Help with June WA/BC itinerary
 

On the advice of my brother, a bird-tour leader, my family (DH, two teenage daughters, and I) are planning a mid-June vacation loop in Washington and British Columbia that he swears is fabulous because of its variety. We’re looking forward to the mix of city and natural wonder (and the variety of both, with mountain, coast, and rainforest). We’re about to book the flight to Seattle, and I would appreciate any answers, advice on whether this is a good plan, and any suggestions for a family who loves the outdoors and whose daughters love teenage girl things (but not tacky-touristy). We’ll have 10 nights (12 days, including travel days) there total.

Days 1-2: Arrive Seattle (late), and rent car. Spend day exploring city. We’ll stay with relatives so won’t need hotel.
Days 3-4 (or 5): Drive to Olympic Peninsula and explore national park. (I know about the well-known places, like Hurricane Ridge and Hoh Rain Forest; any lesser-known gems?) Should we stay 3 nights, or would an extra day be better spent somewhere else? If we stay 3 nights, should we stay all 3 at Lake Quinalt Lodge or move last night to Lake Crescent or somewhere else north like Port Angeles?
Days 5-6 (or 6-7): Sometime during day, take ferry; arrive Victoria. Spend full day and parts of arrival and departure days exploring area. On must-see list are Royal BC Museum and Butchart Gardens. Again, any other hidden gems? Hotel/B&B recommendations? We prefer places with some charm, but a clean, cookie-cutter place to stay (especially if it has a fridge/microwave) is okay if a good bargain. US$90-$140/night range. How important is it to be right downtown? Is it worth the savings to stay outside and have to drive in, or does that become a pain?
Days 7-8 (or 8-9): Ferry to Vancouver. Explore city. Would appreciate suggestions of specific hotels and/or what part of the city is the best place to stay for exploring and soaking up local culture.
Days 9-10 (or 10-11): Drive to Manning Provincial Park and stay in lodge there. Go horseback riding, hiking, and perhaps whitewater rafting. (Does anyone know how white-knuckle of an experience this is? I’m guessing mid-June the water runs high.)
Day 11 or 12: Drive back to Seattle, and fly home. How long should we allow for the border crossing? The Manning Park Lodge website says it’s 4.5 hours to Seattle, but I can’t tell if we’d be insane to try to leave there early in the morning and catch a 1:50 pm flight (including returning our rental car). The alternative is to take a later flight (red-eye, ugh!) or drive back to Seattle the afternoon before, but then we lose some time in the mountains.

Thanks for bearing with my long post. Any help would be appreciated.

Given your need to get back to Seattle for a flight you might consider dropping Manning. We camped there last year and were really disappointed. Many of the trees were devistated by the pine beetle and it just isn't the same as it used to be.
You might consider extending your stay in Victoria and really exploring, walking the seashore boardwalk, driving all along the coastline of the city, heading out to Sooke for the day. Or if you are really adventurours take a couple of days and head off to Tofino.

This may sound really tacky but we stayed in a travel lodge about a 10 minute walk from downtown Victoria. It was in a retail, light manufacturing area and included a continental breakfast for $49 a night. Not an ideal location but the money saved can be used for car rentals and dining.

Then head to Vancouver for your planned stay. Dropping Manning will save you at least three hours on your return trip to Seattle.

You seem to be just skipping Vancouver Island which is most of the most beautiful parts of Canada. Vancouver Island is much more than Victoria.

As for the border crossing, there are three major crossings in the area and it all depends on the day. I've never spent more than 30 minutes trying to cross anywhere in Ontario and they have the busiest crossings.

I would probably drop Manning as well because it is 5-6 hours from Manning to Seattle. But having said that July is the best time for wild flowers in the alpine meadows at Manning. The indian paintbrush will be in bloom. The road to the meadows is across the highway from the lodge. IMO this is one of the best easily accessible hikes in B.C. There are varing level so anyone can enjoy the alpine. The Whistling you hear while you hike comes from the hoary marmots that live in the alpine. Don't hike if the weather is bad because this area is notorious for lightning. You can't really white water raft at manning you would do this down the thompson/fraser rivers usually out of spences bridge or lytton.

I could be wrong, but I thought another poster had a problem taking a U. S.rental car across the border to Canada--you may want to confirm that you can do this before booking your flights.

Thanks to all of you, and keep those suggestions coming. As always, we get great advice from Fodorites.