I am a bit confused about your plan, but if you are looking for a place to stay, Quinnault Lake Lodge is a nice more expensive option. There are many others but it depends on what you are looking for. Do you want to stay more than 1 night in Seattle proper?

I stayed at Lake Crescent Lodge in Sept. It was very nice, beautiful lake with kayak/canoe rentals available. There is a short but nice hike to a waterfall from the property.
Nice restaurant at the lodge.

We also drove over to Hurricane Ridge for a day hike which was spectacular. Spent 4 nights here and also 4 nights in the Cascades close to the town of Winthrop- a very cute western town. Its a long drive from the Cascades to the Olympic National Park- beautiful but don't think it would be worth a day trip.

Port Townsend is a great little town to spend time in -

Are you thinking about going to the Olympic Peninsula from Seattle or via some other routing?

Other great trips from Seattle include Mt. Rainier, the San Juan Islands, and the North Cascade Loop (over Stevens Pass, up the Columbia River Gorge, and back on the North Cascade Highway--or vice versa).

HTtY

Sorry for the confusion but this is still in the early stages of planning!

Flights are booked into Vancouver and out of Seattle. We'll spend a week in Vancouver (partly for business) and then have 4 full days/ 4 nights free.

As we're flying out of Seattle I plan to stay at least the last night in Seattle but maybe we'll have had enough of being 'downtown' after a week in Vancouver and we like hiking.

We could spend 3 more night in and around Vancouver with car hire and then take train to Seattle for last night or spend more time in WA. (Whistler? Sunshine Coast?)

If we spend more time in WA then we plan to hire a car but as it's cheaper within the US we will take the train from Vancouver to ???.
Does anyone know which station enroute is most convenient to pick up a car?
Should we take the train as far as Seattle and then spend Friday night in Seattle, Saturday and Sunday at Olympic National Park. Monday in Seattle again.

Or just one night at Olympic, one night in Cascades? Could be in reverse order.. especially if we can pick up a car further north.

Just bouncing some ideas around.

It would be a first trip to Vancouver and Seattle for my DD (aged 16) and me but my husband has been to both cities a few times (but hasn't really experienced much outside of the downtown areas).

Spent 3 nights at the Olympic Lodge in Port Angeles and 1 night at Lake Quinault Lodge in late July after taking the train to Seattle from Vancouver.

Enjoyed kayaking at Lake Quinault, exploring Ruby & Rialto beaches, short hikes in the Hoh Rain Forest and to Marymere Falls. LOVED Hurricane Ridge. Almost skipped it for a daytrip to Victoria (thank goodness I didn't) and was rewarded with breathtaking views and wildflowers.

Instead of the train, you might get a car in Vancouver and cross over to Vancouver Island, spend a half-day or a full day in Victoria, then take the Coho ferry across to Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula. Visit Hurricane Ridge (just south of PA) in Olympic National Park, and maybe take a day and travel a couple of hours west to the Pacific coastal strip of the national park, visiting the Hoh Valley rain forest and possibly Rialto Beach near La Push.

Then travel into Seattle via the Bainbridge Island ferry, spend a day in the city and take off.

There is much to see on the Olympic Peninsula and in Olympic National Park, and the rain forest valleys on the west coast are unique.

We spent one night each @ Sol Duc, Kalaloch, and Lake Crescent. Enjoyed each one and they are all very different. Did have a meal at Lake Quinault and it would be nice to stay there as well.

We hiked to Sol Duc Falls and it is a really good waterfall to see. Also did the Hall of Mosses Trail in the Hoh Rain Forest. Hike Ruby Beach and then Rialto Beach to Hole in the Wall-this is nice at low tide for tide pooling. I think I like Rialto Beach better than Ruby, but both were very nice.
We also hiked Hurricane Hill Trail on top of Hurricane Ridge.
All of the above hikes were very good, easy, and fairly short.
Also Hike Marymere Falls and Madison Falls, both of these also easy and nice.

I like the hot springs at Sol Duc, my wife didn't care for it much. A ton of people in them was her complaint.

Link for my photo book
http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/trip-photo-book-seattle-olympic-cascades-rainier-whale-watching.cfm

Link for just my photos in a larger format than the book above
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=aed5753af6c9c569&sid=0IatW7FqybsWeV

What month?

What month?

Thread title: Olympic National Park and Seattle for a few days in July 2013

I didn't like Sol Duc either- too many people and most of the time we were there one of the hot pools would be closed while it was being cleaned so the open pool was packed. No desire to go back there-

I did not do the hikes there but good reports from those who did

wtm003 and Gardyloo,
I like both these suggestions. I will now have to do some more research.

Gardyloo, we'd prefer to get a car in Vancouver but it seems more economical to take the train and not incur a one way drop fee between Canada and the US. Hertz charges an extra $250 per day!

Thanks spiro, I will look into those hikes. We'll be there in July.
Beaches and waterfalls are always wow factors when hiking and red rocks

Beautiful photobook!

