Best Places to Elope in Washington State
As a Washington-based Elopement Photographer I can definitively say, you can’t beat an elopement in Washington State.
Dreaming of an adventure wedding? We have been blessed with breathtaking locations all over the world but choosing one of those locations for your dream elopement can be overwhelming. We’ve created a list of the best elopement destinations to help narrow down your search.
Best time of year to visit: The most ideal time to visit is Spring, Summer, or Fall. The months of June, July, and August are the busiest months out of the year. In my opinion, you can’t go wrong with visiting in October!
Landscape/Scenery: Yosemite’s amazing scenery consists of trees, mountain views and waterfalls. The most common places to hold a ceremony are Glacier Point, Taft Point, Half Dome, and Bridal Veil Falls. If you’re looking for a more secluded area, there are plenty of places to hike to that will get you away from the crowds!
Lodging: You can opt to camp in the park but there are also many places near the park to lodge.
Permits: For overnight camping, a wilderness permit is required year-round. For day hiking, you won’t need a permit unless you are planning to hike half dome when the cables are up. A wedding permit is required to have a ceremony in Yosemite, even for an elopement. It’s $150 and can be reserved up to a year in advance.
Best time of year to visit: Fall through Spring are the best times to elope here because it’s a desert. Keep in mind that if you decide to do your ceremony in the Winter and want to camp, nights get real cold.
Landscape/Scenery: Moab is a city that has multiple national parks located within it. Red rocks canyons will surround you no matter where you choose to elope here! If you happened to be here at night, the stars will be nothing like you’ve ever seen. These are some popular and epic locations to look into:
Arches National Park: Located about 10 minutes from downtown Moab, this park has over 2,000 natural stone arches and tons of trails ranging from easy to hard to get you to awesome locations. Arches currently allows ceremonies in 10 different locations throughout the park with a range of how many people are allowed to attend.
Canyonlands National Park: Located about 45 minutes from downtown, this park will be a little more secluded than Arches. It has 3 approved ceremony locations and all of them are located with Island in the Sky.
Dead Horse State Park: This park is located about 40 minutes from downtown Moab and you can drive to almost all of the ceremony locations here and there are 5 approved locations within this park.
BLM Land: BLM land is public land for recreational use and Moab contain 1.8 million acres of it! You will have to be pre-approved before having a ceremony on this land and your photographer will need a special recreations permit in order to photograph here.
Lodging: You’ll have a wide range of places to stay in Moab and lots of camping options if you want to go that route (you can camp pretty much anywhere on BLM land) but here are some of our favorites:
Permits: Each park requires something a little bit different and they all have specific ceremony approved locations. Be sure to check out each park individually within Moab to see what is required. Most of them also require you to obtain a permit at least 10-20 days in advance and the earlier, the better!
Best time of year to visit: Weather wise, summer is the best time to visit—the wildflowers are in full force and the Going-the-Sun-Road is open! If you visit in the Winter, you will have limited elopement locations to choose from, but West Glacier is open. Ideal time for less crowds is early Spring or Fall.
Landscape/Scenery: During Spring and Summer, there is no shortage of wildflowers throughout the park. You’ll experience mountain views, waterfalls and Glacier is one of the best locations to see wildlife! Glacier doesn’t require to have your ceremony in a specific area of the park so you are free to go anywhere you want! I’ve listed the most common places for ceremonies below:
Lodging: There are quite few campgrounds located throughout the park most of which are first come, first serve. If you don’t want to camp, there are lots of lodging accommodations located just outside the park and some awesome Airbnbs.
Permits: Overnight backpacking permits are required and typically open up for reservations in March. A wedding permit is required for all elopements with a $100 fee and preference of your top two ceremony locations upon submission.
Best time of year to visit: Located in the PNW, Summer is the best time of year for weather to elope here. However, you can’t beat the moody vibe of a stormy Fall day!
Landscape/Scenery: This park is the only park in Washington State that is open all year and it really has everything; mountains, alpine lakes, rainforest and a rugged coastline. There aren’t specific entrances to this park so choose your ideal viewpoint and research locations from there. Below are a few of our favorites:
Lodging: Since Olympic National Park covers 1,442 square miles, lodging is going to completely depend on where in the park you decide to have your ceremony. Camping is usually an option at many of these spots with reservations!
Permits: Wilderness permits and reservations are required for all overnight stays in the park and wedding permits are required for any ceremony that will take place in the park. More information of both of those can be found here:
Best time of year to visit: July, August, and early September are going to be your highest chances of no rain. Winter is beautiful but chilly!
Landscape/Scenery: Mt Rainier is home to many glaciers, wildflowers, forest and panoramic views of mountains towering above you. There are five entrances to the park and there are no specific ceremony spots required so you have over 200,000 to work with! Some popular areas for a ceremony:
Lodging: Since there are 5 entrances to different areas of the park, decide where you want to elope before you start looking for lodging. One option is to camp inside the park, you can also stay right outside of the park in a hotel or an AirBnB.
Permits: Permits are required for all overnight hiking and climbing and are granted by reservation only. Wedding permits are required for all ceremonies performed in the park! More information on both of those below:
Best time of the year to visit: Located in Northern California, Big Sur is a great place all year around to elope in. If you choose to visit in the winter, you’ll avoid the crowds and still have a good chance of beautiful weather! Keep in mind that being on the coast, you will most likely experience wind.
Landscape/Scenery: Big Sur is one of the longest stretches of coastlines in the US—the rugged rocks sit above the water and make for beautiful areas to take photos! If you choose to visit Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, you’ll get to experience the beauty of the giant redwoods. You’ll have to decide weather you want to have your ceremony at one of the state parks (where you will be surrounded by redwoods) or at a venue that would be better if you prefer coastal views. Here are some of the most common locations:
There are lots of all-inclusive venue options throughout Big Sur if you are looking for a slightly larger elopement with about 20-25 guests that can include ceremony/reception locations and catering.
Lodging: There are lots of lodging accommodations in Big Sur. A few of our favorites are:
Permits: If you are going to elope in one of the state parks, a permit is required. More information on that here
As a Washington-based Elopement Photographer I can definitively say, you can’t beat an elopement in Washington State.
The definition of the word “elopement” doesn’t quite fit the loving meaning that we use it for. Let’s demystify what an elopement REALLY is.
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