region: North America

“Hey Daddy, we love Vegas more than Disneyland!” Charlie shouts, her voice echoing off the glittering lights of the Strip. My heart skips a beat, but not from the usual panic of hearing my child shout in public. No, this time it’s from the realization that my 11-year-old daughter just ranked Las Vegas, a city known for its booze, blackjack, and bad decisions above the happiest place on Earth (damn, I’m proud). In honour of this baffling occasion, here’s a list of the best things to do in Las Vegas with kids.

We’re standing in front of the newly refurbished Sahara Hotel, our home for the next few days, and Charlie’s practically vibrating with excitement. And why wouldn’t she be? We’re about to spend a weekend in the same place where Elvis himself once crooned and karate-chopped his way into history. The Sahara has been given a fresh face, but you can still feel the ghosts of the Rat Pack lounging by the pool, probably judging us for bringing kids to Vegas.

1. Area 15: Where Reality Takes a Left Turn

Click play to watch

Our first stop on the Jamieson Vegas Adventure is Area 15, a place that defies explanation, logic, and probably a few building codes.

Imagine a warehouse-sized acid trip, and you’re getting close. As we step inside, Molly (14) immediately tries to pretend she’s too cool for all this, but I catch her sneaking glances at the towering neon structures and psychedelic art installations. Parker (12) is wide-eyed, her brain no doubt plotting the best way to climb something she’s not supposed to, and Charlie is just…well, Charlie. She’s loving every second.

We head straight for Omega Mart, the flagship attraction that looks like a regular supermarket if you’ve had one too many margaritas. The girls scatter as soon as we enter, each of them drawn to a different brand of weirdness. I lose track of Parker almost immediately, and I’m fairly certain she’s found a secret tunnel that leads to Narnia or possibly a rave. Molly is too busy snapping photos of bizarre products, think “Plaque Buildup” in a can and something called “Whale Song Antiperspirant” to notice me trying to get her attention. And Charlie, bless her Elvis-loving heart, is convinced she’s discovered a portal to another dimension behind the dairy aisle.

Related: After Dark in Las Vegas

Hours later, we emerge from Omega Mart, slightly dazed and wholly entertained. My wife gives me a look that says, “This better not have awakened anything in them,” while I silently pray that no one brings up living in a parallel universe for their next science project.

2. High Roller: Spinning Out of Control

Next on our agenda is the High Roller, the world’s largest observation wheel. That’s right, we’re about to climb into a giant glass hamster ball and spin 550 feet above the city. I’m not exactly thrilled at the prospect, but the girls are all for it. Parker leads the charge, practically dragging us into the pod before the doors can close on her enthusiasm.

As we ascend, the view of the Strip sprawls out beneath us like a giant game board. Molly has her phone out, snapping away like she’s on assignment for National Geographic, while Parker and Charlie press their faces against the glass, arguing over who can spot the weirdest thing down below. I, meanwhile, am clutching the safety rail with one hand and pretending to be cool with the other.

It’s hard to stay grumpy when the city lights up around us. Even I have to admit, it’s pretty spectacular. By the time we reach the top, the girls are already planning their next spin, and I’m trying to think of a plausible excuse to stay grounded.

3. Knights in Shining Armor

What’s a trip to Vegas without some hockey? That’s right, we’re off to see the Las Vegas Golden Knights in action. Now, I’m no hockey expert, but I can appreciate a good brawl on ice as much as the next guy. The girls are pumped, and I’m just hoping no one loses a tooth.

We enter the arena, and it’s like walking into a rock concert. The energy is electric, and the pre-game show is pure Vegas; pyrotechnics, thumping music, and a knight on horseback slaying a dragon. Molly and Parker are on their feet, cheering along with the crowd, and even Charlie is getting into it, though she keeps asking if the knight knows any Elvis songs.

The game itself is fast, furious, and everything I didn’t know I needed. The girls are screaming for the Knights, my wife is clapping along, and I’m wondering how I’m going to explain the merchandise bill when we leave. But honestly? It’s worth it. We leave the arena with hoarse voices, empty wallets, and new Golden Knights jerseys.

Related: Vegas’s biggest thrill

4. Big Elvis: The King Lives at Harrah’s

But the real highlight of the trip, especially for Charlie, is Big Elvis at Harrah’s. We’ve been hearing about this performance for weeks, ever since Charlie stumbled across a youtube video a few weeks before our trip. I warn Charlie not to expect Austin Butler. Harrah’s is a bit of a time capsule itself, and as we walk through the casino, I can almost feel the ghost of Elvis winking at us from the slot machines.

We grab seats at the lounge, and Charlie is practically bouncing in her chair.

When Big Elvis finally takes the microphone, dressed in a jumpsuit that could double as a disco ball, Charlie’s jaw drops. He launches into “Hound Dog,” and she’s gone, totally, utterly in awe of the King regardless of his size (Big Elvis is so big he sits on a thrown to perform). By the time he gets to “Suspicious Minds,” she’s singing along, and I’m trying to ignore the look on my wife’s face that says, “How much Elvis is too much?”

