Winter of our Content

Ideas & Inspiration

Winter of our Content

As autumn’s gilded colors fade, Northwesterners turn to escapes on the coast, in rolling wine country and atop snowy Cascade crags. Winter rolls in, mild as a lover’s pout, and reinvigorates favorite local activities. Beachcombing. Sleigh rides. Cross-country skiing. Hot-air ballooning. So let your love keep you warm in some of the Northwest’s best winter honeymoon spots.

WHISTLER, B.C.

Post-Olympics, Whistler remains cooler than ever. The resort town holds North American records for lifts, terrain and vertical feet. More important, this winter wonderland drips romance, from the crags to the car-free village, named after a silver-furred marmot’s call.

Do: Ski, of course, or eco-tour with a chauffeured Sno Limo (imagine a dogsled with a man pushing it). At the new Scandinave Spa, bask in a wood-burning sauna, then chill under an outdoor waterfall or unwind with a couples Swedish massage. Later, take an evening Outdoor Adventures sleigh ride, followed by a multi-course fondue dinner. Eat: Fuel quickly at Crêpe Montagne. Araxi’s raw bar features five kinds of local oysters, including sweet, plump Satoris. Small wonder Gordon Ramsay selected the elegant restaurant as a Hell’s Kitchen grand-prize winner. The free paper Pique details local music and nightlife. Standouts include Chateau Whistler’s Mallard Lounge—famed for après-ski martinis. Stay: The elegant Fairmont Chateau Whistler (perfect for ski-in, ski-out convenience) resembles a castle at the base of Blackcomb Mountain. The hotel oozes romance: No wonder Seal gave an impromptu performance here after proposing to Heidi Klum in a nearby igloo. Travel time from Seattle: 5-hour drive

TOFINO, B.C.

On Vancouver Island’s stormy west coast lies a chic, rugged outpost: a gene splice of loggers, fishers, First Nations people and Vietnam-era conscientious objectors, who, like, caught a wave—eh, dude? But its most beloved local characters remain the gray whales, which migrate past Tofino, its neighbor Ucluelet and Pacific Rim National Park Reserve from late February to early May.

Do: From Tofino, paddle to Meares Island with Ocean Outfitters (kayak) or Tla-ook Cultural Adventures (canoe). Then stroll the 0.7-mile Big Cedar Trail, which culminates at the Hanging Garden Tree, a 2,000-year-old giant supporting 11 mature hemlocks. Inspiration enough for any family tree. Eat: While hiking the headlands on the Wild Pacific Trail in Ucluelet, unfold an organic picnic from Breakers Deli in Tofino, the area’s culinary epicenter. For elegance, turn to eclectic SoBo or to Shelter, with its posts and beams salvaged from a World War II hangar. Stay: Four miles south of Tofino, the Wickaninnish Inn sits between the Pacific and the old-growth rain forest, with fireplaces, driftwood furniture and tubs built for two. Immerse yourselves in the misty landscape or in the spa’s seaweed and ocean-mud exfoliation. The Terrace Beach Resort lofts—all dramatic wood and beaten metal—stand on stilts in more budget-friendly Ucluelet, 21 miles south. Travel time from Seattle: 7 hours, including drive and float plane or ferry

SAN JUAN ISLAND, WA

In 1859, the U.S. and Britain squared off here over a dead hog (and border disputes). With the joint occupation lasting 12 years, troops began picnicking, partying and horse racing together. The Pig War shed no human blood, so what better place to celebrate the harmony of your union?

Do: Hike the tawny grasslands of American Camp. Glimpse the area’s 86 resident orcas, which spyhop off Lime Kiln Point on the island’s west side. Many consider this state park the best land-based whale-watching outlook in the Lower 48. Eat: In Friday Harbor, heat lamps stretch the rooftop-patio season at harborside Maloula, home to kebabs, falafel and Moroccan lamb. Or savor the organics at fusion-fueled Backdoor Kitchen. Stay: Roche Harbor Resort, on the island’s northwestern tip, remains the internationally acclaimed star. But newlyweds may prefer the intimacy of Friday Harbor House. The inn’s latest package includes wine and chocolates from the island’s Pelindaba Lavender Farm. Travel time from Seattle: Nearly 3 hours, including drive and ferry

WINTHROP, WA

On the Cascades’ dry eastern flank, this gold-rush town inspired America’s first Western novel, The Virginian, after author Owen Wister honeymooned here. Follow in his footsteps—then go further with heli-skiing and downhill at Loup Loup. Later, browse the 1890s-replica storefronts.

