rmgood

I must be in Reno until the 13th of August; and in San Fran the evening of August 22. The 10 days in between will be used to accomplish our checklist item of driving the coastline of the Pacific Northwest. I need advice on the best stops along the way.

My thinking now is to hump it to Packwood on the 13th and spend the next 2 days in/around Mt Rainier; Then moving on to the San Juan Islands for a couple of days for some whale watching; from their, start down the coastline back to San Fran. We are very aggressive travelers sightseeing 8-10 hours every day.

What places/sights would you recommend along this route? Is there any reason to enter the major cities (e.g. Seattle) along the way?

Thanks for any advice you share.

janisj

No matter how aggressive you may be this is not really feasible. Reno to Packwood would be at least a 12 hour drive plus stops.

Then you want 2 days around Mt Rainier and a couple of days in the San Juans. So 5.5 - 6 days of your time is accounted for.

Only leaving 4 days for the entire coast.

happytrailstoyou

Yes, you need to rethink your itinerary.

A scenic drive north would be: The redwoods of northern California, the Oregon Coast, the Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Rainier.

Seattle is well worth a visit. It would be practical to book an Argosy whale watching cruise to the San Juan Islands that leaves from and returns to Seattle.

The drive from Seattle to San Franciso is just over 800 miles and requires 12-14 hours behind the wheel.

HTtY

Gardyloo

Are you using your own car? Is that the reason you just couldn't fly to Seattle in the first place?

Some things just to consider...

Reno to Mt. Rainier is at least 12 hours wheels turning, and not especially inspiring hours at that. (There are some okay stretches, but a lot of meh scenery.)

There are whale watching operations up and down the west coast. While there are resident Orca pods near the San Juans, the same whales can be seen from whale watching operations based in other, less expensive and less difficult to access, places. These include Anacortes, Port Townsend, Port Angeles, and Edmonds. There's also whale watching available on the central Oregon coast at Newport, and several operations in the Monterey Bay area south of San Francisco. The latter area (Monterey) often has more species viewable than those farther north.

If your "checklist item" is driving the coast, one option you might consider would be driving to Mount Hood in Oregon rather than Mount Rainier in Washington, combining a visit to Mt. Hood with the Columbia River Gorge, then out to Cape Disappointment and south on the coast from there. Bypass San Francisco and do a whale watch from Monterey, a couple hours south of SF, then return north to the city in time for your Aug. 22 deadline.

Mount Hood isn't a national park, but it's stunningly beautiful nonetheless, and its proximity to the Columbia Gorge and the Hood River Valley "fruit loop" more than compensates in my mind.

Like this - https://goo.gl/maps/cVULcrasWNn

13-Aug Reno to Hood River
14-Aug Hood River/Mt Hood
15-Aug Hood River - Astoria
16-Aug Astoria - Yachats
17-Aug Yachats - Brookings
18-Aug Brookings - Eureka
19-Aug Eureka - Monterey
20-Aug Monterey
21-Aug Monterey - SF
22-Aug SF

rmgood

Thanks for the input. I do not mind the 12 hour day to jump start our trip. And I hear the San Juan Island is a great stop.

janisj

>> I do not mind the 12 hour day to jump start our tripdrive - that is the butts-in-seats hours. In 'real life' it is at least 15+ hours and likely more.