Best National Park in Washington to visit? (Rainier, Glacier: live, places)

[Andy]

^ based on the above, I'd just drive through North Cascades on the highway. For Olympic, I'd only do Hurricane Ridge, if the weather is nice. Since it sounds like you are doing more of a road trip than a stop and visit for awhile trip, I'd focus on the scenic drives with great stops along the way.

I'd do what I lay out above from Glacier to Seattle (post #18). From Seattle I'd jet south on I-5, maybe take a 90 minute side trip to see Mt. St. Helens, maybe visit Portland, but then head west to the Oregon Coast. Skip the Washington Coast and visit the Oregon coast from Seaside south to at least Newport.

Two good routes from Oregon Coast to Crater Lake would be to head east on U.S. 20 at Newport and take that all the way into Bend, the hub of beautiful Central Oregon (totally different than other areas around here). Or if you want more Oregon Coast beauty, you can head east further down the coast at Reedsport and take 138 all the way to Crater Lake.

[PollyGlott]

I'm exhausted just reading the OP's projected itinerary!

[VirginiaMountainMan]

Originally Posted by Andy

^ based on the above, I'd just drive through North Cascades on the highway. For Olympic, I'd only do Hurricane Ridge, if the weather is nice. Since it sounds like you are doing more of a road trip than a stop and visit for awhile trip, I'd focus on the scenic drives with great stops along the way.

I'd do what I lay out above from Glacier to Seattle (post #18). From Seattle I'd jet south on I-5, maybe take a 90 minute side trip to see Mt. St. Helens, maybe visit Portland, but then head west to the Oregon Coast. Skip the Washington Coast and visit the Oregon coast from Seaside south to at least Newport.

Two good routes from Oregon Coast to Crater Lake would be to head east on U.S. 20 at Newport and take that all the way into Bend, the hub of beautiful Central Oregon (totally different than other areas around here). Or if you want more Oregon Coast beauty, you can head east further down the coast at Reedsport and take 138 all the way to Crater Lake.

Yea I was wanting to include Crater Lake but I thought it wouldn't be worth it to drive that far out of the way just to see a lake with scenery similar to that of Washington's. But from what I understand from your post is that the scenery in Oregon is quite different than that of Washington. So is Crater Lake really worth stopping by? Thanks for the advice.

[elkotronics]

Crater Lake would be so worth it to you to see. Absolutely breathtakingly beautiful sight to behold!

[TRC2k11]

Originally Posted by 509

What's inane about it?? He asked for ONE.

The National Parks are fine, but St. Helens is exceptional. Where else can you see the impact of volcanic processes, plant succession, and get spectacular scenery to boot. All of this happened in your lifetime.

The Parks are fine. St. Helens is exceptional.

I'd have to agree... I enjoyed Mt. Rainier but Mt. St. Helens is at the top of my list.

Both are spectacular in their own way... and I enjoyed the views I got on my hiking trips last summer.

http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/l622/TRC2k11/DSCF1051.jpg (broken link)

http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/l622/TRC2k11/DSCF0836.jpg (broken link)

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by VirginiaMountainMan

I'll be coming from the Eastern part of the US, ... Mount Rushmore. Stay at Main Street manor Hostel in Lead, SD Very interesting world traveler hostess, NICE place to stay. Devils Tower NE WY... and (after a steak in Story WY, take this route 14 and 14a (Burgess Jct) over the Bighorns !!! See summer grazing herds, fly fish, and take a nap in the tall grass)

Enter Yellowstone here Beartooth Highway - Wyoming
After that I'll drive through Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and see the major sights along the way like the grand canyon of Yellowstone, Old Faithful etc. Tetons I prefer to Yellowstone, but each is worth it. (I drive very early in mornings, the steam off rivers is grand traffic is non-existent,) and a float trip from Jackson Lake to Jackson Hole is a must (very beautiful, very peaceful, much wildlife) Then I'll drive to Glacier National Park in Montana, my most anticipated part of the trip, to drive the going to the sun road, and see the main attractions there. Then I plan on driving over to Washington to see North Cascades National Park, but I'm thinking I might want to see Olympic National Park as well. (Olymipic is spectacular but best seen via hiking, I would do the drive from Port Angeles up to peak)
Add a Zig-Zag (cost you day extra, WELL WORTH IT) Back from Olympic to Rainer (Paradise Lodge alone is worth it, take SE exit Longmire, and hike up to the falls, then scat out of there and stay at Packwood Hotel, Up the east side of St Helens (Hurricane Ridge), down to Stevenson, WA, Cross bridge of Gods, then into Portland via Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway. See the International Rose Garden in Portland, Enjoy a free concert (everynight in summer in a Portland park), then hwy 26 to Cannon Beach. (The beach is VERY uneventful from Gray's Harbor, WA to Cannon Beach. you will only miss Lewis and Clark's Ft Clatsop (Astoria area. ~ 1 hr side trip if necessary)

Take 101 south to Lincoln City or Florence then jog over to Crater Lake. (I would also go to Lava Caves and Lassen NP (one of my favorites).) then I would go to Redwoods (a 'not' miss) and SEE the logging camp / restaurant museum at Samoa (Eureka, CA).