Big Elvis dedicates “Can’t Help Falling in Love” to Charlie, who looks like she might actually faint. I’ve never seen her this happy, and as we leave Harrah’s, she’s clutching an autographed photo like it’s a golden ticket.

As we head back to the Sahara, Charlie is still humming Elvis tunes, Parker is debating which Area 15 exhibit was the weirdest, and Molly is “snapping” her friends for the thousandth time. My wife and I exchange a look, one that says, “Maybe Vegas is a good place for some family fun after all.” Back at the hotel, the girls collapse onto their beds, exhausted but buzzing with excitement. I can’t help but smile. Somehow, in the city of sin, we’ve found the best things to do in Las Vegas with kids.

And as I tuck them in, Charlie whispers, “Daddy, Vegas is way better than Disneyland.” I laugh, knowing full well that this won’t be the last time we trade Mickey Mouse for the King.

Anyma is the lucky one they’ve chosen to fill the spherical marvel with beats. The Italian DJ is known for infectious tunes and mind-bending light shows, and has the next six months to work on an A-game to bring to The Sphere. The shows take place in the last week of December – after Christmas and then a huge New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day show, in what is absolutely the most epic way to bring in 2025.

So when I’m invited to journey to the small Texan town of Grapevine to cover a wine festival, I have to read the email twice. Grapevine, Texas. Alas, I’m indeed going to a small intersection between Dallas and Fort Worth that is—apparently—going to knock my socks off. Skeptically, I begin to pack.

As a proud cityslicker from the Yankee part of the US, Texas is quite far off my radar. I’m not into trucks, boots, guns, or livestock, so I normally opt for the saucy Barcelona subculture or the untread beaches in the Marquesas. But all cynicism melts away as I get into my Uber and am met with a warm Texan welcome.

“Oh man, you’re going to GrapeFest? I’m so jealous,” the ridiculously chipper driver, named Shannon, says with genuine excitement. “I’m driving all morning to make some extra cash so I can get down there myself and have-a-time!” According to Shannon, Grapevine—and GrapeFest—is kind of a big deal.

Shannon drops me at the end of Grapevine’s Main Street and that’s when I realise just how big of a deal it is. As far as the eye can see, Bacchanalian revellers are pouring through the barriers and into GrapeFest. I take a deep breath and enter the beautiful chaos.

Surprisingly, Texas is the fifth largest wine producer in the US and GrapeFest is one of the largest wine festivals in the world. What can you find here? Magical bubble lounges where you can sip on sparkling wine while being serenaded; the People’s Choice Award where you can sample over 100 local wines and submit your vote for the best of the bunch; and the famous grape stomping competition (which is harder and just as fun as it sounds).

Click play to watch

With or without this lively wine festival, Grapevine is a charming, somewhat magical town. Home to a classic Main Street with kitsch eateries, store owners who welcome you with “howdy!”, and a Glockenspiel clock that features an animatronic gunslinger shoot-out when it strikes 12; kids run free without worry, and adults sit in the shade talking about how lovely the weather is. People smile here.

I was wrong about Texas—it’s very exotic, and a welcome departure from the more dismissive American states.

Grapevine was founded in 1844 a year after General Sam Houston made a peace pact with 10 of the Indigenous native tribes—making it one of the earliest settlements in the country. Since then it has been the cantaloupe capital of the world (albeit briefly), home to Bonnie and Clyde, and a world-class wine hub.

Whether you’re a vino amateur, a wine enthusiast or a fully-fledged sommelier, there’s something for everyone here. After a few hours of drinking, I need a food break so I jump into a charcuterie board design class where we, yes, learn how to zhush up our house party offerings. I then stop by a wine glass workshop where I get the lowdown on what wines should be served in which glasses. Hint: full-bodied white wines, like aged chardonnay or viognier, are better in a large bowl because it emphasises the creamy texture. Honestly, this blows my mind—the glass shape changes the taste significantly.

Besides all the drinking, eating is also somewhat of a religion in Grapevine. I discover that a stop by the Grapevine Main train station is a must-do if you want epic views and a first-class food haul. You can even jump on stage for some live band karaoke, which is more than we can say for most train stations. Later I join the party at Esparza’s for authentic Tex-Mex that will satisfy even the biggest southern food connoisseur. I think I’m officially a Grapevine convert.

But what makes this place so unique is its perfectly preserved small town vibe. Walking down main street is like stepping back into a bygone western. Fancy trying your hand at a bona fide turn of the century printing press? You can do it at the Grapevine Historical Museum. Really into rodeos? Come see one of the longest running rodeos in the state. Love a honky-tonk? Billy Bobs Texas is the world’s largest. The streets here are a livewire of energy and are packed with characters that bring this western town to life.