Gardyloo, we'd prefer to get a car in Vancouver but it seems more economical to take the train and not incur a one way drop fee between Canada and the US. Hertz charges an extra $250 per day!

You need to shop aggressively for rates on transborder rentals during cruise season - a lot of people rent cars one-way in conjunction with cruisers departing/arriving in Vancouver but wanting to use the cheaper airfares to/from Seattle. Try phoning some of the major agencies rather than using their online booking services. As a rule the daily rates typically run around $20 - $40 higher per day for the one-way rentals. We've used National, Budget and Hertz in the past (also Avis, but that's now Budget) and found it much more convenient than the train. Your time is worth something, after all.

Be careful when planning to use the train; there are only 2 trains daily - early morning and evening. The Amtrak schedule is a little sneaky by including a number of buses in the schedule - you don't want that.

Thanks, again!
I did notice the buses on Amtrak and we didn't really want to take the very early train or the evening train for that matter.

I'll check car hire again by phone. There will be 3 of us so a car makes sense for lots of reasons.

you could take a ferry to Victoria as a walk on and spend the night. You can take bus or cab to downtown Victoria- its a walkable city so no need for car.

Then you could fly Kenmore Air from the inner harbor to Seattle- its a seaplane - lands at Lake Union. Watch for web specials on their website. Then you could rent a car on the US side and avoid drop off fee. They fly into other places as well, like Port Angeles

I did the Victoria to Seattle route once- fun experience.

forgot to add link to Kenmore Air

http://www.kenmoreair.com

Thanks sunbum1944.
Eek, the seaplane is a little out of my comfort zone! I checked the website and they're tiny. I don't think I could carry on enough valium to get me through the flight.

I thought the seaplane was fun but know small planes are not for everyone. Its kind of a thrill to take off and land on the water

I've only done a seaplane once, and it was the smoothest takeoff and landing ever. Really cool!!

Yeah, very cool... I'm sassy aka scaredy-cat!
My husband and daughter would love the seaplane but they're not doing the research, lol

I've taken the Amtrak bus several times between Vancouver and Seattle. The buses are quite comfortable. You do have to pick up your own bag(s) to put them on the conveyor belt for inspection at the border.
If you want to go to Cascades instead of Olympic, you might want to get off in Bellingham and rent a car there instead of going all the way to Seattle.
There is an airport in Bellingham. I know that Allegiant flies out of there but not sure which other airlines/destinations.

Thanks Tom, we were looking at Bellingham. It seems the nearest car rental place is 10 miles from the station.

Has anyone tried this route?

I'm pretty set on the Olympic Peninsula now but if we could still pick up a car in Bellingham or another station before Seattle it might save some time or give us the opportunity to be more flexible.

Just my opinion, but I think you're twisting yourself into something of a sassy pretzel over this.

Avis used to have a station in Fairhaven, the historic district of Bellingham where both the Amtrak station and the Alaska ferry terminal are located, but it appears to be closed, leaving only the downtown area (several miles) or the airport (more miles) as the only car hire pick-up points in Bellingham. And you'd still be limited by Amtrak's schedule, which IMO is very inconvenient for your needs.

My suggestion: If you don't want to spend any time on Vancouver Island (which is fine, given your limited time) then pick up a car in downtown Vancouver and drive over the border to Bellingham, specifically the Fairhaven exit (signposted Alaska ferry). Go into Fairhaven, then take Wa. Hwy. 11, called "Chuckanut Drive," south. Chuckanut is a lovely road that runs along the bluff overlooking the water.

Just after Chuckanut intersects with Interstate 5, take the exit westbound to WA 20, toward Anacortes, but stay on the "main line" of SR20 toward Whidbey Island. SR 20 crosses Deception Pass, a narrow channel between Fidalgo and Whidbey Islands, and the state park and bridge at Deception Pass are must-sees - very impressive particularly when the tide is changing; the water flowing through the Pass is awesome.

Just past Coupeville (a cute little town, worth a lunch stop) on Whidbey SR 20 continues to a ferry dock, from which you take a short ferry ride to Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula. Depending on how long you wait for the ferry (and you can book it ahead - it's a small boat) you can overnight in Port Townsend, or continue on to Port Angeles (around 60 min. from Port Townsend.) Port Townsend is a great 19th century seaport, with many stunning Victorian buildings (many B&Bs, etc.)

That puts you on the Olympic Peninsula the same day you left Vancouver, and much faster than you'd probably make it by going all the way to Seattle first, and certainly faster than going via Victoria/Vancouver Island. Cheaper, too, since the ferries between the Canadian and US mainlands and Vancouver Island are quite pricey.

Whatever the cost differential might be for the car rental, I can't imagine it doesn't wash out when you add costs of taxis to/from train stations, individual pricing for train/bus fares vs. one price for a car, baggage storage or check fees, and so on, never mind the considerable time and convenience savings, plus the chance to see things inaccessible from the train, buses, or ferries.

Map: http://goo.gl/maps/QdyB4