4 Weeks In August, Mostly In Washington...suggestions?

in August 2019 we plan to spend 4 weeks heading north from San Francisco up to Washington and perhaps BC. I'd love to hear suggestions, especially for campsites.

Rough schedule [REVISED]
Days 1-3 San Francisco to Shasta to Ashland to Portland
Day 4 St Helens
Days 5-6 Rainier
Days 7 -9 North Cascades NP/Methow Valley
Days 11-13 Mt Baker
Days 14-16 San Juan Islands
Days 17-20 Olympic National Park
Days 21/22 Oregon
Days 23-28 California, including Lost Coast

I am looking for thoughts re the Washington part (Days 5-20), but am happy to get ideas for any part of the trip. If you had this much time to spend in Washington, how would you spend it? (assuming you haven't exhausted Rainier and ONP, by now)

For example, would you camp at SJIs, or would you just do it as a day trip (or do a lodge and not bring the camper)?

Would you spend time camping near Bellingham and not do the SJIs, at all?
(I have a friend in Bellingham who has invited us to stay, and I would do that in Bellingham, rather than camp, unless someone tells me the greatest campground in the world is nearby)

Would you spend more days in ONP and less time in SJIs?

My itinerary is very flexible at this point. If someone says, "spend a week in ONP and forget about Cascade NP," I'd like to hear it!

Our plan for this trip is less time in Oregon and California as those are easier than Washington for us to do in the future. We are even open to ballin the jack through Cali, entirely, on the way north, to get north ASAP. But we don't want to drive really hard for the last few days of the trip. Maybe 5-hour drives instead of 8-10.

We don't need tips for Sf to Portland, as we plan to get to Ashland and then Portland ASAP, to see friends. Then to St. Helens and then to Rainier. About 2 days in Rainier and then 9 or 10 days or so between San Juan Islands/North Cascades NP/Mt. Baker Olympic National Park. Then about a week to head south, hopefully stopping on California's Lost Coast for two nights or so. Then another California spot and home. I'm really looking for ideas for the Washington portion, but am happy to hear suggestions for all of it.

We don't want to move every night. We prefer to stay someplace for a few days and explore it. This is not a "checklist" trip, though it is our first real visit to Rainier and Olympic National Parks (and Rainier and North Cascades and Mt. Baker).
We don't plan to spend any time in Seattle. (The friends we are visiting are in Ashland, Portland and maybe Bellingham.) We aren't averse to spending some time in cities/towns - this doesn't need to be a national parks-only sort of trip. But we are more interested in hiking and wildlife than we are in cities and museums, on this trip, at least. Food recommendations are welcomed, as are all cultural recommendations.

Also, if there is some place we should go and not take the teardrop, please recommend it. For example, maybe a day trip to the San Juan Islands (and a night in an inn?) makes more sense than bringing the TD on a ferry and camping out there.

-Al

 

Are you stopping at Crater Lake National Park? I definitely want to camp on Orcas Island at Moran State Park, even if there is a ferry involved.

mazama_campground - Crater Lake National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

Campgrounds - Moran State Park

Would you want to go up to Whistler in BC, or stay closer to Vancouver?

 

I visited Crater Lake two years ago or so, so we are likely skipping it in 2019. If the air quality is excellent when we approach Oregon I may tweak my plans. Our Oregon trip was marred by a lot of smoke from fires, so the scenery was significantly diminished.

Bringing a camper to the San Juan Islands is doable, but it is a bit of a PITA when you have to deal with ferry schedules. (fwiw, I love ferries.) I'm not sure I want to introduce that into this trip. But if folks say they'd do the SJI over North Cascades, for example, I'd listen. Or maybe some folks think that ONP only deserves three days, and they'd spend a couple of days on Orcas.

I'd love to visit Whistler again, but I'm not sure that this itinerary can include it. The 2019 trip was going to be a 6-week trip and include Banff, Glacier, Yellowstone, Tetons, but we don't think we can get away for 6 weeks in '19. So that may be 2020's trip.....

When I referred to BC, above, I meant Vancouver Island, not really much farther than that. Hard to imagine Nanaimo is "worth" the trip as it's not easy to get to. I hate to say that about any place, and I mean no offense to Nanaimo-boosters! My buddy in Bellingham is from Nanaimo, and I know he'd like me to visit.

-Al

 

Al

last August we spent two nights in the North Cascades, Colonial Creek Campground, and thought it was very nice. Old campground but completely cool for teardrop camping. Had a couple of very nice hikes. Just a spectacular place, particularly for us eastern folks. No hookups at all in the campground but I scrounged enough solar insolation to keep the battery happy and dometic running.

Hwy 20 from east to west into the park was an amazing ride.

We also spent two nights on the Olympic Peninsula at the Clallam County Campground in the Dungeness Rec Area. This is right at the top of the peninsula and is walking distance to the Dungeness Spit, a crazy long sandbar with a lighthouse at the end. Just beautiful, with spectacular sunsets. I don't remember any electric hookup but there was plenty of sun at our site, which was also nice and private.
We did a couple of nice hikes in the ONP and wished we had had more time there. Babysitting in Berkeley was calling though, so we had to leave. I'd sure like to get back and spend some time exploring the Hoh rainforest.

Have fun planning. We're off next week to Maine and then the Gaspé peninsula.

robt dickson
550 #645

 

Thank you for the tips. Have a great trip. Would love to hear/read a report. We have dreams of driving cross country and spending time in Maine and beyond.

 

We really liked the national forest in the Quinalt area, which is just south of the Hoh rainforest in Olympic National Park. The Willaby campground is fabulous, for a campinn (not for a big RV).

 

Does one stand out?

 

Hi Al,

Where to start - there is so much to see in WA state - but your itinerary looks pretty solid. I will just list some good campsites that we have camped at.

North Cascades NP - try the Newhalem Campground - Maple Pass is a great hike
Mt St Helens - if you want some old growth forests - try Paradise Creek Campground in the Gifford Pinchot NF - you can go up the right side of St Helens to Windy Ridge and up to Randle on you way to Mt Rainer - Forest Road 25 is rough but very doable. From Paradise Creek Campground you can head up to Indian Heaven Wilderness from some great huckleberry picking in August (Sawtooth Berry Fields on the Map).
When visiting Mt Rainer - be sure and take the short hike into the Grove of the Patriarchs - amazingly huge 1000 year old Cedars
On the way to the Olympic Pennisula - try Sequim State Park - Nice claming and oystering beach. Sites 80 and 81 are waterfront.
also on the pennisula if you don't mind gravel roads - Graves Creek Campground is 15 miles in from Quinault Lodge - very remote and some great hikes into the park again - old growth forests.
Near Mt Baker - try Swift Creek campground on Baker Lake - great hike to Watson Lakes from there with awesome views of Mt Baker.
On Whidbey - try Deception Pass State Park - busy spot - but the pass is incredible
Near Bellingham - Birch Bay State Park is a very nice spot.
If you get to the San Juans, Spencer Spit State Park on Lopez Island is a very special place. I also agree that Moran is a good spot on Orcas Island
If you get to the mouth of the Columbia on the Washington side - Cape Disappointment is a very nice campground - some Lewis and Clark history there... and the park itself was created from land deposited once the north jetty was built by the corp of engineers to help shipping in and out of the Columbia.

Hope this helps - I know it is so hard to plan a trip that long - some of it - you will probably need to go with the flow.

Best of Luck

Dave K