Do: The 3,000-acre Sun Mountain Lodge boasts one of the country’s largest cross-country trail systems. Spa packages include a massage lesson and “double decadence” with champagne for couples. Visitors can also ice skate, snowshoe and take a Morning Glory Balloon Tour with a picnic, bouquet and chocolates. Eat: The lodge’s dining room spotlights Methow Valley produce, alongside Ellensburg lamb and Okanogan cheeses. Or rough it at the town’s Three Fingered Jack’s, Washington’s oldest legal saloon. Try “cowboy breath mints” (jalapeño poppers) and beer-battered onion rings with habanero ketchup. Stay: At 3,000-feet, Sun Mountain Lodge features mammoth timbers and fossil-embedded stones. Suites have gas fireplaces, whirlpool tubs and artisan furniture. Accomplished Nordic skiers can overnight in the backcountry: Rendezvous Outfitters maintains mountain huts. Travel time from Seattle: 4-hour drive

LEAVENWORTH, WA

Between the snow-shrouded Cascades and the apple-basket steppes stands a former logging village. Savvy enough to rebrand itself as a Bavarian-themed town in the 1960s, Leavenworth is rich in kitsch. But the area surprises even jaded urbanites with its mountain beauty and eclectic nature.

Do: Hit the Nordic ski trails or the slopes at Stevens Pass, 37 miles west. Take a horse-drawn tour of the town with Alpine Carriage or sleigh through mountain valleys at Eagle Creek Ranch, then retire to a beer garden. Lederhosen meet Ayurvedic treatments in this true meltingpot town. Eat: Keep the alpine theme yodeling with crepes at Pavz Café Bistro or spice things up at South, which cha-chas from ceviche to carne asada and Jamaican jerk chicken. Linger over lush Italian at Visconti’s, where baked gnocchi presides alongside chicken with vinaigrette- drizzled Gala apples. Stay: Wrought iron, slate-tiled gas fireplaces and BainUltra hydrotherapy tubs—ringed with candles and local stones—distinguish the three intimate rooms at Solstice Spa & Suites. Travel time from Seattle: 2.5-hour drive

PINOT NOIR COUNTRY, OR

Cradled between the Pacific and the Cascades, the Willamette Valley leans toward fleece and Pendleton plaid, but its wines—especially the pinot noirs—rattle France’s sense of varietal superiority. Like Washington’s wine country, this region offers an affordable, accessible alternative to Napa and Sonoma.

Do: Ride a Tennessee walking horse through the Red Hills of Dundee. Equestrian Wine Tours explores the vines and Oregon’s famous hazelnut orchards, hitching up at Stoller, Sokol Blosser and Wine Country Farm (honored in 1,000 Places to See Before You Die), among others. Take a chauffeured tasting tour via Grape Escape or soar with Oregon Wine Safari’s helicopters. Eat: At Dayton’s Winter’s Hill Vineyard, sample truffles and fruitcake made by local monks. The landscape’s flavors don’t stop after the dessert-wine harvests, though. Winter apiaries serve up superb pumpkin-blossom honey. For additional local culinary flair, look to Carlton’s Cuvée, McMinnville’s Bistro Maison and the Dundee Bistro in Dundee. Stay: Glass doors reveal vineyards from each room at pinot noir country’s first destination hotel: the chic, eco-friendly Allison Inn. Named for a regional soil, its restaurant, Jory, celebrates Oregon’s bounty, from microbrews to mushrooms to a cheese made only from the milk of a single Swiss brown cow named Renata. Travel time from Seattle: Nearly 4-hour drive 

Get more from Seattle Bride! Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.