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Pacific Northwest

Ken & Peggy

Ken & Peggy

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We're thinking about putting together a trip to the PAC NW in late June/July, and wonder if anyone can suggest some must-see spots.
I've read that September is probably the best time to visit, but we are kind of locked in to our time slot.
We may try to squeeze in some of the NP's in California, too. We've got roughly 3 weeks, so I'm not sure we'll have the time to do all we'd like.
Thanks.
 
Kewl, well the quickest route would be to start in Calif and just meander up the coast to Neah Bay, WA and come back inland.

The coast would be my choice of itinerary

Start at SF, CA in the Red woods and just follow the road up...

Central WA doesn't have a whole lot, but Coulee Dam is interesting, stay at Steamboat park...

Having said all that, they are all jammed for summer, so RSVP ASAP if that is the route you choose...

Sarah can probably give you pointers on the sites she has in her Blog...

Fun eh??
 
Thanks Frank. We're going at probably the toughest time to find available sites, but it is the only time for us to get there this year. Thanks for the route suggestion - we may need to look into alternate parks in the area if things get real crowded. Fun? YES!
 
I would go the other way. Start up here and go down the coast to SF. That way the ocean is always on your right. You definitely want to drive down the Columbia River Gorge. There are several places to hike along the way. If you are into wind surfing, the place to do it is Hood River. A trip up to Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood would be interesting. It was built by the CCC in the 30s. You can also hike up there or ride the ski lift. It is at 6000 feet so it would be a climb with the camper. There are several forest campgrounds that you could camp in. They are dry camping. Lots of places to see along the coast and definitely the Redwoods once you hit CA if you are going that far south.

If you are heading up north into WA, the Olympic peninsula is a must and there is Mt Rainier. It has Paradise Lodge that was built in 1916.

So many places, so many thing to see.
 
Thanks Joan. Great suggestions - some wonderful-sounding spots to see. We're trying to include the National Parks in the area WITHOUT trying to turn our trip into a mad dash. The thinking (this afternoon anyhow) is Crater Lake > Olympic > North Cascades this trip, along with some of the suggested spots from you guys here. We're estimating about 2 weeks or so once we get there (which isn't much), plus about 7-8 days getting there and back. There is NEVER enough time to see it all, but we're learning to just tell ourselves that we'll see more when we get back the next time.
Just there and back is already over 5k miles. Looking forward to it!
 
Having made the trip last year to CICO, I can sympathize regarding the there and back journey. What you have listed sounds great. If you start at Crater Lake, you can either swing over to the ocean or go up the middle through Mt. Hood and hit the gorge. I personally would head over to the ocean. I cried the first time I saw the Oregon coast. Come to think of it, I cried the first time I saw Mt. Hood. You now know why I live here. I haven't been to the North Cascades yet. Will look forward to trip updates and pictures.
 
Ken,

You can't go wrong with anywhere along the Pacific Coast. If you are in WA don't miss the Olympia Peninsula. Other places that you won't be sorry you saw include: Mount Rainier, St. Helens, Crater Lake, North Cascades Highway and any place that has redwoods.

September generally has decent weather, but it's never a guarantee. About the only time of the year that is guaranteed to have excellent weather is late July and early August. That is the prime camping weather season in the NW. Perhaps in CA it may get too hot, but not in WA.
 
I agree with the folks. I would also say weather wise, starting in Cali might be better. Summer doesn't officially start in the NW until 5 July (it honestly rains right up through 4 July and at midnight stops...honest to goodness). September in Oregon is always glorious (my favorite month of the year...sunny, dry and just warm enough, but cools down nicely at night, and very few bugs).

I love the coast, particularly the central and southern Oregon coast. The northern bit is full of Portlanders and art galleries, which is not why I go to the coast. You will definitely need reservations at the campgrounds. It is hard to fly by the seat of your pants, because this is where everyone goes when it is hot or they want to play hooky from work.

