Itinerary/hotel help for Olympic NP, San Juan Islands, Northern Cascades
 

We are planning a 11-12 night trip to Olympic national Park, the San Juan Islands and the Northern Cascades - and possibly Mt. Ranier if there is time in mid August. We (my husband and myself and 13 year old daughter) are thinking:
3-4 nights on the Olympic Penninsula staying one night in Port Angeles, one night in Forks (my daughter is a huge Twilight fan) and 2 nights at Lake Crescent - does this make sense?
2--3 nights in San Juan Islands (wanted Roche Harbor but they don't have availablity)
2-3 nights in the Cascades and the first and last nights in Seattle.
I would appreciate any thoughts/advice on this itinerary. Should we try to include Mt. Ranier and/or Port Townsend/Victoria? I would also appreciate recommendations on where to stay and what to do particularly in the Cascades. We are not great hikers but love other activities - boating, whale watching, scenic drives, horseback riding etc. We want some days without too much driving - we don't want to feel like we've spent the whole time in the car. We would like to spend in the $300-400/night range. All advice appreciated.

I've done the road around the Olympics, twice. We did it last year in 3 days (from north Oregon coast), at a steady pace. 1st night in Port Townsend. Very highly recommended if you like beautiful old port towns (like Astoria, OR). The Puget Sound, water lapping, boats cruising, piers, old buildings. While there we checked out the Fort/lighthouse in town (pretty cool), and Fort Flagler a few miles SE of town. Drove to the north tip. Beautiful: Old military batteries, deer everywhere, open grass areas, high views of the sound & a lighthouse.

Then we drove west toward Port Angeles. (Here's a spoiler regarding the movie Twilight & Forks: SKIP IF you want to be surprised when you're actually there: The size of Forks in the movie is most likely actually Port Angeles because all towns west of PO are tiny, especially Forks). At Port Angeles we drove up to the Olympic summit & hiked. Last year it was $17 to enter the park. Gorgeous drive (much like Going to the Sun road in Glacier NP), great views, can not hike, hike a little, or hike a lot.

Then we drove west to Crescent Lake. We drove to the back side of it via a short windy road on the east side, and hiked on easy level ground right along the lake. Beautiful & quiet. Be advised: Signage says there are cougar or mt lions in these parts (though I suspect rare, just be careful, especially at dusk).

On this trip I skipped the NW point (can't recall the name right now), but have stayed there previously. Pretty cool, but skippable imo if you're going to places like Mt Rainer, etc. I'm sure they could use the $ though.

On this trip we then went to Forks & stayed our 2nd of 2 nights total (3 days, 2 nts). If you're hoping to stay in Forks, check for lodging IMMEDIATELY as August is a busy time, Forks has little lodging, & the movie has probably made it even tougher. At Forks, go to Rialto Beach, about 15 mins away. Beautiful, very rugged, close parking, unique.

A few miles south of Forks we hiked in the Hoh Rainforest. It's unique to see so much moss, so thick & everywhere. Easy hiking you can keep short or make much longer.

And lastly we drove the south side of Lake Quinault. Pretty lake, fair amount of lodging here. We wanted to kayak, but the winds made it too rough that day.

I haven't been to Mt Rainier or the San Juans, but no doubt both are beautiful, and there will be lots of people in August. Also, plan on LOTS of slow traffic in the Seattle/Tacoma area.

I chose lodging via TripAdvisor.

I'll try to check back here soon & see if you have any questions.

Lk Crescent is just outside of Port Angeles so it wouldn't make sense to stay in both...pick one or the other.

Sun Mountain Lodge in the North Cascades is a great place for families.

Thank you both for your replies. Does it make sense to stay in Port Townsend the first night, then one night in Forks (if we can get a reservation), then a night in Port Angeles or Lake Crescent and then a night in Lake Quinault or is this too much ? Also, how long will it take us to drive from the airport in Seattle to Port Townsend - can this be done on the day of arrival or should we spend the first night in Seattle?