It’s rare to find a place with such genuine hospitality. It’s like the entire town is a Disney set­—that’s how welcoming Grapevine is. And while this small pocket of Texas wasn’t on my radar before, it’s definitely on my travel recommendation list now. Especially for all the wine lovers out there.

“Yes. Brennivín. Everyone here has drunk Brennivín,” says Birna, the blond, brassy bartender at Bastard sounding both like a gift and an insult in that typically Icelandic way.

The very next day I found myself pedalling south on a bike along the sea to Garðabær (no idea, before you ask) to see if I could wrap my lips around this mythical elixir that was, if nothing else, purely Icelandic.

Eimverk Distillery sits quietly beyond a round-a-bout, and a low-key facade from the outside, giving away no hint that you’re outside one of the northernmost distilleries in the world. It’s only when you move inside that you start to feel its magical power from the ancient Viking symbols which grace the walls and which are burnt deep into locally made barrels. As an alcohol anthropologist this was like discovering a newly contacted civilization.

Click play to WATCH

Brennivín is considered Icelandic’s signature distilled beverage. The original bottle (produced by the Government) displayed a white skull on a black label warning against consumption, and was sometimes referred to as ‘svarti dauði’ (black death). This rather grim marketing was designed to be visually unappealing, therefore limiting demand. It didn’t work. For decades, Brennivín became the drink of choice for Icelanders, and a must-try for travellers.

“We make wonderful gin and aquavit here, but I think we are most remembered for our whisky, Flóki. Well, remembered if you don’t drink too much of it,” says Erik with a straight face as he lined up several drams of various handcrafted delights. Eimverk Distillery, like most of Iceland, takes extreme pride in their craft, and sources pretty much everything locally. This includes their winter barley, which grows during an extremely short summer season — making this some of the rarest small batch whisky in the world.

“Most Icelandic people have a still in their house. We have just taken what we all do at home, and do it on a larger scale. Did you ever think you would drink shit and like it?”

I was on either my fifth or fifteenth tasting dram, and thought I perhaps misheard my host, but no, he was asking me if I enjoyed the taste of faeces.

“You see we have no peat on Iceland. So in order to flavour our whisky we use sheep dung… it’s traditional. ”

Again, straight face. What has already been tasted cannot be untasted, but fortunately this century-old technique actually yields a surprisingly smooth, floral and even a little earthy whiskey, that is nothing else is unlike anything I’ve tasted before.

“We named the whisky after the Viking that discovered Iceland in 868. He was named Hrafna-Flóki because three ravens were said to lead him to Iceland.” (NOTE: Hrafna-Flóki Google translated to ‘Raven Complex’. We think something has been lost here, but it makes the raven stuff make sense).

Like Flóki I have been led somewhere; to a new favourite whisky, a millennia later, and I don’t think I will be the last person to discover this amazing distillery any time soon.

Try Flóki at Eimverk Distillery by heading to Lyngás 13, 210 Garðabær, Iceland. Check their website book a tour, and try their shit.

The Edgewater Hotel in downtown Seattle is where the epic meets historic. It’s described as waterfront, and that’s putting it mildly—the Edgewater is so waterfront The Beatles fished out of their hotel room window when they stayed here. The lobby and restaurants are something to behold, situated right on the water, and with a blazing fire and epic bar to keep you warm in Seattle’s fresh winters. 

*We’re not sure if you’re allowed to fish out of your window—it’s probably more of a Beatles thing. If you’re reading, Paul or Ringo, go right ahead lads. 

The SoDo district of Seattle plays host to a number of pro sports teams. The Seattle Mariners are one of those, playing their home games at T-Mobile Park, a modern stadium with a retractable roof that also stages the occasional concert. 

Get a hot dog and a beer, and sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game while taking in ‘America’s pastime’. 

Methow Trails in the North Cascade Mountains is North America’s largest cross-country ski area, with over 200km of perfectly groomed, skiable terrain. Within this 200km, there are long-distance town-to-town and lodge-to-lodge ski options and heart-pumping climbs and descents that will challenge the most seasoned mountain men and women. 

All this space is good news—more room for you, more area to explore, more extraordinary landscapes to drink in. It also means you’ve got A LOT of skiing ahead of you.

It is borderline ridiculous that a place like Snoqualmie Falls can exist within a half-hour’s drive from downtown Seattle. From the city’s famous Space Needle, take the Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge and drive east for hardly any time at all before reaching the exquisite 82-metre waterfall, which the local Snoqualmie people have designated as the place where First Woman and First Man were created by Moon the Transformer.

This is one of the best city day trips you’ll ever find and it’s not the only one you can do in Seattle—Bainbridge Island and Leavenworth are a couple of other epic adventures you can squeeze into a day from Seattle. 

This is the West Coast, after all. 

While further south grabs all the attention, Westport, Washington, has quietly made a name for itself as a place to get pitted, with spots suiting both the kooks and the Kellys. Westport has three main spots: The Jetty, a consistent beach break, The Groins—a left-handed point break subject to monster tides; and The Cove, a feared shore break that bears the full brunt of the roaring North Pacific Ocean. All three are easily accessed. 

