3 Week US Road Trip July/Aug Seattle to LA via National Parks
Jan 10th, 2020, 08:08 AM
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3 Week US Road Trip July/Aug Seattle to LA via National Parks
Hi,
My family and I are trying to plan a road trip in the US (we are from the UK) for 3 weeks in mid July to early Aug. We have had a couple of road trips before, one around New England, the other California & Vegas. We were looking for other areas and thought the North West would be good and have put together this rough itinerary (below). We don't mind having a fair bit of driving with the New England route looking like this goo.gl/maps/qcaZtCbceziV1inG8 and the California route like this goo.gl/maps/i2Xj3ajoDvcxJxX88. Both of those were fine with regard to the amount of driving and were slightly less than 3 weeks, so we are expecting to be able to travel further.
Anyway, we are looking for airports we can directly fly from London into and depart from and are happy with this commencing and finishing at different points. We would also like to finish up the end of the trip with a few days where we can have a little downtime. This seemed to work well with our New England trip where we finished in Cape Cod. Therefore, we have initially thought stopping somewhere near LA, make the most of some nice weather before flying back, with flights being a reasonable price too.
Note the numbers on each line represent potential dates in July/Aug. I have also tried to estimate the length of the drives.18 seattle - evening after plane
19 seattle - full day
20 seattle - full day
21 drive to spokane (4 1/2hrs) - night stop
22 drive to glacier np (5 hrs) - evening after drive
23 glacier np - full day
24 glacier np - full day
25 drive to yellowstone (6 1/2hrs) - evening after drive
26 yellowstone - full day
27 yellowstone - full day
28 yellowstone - full day
29 drive to Jackson (2 1/2hrs) - night after drive
30 Jackson - full day
31 Jackson - full day
1 drive to Salt Lake (4 1/2hrs) - night stop
2 drive to zion (4 1/2hrs) - night after drive
3 zion - full day
4 drive to LA (6 1/2hrs) - night after drive
5 LA - full day
6 LA - full day
7 LA - full day
8 Depart
Google maps route here goo.gl/maps/f6frHNtnNxw3nnCq9
Anyway, I am really looking for some opinion from others. I have a few concerns such as whether we have left this too late to get any decent accommodation near the parks such as yellowstone and whether it is a touch too long in distance.
Many thanks in advance for any advice.
Matt
Note - apologies for the link format, I had to strip out the first part of the URL as I am a new poster
My family and I are trying to plan a road trip in the US (we are from the UK) for 3 weeks in mid July to early Aug. We have had a couple of road trips before, one around New England, the other California & Vegas. We were looking for other areas and thought the North West would be good and have put together this rough itinerary (below). We don't mind having a fair bit of driving with the New England route looking like this goo.gl/maps/qcaZtCbceziV1inG8 and the California route like this goo.gl/maps/i2Xj3ajoDvcxJxX88. Both of those were fine with regard to the amount of driving and were slightly less than 3 weeks, so we are expecting to be able to travel further.
Anyway, we are looking for airports we can directly fly from London into and depart from and are happy with this commencing and finishing at different points. We would also like to finish up the end of the trip with a few days where we can have a little downtime. This seemed to work well with our New England trip where we finished in Cape Cod. Therefore, we have initially thought stopping somewhere near LA, make the most of some nice weather before flying back, with flights being a reasonable price too.
Note the numbers on each line represent potential dates in July/Aug. I have also tried to estimate the length of the drives.18 seattle - evening after plane
19 seattle - full day
20 seattle - full day
21 drive to spokane (4 1/2hrs) - night stop
22 drive to glacier np (5 hrs) - evening after drive
23 glacier np - full day
24 glacier np - full day
25 drive to yellowstone (6 1/2hrs) - evening after drive
26 yellowstone - full day
27 yellowstone - full day
28 yellowstone - full day
29 drive to Jackson (2 1/2hrs) - night after drive
30 Jackson - full day
31 Jackson - full day
1 drive to Salt Lake (4 1/2hrs) - night stop
2 drive to zion (4 1/2hrs) - night after drive
3 zion - full day
4 drive to LA (6 1/2hrs) - night after drive
5 LA - full day
6 LA - full day
7 LA - full day
8 Depart
Google maps route here goo.gl/maps/f6frHNtnNxw3nnCq9
Anyway, I am really looking for some opinion from others. I have a few concerns such as whether we have left this too late to get any decent accommodation near the parks such as yellowstone and whether it is a touch too long in distance.
Many thanks in advance for any advice.
Matt
Note - apologies for the link format, I had to strip out the first part of the URL as I am a new poster
Last edited by m4tthall; Jan 10th, 2020 at 08:15 AM.
Jan 10th, 2020, 10:49 AM
#2
Welcome to Fodor's!
I personally think it's too much and I am inclined to recommend that people who wish to visit the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountain national parks and the southwest/red rock national parks in one trip inevitably are biting off more than they can chew. But of course we don't know your travel style so any criticism along these lines might be off the mark.
I wonder if I could suggest an alternative plan, just to get the ball rolling. Fly into Seattle (or maybe better, Portland, Oregon, which now has nonstop service from London on both Delta and British Airways) and do a loop out to Yellowstone etc. and back, then hop a cheap flight (around $100 or less) down to the southwest to finish the trip, assuming LA is a must-see. In my view a route like this - https://goo.gl/maps/pTyAT6MhbdpiUUK19 - would be ideal with around 2 weeks, then you could fly to Las Vegas, get a new car, spend a day or two in Zion, then out to LA to finish the trip.
