North Puget Sound

North Puget Sound is the urban core of Washington — King, Kitsap, and Snohomish counties wrapping the eastern and western shores of the central Sound. King County holds Seattle, Bellevue, and the eastern lakeshore suburbs; Snohomish runs north through Everett, Edmonds, Mukilteo, and the Stillaguamish farmland; Kitsap sits across the Sound on the peninsula that holds Bremerton, Bainbridge Island, and Poulsbo. Geography here is shaped by water. The Sound itself, Lake Washington, the Cascade foothills east of Seattle, and the Olympic Mountains visible across the water from every west-facing window all influence how the region travels. The Washington State Ferries connect Edmonds, Seattle, and Kingston, Bremerton, and Bainbridge; State Route 2 climbs east to Stevens Pass; I-90 runs out to Snoqualmie Falls and the Cascades. Trips here are mostly Seattle-anchored — Pike Place Market, Seattle Center, the Museum of Flight, Snoqualmie Falls, and ferry day trips to Bainbridge or Bremerton. Bellevue’s Botanical Garden and the Sammamish River corridor handle eastside visitors. The dry season runs late June through September; the rest of the year stays mild and damp.