If you’re not a surfer, no matter; Washington State is full of epic beaches for all kinds of beachgoers—click here for more info.

The Edgewater Hotel in downtown Seattle is where the epic meets historic. It’s described as waterfront, and that’s putting it mildly—the Edgewater is so waterfront The Beatles fished out of their hotel room window when they stayed here. The lobby and restaurants are something to behold, situated right on the water, and with a blazing fire and epic bar to keep you warm in Seattle’s fresh winters. 

*We’re not sure if you’re allowed to fish out of your window—it’s probably more of a Beatles thing. If you’re reading, Paul or Ringo, go right ahead lads. 

The SoDo district of Seattle plays host to a number of pro sports teams. The Seattle Mariners are one of those, playing their home games at T-Mobile Park, a modern stadium with a retractable roof that also stages the occasional concert. 

Get a hot dog and a beer, and sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game while taking in ‘America’s pastime’. 

Methow Trails in the North Cascade Mountains is North America’s largest cross-country ski area, with over 200km of perfectly groomed, skiable terrain. Within this 200km, there are long-distance town-to-town and lodge-to-lodge ski options and heart-pumping climbs and descents that will challenge the most seasoned mountain men and women. 

All this space is good news—more room for you, more area to explore, more extraordinary landscapes to drink in. It also means you’ve got A LOT of skiing ahead of you.

It is borderline ridiculous that a place like Snoqualmie Falls can exist within a half-hour’s drive from downtown Seattle. From the city’s famous Space Needle, take the Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge and drive east for hardly any time at all before reaching the exquisite 82-metre waterfall, which the local Snoqualmie people have designated as the place where First Woman and First Man were created by Moon the Transformer.

This is one of the best city day trips you’ll ever find and it’s not the only one you can do in Seattle—Bainbridge Island and Leavenworth are a couple of other epic adventures you can squeeze into a day from Seattle. 

The large, red, neon-lit sign that adorns the entrance to the 117-year-old Pike Place Market is gorgeous, and it might just stop the Instagram crowd in their tracks. While they’re taking selfies, venture deeper into the market to find more time-honoured Seattle things—like fish throwing.  Fishmongers and fishermen yelling, chanting, shovelling ice and hurling fish at customers and each other. It’s genuine chaos, and we love it.  

The market is full of fresh food and classic Seattle dishes—like fresh oysters at Emmett Watson’s Oyster Bar. 

This is the West Coast, after all. 

While further south grabs all the attention, Westport, Washington, has quietly made a name for itself as a place to get pitted, with spots suiting both the kooks and the Kellys. Westport has three main spots: The Jetty, a consistent beach break, The Groins—a left-handed point break subject to monster tides; and The Cove, a feared shore break that bears the full brunt of the roaring North Pacific Ocean. All three are easily accessed. 

If you’re not a surfer, no matter; Washington State is full of epic beaches for all kinds of beachgoers—click here for more info.

The Edgewater Hotel in downtown Seattle is where the epic meets historic. It’s described as waterfront, and that’s putting it mildly—the Edgewater is so waterfront The Beatles fished out of their hotel room window when they stayed here. The lobby and restaurants are something to behold, situated right on the water, and with a blazing fire and epic bar to keep you warm in Seattle’s fresh winters. 

*We’re not sure if you’re allowed to fish out of your window—it’s probably more of a Beatles thing. If you’re reading, Paul or Ringo, go right ahead lads. 

The SoDo district of Seattle plays host to a number of pro sports teams. The Seattle Mariners are one of those, playing their home games at T-Mobile Park, a modern stadium with a retractable roof that also stages the occasional concert. 

Get a hot dog and a beer, and sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game while taking in ‘America’s pastime’. 

Methow Trails in the North Cascade Mountains is North America’s largest cross-country ski area, with over 200km of perfectly groomed, skiable terrain. Within this 200km, there are long-distance town-to-town and lodge-to-lodge ski options and heart-pumping climbs and descents that will challenge the most seasoned mountain men and women. 

All this space is good news—more room for you, more area to explore, more extraordinary landscapes to drink in. It also means you’ve got A LOT of skiing ahead of you.

It is borderline ridiculous that a place like Snoqualmie Falls can exist within a half-hour’s drive from downtown Seattle. From the city’s famous Space Needle, take the Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge and drive east for hardly any time at all before reaching the exquisite 82-metre waterfall, which the local Snoqualmie people have designated as the place where First Woman and First Man were created by Moon the Transformer.

This is one of the best city day trips you’ll ever find and it’s not the only one you can do in Seattle—Bainbridge Island and Leavenworth are a couple of other epic adventures you can squeeze into a day from Seattle. 

The Seattle Times recently ran a piece that showed that Washington is among the country’s most discerning states when it comes to beer (beer snobs, in their own words). As well as epic craft beer, the breweries and pubs around the state share a key element of Australian beer drinking: the beer garden.

