burberry212

We are planning a week long trip to seattle and portland in july.
Mt. Rainer and the crater lake are the must do during this trip.
We are also thinking of going to the San Juan Islands.

Can you please recommend the must do things in seattle and portland?

tenthumbs

Are you aware that Crater Lake is almost 250 miles from Portland? How much time do you have, and what are your interests?

tenthumbs

Sorry, I should clarify~out of your week long trip, how much time do you plan to spend in each city?

happytrailstoyou

Are you aware that Crater Lake is almost 250 miles from Portland?

The Columbia River Gorge, the Oregon Coast, and the John Day region are among the beautiful destinations that are much closer to Portland than Crater Lake and they are all on my annual "must do" list (whereas Crater Lake is not).

HTtY

tomfuller

You should either drop Seattle & Mt. Rainer OR Crater Lake and Bend. The route I would take if you land at PDX: I-84 and the Old Columbia River Road (old 30) to see Multnomah Falls and several others. I-84 into Hood River. Depending on the time when you get to Hood River you might want to stay there. From Hood River south on Rt. 35 past the east side of Mt. Hood (Timberline?). When you get to the top on Rt. 35, head east on US 26 through Madras and head south on US 97 to Bend. The north entrance of Crater Lake NP is about 2 hours from the south end of Bend off Rt. 138.
When you are done seeing all the splendor of Crater Lake, go back out the north entrance and head west on 138 along the Umpqua River to Roseburg. You might also want to spend a night in Eugene. Decide if you have enough time left to continue past Portland on I-5 to Seattle.
I like the scenery in Crater Lake more than Mt. Rainier or Mt. St. Helens.
The north entrance to Crater Lake should be open by July 4. Some years it is not. There is over 100" of snow in some parts of the park now.

spirobulldog

Agree with the rest. Way to much for a week. You need 3 weeks. We did Washington this year(11 days) and Oregon 2 years ago(13 days) and still needed more time for each.

burberry212

WE are thinking of 3 days in Oregon and 3 days in Washington.

spend 1 day/night in crater lake and then drive to portland coast.

THen drive to seattle, spend a day there adn then go to mt rainer.

tomfuller

You can change my suggested route to include Rt. 138 west from I-5 to Elkton and Rt 38 to Reedsport and then up US 101 all the way to Astoria. It's your choice whether you want to cross the big bridge at Astoria or come SE on US 30 and cross at Longview.
I still think you will run short of time to see all that you want to see. You don't want to spend 90% of your time sleeping and looking out the car window.
Portland is not on the coast. It is on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers.

Gardyloo

I believe this is your third thread regarding this trip. I'd recommend you stick with one, and add to it as you go, to save yourself and everyone else from having to do the research on many details, again and again.

You're going to find universal agreement that seven days including Seattle, Mount Rainier, Portland, the Oregon coast and Crater Lake is just not really doable, unless you can go seven days without sleep. Frankly I'd just eliminate one whole state, in this case Washington. You can easily "substitute" Mount Hood for Mount Rainier (closer to Portland than Rainier is to Seattle, and also very close to the Columbia Gorge.) If you flew in and out of Portland, you could travel through the Columbia Gorge to Mount Hood, then continue south on US 26/US 97 to Crater Lake, go out to the coast on SR 38 as suggested, up the coast, then back over to Portland (maybe via the Willamette Valley wine zone) and home from PDX. It's a more rational and compact route, but will still fully occupy a week; in fact you'll still need to edit your time a bit.

tenthumbs

As tomfuller has pointed out, you're going to be spending more time in your car than you will be enjoying the sights if you stick to your current itinerary.

burberry212

Here is what my plans are so far:
Day 1- Land in seattle and drive to portland
Day 2- go to cannon beach and ecola state park
Day 3- leave for crater lake
Day 4- boat tour in crater lake and then head back to portland
Day 5- spend time in portland (still thinking of any attractions)
Day 6-drive to seattle go to pike market place
Day 7 - spend a day in san juan- whale watching
Day 8- seattle attractions
Day 9- head back home

Please provide any suggestions/comments

elbegewa

Some people like to take time seeing and enjoying places and sights. Others madly dash between far-flung points, jump out of the car for a 30 minute photo session, then dash onto the next goal. Bubberry, you obviouly fit in the later category (actually I do too sometimes - more often than I'd like).

I recommend that you use google maps or mapquest and plot out your itinerary in detail, then come back and let us help you.

