15 Best Sights in Washington Cascade Mountains and Valleys, Washington

Through scenic landscapes and over covered bridges, the authentic engines of the Chehalis–Centralia Steam Train will carry you on rails originally laid for logging. The line runs through farmland and rolling hills, and crosses several wooden bridges. There's a 13-mile round-trip ride and an 18-mile ride, plus dinner trains and special events.

Just outside town, fields of tulips and other flowers grown at the DeGoede Bulb Farm provide a colorful backdrop along U.S. 12. Stroll through the manicured show gardens year-round.

This engaging spot for kids is on a pioneer homestead built in the 1800s. Interactive exhibits and crafts are part of the fun; wee ones love the magic school bus as well.

Housed in the former American Legion hall and across from Wright Park, the museum showcases rare and unpublished letters and documents by notables who have shaped history. Themes of the rotating exhibits have included the correspondence from the family of Presidents John and John Quincy Adams and Einstein's theory of relativity.

A10-minute drive from Gig Harbor, this is a wonderful beachcombing area at low tide. Native American tribes once fished and clammed here, and you can still see people trolling the shallow waters or digging deep for razor clams in season. Children and dogs alike delight in discovering huge Dungeness crabs, sea stars, and sand dollars. Picnic tables and walking trails are interspersed throughout the 109 acres of steep, forested hills, and the campground is popular all summer.

At this park right off U.S. 12, 4 miles west of Mossyrock, you'll find a handy boat launch. The RV and tent camping sites are especially scenic, with lake views, forest settings, and even lakefront spots. Fish for trout, bass, and coho salmon.

Fish, camp, and boat at this park on Riffe Lake, just a few miles east of town. The lake is stocked with cutthroat, rainbow, and brown trout, and coho salmon, steelhead, and bass.

At this branch of Seattle's Museum of Flight, vintage planes are restored by a volunteer staff who simply love bringing vintage aircraft back to life. You can wander among the mix of delicate and behemoth planes on a leisurely, self-guided tour at Paine Field.

This living-history museum, 23 miles south of Puyallup, provides a look at pioneer and Native American life. Kids can learn how to hunt and fish in a realistic tribal village, grind grain, milk a cow, churn butter, and do other old-fashioned chores. A trading post shows the commodities of earlier eras. One-hour tours are available through both the farm and village.

This wooded, 139-acre park is en route to the coast. Along the way are several shallow waterfalls cascading down shelves of rock. The park, which opened in 1935, has towering old-growth forest and 3,400 feet of freshwater shoreline along the Chehalis River.

This local repository of history focuses on life centuries ago, with Native American tools, crafts, and attire as well as pioneer artifacts. The timber industry is another focus.

A mile-wide waterway is the boundary between the Tacoma hills and the rugged bluffs of the Kitsap Peninsula. From the twin bridges that span it, the view plunges hundreds of feet down to roiling green waters, which are often busy with barge traffic or obscured by fog. The original bridge, "Galloping Gertie," famously twisted itself to death and broke in half during a storm in 1940—it's now the world's largest man-made reef, and is a popular dive site. Its mint-green replacement and a sister bridge opened in 2007. Note: the $6 toll is for eastbound cars only; westbound it's free from Tacoma into Gig Harbor.

Housed within a 51,000-square-foot airport hangar, this spectacular gathering of unique vintage aircraft belongs to local tycoon Paul Allen, who began collecting and restoring rare planes in 1998. The selections run the full length of 20th-century military history, including pieces from the two world wars and other international battles. A favorite plane is the P-51D Mustang from World War II. Tours are self-guided; exhibits help to explain the collection. In summer, try to time your visit for one of the Free Fly Days, when pilots are on-site to fly some of the craft as part of monthly maintenance.

Guided tours of this 80-acre wolf sanctuary are given every hour on the hour and run about 50 minutes, during which docents explain the recovery programs and visitors can view the wolves. You must join a tour. Note that it's worth taking a look at the website before visiting—the sanctuary has a few rules regarding conduct. Most importantly, parents should know that although the sanctuary can be a wonderful place for kids, it does not provide as much stimulation as a typical zoo and may bore kids with short attention spans.