The Fremont Brewing Urban Beer Garden is one of Seattle’s best spots for an ale, with an epic beer list. About a half hour away is South Fork North Bend, who serve pints in a beautiful beer garden that taste even better after bike ride through some gnarly trails nearby. 

The large, red, neon-lit sign that adorns the entrance to the 117-year-old Pike Place Market is gorgeous, and it might just stop the Instagram crowd in their tracks. While they’re taking selfies, venture deeper into the market to find more time-honoured Seattle things—like fish throwing.  Fishmongers and fishermen yelling, chanting, shovelling ice and hurling fish at customers and each other. It’s genuine chaos, and we love it.  

The market is full of fresh food and classic Seattle dishes—like fresh oysters at Emmett Watson’s Oyster Bar. 

This is the West Coast, after all. 

While further south grabs all the attention, Westport, Washington, has quietly made a name for itself as a place to get pitted, with spots suiting both the kooks and the Kellys. Westport has three main spots: The Jetty, a consistent beach break, The Groins—a left-handed point break subject to monster tides; and The Cove, a feared shore break that bears the full brunt of the roaring North Pacific Ocean. All three are easily accessed. 

If you’re not a surfer, no matter; Washington State is full of epic beaches for all kinds of beachgoers—click here for more info.

The Edgewater Hotel in downtown Seattle is where the epic meets historic. It’s described as waterfront, and that’s putting it mildly—the Edgewater is so waterfront The Beatles fished out of their hotel room window when they stayed here. The lobby and restaurants are something to behold, situated right on the water, and with a blazing fire and epic bar to keep you warm in Seattle’s fresh winters. 

*We’re not sure if you’re allowed to fish out of your window—it’s probably more of a Beatles thing. If you’re reading, Paul or Ringo, go right ahead lads. 

The SoDo district of Seattle plays host to a number of pro sports teams. The Seattle Mariners are one of those, playing their home games at T-Mobile Park, a modern stadium with a retractable roof that also stages the occasional concert. 

Get a hot dog and a beer, and sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game while taking in ‘America’s pastime’. 

Methow Trails in the North Cascade Mountains is North America’s largest cross-country ski area, with over 200km of perfectly groomed, skiable terrain. Within this 200km, there are long-distance town-to-town and lodge-to-lodge ski options and heart-pumping climbs and descents that will challenge the most seasoned mountain men and women. 

All this space is good news—more room for you, more area to explore, more extraordinary landscapes to drink in. It also means you’ve got A LOT of skiing ahead of you.

It is borderline ridiculous that a place like Snoqualmie Falls can exist within a half-hour’s drive from downtown Seattle. From the city’s famous Space Needle, take the Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge and drive east for hardly any time at all before reaching the exquisite 82-metre waterfall, which the local Snoqualmie people have designated as the place where First Woman and First Man were created by Moon the Transformer.

This is one of the best city day trips you’ll ever find and it’s not the only one you can do in Seattle—Bainbridge Island and Leavenworth are a couple of other epic adventures you can squeeze into a day from Seattle. 

Never has there been a less accurate name than the ‘Easy Pass’. This breathtaking, brute of a trail winds through mountains, greenery and rocky sections. It packs in heavy timber, meadows, and avalanche chutes and takes trekkers as high as 1,981 metres, which is a really long way up.

This is tricky trekking, a proper calf-burner, but the 11.2km are doable in a day. Go in March or autumn, and the larch trees will turn captivatingly golden-yellow for you.

The Seattle Times recently ran a piece that showed that Washington is among the country’s most discerning states when it comes to beer (beer snobs, in their own words). As well as epic craft beer, the breweries and pubs around the state share a key element of Australian beer drinking: the beer garden.

The Fremont Brewing Urban Beer Garden is one of Seattle’s best spots for an ale, with an epic beer list. About a half hour away is South Fork North Bend, who serve pints in a beautiful beer garden that taste even better after bike ride through some gnarly trails nearby. 

The large, red, neon-lit sign that adorns the entrance to the 117-year-old Pike Place Market is gorgeous, and it might just stop the Instagram crowd in their tracks. While they’re taking selfies, venture deeper into the market to find more time-honoured Seattle things—like fish throwing.  Fishmongers and fishermen yelling, chanting, shovelling ice and hurling fish at customers and each other. It’s genuine chaos, and we love it.  

The market is full of fresh food and classic Seattle dishes—like fresh oysters at Emmett Watson’s Oyster Bar. 

This is the West Coast, after all. 

While further south grabs all the attention, Westport, Washington, has quietly made a name for itself as a place to get pitted, with spots suiting both the kooks and the Kellys. Westport has three main spots: The Jetty, a consistent beach break, The Groins—a left-handed point break subject to monster tides; and The Cove, a feared shore break that bears the full brunt of the roaring North Pacific Ocean. All three are easily accessed. 

