PNW Trip this Summer (Seattle, Tacoma: fit in, camping, live)

[jabogitlu]

Olympic Nat'l Park really is beautiful but I would caution you not to underestimate how remote it is (aka how far of a drive into Seattle). If you go over that way, don't miss the Lake Crescent area, it's really lovely. Hurricane Ridge is also a neat stop but very "developed" - it's not really a wilderness area.

The Cascades are also really lovely. Here's a few ideas, not sure how "technical" of a hike you want, so there's a mix here.

https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/...ake-twenty-two
https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/mailbox-peak
https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/...lls-state-park

These two can be very busy in the summer:
https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/rattlesnake-ledge
https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/poo-poo-point

[homesinseattle]

Lake Quinnault is a very special area: ancient 1000 year old spruce trees, lovely waterfalls, big elk and beautiful woods/lake.

[wolfdog]

Take a ride, even walk on, on one of our many ferries. Do the Whidbey Island loop, from Mukilteo.

[Gardyloo]

Current plan is July 25-August 3rd. Current plan is to fly into PDX and flying out of Seattle. Still open to how much time we are spending in each. Plan on going to Columbia River Gorge and Oregon Coast, in Oregon, and Olympic National Park in Seattle.

I think you're going to have to manage your time pretty severely. By seeing the "Oregon coast," what parts do you mean? The north coast - say Cannon Beach to the Columbia - is very popular during the summer with many of the hotels/motels etc. requiring multi-night bookings. The central and southern coasts (IMO the best scenery is the southernmost 60-70 miles) will be difficult to access in the time you have available.

There's plenty of terrific coastal scenery on the Olympic National Park coastal strip. Google Ruby Beach and Rialto Beach for example. You could drive from Portland out to Cannon Beach (Ecola State Park) then cross the (awesome) mouth of the Columbia and visit Cape Disappointment State Park, then continue up the coast to Lake Quinault and the ONP coastal strip. See the Hoh Valley rain forest, then continue around the top of the peninsula, maybe with a stop at Hurricane Ridge, before continuing on to Seattle, but this "loop" from Portland will take a minimum of three driving days. If you're spending a couple of days at the outset in the Columbia Gorge/Mount Hood areas (which you definitely should) that could reduce your time in Seattle to just a couple of nights, maybe three. Will that be okay?

Google the places on this map - https://goo.gl/maps/YGyu4UwRk7y2gaN38 - and remember that Google's drive time estimates are usually VERY optimistic; I'd add 30% to their times and feel lucky if that's all it is.

[Bluefox]

I would second Fremont and Phinney and also Green Lake, Wallingford, and Alki Beach. The U District is a younger crowd for obvious reasons but there are some great restaurants over there too.

There really are quite a few great neighborhoods in Seattle.

[CrazyDonkey]

Besides Ballard, I also concur with using Lower Queen Anne (Uptown) as a base for your Seattle visit. Walking distance to:

* The Seattle Center - Space Needle, Pacific Science Center/IMax, Chihuly Garden and Glass, MoPop, International Fountain, The Monoeail, etc. Summer Festivals: Northwest Folklife Festival, Pagdiriwang Philippine Festival, Indigenous People Festival. Black Arts Fest, Seattle Iranian Festival, BrasilFest, Tibet Fest, etc.

* Kerry Park (iconic Seattle viewpoint).

* Kinnear Park (more views).

* Olympic Sculpture Park.

* Myrtle Edwards Park/Elliott Bay Park

* Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) - Seattle's history museum.

* The Center for Wooden Boats/Lake Union Park.

* Dive bars: Ozzie's Bar & Grill, The Mecca Cafe, Streamline Tavern.

* Dick's Drive-In (Seattle's iconic burger chain - cheap eats).

* Lots of restaurants, cafes, bars, shops, stores, etc.

* Multiple frequent transit links to (Upper) Queen Anne, Belltown/Downtown, Pike Place Market, Seattle Art Museum, SLU/Capitol Hill, and Ballard.

[scocar]

Originally Posted by Gardyloo

I think you're going to have to manage your time pretty severely. By seeing the "Oregon coast," what parts do you mean? The north coast - say Cannon Beach to the Columbia - is very popular during the summer with many of the hotels/motels etc. requiring multi-night bookings. The central and southern coasts (IMO the best scenery is the southernmost 60-70 miles) will be difficult to access in the time you have available.

There's plenty of terrific coastal scenery on the Olympic National Park coastal strip. Google Ruby Beach and Rialto Beach for example. You could drive from Portland out to Cannon Beach (Ecola State Park) then cross the (awesome) mouth of the Columbia and visit Cape Disappointment State Park, then continue up the coast to Lake Quinault and the ONP coastal strip. See the Hoh Valley rain forest, then continue around the top of the peninsula, maybe with a stop at Hurricane Ridge, before continuing on to Seattle, but this "loop" from Portland will take a minimum of three driving days. If you're spending a couple of days at the outset in the Columbia Gorge/Mount Hood areas (which you definitely should) that could reduce your time in Seattle to just a couple of nights, maybe three. Will that be okay?

