Driving to and in the Pacific Northwest
 

I am planning a road trip with a friend from Arkansas to Portland, OR via Denver to deliver wedding gifts and furniture to my daughter who moved up there recently. We will tow a small uhaul and we know it will take us some extended time to make the trip. Hoping to see sights along the way to break up the trip- but only have 5-7 days to make it all the way to Portland. Any suggestions on routes that are scenic and interesting from Denver: perhaps via Lake Tahoe then up the coast of Cali to OR? Or suggestions for the "northern" route thru Wyoming and Idaho instead? Trying to see the most and still make decent time on the trip!
Once in OR we plan to see sights there and drive up to Seattle and Vancouver and the San Juan Islands. Any recommendations for San Jaun's hotels, ferries, etc and same for Vancouver are appreciated!

You should have added Washington to the list of tagged states. There is a Fodorite whose username is drifting_could who lives on San Juan Island and could provide the information you need if you posted on the Washington forum and tagged it San Juans. Also, post your Vancouver questions on the BC forum.

My advice on your route would be to take I-40 to OKC, then I-35 up to I-70...that will take you to Denver. Stay on I-70 over the 11,000 foot pass; the scenery along the freeway through Glenwood Springs is great. Leave I-70 when you reach UT-6, a shortcut to intercept I-15, which will take you up to I-84 into Portland.

drifting_cloud.

One thing you said jumped out at me. Yes, go to Lake Tahoe and from there take 89 up through Lassen National Park, then out past Shasta on 44.

Is that 5-7 days from Arkansas or Denver? If it is from Arkansas to Portland, pulling a U-Haul full of furniture through Denver, and straying off the major highways to smaller scenic roads, I would say you will have little time to sight see along the way. Arkansas-Denver-Tahoe-Portland is near 40hrs without adding in scenic byways and sights. I'd advise plugging some cities into google maps and dragging the lines to the roads or sights you'd like to visit. That gives you an rough idea...then you figure in slower towing, visiting daughter, meals, traffic, sights, bathroom breaks, etc and it will stretch your hours per day exponentially.

When I read this I got a sinking feeling. I am very experienced driving long distances over all kinds of twisting, turning, narrow mountains roads, but the idea of taking the long way around with a U-Haul trailer swaying behind my car gives me the creeps. I also wouldn't want to be saddled with the problem of parking a car and trailer at sightseeing attractions, restaurants, and hotels for a week. My choice would be to get to Portland quickly, dump off the U-Haul trailer, and enjoy the Columbia River Gorge, the Oregon Coast, Mt. Rainier, the San Juan Islands, and other attractions of the Pacific Northwest free of the incumbrance. I would then do the leisurely coastal trip on the way back to Arkansas.

HTtY

Thanks for your helpful replies! You all have valid ideas and suggestions that will help us in planning. I tried to tag Wash but it must not have highlighted properly- darn.
Once in Portland, Seattle, Vancouver area we will have more days to explore those areas and look forward to the San Jaun's and Victoria especially having never seen them before.

Happytrails- very interesting point with the Uhaul and sightseeing on the return trip instead. We may rework our itinerary,the Uhaul will be a small one but still might impede our plans too much.Hmmm...
I'm new to Fodor's forum so I don't know how to reach out to the guy in the San Jaun islands-can you instruct me more?
Are the routes/highways mentioned off I-70 OK to pull a Uhaul on?

Don't worry about not tagging Washington. We see all the posts no matter to what states they are posted. CO, OR, CA, and WY were enough of a clue for those of us in WA to open your post.

<i> I don't know how to reach out to the guy in the San Jaun islands</i>

By writing this you have reached out to him.

HTtY