If you’re not a surfer, no matter; Washington State is full of epic beaches for all kinds of beachgoers—click here for more info.

The Edgewater Hotel in downtown Seattle is where the epic meets historic. It’s described as waterfront, and that’s putting it mildly—the Edgewater is so waterfront The Beatles fished out of their hotel room window when they stayed here. The lobby and restaurants are something to behold, situated right on the water, and with a blazing fire and epic bar to keep you warm in Seattle’s fresh winters. 

*We’re not sure if you’re allowed to fish out of your window—it’s probably more of a Beatles thing. If you’re reading, Paul or Ringo, go right ahead lads. 

The SoDo district of Seattle plays host to a number of pro sports teams. The Seattle Mariners are one of those, playing their home games at T-Mobile Park, a modern stadium with a retractable roof that also stages the occasional concert. 

Get a hot dog and a beer, and sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game while taking in ‘America’s pastime’. 

Methow Trails in the North Cascade Mountains is North America’s largest cross-country ski area, with over 200km of perfectly groomed, skiable terrain. Within this 200km, there are long-distance town-to-town and lodge-to-lodge ski options and heart-pumping climbs and descents that will challenge the most seasoned mountain men and women. 

All this space is good news—more room for you, more area to explore, more extraordinary landscapes to drink in. It also means you’ve got A LOT of skiing ahead of you.

It is borderline ridiculous that a place like Snoqualmie Falls can exist within a half-hour’s drive from downtown Seattle. From the city’s famous Space Needle, take the Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge and drive east for hardly any time at all before reaching the exquisite 82-metre waterfall, which the local Snoqualmie people have designated as the place where First Woman and First Man were created by Moon the Transformer.

This is one of the best city day trips you’ll ever find and it’s not the only one you can do in Seattle—Bainbridge Island and Leavenworth are a couple of other epic adventures you can squeeze into a day from Seattle. 

Wandering through the thick sheets of green that blanket the Hoh Rain Forest, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve been pulled from Planet Earth and planted straight into a Dr. Seuss book. 

As a result of the 355 centimetres of rain the area gets each year, the forest is spectacularly covered in green moss. Herds of elk wander the forest, and there are some epic trees that have been here long before grunge or the Space Needle. We’re not sure the Lorax ever made the four-hour drive from Seattle to Hoh, in Olympic National Park, but you definitely should.

Never has there been a less accurate name than the ‘Easy Pass’. This breathtaking, brute of a trail winds through mountains, greenery and rocky sections. It packs in heavy timber, meadows, and avalanche chutes and takes trekkers as high as 1,981 metres, which is a really long way up.

This is tricky trekking, a proper calf-burner, but the 11.2km are doable in a day. Go in March or autumn, and the larch trees will turn captivatingly golden-yellow for you.

The Seattle Times recently ran a piece that showed that Washington is among the country’s most discerning states when it comes to beer (beer snobs, in their own words). As well as epic craft beer, the breweries and pubs around the state share a key element of Australian beer drinking: the beer garden.

The Fremont Brewing Urban Beer Garden is one of Seattle’s best spots for an ale, with an epic beer list. About a half hour away is South Fork North Bend, who serve pints in a beautiful beer garden that taste even better after bike ride through some gnarly trails nearby. 

The large, red, neon-lit sign that adorns the entrance to the 117-year-old Pike Place Market is gorgeous, and it might just stop the Instagram crowd in their tracks. While they’re taking selfies, venture deeper into the market to find more time-honoured Seattle things—like fish throwing.  Fishmongers and fishermen yelling, chanting, shovelling ice and hurling fish at customers and each other. It’s genuine chaos, and we love it.  

The market is full of fresh food and classic Seattle dishes—like fresh oysters at Emmett Watson’s Oyster Bar. 

This is the West Coast, after all. 

While further south grabs all the attention, Westport, Washington, has quietly made a name for itself as a place to get pitted, with spots suiting both the kooks and the Kellys. Westport has three main spots: The Jetty, a consistent beach break, The Groins—a left-handed point break subject to monster tides; and The Cove, a feared shore break that bears the full brunt of the roaring North Pacific Ocean. All three are easily accessed. 

If you’re not a surfer, no matter; Washington State is full of epic beaches for all kinds of beachgoers—click here for more info.

The Edgewater Hotel in downtown Seattle is where the epic meets historic. It’s described as waterfront, and that’s putting it mildly—the Edgewater is so waterfront The Beatles fished out of their hotel room window when they stayed here. The lobby and restaurants are something to behold, situated right on the water, and with a blazing fire and epic bar to keep you warm in Seattle’s fresh winters. 

*We’re not sure if you’re allowed to fish out of your window—it’s probably more of a Beatles thing. If you’re reading, Paul or Ringo, go right ahead lads. 

The SoDo district of Seattle plays host to a number of pro sports teams. The Seattle Mariners are one of those, playing their home games at T-Mobile Park, a modern stadium with a retractable roof that also stages the occasional concert. 