Google the places on this map - https://goo.gl/maps/YGyu4UwRk7y2gaN38 - and remember that Google's drive time estimates are usually VERY optimistic; I'd add 30% to their times and feel lucky if that's all it is.

Does this seem doable?

MON 7/25: Fly into PDX
TUE 7/26: Drive to Columbia River Gorge; a few hour hike, visit Hood River breweries; drive back to Portland.
WED 7/27: Explore Portland
THU 7/28: Drive to Tillamook to visit De Garde Brewing; drive to Astoria for lunch. Then drive to Aberdeen, WA for dinner and lodging.
FRI 7/29: Drive to Hoh Rain Forest spend a few hours there; drive to Port Angeles for dinner and lodging.
SAT 7/30: Visit Lake Crescent and Hurricane Ridge; drive to Seattle for dinner and lodging.
SUN 7/31: Explore Seattle
MON 8/1: Do a Ferry Trip
TUE 8/2: Explore Seattle or Mt. St. Helens day trip
WED 8/3: Explore Seattle; fly home

[MechAndy]

Everyone is different.
For me I tend to enjoy fewer things more so than a busy schedule.

For instance when we go to the Yucatán we like to stay 10 days.
2 days for cenote fun, 1 day whale shark watching/snorkeling the rest of the time we stay close and explore the local scene and eateries.

Each time we filled our week with a busy schedule we didn’t enjoy it as much.

I would check out the Seattle area, ferry toward the peninsula for a small half day at Hurricane Ridge and maybe go to kayaking at Freshwater Bay the other half and spend a night on the OP.

I think the Ho might suck up a lot of time because there are lots of nice forest areas without driving that far.
Lake Cresent is nice but it’s far from amazing.

Lots of cool things like dining, museums and such in Seattle so I might spend most my time there.

Good luck to ya.

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by scocar

Does this seem doable?

MON 7/25: Fly into PDX
TUE 7/26: Drive to Columbia River Gorge; a few hour hike, visit Hood River breweries; drive back to Portland.
WED 7/27: Explore Portland
THU 7/28: Drive to Tillamook to visit De Garde Brewing; drive to Astoria for lunch. Then drive to Aberdeen, WA for dinner and lodging.
FRI 7/29: Drive to Hoh Rain Forest spend a few hours there; drive to Port Angeles for dinner and lodging.
SAT 7/30: Visit Lake Crescent and Hurricane Ridge; drive to Seattle for dinner and lodging.
SUN 7/31: Explore Seattle
MON 8/1: Do a Ferry Trip
TUE 8/2: Explore Seattle or Mt. St. Helens day trip
WED 8/3: Explore Seattle; fly home

I would personally skip Aberdeen and just stay in Astoria or Seaside, or even over in Ocean Shores.

On 7/30, is your plan to drive all the way to Seattle through the Tacoma Narrows Bridge? You also have the option of taking the Bainbridge-Seattle or the Kingston-Edmonds ferries, though the latter gets very backed up in the summer.

I would also recommend checking out Poulsbo on the way to Seattle. Cute town on the water with several decent breweries. Port Townsend is great as well but with a tight time schedule it may not be possible to fit that in.

[Diana Holbrook]

Yeah it's the Thursday Friday Saturday time that I think will waste a LOT of time driving between remote locations that aren't really all that important. I would re-think that and either come up I-5 to Seattle and take the ferry over to Hurricane Ridge if you want to see that, or even drive up the inside of the Peninsula along Hood Canal if you'd rather.

No one on a first trip to Washington should stay in Aberdeen or drive from there to Port Angeles. The trip is almost all timber country and remote... driving hours along roads lined with trees of various ages and NO services. And not a lot of scenery because you are in a tunnel of trees most of the way. No gas stations, no cell service, no restaurants. No towns! No other traffic except log trucks. Hard to emphasize that too much. It is VERY remote.


Here's how I would re-arrange it.


If you are flying in to Portland, I would do your day trips the first two days to The Oregon Coast and another up the Gorge if you want.

-From Portland go to Mt. St. Helens, and then drive up and stay that night in Olympia area somewhere. Lots of good air bnbs or hotel options we could talk about.

-From Olympia drive up to Port Angeles along Hood Canal side and do Hurricane Ridge. (probably will arrive late and stay over, do the ridge in the morning) Stay the night there again or in Sequim or Port Townsend. Both are cute towns.
-From there drive down through Bainbridge Island - have lunch, and take the ferry in to Seattle for Seattle fun the rest of the trip.




Edited to refine as I think