Picture the soft white mist, the forest of evergreen trees and the sound of powerful water falling almost 300 feet over granite rock while you are snuggled up in front of a log fire.
All this in one beautiful spot draws travelers from all over to Salish Lodge and Spa, a longtime favorite Northwest getaway for those seeking breaks filled with delicious food, relaxing spa treatments and hikes around Snoqualmie Falls.
Salish Lodge, perched next to the top of the falls just 30 miles east of Seattle, has the raw beauty that only nature can present. With one look over the precipice from the observation deck at the pounding water rumbling into the river below, visitors are hypnotized.
On a recent visit to Salish Lodge and Spa, two of us wandered the scenic overlooks taking picture-perfect photographs before heading back to our comfortable room with a view of the top of the falls.
There’s a safe path for those who want to hike down to the river, and staff members at the lodge will help with tours and guides. Hikes around the area can be arranged with them too.
Our room, like all others in Salish Lodge, had a wood-burning fireplace and a large whirlpool bathtub. Colorful lights beam through the bathroom window into your room, just one of the soothing aspects of relaxing in the whirlpool.
If guests have chosen a more vigorous hike, they might feel the need for a spa treatment. The Asian-inspired spa area is relaxing and tranquil, a place to rest and sip tea to unwind before or after a treatment.
Those who wish to forgo a beverage can sit in the eucalyptus steam room or dry sauna. Friendly staffers guide visitors to the therapeutic pools where relaxing is encouraged before a hot-stone massage or a facial.
After all that relaxing, it makes sense to round off the day with dinner in either the Attic Room or The Dining Room. Reservations should be made for The Dining Room, where guests might sit at a window overlooking the falls and evergreen forest or warm up at the original 1916 fireplace, built when the lodge was a stopover for travelers.
The food at Salish, thanks to executive chef Justin Sledge, is a luxurious experience in itself. More than two hours passed while we dined on Kobe beef cheek bourguignon served with pearl onions, baby root vegetables and petite mushrooms. This dish, one of many on the pairing menu, came with a cappuccino of rich mushroom essence topped with shallot cream and grated horseradish.
My favorite, except for dessert, was the pear-tasting course: poached pear with winter spices filled with mascarpone truffle-scented mousse, pear consomme, and pear panna cotta with a quenelle of pear jam on top and a pear chip. Heavenly.
Foodies will love this year’s offering to visitors and day guests: the Culinary Adventure Program that includes the Chef for a Day series.
In April, forage with the chef in the nearby mountains, where fiddlehead ferns and miner’s lettuce can be found. This excursion comes complete with a gourmet picnic lunch and local wines.
In June, visit Estrella Family Creamery in Montesano and meet the family who runs the business, before having a tasting and a cheese-making lesson.
In addition to the Chef for a Day series, Salish offers food and wine pairing dinners. Choose a month, and the calendar will tell you whether guests and visitors can savor reserve sherries and vintage Madeira paired with flavorful dishes from the lodge kitchens, or Scottish game with Burgundy wines. October’s event celebrates the opening of game season in the Scottish Highlands. Grouse, red partridge and wild hare will be paired with some Grand Cru Burgundy.
The series runs every month except July, August and November.
Christina Harper is a Snohomish County freelance writer. She can be reached at harper@heraldnet.com.
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