Get a hot dog and a beer, and sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game while taking in ‘America’s pastime’. 

Methow Trails in the North Cascade Mountains is North America’s largest cross-country ski area, with over 200km of perfectly groomed, skiable terrain. Within this 200km, there are long-distance town-to-town and lodge-to-lodge ski options and heart-pumping climbs and descents that will challenge the most seasoned mountain men and women. 

All this space is good news—more room for you, more area to explore, more extraordinary landscapes to drink in. It also means you’ve got A LOT of skiing ahead of you.

It is borderline ridiculous that a place like Snoqualmie Falls can exist within a half-hour’s drive from downtown Seattle. From the city’s famous Space Needle, take the Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge and drive east for hardly any time at all before reaching the exquisite 82-metre waterfall, which the local Snoqualmie people have designated as the place where First Woman and First Man were created by Moon the Transformer.

This is one of the best city day trips you’ll ever find and it’s not the only one you can do in Seattle—Bainbridge Island and Leavenworth are a couple of other epic adventures you can squeeze into a day from Seattle. 

But we’re pretty sure you had no idea that the state of Washington on the U.S. West Coast is one of the country’s ultimate outdoor destinations, home to a unique set of topography with options for every kind of outdoor person.

We’re also certain you didn’t know how nice it is to be outdoors in Seattle, in beautiful beer gardens or at an unlikely waterfall incredibly close to the city centre, or at one of America’s best ballparks. If you like adventure and being outside, Seattle and Washington need to be on your list. Here are ten of the most epic outdoor experiences in the city and state that prove it.

Click play to WATCH

The San Juan Islands is the United States’ final bastion in the northwest, around 400 rugged islands that separate the country from Canada. These dramatic landscapes are one of the world’s best places to spot orca whales, year-round. And the best place to see these incredible beasts? In the water, obviously.

Crystal Seas Kayaking offer different kinds of kayak tours through these stunning waters, where you might just encounter an orca along the way.

They also offer a Women’s Weekend, a three-day, two-night kayak adventure for the girls only. YTG. And then there’s Discovery Sea Kayaks, who offer bioluminescent night kayaking, where the darkest nights are lit up by streaks of marine bioluminescence.

Wandering through the thick sheets of green that blanket the Hoh Rain Forest, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve been pulled from Planet Earth and planted straight into a Dr. Seuss book. 

As a result of the 355 centimetres of rain the area gets each year, the forest is spectacularly covered in green moss. Herds of elk wander the forest, and there are some epic trees that have been here long before grunge or the Space Needle. We’re not sure the Lorax ever made the four-hour drive from Seattle to Hoh, in Olympic National Park, but you definitely should.

Never has there been a less accurate name than the ‘Easy Pass’. This breathtaking, brute of a trail winds through mountains, greenery and rocky sections. It packs in heavy timber, meadows, and avalanche chutes and takes trekkers as high as 1,981 metres, which is a really long way up.

This is tricky trekking, a proper calf-burner, but the 11.2km are doable in a day. Go in March or autumn, and the larch trees will turn captivatingly golden-yellow for you.

The Seattle Times recently ran a piece that showed that Washington is among the country’s most discerning states when it comes to beer (beer snobs, in their own words). As well as epic craft beer, the breweries and pubs around the state share a key element of Australian beer drinking: the beer garden.

The Fremont Brewing Urban Beer Garden is one of Seattle’s best spots for an ale, with an epic beer list. About a half hour away is South Fork North Bend, who serve pints in a beautiful beer garden that taste even better after bike ride through some gnarly trails nearby. 

The large, red, neon-lit sign that adorns the entrance to the 117-year-old Pike Place Market is gorgeous, and it might just stop the Instagram crowd in their tracks. While they’re taking selfies, venture deeper into the market to find more time-honoured Seattle things—like fish throwing.  Fishmongers and fishermen yelling, chanting, shovelling ice and hurling fish at customers and each other. It’s genuine chaos, and we love it.  

The market is full of fresh food and classic Seattle dishes—like fresh oysters at Emmett Watson’s Oyster Bar. 

This is the West Coast, after all. 

While further south grabs all the attention, Westport, Washington, has quietly made a name for itself as a place to get pitted, with spots suiting both the kooks and the Kellys. Westport has three main spots: The Jetty, a consistent beach break, The Groins—a left-handed point break subject to monster tides; and The Cove, a feared shore break that bears the full brunt of the roaring North Pacific Ocean. All three are easily accessed. 

If you’re not a surfer, no matter; Washington State is full of epic beaches for all kinds of beachgoers—click here for more info.

The Edgewater Hotel in downtown Seattle is where the epic meets historic. It’s described as waterfront, and that’s putting it mildly—the Edgewater is so waterfront The Beatles fished out of their hotel room window when they stayed here. The lobby and restaurants are something to behold, situated right on the water, and with a blazing fire and epic bar to keep you warm in Seattle’s fresh winters. 

