Summer in Seattle

As the Summer months start coming to a close, we wanted to highlight how some of our employees spend their summers outside of the Seattle office. With such a diverse group of talented folks, we asked these Whitepagers how they take some time to enjoy the city and surrounding areas.

Kathleen

There are so many things to do during summer in Seattle: festivals, hikes, markets and more. My summer in Seattle consists of friends, family and a lot of walking. My friends enjoy hosting rooftop BBQs, kayaking on Lake Union and trying new places to eat (one of my new favorite brunch spots is Brimmer & Heeltap). Being in the Pacific Northwest means I’m only a short drive from the coast, islands, and other amazing hikes. Every summer my family makes the four-hour trek (much longer with traffic) down to the Oregon Coast to take a break. When I’m in Oregon, I like cooking for my large family, walking on the beach every day, and getting cozy with a new book. I always love spending time at the Oregon Coast. It is one of the best places to sit back and relax.

Derrick

Work, Life, Run, Balance.

Runners are never short of something to do in Seattle during the Summer months. Whether you’re looking for one mile or 20, there’s a sunlit trail somewhere in the area calling your name.

Looking for something casual after work? Pop on a pair of running shoes and head towards any one of Seattle’s iconic landmarks. Take a jog through Gas Works Park, pause to watch a boat traverse the Ballard Locks, or run the inner loop of Green Lake where you’ll see more dogs than people.

If you’re looking for something a little longer, take a 15-minute drive east and find some of the best soft running trails the Northwest has to offer. My personal favorite is the Redmond Watershed, a gorgeous forest trail, if you need an easy ten.

Want some world-class inspiration? Check out the professional clubs or try to keep up with the University of Washington track team. Seattle is home to some of the best runners in the world who are always willing to share the trail.

Staying active in Seattle is easy, just find a trail and let your feet meet the ground — I’ll see you there!

Jim

Although we are known for our wet and rainy days, when the sun comes out in July, Seattle turns up the heat. You can make the most of the delightful Seattle summer in a variety of ways: hiking, mountain biking, fossil hunting, beach, farmers markets, Washington wines, tennis, berry picking, swimming, festivals, cruises, sailing, Mariners games, Sounders games, and foraging!

“Foraging for what?” you might ask. Seattleites have the luxury of taking eating local to a whole other level. The unique lay of the land from forest to ocean creates opportunity to harvest directly from nature. Of course, you can always hop to our world-famous Pike Place Market for fresh mushrooms, seafood, and fruits. Or you can harvest it yourself and reward your tastebuds with the freshest food.

This summer, Gyorgy was visiting from our Budapest office and we had our sights set on oysters! You don’t have to be an expert with your own oyster knife to forage for oysters. All we did was find an open beach, a low tide, packed some water and sunscreen, consulted YouTube, and shucked a bunch of oysters with a screwdriver!!

Kathryn

As a former Texan who dealt with many hot summers, I absolutely love the milder Seattle summer climate! During the summertime, I spend every second I can outdoors and you can often find me hiking, camping, backpacking, and road tripping all around Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia. This summer we road tripped all the way to Banff National Park in Canada (it was epic!), did a sunrise hike up Mailbox Peak, camped at Smith Rock State Park in Oregon, backpacked at Garibaldi Provincial Park in British Columbia, and summited Mount St. Helens (our biggest accomplishment to date!). It has been the most insanely beautiful and fun summer and it’s not over yet—we have a trip to Bend, Oregon and Crater Lake National Park during Labor Day and we can’t wait!