Olympia is your Basecamp to the surrounding area! It is the ideal place to base yourself for a few days while you explore the region. The Olympic National Park, Mount Rainier, Mount St Helens, the coast, even Seattle are all great day trips from Olympia.

Why not stay a week, one day traveling out of town and the the next staying in town and see a show, visit the Capital, wander Percival Landing, feel the vibe of the Farmers Market.

Olympia is your Basecamp to the surrounding area! It is the ideal place to base yourself for a few days while you explore the region. The Olympic National Park, Mount Rainier, Mount St Helens, the coast, even Seattle are all great day trips from Olympia.

Why not stay a week, one day traveling out of town and the the next staying in town and see a show, visit the Capital, wander Percival Landing, feel the vibe of the Farmers Market.

News and Updates

Olympia, A Friendly Small City

Olympia recently made it on a to a top ten list of America’s Friendliest Small Cities. Although the photo associated with the article is not Olympia, it is indicative of the city.  We are a small city, a state capital, a college town, a waterfront city, a transportation hub, but most of all a bunch of friendly diverse people.

This makes for a great place to base yourself as you explore not just the immediate area but the region. There is not a better place to go and explore, take in the sites, monuments, parks and bigger cities, then come back for the evening and experience our dining and arts offerings.

Got kids? Olympia has you covered!

One of the best ways to entertain and tire out your kids is to go for a walk or hike. Our friends over at Exotic Hikes have a great ebook for hikes with kids.

The Olympia Farmers’ Market is great and now open year round on Saturdays. Great for lunch after a walk on Percival Landing.

Give the kids a taste of history and grandeur and tour the Capital Campus.

No list of ideas would be complete without mentioning the amazing Hands On Children’s Museum or the WET Science Center.

Other Places to look for ideas.

Local blog Thurston Talk has a Thrifty Thurston writter who has a lot of similar and great suggestions for parents with kids. Check out their ideas!

Updating Basecamp Olympia (yet again)

So after a number of misfires and the like, we are having another stab at making Basecamp Olympia my perfect idea of tourism for Olympia. Olympia as your basecamp. Not Lacey or Tumwater, although they would fit only slightly less. Olympia has better walk-ability than its neighbors, especially when you are staying with us at the Swantown Inn Bed & Breakfast.

Unlike other tourism entities we do not have to politically correct and all inclusive. Lets talk plainly. Olympia has the best farmers market, local attractions (Hands On Children’s Museum, WET Science Center), it has access to the sound at Percival Landing, great restaurants, and friendly residents. Is it perfect? No! Far from it. However it is a great place for tourists visiting our area to base themselves and reach out to nearby national parks and monuments, attractions or even just to chill out and relax.

We will be editing some of our posts to take out the “timing” and just showcase the event or attraction. Tweaking until the site is fully populated with all of our top suggestions.

If you own a business, attraction or tourism related entity let us know and we will add it to the site.

Of course this site is primarily here to help drive bookings to our Olympia B&B.

Getting ready to launch!

Please excuse the lack of content while we ready this site for a launch. We are working out arrangements with local accommodations and other news sources.

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