Then I'll hit hwy 101 and drive down the West coast through Washington, Oregon, and California to San Francisco to see the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. Stay at Ft Mason Youth Hostel, My room had a view of the Golden Gate and Alcatraz (free parking, take Library walking tours_


Then I'll drive over to Yosemite National Park to see the main attractions there. After that I'll drive over to see Los Angeles and Venice Beach in Southern Cali and go swimming in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. Enroute, near LV, camp here, it is spectacular) http://parks.nv.gov/parks/valley-of-fire-state-park/Then I'll drive to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, after that I'll head for Zion National Park in Utah and hike up to Angels Landing and see some of the main attractions there. From there I'll drive to Monument Valley near the Eastern side of the Utah, Arizon border. (might as well hit Mesa Verde while you are next door) Then I'll head down to Santa Fe New Mexico, (Take the Chama, NM Narrow Gauge Train, TAOS is much more desirable and on the way to Santa Fe) and then to (don't miss Hill Country, LBJ ranch and Alamo + Missions) Houston Texas. After that I'll driver over to New Orleans and then to Miami Florida to check out South Beach and all the beautiful scenery if you know what I mean. Then to end my trip I'll head up to the Blue Ridge Parkway starting from the North Carolina side and ending in the Virginia (my home state) side to the see my favorite mountains. But yea, I'm excited to get on the road and see some cool places and Washington has to be up there on the list of exciting places to see!

Edit: I forgot to include Seattle in my trip, I definitely want to see Seattle and the space needle.

I did most of these via Motorcycle in the 1970's and 80's. But now I use a 50 mpg Grease mobile (80's vw diesel). It is SO nice to have a radio and heater and WIPERS.

You can add LOTS to your trip by driving desert / non-scenery in dark. I take naps and use community pools and libraries during the day for rest and bathing. Early morning and Dusk bring best wildlife and scenery (lighting for pics.)

Free Campgrounds for RVs Many rural towns have free camping in City Parks and Fairgrounds. But I often use 'Guest homes' $10 / night and VERY nice, safe and friendly.

other fun resources for a great road trip.
ROAD TRIP USA
Where We Eat: The Splendid Table (http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/whereweeat/index.shtml - broken link)

[Idunn]

Crater Lake NP is definitely worth the visit.

Not only beautiful, but a distinctly unique place. The marvelously blue lake is otherworldly, and may well give one a new appreciation for what water can be.

[elkotronics]

Idunn, I couldn't believe how "blue" the water of Crater Lake was. It is worth the trip, pick a sunny day, though. We at first picked a spring little bit of sun and little bit of rain day, then on the way up to Crater Lake it started lightning and thunder, so we turned around and drove down the hill to Medford, OR, and stayed at a hotel.

The next day was a gorgeous day to be awarded with, and we headed back up the hill from Medford to see Crater Lake. We were rewarded with a huge lake that actually sits in the crater of Mount Mazama, a mountain that blew it's top in a volcanic eruption "millions of years ago." Whenever it was, it emptied it's guts out, and the waters of Crater Lake filled it back up. There's even a little island named Wizard Island. There's no motorboats allowed on the waters of Crater Lake, though you might check in the lodge when you get to the south rim there and see if the Forest Service runs a canoe rental service or something. It would be a fun time to go rowing in Crater Lake.

Enjoy!

[lady fern]

Being from the East coast, I imagine that you would find Mt. Rainier or Mt. St. Helens most impressive. If you do choose to do Rainier, I would highly recommend getting out of your car and taking some of the day hikes. Panarama Point out of Paradise is a very nice trail with excellent views of Mt Adams, St. Helens and Mt. Hood. I don't know what time of year you plan to go, but August tends to be the best time for the wildflowers.
Don't get me wrong, Olympic National park is awesome and has great hiking and the rainforest but the wow factor of a huge volcano is something you just don't get on the East coast.

[lyoness]

Mount St Helens, hands down, Johnston Ridge. But then again, I am a little biased