Note on the map I've excluded Glacier NP but have included the remarkable Wallowa Mountains in northeastern Oregon, and have also included the Columbia River Gorge, just east of Portland. I'd urge you to google these places in order to see if you might be interested. (They're not national parks but easily could be.)
I personally think it's too much and I am inclined to recommend that people who wish to visit the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountain national parks and the southwest/red rock national parks in one trip inevitably are biting off more than they can chew. But of course we don't know your travel style so any criticism along these lines might be off the mark.
I wonder if I could suggest an alternative plan, just to get the ball rolling. Fly into Seattle (or maybe better, Portland, Oregon, which now has nonstop service from London on both Delta and British Airways) and do a loop out to Yellowstone etc. and back, then hop a cheap flight (around $100 or less) down to the southwest to finish the trip, assuming LA is a must-see. In my view a route like this - https://goo.gl/maps/pTyAT6MhbdpiUUK19 - would be ideal with around 2 weeks, then you could fly to Las Vegas, get a new car, spend a day or two in Zion, then out to LA to finish the trip.
Note on the map I've excluded Glacier NP but have included the remarkable Wallowa Mountains in northeastern Oregon, and have also included the Columbia River Gorge, just east of Portland. I'd urge you to google these places in order to see if you might be interested. (They're not national parks but easily could be.)
Jan 10th, 2020, 01:40 PM
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I agree with Gardyloo-it is a lot. We live in Seattle and have driven to and through all those areas, and I think 3 weeks would really not give you enough time. I would either do as suggested about-maybe spend half the time in Parks north of San Francisco then fly to LA and spend time in some of the southwestern parks. Or if you have already been to southern California and Vegas then with 3 weeks you focus on Yosemite, Yellowstone and some of the NW parks in WA Oregon. But honestly event that would be a lot in 3 weeks-especially during the high season in July.
We fly to Europe every year since my husband is French and our favorite flight at the moment is Norwegian (flying premium class). They now only fly seasonally to/from Seattle but it is a nice flight-note it flies into Gatwick LGW not LHR Heathrow. They also fly into SFO in San Francisco and LAX in Los Angeles. We love the non-stop from Seattle since it flies the polar route and is only about 9h50 going to LGW. And I am guessing they are going to be the cheapest if you want to fly open jaw in and out of different cities. My only caveat is that I am always a bit nervous about their financial stability although they seem to be doing better lately.
We fly to Europe every year since my husband is French and our favorite flight at the moment is Norwegian (flying premium class). They now only fly seasonally to/from Seattle but it is a nice flight-note it flies into Gatwick LGW not LHR Heathrow. They also fly into SFO in San Francisco and LAX in Los Angeles. We love the non-stop from Seattle since it flies the polar route and is only about 9h50 going to LGW. And I am guessing they are going to be the cheapest if you want to fly open jaw in and out of different cities. My only caveat is that I am always a bit nervous about their financial stability although they seem to be doing better lately.
Jan 10th, 2020, 02:14 PM
#4
Fly to Seattle (or Portland) spend a day in either and then board the Amtrak Empire Builder to Whitefish Montana. The two sections of the train join in Spokane a little after midnight every night.
Arrival in Whitefish is in the morning. You can arrange for a rental car to meet you at the Whitefish Amtrak station.
See Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Teton NP's and then return the car in Whitefish and take the train back overnight to Portland.
From Portland take the Amtrak Coast Starlight south to Sacramento California (arrives before 7AM PT). From Sacramento take the California Zephyr east to Salt Lake City. The train leaves SAC after 11AM so there is no worry of missing the connection. Have a good breakfast in Salt Lake City before going to rent another car.
While in Utah, see both Zion and Bryce Canyon. On the way to Los Angeles, plan on spending a night in Las Vegas. Maybe stop to see Hoover Dam while in the area.
Arrival in Whitefish is in the morning. You can arrange for a rental car to meet you at the Whitefish Amtrak station.
See Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Teton NP's and then return the car in Whitefish and take the train back overnight to Portland.
From Portland take the Amtrak Coast Starlight south to Sacramento California (arrives before 7AM PT). From Sacramento take the California Zephyr east to Salt Lake City. The train leaves SAC after 11AM so there is no worry of missing the connection. Have a good breakfast in Salt Lake City before going to rent another car.
While in Utah, see both Zion and Bryce Canyon. On the way to Los Angeles, plan on spending a night in Las Vegas. Maybe stop to see Hoover Dam while in the area.
Jan 10th, 2020, 02:48 PM
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Zion will be very hot in August. I would save the Utah parks for another trip and I assume you spent time in LA on the previous trip so unless you need to include LA, I'd stick to just the PNW & Mountain region for this trip. The Sawtooths of Idaho or the Wallowas of Oregon would be a good addition if you want more mountain scenery. Bend Oregon is a nice town with access to some very scenic areas nearby. You could spend a few days in coastal Oregon for downtime.
It only takes 4.5 hours to drive between Jackson and Salt Lake City vs multiple days by train (assuming the trains even run on time).
It only takes 4.5 hours to drive between Jackson and Salt Lake City vs multiple days by train (assuming the trains even run on time).
Last edited by Patty; Jan 10th, 2020 at 03:05 PM.
Jan 10th, 2020, 06:19 PM
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What you are asking of yourself on this potential journey greatly exceeds the two examples you offered of your prior journeys in the U.S..
I DO appreciate that you are from the UK and that you want to cover many bases with such an effort...
