From the Seattle area:
Mountains for skiing or hiking: 45-60 minutes East to the Cascades or a ferry ride and 60 minutes to the Olympics to the West.
http://www.summitatsnoqualmie.com/
Mountains for climbing: Rainier, Baker, Adams and St Helens and lesser..all within about 2 hours.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/getaways/070496/peaks_top.html
Fishing: Salt water 5 to 10 minutes, fresh water 5 to 10 minutes, ocean about 2 hours or so. Rivers and lakes are all over the place. Washington is the boating capitol of the world.
Rainforest: Ferry ride West and 60-90 minutes.
Desert: 90 minutes to the East. Colder during the winter, hotter during the summer.
Pro and college teams: minutes away.
Canada: 2 hours to the North.
Portland: 3 hours to the South.
Pacific Raceways: 45 minutes...
http://www.pacificraceways.com/
My Dad called Washington God's County. He grew up in North Dakota and once here always said, "North Dakota, a great place to be FROM."