Nature lover who's never been to the PNW - what's on your recommendation list? (Seattle: rent, good hotel)

[Giesela]

I have a hankering to see what the PNW is about having never been there. Not a city person. 54, single, traveling alone, like to bird watch, mammal watch, nature in general. I take a long time to plan so this isn't an immediate thing. (Living in Oh) Let's say a week/7 days

Not sure when to go - recommendations for time of year?
Suggestions for travel? Fly in, then....rent a car? An RV? I wouldn't mind camping some but I'm not into camping with minimum gear and not willing to fly with tons of gear, also love a good hotel shower so car camping interspesed with hotels or just hotels.
I'll consider a couple of city can't misses but generally am not interested in cities or museums or touristy stuff. The underground old city remnants are about the only thing I've ever heard about that sound really intriguing.
Route planning to get the most seeing for the driving?

[Hemlock140]

Fly into either Portland, Seattle, or Vancouver BC, whichever is cheapest, and rent an economical car. Plan on staying at decent but not fancy places such as Best Westerns. Here's what would be on my list:

Vancouver - Stanley Park, Ferry to Vancouver Island, Victoria, see Butchart Gardens.

Port Angeles WA area, visit Olympic National Park. Many hikes at Hurricane Ridge will result in encounters with wildlige such as deer and marmots. Continue on 101 to LaPush, then Forks and down to the Hoh Rainforest. Again, hikes with wildlife and amazing old trees/moss. Also
visit the Lake Quinault area.

Portland area - along the S side of the Columbia River there are many
waterfalls, easily accessible from the road with short walks. Look up Multnomah Falls, take I84 and the others are on the way.

As for timing, the best chance of dry weather is July 5th thru September 10th. Still it can rain any day of the year, especially in the Olympic National Park area which is temperate rainforest. In July and August it will be comfortably warm even when wet, but not too hot.

Here in Seattle (where I work) you might stop at the locks in Ballard, in August the Salmon are jumping in the ladders, and sometimes sea lions are about trying to catch their share of the fish.

[kanhawk]

If you come to the northwest you must drive part of the Oregon coast or you will miss one of the most beautiful places in the country.

A ferry ride to the San Juan Islands or least across the Sound from Seattle to Bainbridge or Bremerton is a nice unique northwest experience.

[Sobefobik]

Anytime I have friends visit, I always take them to Multnomah Falls because it's my favorite site around here. Make sure to drive on the old historic highway starting from Troutdale (take the Troutdale exit from highway 84 east from Portland) and go into the crown point museum. If you're lucky, it will be an especially windy day and you can experience the fairly common 70+ mile an hour days (It's way up on a cliff and the gorge can get very windy).

I also agree that a trip to the Oregon Coast is a must if you have never done it before. Since you don't have much time, head east from Portland on highway 26 to Cannon Beach and Ecola State Park. The south coast is also very nice, but it's a long drive to get there.

I also second the suggestion for Port Angeles and Hurricane Ridge. If you want to make the drive, make the loop around the Olympic Peninsula on Highway 101 from Gig Harbor all the way around to Olympia.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Giesela

... Not a city person. 54, single, traveling alone, like to bird watch, mammal watch, nature in general. ...a week/7 days

Not sure when to go - recommendations for time of year? Early Fall (late Sept / early Oct). less snow, less rain, great sunsets at the beach, less people
Suggestions for travel? Fly in, (Portland; Fast and Cheap) then....rent a car? $12-15 per day on Priceline) ... love a good hotel shower ... Consider Evergreen travel club for age 50+ You will have a TOUGH time beating this option ($10/day and VERY helpful hosts, VERY safe)

I'll consider a couple of city can't misses ...
Route planning to get the most seeing for the driving?

Do a search for itinerary, I will look into a few I've presented to travelers (I'm on the road myself at the moment)

Columbia Gorge (I-84 & WA SR14 ) Bonneville hot springs, Skamania Lodge, Cape Horn, Beacon Rock, Multnomah Falls (Lodge for Breakfast), Bonneville dam visitors center and hatchery, Old Scenic Hiway (best lighting is in Afternoon, note this Highway was designed as a work of art, and has viewpoints to compliment... video available (search Sam Hil and Oregon Public Broadcasting, also for other interests as in The Columbia River, as they had several specials on that this yr)), Columbia Gorge center in The Dalles, OR, Plenty of micro Brew pubs and Wine Columbia Gorge Wine Growers | Award winning Oregon and Washington Wine, LOTS of other stuff (including Pendleton Factory tour and outlet store in Washougal, WA (west Gorge, 15 minutes from PDX, Maryhill museum, Stonehenge, ).

Oregon Beach, (like here) hug point oregon - Google Search


Portland quirky stuff (Powell Books, Markets, arts, music, gardens)

St Helens, Mt. Rainier, (stay at Paradise Lodge), fun FREE exhibit here (danielklennert)
Oly Peninsula, rain forest + national Park and Hurricane Ridge, Port Townsend, Poulsbo,

Seattle area (markets, art, Ballard Locks on a Sunday afternoon, wharf, museums (Klondike NP is one I liked)Klondike Gold Rush - Seattle Unit National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)...good venue on a rainy day as are Columbia River Maritime Museum, Astoria, Oregon | Maritime History of the Columbia River, LCBO - Fort Clatsop National Memorial)

Skagit Valley, Bellingham area Mt Baker, North Cascades Highway, Chelan, Wenatchee, Leavenworth
You will have lots of fun and it is a very cheap and varied place to visit.