But 2 1/2 full days in Seattle isn't enough to be fair to the area AND... the time expense getting from here to Glacier NP is too great, while there is (relatively) nothing along the way.
(yes, IF you had any time to offer at all, it would be easy-ish to find minor highlights worth stopping or detouring to see, but the Seattle element of your trip {should probably be omitted, based on all else} )
Flying initially to Great Falls or Billings (Montana) would be a much more sensible move.
An important trick would be to find a corporate-owned rental car agency in those spots... such that a ONE-way rental wouldn't cost some staggering amount. Often the smaller places are franchise operations, while the bigger rental car spots in big cities are owned by corporate... and one-way rentals between two such spots CAN be relatively staggering cost-wise.
July/August in those areas will indeed be very hot, most likely, BUT in flying to Missoula or Great Falls you will have taken some of the pressure off of your break-neck pace.
Certainly there is nothing wrong with targeting Yellowstone and Jackson, and while they will be crowded, you still need TIME to stop and appreciate each.
Salt Lake City is a nice place, and the weather surely won't be getting any cooler as you head toward Las Vegas.
You don't even really need any added plans, assuming you 'save' a couple of extra days in not bothering with Seattle. You can just go at a more leisurely pace, AND add side trips and more activities to LA once you get there.
There just... doesn't seem to be anything THAT IMPORTANT about your plan to begin in Seattle, to make it seem particularly enhancing to your overall trip.
I DO appreciate that you are from the UK and that you want to cover many bases with such an effort...
But 2 1/2 full days in Seattle isn't enough to be fair to the area AND... the time expense getting from here to Glacier NP is too great, while there is (relatively) nothing along the way.
(yes, IF you had any time to offer at all, it would be easy-ish to find minor highlights worth stopping or detouring to see, but the Seattle element of your trip {should probably be omitted, based on all else} )
Flying initially to Great Falls or Billings (Montana) would be a much more sensible move.
An important trick would be to find a corporate-owned rental car agency in those spots... such that a ONE-way rental wouldn't cost some staggering amount. Often the smaller places are franchise operations, while the bigger rental car spots in big cities are owned by corporate... and one-way rentals between two such spots CAN be relatively staggering cost-wise.
July/August in those areas will indeed be very hot, most likely, BUT in flying to Missoula or Great Falls you will have taken some of the pressure off of your break-neck pace.
Certainly there is nothing wrong with targeting Yellowstone and Jackson, and while they will be crowded, you still need TIME to stop and appreciate each.
Salt Lake City is a nice place, and the weather surely won't be getting any cooler as you head toward Las Vegas.
You don't even really need any added plans, assuming you 'save' a couple of extra days in not bothering with Seattle. You can just go at a more leisurely pace, AND add side trips and more activities to LA once you get there.
There just... doesn't seem to be anything THAT IMPORTANT about your plan to begin in Seattle, to make it seem particularly enhancing to your overall trip.
Jan 10th, 2020, 06:47 PM
#7
I'm in an NBA arena and really cant read all the responses til I get home later tonight ,. . . But I spend a LOT of my holidays in the UK and live on the west Coast USA . . . You need to pick - either the southwest parks or Yellowstone and the nirthwest. Will post more later . . .
Jan 10th, 2020, 07:26 PM
#8
What you are asking of yourself on this potential journey greatly exceeds the two examples you offered of your prior journeys in the U.S..
I DO appreciate that you are from the UK and that you want to cover many bases with such an effort...
But 2 1/2 full days in Seattle isn't enough to be fair to the area AND... the time expense getting from here to Glacier NP is too great, while there is (relatively) nothing along the way.
(yes, IF you had any time to offer at all, it would be easy-ish to find minor highlights worth stopping or detouring to see, but the Seattle element of your trip {should probably be omitted, based on all else} )
Flying initially to Great Falls or Billings (Montana) would be a much more sensible move.
An important trick would be to find a corporate-owned rental car agency in those spots... such that a ONE-way rental wouldn't cost some staggering amount. Often the smaller places are franchise operations, while the bigger rental car spots in big cities are owned by corporate... and one-way rentals between two such spots CAN be relatively staggering cost-wise.
July/August in those areas will indeed be very hot, most likely, BUT in flying to Missoula or Great Falls you will have taken some of the pressure off of your break-neck pace.
Certainly there is nothing wrong with targeting Yellowstone and Jackson, and while they will be crowded, you still need TIME to stop and appreciate each.
Salt Lake City is a nice place, and the weather surely won't be getting any cooler as you head toward Las Vegas.
You don't even really need any added plans, assuming you 'save' a couple of extra days in not bothering with Seattle. You can just go at a more leisurely pace, AND add side trips and more activities to LA once you get there.
There just... doesn't seem to be anything THAT IMPORTANT about your plan to begin in Seattle, to make it seem particularly enhancing to your overall trip.
I DO appreciate that you are from the UK and that you want to cover many bases with such an effort...
But 2 1/2 full days in Seattle isn't enough to be fair to the area AND... the time expense getting from here to Glacier NP is too great, while there is (relatively) nothing along the way.
(yes, IF you had any time to offer at all, it would be easy-ish to find minor highlights worth stopping or detouring to see, but the Seattle element of your trip {should probably be omitted, based on all else} )
Flying initially to Great Falls or Billings (Montana) would be a much more sensible move.
An important trick would be to find a corporate-owned rental car agency in those spots... such that a ONE-way rental wouldn't cost some staggering amount. Often the smaller places are franchise operations, while the bigger rental car spots in big cities are owned by corporate... and one-way rentals between two such spots CAN be relatively staggering cost-wise.