*We’re not sure if you’re allowed to fish out of your window—it’s probably more of a Beatles thing. If you’re reading, Paul or Ringo, go right ahead lads. 

The SoDo district of Seattle plays host to a number of pro sports teams. The Seattle Mariners are one of those, playing their home games at T-Mobile Park, a modern stadium with a retractable roof that also stages the occasional concert. 

Get a hot dog and a beer, and sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game while taking in ‘America’s pastime’. 

Methow Trails in the North Cascade Mountains is North America’s largest cross-country ski area, with over 200km of perfectly groomed, skiable terrain. Within this 200km, there are long-distance town-to-town and lodge-to-lodge ski options and heart-pumping climbs and descents that will challenge the most seasoned mountain men and women. 

All this space is good news—more room for you, more area to explore, more extraordinary landscapes to drink in. It also means you’ve got A LOT of skiing ahead of you.

It is borderline ridiculous that a place like Snoqualmie Falls can exist within a half-hour’s drive from downtown Seattle. From the city’s famous Space Needle, take the Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge and drive east for hardly any time at all before reaching the exquisite 82-metre waterfall, which the local Snoqualmie people have designated as the place where First Woman and First Man were created by Moon the Transformer.

This is one of the best city day trips you’ll ever find and it’s not the only one you can do in Seattle—Bainbridge Island and Leavenworth are a couple of other epic adventures you can squeeze into a day from Seattle. 

The year is 1836, and the cry Remember the Alamo!

…is ringing out across the nation, laying the foundation for the soon-to-come Mexican-American War and battle for Texas. San Antonio, then a relatively small outpost, begins to rebuild after a brutal battle and the hard work is fuelled by… chilli.

We’ve all fallen in love before and, at some point, have probably fallen in love with a bowl of chilli. Spicy, rich and hearty, chilli comes in many varieties and tops some of the most primo of foods. Quick way to level-up a hot dog? Add chilli.

It doesn’t matter whether you take it with beans, cheese or breadcrumbs, chilli is enjoyed by people all over the world. Well, except for iconic food traveller Anthony Bourdain, for whom it was reminiscent of “a warm bag of crap”. But don’t listen to him on this one—even legends make mistakes occasionally.

In Southern United States, it’s a distinct kind of street food that’s made all the more amazing when you know the history of San Antonio’s chilli godmothers.

A band of women boldly named the ‘Chilli Queens’ once made their way to Alamo and set up shop in its open air market. While mostly Mexican, there were some African American and First Nations women in their band, and together they served up their grandmothers’ secret chilli.

Dressed in colourful dresses, singing songs, and usually accompanied by roving musicians, they would fill the square with song and spice, offering their homemade chilli to a hungry city.

For decades, this band of Queens served their chilli daily from the market, providing a cheap and hearty meal not just to the people of San Antonio, but to travellers who caught wind. Tales of the Chilli Queens were featured in newspaper articles and travel guides, they were mentioned in several novels, including O. Henry’s The Gift of the Magi and Katherine Anne Porter’s Pale Horse, Pale Rider, and soon chilli was spreading across the nation, becoming a popular fixture on menus coast to coast.

Sadly, resentment and racism towards Mexican culture forced the Chilli Queens out of business. The city government predominantly to blame after they passed an 1918 ordinance that banned street vendors from selling food. However, the Chilli Queens’ legacy lives on as a San Antonio street staple, slightly reinvented. Enter the Frito Pie.

At some point someone started serving chilli in a chip packet, giving birth to the Frito Pie—a charmingly lowbrow culinary combination that sees corn chips paired with their natural chilli allies. Like yin and yang or Simon & Garfunkel—they’re naturally better together.

Chilli by the ladle. Click to view gallery

No one seems quite sure where this originated. Some say it was a man on his lunch break at a convenience store while others reckon it was the Doolin family (inventors of the Fritos corn chips brand). There’s even talk of the Frito pie originating in the 1960s thanks to a woman named Teresa Hernandez who worked at the Woolworths lunch counter.

What we can all agree on, however, is that this is a distinctly southern American culinary invention, and a San Antonian street snack for the ages.

Frito Pie in all its glory. Click to view gallery

BEST PLACES TO GRAB A FRITO PIE IN SAN ANTONIO

THE ORIGINAL RUDY’S COUNTRY STORE AND BAR-B-Q
A beloved, if basic, BBQ joint with multiple locations across San Antonio.

CHUNKY’S BURGERS
As well as offering a delicious Frito Pie topped with chilli and cheese, you can also get the 4 Horsemen burger here, famously dubbed the ‘Hottest Burger on the Planet’ by Man vs Food.

SAM’S BURGER JOINT
A classic burger joint where you can catch a band while you munch on your chilli.

ANY SAN ANTONIO FOOD TRUCK
This is where the purists will tell you to go, find them at any sports stadiums or fairs around the city.