lenox862

After two months of planning our trip to Washington beginning 8/26, my wife and I already have flights and a rental car. My motto seems to be "never put off for tomorrow what you can put off for the day after tomorrow."

Our plan at the moment is to arrive at noon at Sea-Tac, take public transportation downtown to some as of yet to be determined hotel, spend the afternoon and next morning in Seattle and then return to Sea-Tac for our rental car. I did try to get a car downtown but wouldn't have been able to return it to the airport.

We have Thursday afternoon and all day Friday to drive and take in the sights. We'll consider everything and every direction. Is there something that is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous and not to be missed?

We have to be in Shelton, WA by noon on Saturday. All comments welcome. Some will be appreciated. : )

happytrailstoyou

There are many options. I suggest Mt. Rainier and then the Olympic Peninsula via Olylmpia spending one night at Lake Quinault and the other at Lake Crescent Lodge (or nearby). Drive to Shelton via 101 as is skirts the shore of beautiful Hood Canal.

HTTY

NWWanderer

I know for sure Budget allows you to pick up downtown and drop off at the airport so you might want to price a car with them and compare it to what you have now.

I think a two day tour around the Olympic Peninsula would be great as long as you're ok with changing hotels Thursday and Friday night.

Gardyloo

Several "loops" are possible.

1. Volcanoes and Gorge - Thursday, I-5 south to Mt. St. Helens, drive into Johnston Ridge visitor center, overnight in Portland. Friday east through the Columbia Gorge, north on US 97 to Yakima, US 12 west to Mt. Rainier, overnight someplace near Packwood, Longmire or Ashford. Sat. AM up to Shelton.

2. Cascade/Sound loop - Thursday, east on I-90 to jct. of US 97, north on US 97 to Chelan, overnight. Friday, north to Methow, then SR 20 west through N. Cascades National Park toward Anacortes, but turn off shortly west of I-5 toward LaConner, a cute waterfront town. Sat. AM to Shelton.

3. Olympic Peninsula - Thursday to Port Angeles via the Bainbridge Island ferry from downtown Seattle, late afternoon/early evening visit up to Hurricane Ridge. Stay in PA unless Lake Crescent has space available. Friday to Rialto Beach near La Push, then into the Hoh Valley (rain forest visitors' center) and overnight near Quinault, or Ocean Shores if nothing available Fri. night at Quinault, maybe at the local Indian casino/resort - http://www.quinaultbeachresort.com/. Sat. morning to Shelton around the bottom of the peninsula.

All will be gratifying, each with a different focus.

suze

My favorite scenic drive is Gardyloo's #2 above.

Also I'd try to smooth out that extra trip back down to SeaTac to get the rental car somehow?? I'm no car rental expert but that seems pretty inconvenient. My friends recently visiting (and they are budget travelers). I don't know how much they paid, but they decided it was worth the extra to rent & return at SeaTac (plus the added convenience of driving themselves to and from the airport).

lenox862

Thanks for the replies. The reason for the r/t rental is because we got a rate of $23/day on priceline for a full size car. The discounted rate for pickup downtown and dropoff at Sea-Tac would have been in the 60s/day.

happytrailstoyou

This is very scenic: Snoqualmie Pass, Yakima Canyon, Chinook Pass, Sunrise, Paradise, and Longmire, from which you can drive to Sheldon via Olympia.

christy1

If you decide on the Olympic Peninsula, make the detours IN to the national park that Gardyloo suggests. The main highways mostly traverses the national forest and is not scenic. You have to detour off it for the sights.

I also like Gardyloo's sound/mountain loop but I would do Hwy 2 (Stevens Pass) which is much more scenic that I-90, and I'd stay in Winthrop or Mazama, at the Sun Mountain Lodge or Freestone Inn if you can. This is a very classic drive in WA with a website all it's own:
http://www.cascadeloop.com/index.php
If you had time you could take the express boat ride up Lake Chelan.

The road around Mt Rainier National Park is exceptionally scenic, too, as is the detour over Chinook Pass. If Paradise Inn had a room available that would be wonderful.

Gardyloo

I also like Gardyloo's sound/mountain loop but I would do Hwy 2 (Stevens Pass) which is much more scenic that I-90...

That would be my preferred route too, but leaving in the afternoon from Seatac and getting up to Monroe and then over the mountains can make for a pretty long day. If things could be accelerated so much the better. The alternative would be to do the loop in reverse, i.e. north from Seatac to La Conner, then do the Cascade loop clockwise - actually I prefer that alternative.

happytrailstoyou

I find I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass and I-97 over Blewett Pass to be quite scenic.

If you drive the loop, I also find Alt 97, which goes up the west side of the Columbia River to be more scenic than 97, which goes up the east side of the river.

lenox862

Thank you all for the advice. Still haven't decided on which route to take...will probably make our minds up at the last minute.

rockinrobin

When we were at Mt. Rainier a month ago, the road to Sunrise was closed due to a washout, and it would take 3 hours to get there using outside-the-park roads, so we didn't have time to go. I'd check to see if the road is open, as back then it wasn't opening any time soon.
Paradise is so spectacular, hiking even the shorter trails, that 3/4 day there was enough for us! Just glad we got to see it.

christy1

The road is open.