July/August in those areas will indeed be very hot, most likely, BUT in flying to Missoula or Great Falls you will have taken some of the pressure off of your break-neck pace.
Certainly there is nothing wrong with targeting Yellowstone and Jackson, and while they will be crowded, you still need TIME to stop and appreciate each.
Salt Lake City is a nice place, and the weather surely won't be getting any cooler as you head toward Las Vegas.
You don't even really need any added plans, assuming you 'save' a couple of extra days in not bothering with Seattle. You can just go at a more leisurely pace, AND add side trips and more activities to LA once you get there.
There just... doesn't seem to be anything THAT IMPORTANT about your plan to begin in Seattle, to make it seem particularly enhancing to your overall trip.
Jan 10th, 2020, 11:39 PM
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Hi,
Thanks for all the great replies, it really is appreciated you put in the time to respond with such detail and I have some thinking to do.
I will like to respond to some of the points made by various people
Once more, thanks again for all the thoughtful replies
Matt
Thanks for all the great replies, it really is appreciated you put in the time to respond with such detail and I have some thinking to do.
I will like to respond to some of the points made by various people
- LA wasn't a must see, as we did that during our California trip but my wife wanted to have some downtime at the end on the coast where the weather was guaranteed to be nice. LA seemed natural from the original route, as it was just another 6 or so hours from where we were finishing up. It certainly wasn't a must do.
- Seattle wasn't a must do either but a) got us closer to the Glacier NP for direct flight from London, and b) my wife is quite interested in visiting, although I have been in the are a few times for Microsoft, mainly staying in Bellevue rather than Seattle though and only having one full day in the city
- Internal flights - thanks for the suggestions of breaking up into two routes but I am reluctant (maybe incorrectly), as having mess about with dropping cars off, checking in, etc. seems like it would waste more time than I would be comfortable with
- We have been to Yosemite and although it is somewhere that people obviously return to and we went at a different time of year, we are always reluctant due to the fact there are so many different places in the world to see and we only have limited time
- Norwegian - absolutely concur, we find them to be fantastic and given we live near Gatwick is certainly a benefit
- Trains - an interesting option and thanks for bring up for me to consider, however I have a reluctance to spend too much time on trains when on holiday, as I spend over 2 hours a day on them commuting! Saying that, we did get the bullet train in Japan and that experience was great.
- Zion heat - good point and perhaps you're right that we should maybe leave that for another road trip that starts in vegas and heads out east somwehere. The only reason that formed part of the route originally was that it felt near enough to the yellowstone regoin that we could continue driving down and visit
- Lots of suggestions for addtional parks etc. as alternatives for continuing journey south and these are really appreciated, I will look into them. I think one concern my wife might have here is that it would be nice to break up with something more 'exciting' for a day for my daighters (12 and 14). Although they are happy and enjoy exploriing they do love things like Vegas and theme parks like any kids. For example, on the New England trip we spent one day in six flags. Is there anything like that in the NW area that would be worth considering if we didn't continue the route south to Utah and Califoria?
- Oregon - is there almost guranteed nice weather in mid august or is it more like the UK and it's very hit or miss? Just concerned we don't end up with a few days at the end in the rain, otherwise sounds like a good option.
- Journey exceeding the other two we have done - yes, absolutely right and one reason I was a little concerned, although we would have about 4 days longer than the others
- Car rental - we always use Avis as we have a discount which saves us a fair amount of money on this
- Flying into/out of Salt Lake City - that is definitely an option, as there are direct flights from the UK. I guess the only (perhaps minor) problem withn that is the fact my wife would like to spend a little downtime at the end and I believe a coastal relaxing area would be her preference. If people have some suggestions where you can get that coastal kind of feel at the end in the area I am more than interested
- Yellowstone - do you think we are leaving it too late to finalise this trip and find good places to stay around here and therefore need to consider a completely alternative US road trip?!
Once more, thanks again for all the thoughtful replies
Matt
Jan 11th, 2020, 12:39 AM
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Actually, just had a conversation with my wife and she made it clear (in no uncertain terms! 
) we needed a few days at the end in a nice hotel, ideally like we had in Cape Cod. She was actually then talking about Vegas but I am thinking it's too hot to 'relax' at that time. So, if we perhaps started in Salt Lake City, drove up to yellowstone, glacier, across to seattle and then down to Oregon (I obviously need to investigate route further), is there somewhere in Oregon that would give us that kind of feel and would the weather be OK?
Potential Options
Option 1 - Keep Glacier, drive from Glacier to Seattle not much of interest?
goo.gl/maps/L4oEPMjmcxgMX9US6
1437 miles
goo.gl/maps/je1pzmTsmY4RDYg5A
1489 miles
goo.gl/maps/GsdeeEjCnfAmJExJA
1493 miles
goo.gl/maps/dUoduAHcZmEgmG8r8
1273 miles
Any thoughts?
Thanks once again,
Matt
) we needed a few days at the end in a nice hotel, ideally like we had in Cape Cod. She was actually then talking about Vegas but I am thinking it's too hot to 'relax' at that time. So, if we perhaps started in Salt Lake City, drove up to yellowstone, glacier, across to seattle and then down to Oregon (I obviously need to investigate route further), is there somewhere in Oregon that would give us that kind of feel and would the weather be OK?Potential Options
Option 1 - Keep Glacier, drive from Glacier to Seattle not much of interest?
goo.gl/maps/L4oEPMjmcxgMX9US6
1437 miles
- Salt Lake City
- Yellowstone NP
- Galcier NP
- Seattle
- Portland
- Where around portland at the end?
goo.gl/maps/je1pzmTsmY4RDYg5A
1489 miles
- Salt Lake City
- Yellowstone NP
- Via Idaho/Oregon somewhere?
