Hi everyone,
We are a family of four with two children (1 yo & 3 yo). Driving from Southern California to Victoria (visit family) leaving mid-June. We need help on the Portland-ONP-Port Angeles portion of our vacation. Below are our proposed routes, but we're not sure about driving times and road conditions, so we'd like to know if these are viable.

We'd like to do some hiking (but limit to 1-mile roundtrip) because of the kids & the short time. We already bought a backpack carrier for the 1-yo and I'm considering getting another for the 3-yo because I anticipate our stroller will not be useful...any advise on travelling with young kids are welcome as well. Living in southern CA, our kids don't mind being in the car for 2-3 hours at a time.

Day One (6/21): Kalaloch & Hoh
Portland (leave at 5am) for Olympia (2 hours)
Olympia to Aberdeen (1 hr)
Aberdeen to Kalaloch (2-hrs?) spend 1-2 hours
Kalaloch to Hoh (2-hrs) spend 2 hours
Hoh to Forks (reservations made for overnight stay)

Day two (6/22): Hurricane Ridge, 5:15pm ferry to Victoria
Forks (leave at 8am) to Hurricane Ridge (2-hrs) - spend 2-3 hours
HR to Port Angeles (1-hr) - if time permits, 1-2 hours to explore Port Angeles

Reservations for 5:15pm ferry for Victoria (our schedule is not flexible since we need to be in Victoria by 6/23)

Thank you in advance!

Here are some suggestions:

On your way to Kalalock, visit Lake Quinault.
On your way to Hoh Rain Forrest, visit Ruby Beach.
On day two, stop at Lake Crescent Lodge and take the walk to Marymere Falls (rather than spend two hours exploring Port Angeles).

I second the idea of going to Lake Crescent, if only to spend some time there.

happytrailstoyou

Thank you for the advise! Couple of questions - what is the driving distance between places:

DAY ONE
1. Aberdeen to Lake Quinault? - should we allow an hour to view sights?
2. Lake Quinault to Kalaloch? - again is an hour enough?

DAY TWO
3. Lake Crescent Lodge to Hurricane Ridge.
4. Hurricane Ridge (spend 2 hrs) to ferry (Port Angeles)

Sorry - got a little too excited on the first response...one more question for Day one.

Hoh to Ruby Beach - this is on the Kalaloch area? I'm not sure if we'll backtrack before heading to the Forks. Would love to see and explore the beaches with the kids!

Thanks again for the suggestions and advise!

Driving distances and times are easy to get at maps.google.com:

Aberdeen to Lake Quinault 45 miles/1 hour
Lake Quinault to Kalaloch 35 miles/40 minutes
Lake Crescent to Hurricane Ridge 45/1 ˝ hours

You don't need to backtrack to see Ruby Beach, it is on the way to the Hoh Rain Forest and Forks.

At the risk of arousing the wrath of others, I want you to know that it takes an hour to drive into the Hoh Rain Forest and an hour to drive back out. When you get there we will see trees that are very much like the trees you will see if you take the short hike from Lake Crescent Lodge to Marymere Falls. In my opinion, the walk to Marymere Falls is much better way to spend time.

Even though you have a reservation for the ferry to Victoria, I suggest you check carefully on how early you need to get in line for the ferry. A few years ago when we wanted to take the 8 a.m. ferry to Victoria, we were advised to be in line around 6 or 6:30 to be sure we got on the boat! I think perhaps that reservations were not being accepted at that time.

We decided to take the people-only ferry for our one-day visit to Victoria and Buchart Gardens (partly because they did accept reservations--and even then they told us to come a little early). Maybe the afternoon ferry trips are not as much in demand.

happytrailstoyou

Thank you again for the breakdown on the drives between places. I will check the link you provided also for the rest of our trip planning. I have been staring at these trip-tiks and maps for weeks! I also have a slew of printouts from the online research so you have been a tremendous resource!


xanthippe

The advise on the ferry to Victoria is very much appreciated. I did call Blackball Transport to reserve and determine wait times. They did recommend to be there an hour prior to departure WITH reservation. And with our 515pm departure, it also happens to be on a Friday, so we’ll be giving plenty of time (along with crayons & paper) to get in line.

I think we’re almost set - just have to research weather in the area to determine jackets, rain jackets and/or shoes to bring!

Thanks again for all you advise!