Do plenty of study and inquiring before coming and while here (I talk to lot of locals while enroute; libraries, mom and pop joints, lumberyards, courthouse, parks and gardens, And @ social events in my areas of interest. There are some really good clips from Home · OPB Arts & Life I assume WA (propaganda Broadcasting) has something similar.Home | KCTS 9 - Public Television Serving Seattle, Central Washington and British Columbia (no offense intended, coming from a 40+ yr significant supporter of very biased Public Broadcasting, but it is interesting to hear their whacko and intolerant points + has a wee bit of educational content)

[sean98125]

Best time of year around here is September, after the kids are back in school and most tourists have slouched back home. The weather is generally perfect, too.

The Pacific Northwest is defined as a region by the Columbia River and the coast. If you had a long enough trip, I'd highly recommend traveling through both Oregon and Washington, but if you had to pick one or the other you can still get a good feel for the region by concentrating on one state.

I haven't traveled as much in Oregon, but I can help with Washington.

For Washington, I'd fly in to Seattle. Hook around the Olympic Peninsula by heading north along Hood Canal. (You can take a ferry to Bremerton or Southworth if you want to make sure to include that iconic method of travel to the trip). Make sure to take the drive to the top of Mount Walker to see a spectacular view of all of Puget Sound. You can rent a cabin at Kalaloch for a night's stay you aren't likely to forget. Hurricane Ridge and the Hoh Rainforest are also worth a stop. From Aberdeen, head east to Mount Rainier and cross through the park all the way to Chinook Pass and 410. Cross over Chinook Pass to Yakima, then north along the Yakima Canyon Road to Ellensburg. From Ellensburg, head over Blewett Pass to Highway 2, then east to Coulee City. Take a drive along Banks Lake, take a gander at Grand Coulee Dam, then west toward Bridgeport and across the North Cascades Highway.

Follow 20 all the way to Anacortes, then cut south across Deception Pass to Whidbey Island. Spend some time exploring Fort Casey or Ebey Prairie. Keep heading south and take the ferry from Clinton to Mukilteo.

Why this route? There is a lot of driving, but if you really want to see what the region is all about you need to spend some time on the east side of the mountains. This route takes you through some spectacular and unique Pacific Northwest landscapes and avoids the major cities. There are great bird watching opportunities at Dungeness Spit near Sequim, at the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge, and at the Skagit Wildlife Refuge near Anacortes. Good wildlife watching opportunities everywhere, but particularly at Paradise and Hurricane Ridge. (Keep an eye out for rangers with telescopes trained on the mountain at Paradise - the sometimes have them trained on mountain goats or climbers.)

[gambit11]

Giesela,

This is a very large state. Are you interested in the desert also, or just the lush, green PNW? If I only had seven days I would focus on Olympic Peninsula or East Puget Sound and the Cascades. There is just so much to see here. The waterfalls in the Cascades are amazing - glaciers, wildflowers. It's a stunning mountain range. And then we have the Olympics on the Peninsula.
Do you have a preference for mountains or ocean? Lakes? Is it worth a long drive for you to see big waves and sea stacks?
I myself would not recommend trying to see WA and OR in one seven day trip, you would do nothing but drive. OR shore is magnificent, but if you decide to go there, you should fly to Portland.

[TotalFat]

Originally Posted by gambit11

I myself would not recommend trying to see WA and OR in one seven day trip, you would do nothing but drive.

I've been to WA four times in the past twelve years for week-long trips, and I can definitely say you will run out of time quickly. Build a huge list and plan everything out, but most importantly make your schedule flexible! On every trip out there I had to cut things out of my plan. BIG things, like Portland and Vancouver. I STILL haven't made it to either one! You could do it if you were only interested in checking things off a list, but I made time to enjoy the areas I was in at the time. To this day I do not regret sacrificing any particular excursion to spend more time at another. I know I will pick up where I left off on my next trip! My next trip out there will be ONE WAY incidentally...

[mdvaden]

Originally Posted by Giesela

I have a hankering to see what the PNW is about having never been there. Not a city person. 54, single, traveling alone, like to bird watch, mammal watch, nature in general.

For me, the Pacific NW includes the "State of Jefferson" (top NW corner of CA and the lower SW corner of Oregon) along with OR & WA. And my favorite part is the forests. Not sure why Idaho does not seem PNW to me.

Olympic National Park Western Redcedar in Washington



Oregon Coast Sitka Spruce at Oswald West State Park



Coast Redwood in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, next to Hiouchi

[gambit11]

Originally Posted by TotalFat

I've been to WA four times in the past twelve years for week-long trips, and I can definitely say you will run out of time quickly. Build a huge list and plan everything out, but most importantly make your schedule flexible! On every trip out there I had to cut things out of my plan. BIG things, like Portland and Vancouver. I STILL haven't made it to either one! You could do it if you were only interested in checking things off a list, but I made time to enjoy the areas I was in at the time. To this day I do not regret sacrificing any particular excursion to spend more time at another. I know I will pick up where I left off on my next trip! My next trip out there will be ONE WAY incidentally...

Excellent advice. And by the way, don't be sad about missing Portland and Vancouver. They're great when you have the time, but we've got it all in Seattle!
There is so much to see here, you could spend a lifetime and never be bored. I live on the peninsula now and I am so grateful everyday to be able to experience this wonderful place. Nature is in charge here and lets you know it frequently!
You are moving here? When? From where?