- Seattle
- Portland
- Where around portland at the end
goo.gl/maps/GsdeeEjCnfAmJExJA
1493 miles
- Salt Lake City
- Yellowstone NP
- Galcier NP
- Portland
- Where around portland at the end?
goo.gl/maps/dUoduAHcZmEgmG8r8
1273 miles
- Salt Lake City
- Yellowstone NP
- Via Idaho/Oregon somewhere?
- Portland
- Where around portland at the end
Any thoughts?
Thanks once again,
Matt
Jan 11th, 2020, 04:24 AM
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https://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/ will give you an idea of what current in park lodging availability is like. You can keep checking for cancellations as well as people book far in advance and may not end up going. You can also stay in the gateway cities of Gardiner or West Yellowstone which are just outside of the park entrances. You may want multiple bases for Yellowstone as the park is quite large. Keep in mind when you plan your lodging that the road between Tower and Canyon will be closed all of 2020 and 2021 for construction https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/parkroads.htm
Trains in the US often run behind schedule.
You could consider Park City at the end of your trip if you end up flying out of Salt Lake City. It's a winter ski resort and not coastal, but is scenic and has Utah Olympic Park which might have activities your teens would enjoy https://www.visitparkcity.com/things...-olympic-park/ and here are some more things you can do in summer https://www.visitparkcity.com/things...er-activities/
I would not miss Grand Tetons.
Option 1 - If you want a pretty drive we drove from Glacier to Sandpoint Idaho and through North Cascades National Park on our way to Seattle. This will take longer. You could consider dropping Portland. We also included the San Juan Islands and Whidbey Island on the same trip (but we had over a week between Glacier and Seattle) and you could consider a few days there for relaxing at the end. Hopefully someone else can tell you about weather in August as I haven't been at that time of year.
Option 2 - You could stop in Ketchum/Sun Valley Idaho https://www.visitsunvalley.com/summer/ to break up the drive between Yellowstone/Tetons and Joseph. On the way to Ketchum stop at Craters of the Moon National Monument. Between Ketchum and Stanley Idaho is beautiful mountain scenery and lakes. You could also consider staying at Redfish Lake Lodge https://redfishlake.com/
Also see if Bend Oregon is some place you might enjoy https://www.visitbend.com/ Lots of sunshine and warm weather on this side of the Cascades. I'm not sure about coastal Oregon weather in August. I live on the central coast of California and it can be foggy here in summer. With Option 2 I would skip Washington and Seattle.
Options 3 & 4 - Similar suggestions as Option 2. See the Columbia River Gorge on your way to Portland https://traveloregon.com/places-to-g...a-river-gorge/
Trains in the US often run behind schedule.
You could consider Park City at the end of your trip if you end up flying out of Salt Lake City. It's a winter ski resort and not coastal, but is scenic and has Utah Olympic Park which might have activities your teens would enjoy https://www.visitparkcity.com/things...-olympic-park/ and here are some more things you can do in summer https://www.visitparkcity.com/things...er-activities/
I would not miss Grand Tetons.
Option 1 - If you want a pretty drive we drove from Glacier to Sandpoint Idaho and through North Cascades National Park on our way to Seattle. This will take longer. You could consider dropping Portland. We also included the San Juan Islands and Whidbey Island on the same trip (but we had over a week between Glacier and Seattle) and you could consider a few days there for relaxing at the end. Hopefully someone else can tell you about weather in August as I haven't been at that time of year.
Option 2 - You could stop in Ketchum/Sun Valley Idaho https://www.visitsunvalley.com/summer/ to break up the drive between Yellowstone/Tetons and Joseph. On the way to Ketchum stop at Craters of the Moon National Monument. Between Ketchum and Stanley Idaho is beautiful mountain scenery and lakes. You could also consider staying at Redfish Lake Lodge https://redfishlake.com/
Also see if Bend Oregon is some place you might enjoy https://www.visitbend.com/ Lots of sunshine and warm weather on this side of the Cascades. I'm not sure about coastal Oregon weather in August. I live on the central coast of California and it can be foggy here in summer. With Option 2 I would skip Washington and Seattle.
Options 3 & 4 - Similar suggestions as Option 2. See the Columbia River Gorge on your way to Portland https://traveloregon.com/places-to-g...a-river-gorge/
Jan 11th, 2020, 06:49 AM
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"So, if we perhaps started in Salt Lake City, drove up to yellowstone, glacier, across to seattle and then down to Oregon"
To make it easier for your international flights, I might consider flying in and out Seattle (particularly if you are using Norwegian) since the polar route typically cuts an hour or more off of flights into Salt Lake City or California. If you arrived in Seattle then drove down to Portland, you could take the route along the Columbia river, which is lovely down towards Boise and then up to Yellowstone and Glacier and then come back to Seattle via the north Cascades highway, which is spectacular in the summer months. For the last few days you could consider a couple of ideas not too far from Seattle. One would be to spend a couple of nights in Steheken at the Lodge at Stehekin. It is remote and accessible only by boat and is in the North Cascades National Park area.
https://lodgeatstehekin.com/about-us...national-park/
Another idea would be to go to the WA coast-we love the Long Beach area-which will be busy during August but might provide you with more activities that your daughters will enjoy and you won't have the extra hassle of the boat access. And then a third idea would be to go to one of the islands like Whidbey. However, keep in mind that ferry boats can be challenging to use this time of year.
http://www.visitlongbeachpeninsula.com/
In terms of August weather-I would say in general Seattle has gotten more reliably sunny and warm in August over the years but on any given year the reality is that nobody can really tell you. However, I do think it is a shade less hit or miss than the UK at least IME.
