CRG to Mt Baker to Seattle
 

We will be traveling up the coast of California and Oregon this May. When we reach the top of Oregon we will turn on to the Columbia River Gourge Hwy. My question is can we cross into Washington and get to Mt St Helens, Mt Baker and Mt Ranier on the way to Seattle airport?<BR>Thanks,Karen

Sure.

I don't know my NW geography too well, but I DO know that Mt. Baker is not on the way to Seattle if you are coming from the South. Mt. Baker is Northeast of Seattle. We were there last June. <BR><BR>I think a map might be a big help right now. There are plenty on the internet. You can Mapblast.com or mapquest.com (I don't trust their driving directions, but you can view a map.<BR><BR>

Sorry, I meant Mt Adams not Mr Baker

St Helen's will be your first off of I-5. Will take a while to get there. Unless you have time to kill you won't be able to get up to Rainier and to the airport. Can't remember where Baker is. But if possible do Rainier. When I visit that is always the drive I love to take up to the visitors center and lodge. Lived there when Helens blew and have since been to see area a couple times. Last time, just got tired of driving to get there from the Olympia area. Hopefully the mountain "will be out" if you don't get a chance to see Rainier....

I'm confused, Karen. Are you asking if you can return to Seattle via the mountains on the same day? If so, the short answer is no. If you have more time, then the answer is yes, but only with something of a convoluted route. From the Columbia Gorge you can return west down the river to Interstate 205 or I-5, then head north, take the drive into Mt. St. Helens and then back out, continue north to Mt. Rainier, ditto, then end at the airport. No Mt. Adams on this route.<BR><BR>Or, you can continue east up the Gorge to Cascade Locks or The Dalles, and head either up through White Salmon to the south slopes of Mt. Adams, or via Goldendale and US 97 toward Yakima, with Mt. Adams prominent to the west (a beautiful ride, BTW.) From Yakima you can use US12 to cut back across the Cascades, from which Mt. Rainier is easily reached. This route would require a long double-back to see Mt. St. Helens.<BR><BR>With 3 days you can do it all, but only with some zigzagging and some backtracking. The thing to remember is that these volcanoes are in the middle of the Cascade range, not especially convenient to the freeway. Mt. Adams in particular is hard to visit on a casual basis, partly because much of the mountain and its base are within the Yakima Indian reservation, with access controlled by the tribe.