Central Oregon offers some amazing High Dessert experiences, including Lava Lands (and tubes you can hike through) as well as wonderful lakes, rivers, mountains and all sorts of outdoor activities. It tends to stay drier out there too. In a couple of weeks we are heading out to Fossil Oregon to check out a dude ranch and hopefully find some fossils. The Painted Hills are gorgeous too. Smith Rocks is famous for its rock climbing, but the hiking is also very good. It is really beautiful there too. It is just outside of Terrebonne (pronounced Terra-Bon) and Madras (we say Maa-dress...not said like the Indian dish). I hear the Oregon Caves are quite interesting as well (in southern Oregon). Haven't been yet, but hope to hit it at some point. Crater Lake is one of the most wonderful places on earth (not just saying that because I am native and partial, it really is astounding).

Eastern Oregon is amazing, and I absolutely love a small town up in the NE corner of the state called Joseph. They call it America's Switzerland (there might be a few of these), and the Wallowas are an amazing mountain range.

The gorge is lovely and you will probably be coming through during the fruit harvest. The "Fruit Loop" in Hood River is always fun and delicious. Loads of apples and pear as well as other crops. You might be on the early side, but things should be close. You can also get up to Hood easily from there.

If you want to know more about Oregon (and maybe a few things I don't know) you can check out www.traveloregon.com.

Loved the Redwoods, St Helens, Rainier National Park, the Olympics, Timberline Lodge (they do lovely lunches and dinners and is where the exterior scenes of "The Shining" were filmed...the interior is amazingly beautiful).

Not sure if that helps or makes things more complicated. Also, Oregon has really come about as a place to eat and drink. Take in some of our wineries and breweries, seafood, enjoy our produce and dairy products (Tillamook will probably be some of our most famous, and you can get it fresh at the factory right along the coast).

If you have more questions on Oregon, let me know. Have a great trip!
 
Sue and I always enjoy camping at Humbolt Redwood SP, Avenue of the Giants in Ca. Camping under the biggest trees in the world is a great experience, 30 plus years now. There are lots of short hikes to the Tallest trees.

Lassen Volcanic NP is also a great place, camp on a volcano. Don't miss the Subway Cave, a short walk through an above ground lava tube, Kings Creek and K C Cascade if open.

We have been to Oregon Caves Nat. Monument and enjoyed that park too.

Maybe we will cross paths. We are planning a trip to western Canada in July and will be passing through the PNW.

Jim
 
Ken and Peggy we are from MN and we are going west for our 3rd time. There is so much to see that this time we are taking 5 weeks. As for reservations we have most of ours made and we found that doing it online over the last 6 weeks many campgrounds seemed full so I started calling. I would tell them I had a teardrop and ask if we could take a tent site and in both WA and OR they were very helpful in finding a campsite that would work for a teardrop. The only place we have not found a reservation for is in the Redwoods. We keep trying. We are staying at KOA In SD, MT, and Spokane WA 1 night each just to get west. Then 3 nights on the Gorge to rest up and relax then North to Deception Pass, then Salt Creek to explore the Olympic Peninsula, then north again across the Cascades, back down to the Gorge to pause and get past the 4th weekend and then start down the Oregon coast. Hope you have as much fun planning as we are having.
 
You could cover a good deal of the Cascades if you took Highway 20 through northern WA instead of I90. It takes you past many great camping spots especially on the East side of the state. Winthrop is a cool little town, touristy but nice. It is a slower drive, but the views are worth while. Of course this route is nowhere near the other great places mentioned, Mt. Hood Mt. Rainer Mt. Saint Helens. Take a south route in and a north route out or visa-versa.
 
I also think that coming out you should hook up with highway 20 and come over the North Cascades. It is a breath taking drive over the mountains. All the suggestions are good. The San Juan Islands are nice and Deception Pass area. I think with two weeks I would rather slow down see more in the Pacific Northwest and not venture into California. The Oregon coast is fantastic and going down the coast allows you to pull off at every little viewpoint and not have to cross traffic when getting back on the road. Too much to see, too little time.
 
Thanks for all the great suggestions! Peg & I need to plot these places on a map and start firming up our times now. I may be asking a few more questions soon...
 
We decided to postpone our trip last night - our 'baby' let us know that she will be moving to Australia in mid-August. She's been talking about it for some time, but never this soon. So, spending 3 of the remaining six weeks away isn't gonna work. Hopefully Washington, Idaho and Oregon aren't going anywhere anytime soon...
 
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