To make it easier for your international flights, I might consider flying in and out Seattle (particularly if you are using Norwegian) since the polar route typically cuts an hour or more off of flights into Salt Lake City or California. If you arrived in Seattle then drove down to Portland, you could take the route along the Columbia river, which is lovely down towards Boise and then up to Yellowstone and Glacier and then come back to Seattle via the north Cascades highway, which is spectacular in the summer months. For the last few days you could consider a couple of ideas not too far from Seattle. One would be to spend a couple of nights in Steheken at the Lodge at Stehekin. It is remote and accessible only by boat and is in the North Cascades National Park area.
https://lodgeatstehekin.com/about-us...national-park/
Another idea would be to go to the WA coast-we love the Long Beach area-which will be busy during August but might provide you with more activities that your daughters will enjoy and you won't have the extra hassle of the boat access. And then a third idea would be to go to one of the islands like Whidbey. However, keep in mind that ferry boats can be challenging to use this time of year.
http://www.visitlongbeachpeninsula.com/
In terms of August weather-I would say in general Seattle has gotten more reliably sunny and warm in August over the years but on any given year the reality is that nobody can really tell you. However, I do think it is a shade less hit or miss than the UK at least IME.
Last edited by jpie; Jan 11th, 2020 at 07:18 AM.
Jan 11th, 2020, 07:09 AM
#13
Okay, we've got lots more information and lots more to go on. Let me try to make some observations and suggestions. I know this can get confusing and a bit torturous, but believe me, it's worth it. Let's start with some basics, especially weather.
It's unlikely you'll encounter wet weather in any of the areas under discussion. Oregon and Washington's reputation for rain is often overstated, and almost never includes the summer months. Indeed, by August and September the risk of forest fires is far greater (throughout the region, but especially in mountain areas) than getting rained on. In terms of temperatures, a general rule of thumb is that it will be cooler the closer you are to the Pacific, and east of the Cascade range the weather will be dry and hot. Elevation matters of course, so it's going to be considerably cooler at 5000 - 7000 foot elevations (typical of the Rocky Mountain national parks) than at lower elevations.
In much of the interior west, such as eastern parts of Oregon and Washington, southern Idaho, and much of Utah (and of course Nevada and the California/Arizona deserts) it will be hot, in places potentially too hot for much in the way of outdoor activities. It's also worth noting that while high elevation areas like Yellowstone won't be hot, the danger of burning from ultraviolet radiation is very high, so watch out with the arms and bare heads.
There are no amusement parks in the Pacific Northwest or Mountain West that can compete with the likes of the Florida or California parks (Disney etc.) so if something like that is necessary, then adding that sort of destination might be advisable. However, you might look at activities that could serve as substitutes for that, such as local fairs and festivals. For example, the Montana State Fair takes place in late July in Great Falls - rodeo, exhibits, amusement park etc. - and that might be of interest. Likewise, the Calgary Stampede takes place in early July; if you wanted to experience the Canadian Rockies, you could fly to Calgary (nonstops from London) and attend the Stampede, then get a car and explore Banff and Jasper, which are very close to Calgary. You could then fly someplace in the US - maybe in the Northwest, maybe back to California - and finish the holiday there before returning to the UK. To be sure, this would be a huge reworking of your current thinking, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.
As for where to "decompress" after touring, there are numerous places throughout the region that would probably work. Because hotel prices in Seattle are very high in the summer, I'd probably pick some destination outside the big cities for this. In Oregon there are three such areas to investigate - along the Oregon coast, in the Columbia River Gorge area, and in central Oregon near the community of Bend. (A fourth, in the northern part of the Willamette Valley, is more suited to adults-only as wine tasting and vineyard touring is a main activity in this area.)
My own preference for this is the Columbia Gorge, because (a) it's very close to Portland airport, and (b) the density of very cool and beautiful areas, as well as activities for the family, is very high. Within an hour or so of the community of Hood River (itself an hour from PDX airport) are waterfalls, pristine lakes with mountains reflected on their water, wineries and craft breweries, summer skiing on the side of a dormant (we hope) volcano, windsurfing and kite boarding, a fine art museum featuring world class collections of Native American art and Rodin sculpture, a hatchery where you can visit Herman the Sturgeon, a giant and ancient fish. There are forest hikes, Lewis and Clark history centers, a weird copy of Stonehenge, "U-pick" farms and orchards, "outlet mall" shopping with no sales tax, whitewater rafting... and on and on. Hood River's weather is almost always warm, but in an hour you can be in deep, cool forest, or up on the permanent ice fields on the side of Mount Hood. Or take a day and travel into downtown Portland, foodie capital of the Northwest, with its hipster culture, famous Powell's Books, and other things.
Okay, enough gushing.
I did have one other really off the wall idea, just because sometimes lateral thinking is useful. Discard it out of hand if you want. Alaska.
What if.... you flew to Vancouver BC and boarded a one-way cruise to Whittier or Seward, Alaska. These take a week, then when you're in Alaska, get a car and drive around for another week or so. Then fly to Seattle and spend the last week in the Seattle-Portland area, before flying home from either.
