROADS
Though we at Destination Highways are strictly pavement, many
of our readers actually like riding on gravel (aka maxburning). So DH
Washington’s maps include gravel connections that often prevent the need to
double back on dead-enders. As for the quality of the gravel roads? Sorry, wrong
book. Ask locally.
SPEED TAX COLLECTION IN WASHINGTON
To serve and collect. Washington State’s monetary approach to
“traffic safety” is pretty much indistinguishable from other American
jurisdictions. And with so many different types of speed tax collectors, every
piece of road seems to be on somebody’s patrol route. Having said this, most of
the STC hot spots seem to lie on busy parts of the interstates and inside the
city limits of small towns. Other than that, a dose of sanity, open eyes, a good
radar detector and some police discretion (more likely the more remote the area)
should help. Here’s what and who you have to look out for.
What to Look Out For
Apart from pacing and visual speed estimation, Washington’s speed tax collectors
use two principal methods: stationary (radar guns or LASER) and moving radar.
Photo radar is not used to gather speed taxes in Washington State.
STATIONARY RADAR
Radar
The old standby radar gun is still in use, though on major routes, it’s been
mostly replaced by LASER.
LASER
Your radar detector is legal in Washington. Despite having one, you probably
won’t know you’ve been nailed by LASER until it’s too late. Thankfully, the
equipment’s expensive, so you’ll only run into them on busy sections of
interstates and state highways close to large urban centers.
Moving Radar
Even speed tax collectors don’t need a lot of savvy to figure out that they’re
not going to pull in a lot of loot if they leave their rolling radar in the ON
position. Thus, they won’t click it on until they have you clearly in sight. The
trick then becomes seeing them before they see you. ‘Course that won’t help you
much when you’re tucked in a 75-degree lean, lifting your front wheel out of a
corner.
Non-Radar
VASCAR
The Visual Average Speed Computer and Recorder is a time/distance computer that
determines a vehicle’s average speed by timing it between two reference points.
(So, that’s what those white stripes painted on the roadway are.) Fortunately,
one of the more notorious uses of VASCAR is illegal in Washington State: a
patrol car passes you at a significantly higher rate of speed than you’re doing.
Comforted by that fact, you pick up the pace, only to find the officer waiting
for you down the road, having computed your increased speed with a VASCAR unit
hooked up to his speedometer.
For information on specific speed trap locations in Washington, check out
www.speedtrap.org
NOTE: Washington is a particularly good place to visit if
you're from California, Montana, Michigan, Hawaii or Alaska. All other American
states have reciprocal speed tax agreements with Washington, which means failing
to appear on, pay for or comply with a violation ticket will have the same
consequences as ignoring a ticket in your home state. If you are from one of the
five states above, your insurance company can still cause you grief, however.
From Canada? You might get harassed by a collection agency.
WHO TO LOOK OUT FOR
State Patrol
Only on state highways and interstates and almost always dressed in the white
cruiser with the trademark cowcatcher. If only every one else didn’t drive white
cars, too.
County Sheriffs
These are the guys who patrol lonely county roads where you’d never expect to
see a police car in a million... shit.
Municipal Police
It doesn’t matter how small a town is, it seems it has its own police
department. And how do you think they pay for those fancy cruisers? Out of your
pocket. Fortunately, these yokels generally stick to their city limits. As long
as you do the same, you can avoid making your own contribution to the local
treasury.
National and State Park Rangers
Look out for those dark green SUVs. Yes, their occupants have the power to
ticket you. It’s very rare that they set up solely for this purpose, though. So
if they get you, you’ve probably been unlucky. Or unwittingly passed one while
he was speeding.
MOTORCYCLE DEALERS
The good news: Destination Highways Washington maps show you
where all the dealers are. The bad news: they’re usually closed Sundays and
Mondays even during the peak riding season. Guess they want to ride, too.
WINERIES IN WASHINGTON
102 wineries and 20,000 acres of planted vineyards make
Washington the second largest wine-producing state in the country. Columbia
Crest, Chateau Ste Michelle and Hogue Cellars are among the notables. The
Columbia, Yakima and Walla Walla Valleys and Puget Sound Basin are the main
appellations. If you’re in these areas and want to add a little tasting to your
twisting, check them out. Sorry, Elmer, no TIWES.
NOTE: For detailed information on specific Washington Wineries, check out www.vintners.net/wawine.
CANADIAN BORDER CROSSINGS
No problem crossing the world’s longest undefended border at
any of the number of border crossings. After leaving your gun on this side of
the border, all you need is a driver’s license, proof of US citizenship (ie
birth certificate or US passport) and, of course, your copy of Destination
Highways BC.
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