Example: your days 3 & 4:

Day 3: Cannon Beach to Crater Lake: 5 1/2 hrs driving time.
You would leave Cannon Beach after breakfast in the morning (say 9AM?), hurridly drive down I-5 through boring flat farmland, hurry through mundane mountains for 2 hrs, and arrive at Crater Lake at about 4 PM (allowing for lunch, gas/rest stops, and a couple of photo stops). You'd miss an alternative route driving down the spectacular coast then crossing over to Crater Lake, because that would take 2 days minimum.

Day 4: Crater Lake to Portland: 4 hrs. driving time.
To take a boat trip on Crater Lake you probably wouldn't leave Crater Lake until noon or 1 PM. You'd hurry to Portland on mostly the same route you drove to Crater Lake on (boring). With few stops you'd arrive in Portland at about 5 PM (right at rush hour). In so doing, you'd miss the opportunity to drive up Hwy. 97 to Bend, thence to Mt. Hood (stopping at the fantastic Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood - one of the great hotels from the 30's with spectacular mountain views - there will still be snow there) since that would take a very full day at the absolute minimum, leaving Crater Lake by 9AM and arriving Portland mid to late evening.

tomfuller

Do you get a much better airfare or car rental in Seattle (SeaTac) than flying to PDX? If you are coming into Seattle get off I-5 at Kelso and cross the river to get on US 30 west to Astoria and then south to Cannon Beach.
US 26 will take you back to Portalnd.

burberry212

elbegewa - Thanks for the tips...your tips crack me up since you use "hurry" so many times. But I really appreciate all the info.

The airfare to seattle is way cheaper then pdx.

Toucan2

Another thing you need to keep in mind is the time of day you will be landing and driving from Seattle. My BIL commutes from South Seattle (very near the airport) to Tumwater (Olympia) every day. He gets off work at 3:30. On some days he does not make it home until 7. Do not, I cannot stress this enough, underestimate traffic on I-5. And no, there is no other way for you to go.

That's interesting that you say it is far cheaper, as I am finding fares to Seattle to be quite high. I have done exactly the opposite of what you say, which is to fly to PDX instead. Have you check SWA fares for example?

You sound like you may be determined to do both states in just one week. But the people giving you advice live and visit in the area, and their advice is spot on.

5alive

Portland fares are generally higher to other cities than Seattle. My friend who is a travel agent said that the same flight from Seattle to Atlanta will be coded to be extra $ on Delta when she adds on a pre-hop flight from Portland. That is, she isn't just paying for the Seattle Portland, but an extra amount for the Seattle-Atlanta. There is no way around it except to drive to Seattle, which some people do.

tomfuller

FYI there are 4 Amtrak Cascades trains per day running between Portland and Seattle (4 northbound and 4 southbound) they all stop at Tukwila Amtrak which is 10 minutes taxi ride from SeaTac. The fare into SEA from TUK is $9/adult with about 15 minutes on the train.
If you fly to PDX the light rail end station is right outside the baggage claim with an easy trip into downtown Portland.

lenlu

Day 1- Land in Portland and tour that day in the city.
Day 2- go to cannon beach and ecola state park (1 hour drive)
Day 3- leave for crater lake
Day 4- boat tour in crater lake and then head to Rainier (long day drive, like 8hours).
Day 5- Stay in Rainier.
Day 6-drive to seattle go to pike market place.
Day 7 - spend a day in san juan leaving early in the AM. Consider Bainbridge Island and Port Townsend, Whidbey (Langley).
Day 8- seattle attractions
Day 9- head back home from SEATTLE

tomfuller

Lenlu's plan has a couple of flaws. If you take the boat tour on Crater Lake which involves a long steep hike down the Cleetwood trail and back up; you won't leave until after 2PM.
Drive no further than Eugene after leaving Crater Lake NP.
You don't really 'stay at Rainier'. You can spend a night in Packwood and then go through Mt. Rainier NP on the way to Seattle. SeaTac and PDX are about 4 hours apart using I-5 and I-205 so there is never a need to do an open jaw using both.
Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier can be done as a long day trip from either Portland or Seattle.

5alive

< If you take the boat tour on Crater Lake which involves a long steep hike down the Cleetwood trail and back up; you won't leave until after 2PM.>

Completely agree with that statement,a nd that is a best case scenario of the earliest you would leave Crater Lake. That is, take one of the first boat rides of the day and don't get off at Wizard Island to hike to the top.

If not staying at the park a second night, I guess I'd recommend staying in Eugene. You will be tired.