Here are some benefits to this that I'd suggest. First, the cruises are surprisingly cost-effective because they're inclusive of transport, lodging, food and entertainment. With four you could get two cabins, maybe one with a balcony and the other without, reducing the cost further. Second, they're ideal settings for the jetlagged. No cars to wrangle, eat when you want, unpack once for a week, and if you feel like getting up in the middle of the (local) night because your body clocks say it the middle of the day, no big deal; it will be light outside (it's Alaska) and you'll probably find some all-night food or beverage location. By the time you get to Southcentral Alaska your clocks will be fully adjusted, making road tripping much less stressful.
Third, well, it's Alaska. The cruises pass through the stunning "Inside Passage" on calm water, with forest, mountains, coastal villages always in sight. When you do make port calls the towns are historic and interesting, and while there can be some crowds because of multiple ships visiting on the same day, in every case it's very easy to escape the crowds if you know where to go. The scenery is nonstop - mountains, glaciers, quiet coves, historic sites - and there are numerous opportunities for wildlife viewing - whales, bears etc.
The accommodations are very comfortable, there are food choices for even the pickiest eaters, and your fellow cruisers are a much more diverse crowd than on other itineraries - Alaska cruises are NOT the "newly wed or nearly dead" sorts of places.
Then when you get to the end of the cruise, travel into Anchorage (bus or train) and get a car, and spend a week or ten days driving around - up to Denali National Park, or down to the Kenai Peninsula - more scenery, wildlife, hiking or kayaking, funky towns... Google the places on this map - https://goo.gl/maps/ft9HNBXNSbvNrdxa6 - to get an idea.
I'm going to stop before this gets even farther out of hand. Hope it's not adding to the confusion. I'll close with a couple of pictures.
Mount Hood from Portland
Columbia River Gorge
Hubbard Glacier from Alaska cruise
College Inlet near Whittier, Alaska
It's unlikely you'll encounter wet weather in any of the areas under discussion. Oregon and Washington's reputation for rain is often overstated, and almost never includes the summer months. Indeed, by August and September the risk of forest fires is far greater (throughout the region, but especially in mountain areas) than getting rained on. In terms of temperatures, a general rule of thumb is that it will be cooler the closer you are to the Pacific, and east of the Cascade range the weather will be dry and hot. Elevation matters of course, so it's going to be considerably cooler at 5000 - 7000 foot elevations (typical of the Rocky Mountain national parks) than at lower elevations.
In much of the interior west, such as eastern parts of Oregon and Washington, southern Idaho, and much of Utah (and of course Nevada and the California/Arizona deserts) it will be hot, in places potentially too hot for much in the way of outdoor activities. It's also worth noting that while high elevation areas like Yellowstone won't be hot, the danger of burning from ultraviolet radiation is very high, so watch out with the arms and bare heads.
There are no amusement parks in the Pacific Northwest or Mountain West that can compete with the likes of the Florida or California parks (Disney etc.) so if something like that is necessary, then adding that sort of destination might be advisable. However, you might look at activities that could serve as substitutes for that, such as local fairs and festivals. For example, the Montana State Fair takes place in late July in Great Falls - rodeo, exhibits, amusement park etc. - and that might be of interest. Likewise, the Calgary Stampede takes place in early July; if you wanted to experience the Canadian Rockies, you could fly to Calgary (nonstops from London) and attend the Stampede, then get a car and explore Banff and Jasper, which are very close to Calgary. You could then fly someplace in the US - maybe in the Northwest, maybe back to California - and finish the holiday there before returning to the UK. To be sure, this would be a huge reworking of your current thinking, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.
As for where to "decompress" after touring, there are numerous places throughout the region that would probably work. Because hotel prices in Seattle are very high in the summer, I'd probably pick some destination outside the big cities for this. In Oregon there are three such areas to investigate - along the Oregon coast, in the Columbia River Gorge area, and in central Oregon near the community of Bend. (A fourth, in the northern part of the Willamette Valley, is more suited to adults-only as wine tasting and vineyard touring is a main activity in this area.)
My own preference for this is the Columbia Gorge, because (a) it's very close to Portland airport, and (b) the density of very cool and beautiful areas, as well as activities for the family, is very high. Within an hour or so of the community of Hood River (itself an hour from PDX airport) are waterfalls, pristine lakes with mountains reflected on their water, wineries and craft breweries, summer skiing on the side of a dormant (we hope) volcano, windsurfing and kite boarding, a fine art museum featuring world class collections of Native American art and Rodin sculpture, a hatchery where you can visit Herman the Sturgeon, a giant and ancient fish. There are forest hikes, Lewis and Clark history centers, a weird copy of Stonehenge, "U-pick" farms and orchards, "outlet mall" shopping with no sales tax, whitewater rafting... and on and on. Hood River's weather is almost always warm, but in an hour you can be in deep, cool forest, or up on the permanent ice fields on the side of Mount Hood. Or take a day and travel into downtown Portland, foodie capital of the Northwest, with its hipster culture, famous Powell's Books, and other things.
Okay, enough gushing.
I did have one other really off the wall idea, just because sometimes lateral thinking is useful. Discard it out of hand if you want. Alaska.
What if.... you flew to Vancouver BC and boarded a one-way cruise to Whittier or Seward, Alaska. These take a week, then when you're in Alaska, get a car and drive around for another week or so. Then fly to Seattle and spend the last week in the Seattle-Portland area, before flying home from either.
