prc14

Hi-
I will be in the Pacific Northwest from August 1st till August 13th and looking for the best places to see (I have never been anywhere in that area). There will be two of us- both active and outdoorsy- and we hope to hike, bike, visit vineyards and/or breweries, and see both Portland and Seattle. We are considering some or all of the following in any order: Mt. Rainier, San Juan Islands, and the Oregon Coast. Any ideas on the best path/route? we are planning on flying in/out of seattle so I was thinking we could do Seattle to Portland along the oregon coast, and then back in the other direction more inland through Mt. Rainier and maybe wine country ? We are open to any suggestions about what is most important to see, what routes are best, where to eat, where to stay, etc. Any help is greatly appreciated!

skigal

Do the San Juan Islands then the Olympic Penisula then get to Portland via I-5, diverting to Mt. Rainier, and Mt. St. Helens via the Spirit Lake Highway (off Castle Rock, WA). Do a loop from Portland to the Oregon coast and go down and come back through the Willamette Valley and then do what's called the "Fruit Loop", which takes you up highway 26 to Mt. Hood, be sure to see Timberline lodge, then onto Hwy 35 back into Hood River and back through the Gorge. You can go back up to Seattle via I-5 or go back trough the Gorge to east of the mountain through the Yakima are up though Ellensburg to the Snoqualmie Pass back into Seattle but it will be hot east of the mountains in August.

happytrailstoyou

In August there are invariably long waits for ferries, and we are glad we have found ways to avoid them.

When we go to San Juan Island, we park our car at the dock in Anacortes and go as foot passengers. There is seldom, if ever, a wait for foot passengers, and there is public transportation on San Juan Island.

If we go from there to the Olympic Peninsula, we book a reservation on the Coupeville ferry to Port Townsend. These startegies help us avoid waiting around for ferries and the headaches that come with that.

Mt. Rainier is often visited as a day trip from Seattle, or you can visit it on your way to or from Oregon.

You do not mention the Columbia River Gorge, but the Historic Columbia River Highway and the waterfalls in the gorge are one of the main attractions in Oregon.

With regard to Mt Hood, the drive there on Highway 35 from Hood River is beautiful, but I find the drive there on Highway 26 to be unpleasant and annoying. Therefore, when we show friends Timberline Lodge (which is a treasure), we do it as a side trip from Hood River.

Another great side trip from Hood River is to drive east to the Highway 97 bridge and cross the river to Maryhill Museum and Maryhill Winery. Then, return to Hood River on Washington 14, which gives spectacular views of the river and Mt. Hood. There is a bridge that connects Washington to Hood River.

I also suggest that you visit the Oregon Coast from Cannon Beach to Florence--the stretch of 101 between Depoe Bay and Florence offers many miles of ocean views.

If you have questions about this, let me know.

HTtY

boom_boom

The route by skigal is a good recommendation. If in Portland on a Saturday, do try to visit "Saturday Market" The around and south of Yakima is the heart of the Washington wine country if interested. Also, many good OR wineries in the Willamette Valley. In Seattle Canlis is usualy rated one of the top restaurants and IMO the reputation is deserved. Also like Tom Douglas' "Serious Pie".

prc14

Great! So much helpful advice so far. Would any of you have recommendations on places to stay? We are flexible as to where we spend on nights (so it could be near the shore, or mt rainier or in the cities themselves). It is just the two of us so we do not need any large cabins or anything but are not opposed to creative housing - cabins, guest houses, etc.
Also, which route would you recommend stopping at vineyards at? Any particular ones that are favorites?

prc14

Also, what would be good places to stay near Mt. Rainier if it was only for one or two nights?

tomfuller

Several of the Oregon State Parks have yurts which are economical compared to many hotels.
One of my favorite campgrounds with yurts is at Champoeg (pronounced sham POO ee) This is the very spot where the charter was signed on February 14 1859 that made Oregon a state.
It would be great if you could extend your trip to include Crater Lake National Park and Bend.

Lesty

The place to stay at Rainier, in my opinion, is Paradise Inn. The website is http://www.mtrainierguestservices.co...s/paradise-inn . Beautiful historic lodge, great restaurant, and of course the whole mountain to hike and explore.

jayne1973

If you go to Hood River, the "Fruit Loop" is really neat. You can pick up a map at the visitors center that shows a route where you can stop at a number of orchards and vineyards and buy or sometimes even pick your own fresh fruits. Some of the places have ice cream and make fresh smoothies and shakes with the fresh fruit, and others have bakeries, too. We really enjoyed sampling the hard cider at the "White House" orchard and winery. The whole thing was really fun. I think you could easily combine this with a trip to Timberline Lodge.

In Portland, we enjoyed staying at the Mark Spencer, which is right downtown. Free breakfast and a happy hour time that included wine and light snacks plus tea and cookies. We didn't have a car in Portland, but the hotel's parking rates were supposedly very reasonable.