Owen O'Neill

Just doing rough planning for late August. I'll be in Seattle for a music festival but will arrive 6-7 days in advance and wish to explore the area. Arriving on a Friday mid-day - will rent car and get to Portland that day to visit my cousin and his family for dinner and the evening. My schedule is wide open from the following morning until a week later. Years ago I drove through the Dalles (beautiful country) and also spent some time traveling down the Oregon coast going south from Newport. I'm open to suggestions for inland activities/sights and particularly interested in coastal things heading north towards Vancouver and all points in between. The Olympic Peninsula rain forest and the city of Vancouver both seem like good bets for a day or two each but I'm open to anything. I anticipate traveling solo and will be looking for hostels or very low budget hotels/motels as my focus is being out doing things - the room is only for sleeping. I love good coffee, live music of all types, ethnic/regional/local food and dining experiences, active activities such as rafting/hiking and areas of scenic beauty where I can just stop to contemplate nature and reflect on how fortunate I am (it's got to be true - after all... I'm taking this trip, right?). I plan to do extensive research but am hoping to get hints from folks local to these areas or from travelers who've discovered some great little villages or small towns off the beaten path that were fun and friendly. Thanks in advance for all your help!

xxx

ttt

lisa

We were in the Bellingham area in June of last year. We had only 3 days. One was spend in the San Juan Islands area whale watching. One was spent in Vancouver, Canada (tho I wish we went to Vancouver Island instead...) and one day at the national park at Mount Baker. The jaunt to Mount Baker was everyone's favorite. Hiking up the mountain, driving thru the park and stopping here and there, having a sandwich at a road side restaurant before going to the park... The day was perfect. I highly reccommend the San Juan islands trip as well.

thea

Definitely go the the Olympic Peninsula. Aside from the beauty of the rain forest, the coast itself is really special -- that misty, other-worldy, happy-to-be-alive kind of place.

Another suggestion, although certainly not off the beaten path, is the Mount St. Helens National Park. It's been a few years since I was there but I remember it being a surprisingly interesting place to visit. It was amazing to see the trees and vegetation coming back to life...

Jayne

Lincoln City has a variey of nice seafood restaurants.The Dragonfish in downtown Portland has all types of Asian foods, and is very reasonable. Please don't miss Mt. St. Helen's, we saw snow in JUNE, last year, we went in on Hwy 131 and got very close to the volcano side, no new vegetation after 22 years, you can still see the path and power of the lava flow, also the Spirit Lake restoration. If you go in this way go early, get gas first and take food and water and a cell phone, there is nothing, no even bathrooms for many miles, it took us five hours but was worth every minute, you get much closer to the volcano rim than thru the park. You also get views of the four sisters mountains and their is a very quaint restaurant in Toutle that serves huge portions of food for little $$$ From Vancover take I5 to HWY 12 to Randle and 131 to St Helen's watch out for deer, bear and wildcats.

Kristen

We used to live in the San Juan Islands, and if you want a bit of beauty, you could not ask for more. Take the ferry from Anacortes to San Jaun, Orcas and the smaller islands. And if you get up to Vancouver Island, be sure to see the Buchart Gardens. Wow.

me

Go on a sand dune buggy ride near Lincoln City. I had so much fun and it was a really beautiful ride too.

cl9

I know you said you were interested in the coast, but I would suggest a one-day the drive east from Seattle. It's absolutely amazing to see the changes in environment from the coast to the sub-desert areas of the interior.

aunt jennie

Vancouver and the Olympic peninsula are separate trips, I'd say.

If you go north to Vancouver, you could hit the Northwest Cascades on the way, which are gorgious, or stop by LaConner (artsy little town) and even the San Juans. This way, you get a world class city and world class scenery. (Mt. Baker is that way, also, but I haven't been there.)

If you go west to the Olympic Peninsula, you can visit Port Townsend, Port Angeles, Hurricane Ridge (world class views), and the Hoh Rain forest. If you skip the rain forest (which is a drive off to the west and south), you would probably have time to cross the Strait of Juan de Fuca at Port Angeles, and visit Victoria. Victoria is a very cute city and is hopping with activity in the summer. It has a great museum, the Museum of British Columbia. Plus more, of course.

Mt. St. Helens is a day trip off of I-5, between Portland and Seattle. It is great, and you'd want to stop at all the National Park Service visitors centers on the way up (and others swear by the Weyerhouser visitors center on timber, which we haven't visited yet).

So, there are some ideas for a northern route. Just don't try to fit in too much or you'll miss the chance to explore.

Owen O'Neill

These are all great suggestions - making note of all and getting my maps out to begin guesstimating times etc. and look for a rough route. Any additional suggestions welcomed!