Here are some benefits to this that I'd suggest. First, the cruises are surprisingly cost-effective because they're inclusive of transport, lodging, food and entertainment. With four you could get two cabins, maybe one with a balcony and the other without, reducing the cost further. Second, they're ideal settings for the jetlagged. No cars to wrangle, eat when you want, unpack once for a week, and if you feel like getting up in the middle of the (local) night because your body clocks say it the middle of the day, no big deal; it will be light outside (it's Alaska) and you'll probably find some all-night food or beverage location. By the time you get to Southcentral Alaska your clocks will be fully adjusted, making road tripping much less stressful.
Third, well, it's Alaska. The cruises pass through the stunning "Inside Passage" on calm water, with forest, mountains, coastal villages always in sight. When you do make port calls the towns are historic and interesting, and while there can be some crowds because of multiple ships visiting on the same day, in every case it's very easy to escape the crowds if you know where to go. The scenery is nonstop - mountains, glaciers, quiet coves, historic sites - and there are numerous opportunities for wildlife viewing - whales, bears etc.
The accommodations are very comfortable, there are food choices for even the pickiest eaters, and your fellow cruisers are a much more diverse crowd than on other itineraries - Alaska cruises are NOT the "newly wed or nearly dead" sorts of places.
Then when you get to the end of the cruise, travel into Anchorage (bus or train) and get a car, and spend a week or ten days driving around - up to Denali National Park, or down to the Kenai Peninsula - more scenery, wildlife, hiking or kayaking, funky towns... Google the places on this map - https://goo.gl/maps/ft9HNBXNSbvNrdxa6 - to get an idea.
I'm going to stop before this gets even farther out of hand. Hope it's not adding to the confusion. I'll close with a couple of pictures.
Mount Hood from Portland
Columbia River Gorge
Hubbard Glacier from Alaska cruise
College Inlet near Whittier, Alaska
Jan 11th, 2020, 07:27 AM
#14
Patty is almost as negative about Amtrak trains as I am for them. If I am on a train that has a scheduled morning arrival and it is late, I don't care. I like the option of taking a train somewhere overnight (no motel), and renting a car for a loop returning where I rented it.
I like option 1. You will be driving through Grand Teton on the way through to Yellowstone NP. Glacier should be great in late August. If you want to drive to Seattle from Glacier NP, stop in Coeur d' Alene ID. There is a beautiful lake there. Once you get out of Spokane, take US 2 instead of I-90. Make a stop in Leavenworth WA for a town with a Bavarian feel and some good beer.
Turn in your rental car in Seattle. There is good bus service in the city and when you want to go to Portland, take an Amtrak Cascades train. Use the TriMet system for travels around Portland.
Late August early September is the best time on the Oregon Coast IMO. Try for lodging in Seaside or Cannon Beach. Don't leave Oregon without seeing Haystack Rock on the beach of Cannon Beach.
If you have a little extra time on the way back to Portland, try to stop at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville. They have the "Spruce Goose" on display.
The red line light rail (TriMet) ends right outside the baggage claim at PDX for your departure.
I like option 1. You will be driving through Grand Teton on the way through to Yellowstone NP. Glacier should be great in late August. If you want to drive to Seattle from Glacier NP, stop in Coeur d' Alene ID. There is a beautiful lake there. Once you get out of Spokane, take US 2 instead of I-90. Make a stop in Leavenworth WA for a town with a Bavarian feel and some good beer.
Turn in your rental car in Seattle. There is good bus service in the city and when you want to go to Portland, take an Amtrak Cascades train. Use the TriMet system for travels around Portland.
Late August early September is the best time on the Oregon Coast IMO. Try for lodging in Seaside or Cannon Beach. Don't leave Oregon without seeing Haystack Rock on the beach of Cannon Beach.
If you have a little extra time on the way back to Portland, try to stop at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville. They have the "Spruce Goose" on display.
The red line light rail (TriMet) ends right outside the baggage claim at PDX for your departure.
Jan 11th, 2020, 02:15 PM
#16
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This thread has suddenly gone off the rails.
I say keep Glacier because the wife has focused on it.
(besides, maybe there won't be any glaciers there "by 2080" or some such thing)
There's nothing wrong with following-through on your primary focus.
And with two daughters each old enough to care about sights they might see, that is more reason to slow it down a notch...
Glad that LA is expendable, and SLC is grand as a start/stop point if you want that...
Perhaps northern California or the Oregon coast as a final resting spot near water.
A guy from the UK, with two daughters, meandering around the American west... reminds me of the legendary "Faustine", the French girl with her parents as they went on similar trips with Fodors advice in 2006 or so.
All hail memories of Faustine!
I say keep Glacier because the wife has focused on it.
(besides, maybe there won't be any glaciers there "by 2080" or some such thing)
There's nothing wrong with following-through on your primary focus.
And with two daughters each old enough to care about sights they might see, that is more reason to slow it down a notch...
Glad that LA is expendable, and SLC is grand as a start/stop point if you want that...
Perhaps northern California or the Oregon coast as a final resting spot near water.
A guy from the UK, with two daughters, meandering around the American west... reminds me of the legendary "Faustine", the French girl with her parents as they went on similar trips with Fodors advice in 2006 or so.
All hail memories of Faustine!
Jan 11th, 2020, 07:13 PM
#18
Jan 12th, 2020, 07:20 AM
#20
To the OP: I hope that all of our comments have helped guide you in choosing great places to visit.
