littlelamb

My family will arrive in Seattle on a Thursday morning in June at 10:30. We pick up rental car and are heading on I-5 to the Edmonds to Kingston ferry. We are headed to the Olympic peninsula Would we be traveling past Pikes Market or is it pretty much out of our way?

Next question---- I read that Cannon Beach hosts a Sandcastle Day on June 18. Has anyone ever been and does it get pretty crowded? We could try to be in that area around that time. I posted this question on my other thread, but didn't get any responses. Thought I would try again.
Thanks!

tomfuller

By what mode of transport are you coming to Seattle?
The tourist population in June in Cannon Beach Oregon in June is quite weather dependent. If lodging is scarce when you want to come, you can stay in Seaside.
Coming to Portland makes more sense. The western third of Washington and Oregon are considered to be the "wet side".
My DW is driving from Seaside to Newport today with a stop in Cannon Beach to show her friend Haystack Rock. I'll ask her about the ads for the contest.

littlelamb

We are flying and we chose Seattle because it was quite a bit cheaper to fly in there instead of PDX. We also wanted to see some sites in the Olympic Peninsula. We are packing rain gear and coming from the scorching Southeast, so we won't mind the rain.
Thanks so much for your help.

happytrailstoyou

If you want to visit Pike Place Market, take the Bainbridge ferry to the Olympic Penninsula (however, parking in the area of the market is expensive).

It is just as fast to drive to the Olympic Peninsula via Tacoma as it is to drive to Edmonds and take the ferry.

The only time we were in Cannon Beach on Sandcastle Day, it was raining. The crowds were thin and the sandcastles were few and unimpressive. If it is a nice day, you should have a lot of fun. The beach and town can handle a large crowd.

If you are in WA and OR long enough, explore the OR coast as far as Florence, check out the Columbia River Gorge, and pay a visit to Mt. Rainier.

HTTY

littlelamb

Thanks, We'll pray for pretty weather. Cannon Beach sounds like a fun place. We would like to see Haystack Rock too.

We do plan to spend a day at the Columbia River Gorge and maybe stay the night in Cascade Locks. From there we will be heading back to Seattle and would like to see Mt.St.Helens. Would this be doable in a day and possibly see Mt. Rainier too or is that too much?

happytrailstoyou

Rather than stay in Cascade Locks, I suggest you stay 20 miles father east in Hood River--a delightful town. The Best Western there has rooms with balconies on the river, and breakfast is included.

From Hood River, you can take a bridge to WA and drive to Mount St Helens or Mt. Rainier via WA-14, which is a beautiful two-lane road that gives great views of the Columbia River and Mt. Hood.

You can easily visit Mt Saint Helens on your way to Seattle; however, if the skies are clear the day you make the drive from Hood River to Seattle it would be well worth the extra effort to drive to Paradise on Mt. Rainier.

It would be too much to visit both mountains. You could drive north from Stevenson WA to the east side of Mt Saint Helens and from there to Paradise, but I don't recommend it.

tomfuller

When you leave Cannon Beach, take US 26 East all the way to Government Camp and take Route 35 down the East side of Mt. Hood. IMHO Mt. Hood is as beautiful as Mt. Rainier and more beautiful than Mt. St. Helens.
Take the old Rt. 30 parallel with I-84 and see the waterfalls between Hood River and Sandy. Try to take the steps/trail up to the top of Multnomah Falls for an excellent view of the Columbia Gorge.

littlelamb

Thanks, We may look into staying in Hood River instead. We thought that the Bonneville Dam might be interesting and I think that it is near Cascade Locks. Is the lock and dam worth a stop to see?

happytrailstoyou

I can't advise you if it is interesting to visit Bonneville Dam. We enjoyed our visits to Grand Coulee Dam and Hoover Dam, but we've never taken the time to check out Bonneville. It would be easy to do whether you stay in Cascade Locks (next to the railroad) or in Hood River (overlooking the river). Following is something I wrote on this forum on March 19, 2011:

When we show visitors the Columbia River Gorge, we take I-84 to Corbett to access the Historic Columbia River Highway and drive that road as far as Moltnomah Falls (there are great views and several waterfalls along the way). 


We return to I-84 and drive to Hood River. 



One of our favorite drives from Hood River is to continue on I-84 to Biggs Junction and cross the Columbia River to Maryhill, home of the Maryhill Museum and Maryhill Winery. The drive back to Hood River on WA-14 provides spectacular views of the gorge and Mt. Hood. 



We also love the drive from Mt Hood to Timberline Lodge on OR-35. It affords spectacular view of Mt. Hood and, on the return, also of Mt. Adams in Washington.