misskelowna

Hi everyone,

My bf and I are trying to plan a trip to WA with a few objectives. We want to camp (tenting) somewhere beautiful, preferably along the ocean somewhere!

And, we want to (okay, I want to), hit some outlet malls (in Tulalip, unless there are other good outlet malls?)

We will be driving from Kelowna, BC. We don't have a lot of vacation time, so I want to make sure we find somewhere great to camp!

A bonus would be whale sightings!

Is there anywhere that whales are migrating past this time of year (we'll be there third week of May)?

We will probably try to get down to WA a few weekends this summer, so I'm open to multiple suggestions!!

Thank you in advance!

misskelowna

christy1

San Juan County Campground, on the west shore of San Juan island, is a fairly reliable place to see Orcas from shore. Check the Friday Harbor whale museum website for sighting info--there should be orcas there then, though perhaps not as many as in summer. The campground is nothing special but it's pretty cool to hear the whales coming (it's loud!) then see them right from shore. You can make a campground reservation. If you've never been to the San Juans they're lovely and well worth it.

http://www.whalemuseum.org/education.../arrivals.html

We have lots of great campgrounds in mountain settings or on the beaches or Puget Sound where whale sightings aren't as likely, so if you're interested in other areas just ask. State parks book months ahead but there are plenty of forest service and non-reservable national park campgrounds.

I believe you're at the tail end of the gray whale migration on the coast, or even past it, but do some online research about this to make sure. If you do want to camp on the coast, Kalaloch in Olympic NP is a wonderful campground. Cape Disappointment State Park is also very nice though very big and very crowded on weekends. You'd need reservations for either on weekends, I think.

misskelowna

Hi Christy,

Thanks for all the great information! I think what we're going to do is plan a separate weekend trip to the San Juan Islands!

For this trip, I like your idea of Puget Sound - there seems to be a lot of great camping around that area! Cape Disappointment (despite the name!) also looks wonderful - that's getting pretty far from where we are, so that might have to be a separate trip as well!!

Normally, we go camping around BC (which we'll continue to do), and on Vancouver Island. But unfortunately, the ferry to Vancouver Island has become so expensive that we thought we'd try going to Washington instead! From my limited research, it looks absolutely beautiful (I've only camped there a few times), so I'm very excited to explore it lots this summer!

Thanks again for the great tips!

christy1

There are some nice campgrounds on Puget Sound, just keep in mind that state parks book up in advance and they are very popular with families and rv's. So you just need to be prepared for company. Also in the San Juans, Spencer Spit on Lopez Island is wonderful--there are some walk in beach sites that are great. Shaw Island has a very quiet county campground if you really want to get away from people--there are almost no services at all on Shaw. If you don't want to deal with ferries, South Whidbey and Fort Flagler are nice. Larrabee is really nice too but there can be train noise. Deception Pass is very pretty but one of the state's most popular parks, so it's a zoo.

glaciermeadows

If you have the time nothing is more beautiful then our three National Parks. Rainier is incredible with unbelievable wildflowers in the summer. North Cascades and Mount Baker are closer to you and also fabulous. My favorite camping places are on the west side of the Olympics along the wild northern coast and the rainforests. Do you backpack or just car camp?

mlesoing

I think you have a great chance of seeing whales in the 3rd week of May. Plus, the Islands are so pretty this time of year! We have been having great weather, very warm and very sunny. The orcas around the Islands are resident pods and stay in the area all year, though most sightings are between May and September. I recommend taking a kayak trip or viewing the whales from land, like at Lime Kiln Point State Park. It's breathtakingly gorgeous there, and you can have a picnic and walk the paths along the water while you are there. Check out http://www.simply-san-juan.com for more Island info. Have a great visit!

misskelowna

Thanks everyone - I think I have enough info to plan at least 3 weekend trips to WA state this summer - I'm very excited! I think we'll probably do the San Juan Islands as it's own trip, since there will be extra time with the ferries and such. And we're currently looking for kayaks, so I'd love to bring those!

I've been to Mt. Baker, actually, I used to be able to see it from my bedroom window when I lived in Langley, BC!

I think we've decided that in order to avoid the crazy busy Vancouver border crossings and go down through the BC interior crossing (that would put us out into the US around Omak, WA. From there, we'll head towards the coast, and camp the first night somewhere along the trip - I've heard there are some beautiful mountain ranges along the way.

glaciermeadows - right now, we just do tent camping, not so much backpacking as we're lacking the right gear.. I think we'd like to work up to that though, because there's nothing worse than a packed, loud campground, when the sounds of nature are blurred out with tv's and engines and such..

So thank you for all the tips! In lieu of a big trip this year, we've decided to do lots of long weekend trips throughout the spring and summer, throughout BC and Washington.