I personally would not move around that much--I hate changing hotels every night. I'd set 2 bases, max. Port Townsend is more more than an hour east of Port Angeles, which is in turn just an hour east of Forks. And even if you do move around every night, the order you suggest makes no sense since it would have you going back and forth over the same ground--maybe looking at a map would help? There's a good one of the park on the ONP website.

Driving from Seatac to Port Townsend will be about 90 minutes to 2 hours.

Thanks for this. I agree with you that moving each night is too much. what do you think of the following itinerary:
2 lights Lake Crescent or Port Angeles
1 night Lake Quinault
1 night Port Townsend.
2-3 nights San Juan Islands (staying in one place)
2-3 nights Northern Cascades (staying in one or two places)

This works -- I assume you are circling the Olympic Peninsula in a counter-clockwise direction and would return to Port Townsend via 101 along the Hood Canal -- very scenic. You can then take the ferry (reservations required) over to Whidbey Island. I have no recommendations regarding the San Juans, but Highway 20 will take you from Anacortes into the Cascades. I would think about spending the first night near Winthrop (possibly @ Sun Mountain Lodge) and the second in Leavenworth, on Highway 2.

Yes, this is what I think we are going to do. The only other possiblity is to go to Mt Ranier for the first night and then to Lake Quinnault for the second and then on to Lake Crescent and Port Townsend. Is Mt Ranier worth the extra driving?

You can easily drive to the Olympics from Seattle during 1 day, just allow for serious rush hour traffic during those times. I-5 can be bumper to bumper for many many miles then. Some underestimate Tacoma's congestion too, but there can be a lot of traffic there.

I like your itinerary. Thematically I like the idea of flying in, going up to Mt Rainier (if you have the time...yes I do recommend it...haven't been there, but I'm from Oregon and I've been told it's as least as beautiful as our gorgeous Mt Hood. Guess it all depends on if you have the time & strong desire, & if you can see enough without being a strong hiker (I don't know)). But I like the theme of seeing the Pac NW from the Mt tops on down to the beaches and islands, or vice versa.

It's some driving, but it looks like a scenic route from the airport to Hwy 410 to Hwy 123 to Hwy 706 to Hwy 7 and on up to Tacoma & the peninsula like you're intending. You know what, a good friend wants me to take her up to the peninsula for her 1st time I think I'm gonna throw in there a trip up to Rainier as well. You've sold me on it.

There's a ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria, Canada also (and maybe to one or more San Juan islands) if you're interested. Or you can see if there's a ferry from Port Townsend (there are a couple there).

If I recall right, there's a nice lodge on Crescent Lake, and another ON the beach close to Lake Quinault (North). We also stayed in a nice cabin ON the south side of Quinault (can't remember the name...power was out with 110 mph winds that night...half price!).

We circled the peninsula. The south side is very missable; fortunately you can drive pretty fast from Olympia to Aberdeen. Aberdeen's fairly large, not pretty, all stretched out along the hwy, & takes a little time driving through. If you have trouble finding places to stay, &/or the lodges are full, I suppose you'll need to try to stay in the larger towns of Port Angeles & Port Townsend. Keep your eyes out for deer. They're pretty, & they can jump in front of your car.

Even without Mt Rainier, it would make MUCH more sense IMO to drive first to Lk Quinault and do the loop around the Peninsula clockwise. While the drive along Hood Canal to complete the loop as you've proposed is scenic, it's not scenic enough to justify all those extra hours of driving.

Also, the trip from Port Angeles to the San Juans can easily be done in a day so if skipping Port Townsend would make the difference between you having 2 vs 3 days in the San Juans, I'd skip Pt Townsend--IMO one full day in the islands isn't enough.

As your structuring your itinerary, you want to avoid going to the islands on a Friday, and avoid coming back on a Sunday.

Thanks very much for this advice. Are you suggesting that even if we don't go to Mt. Rainier, we should go from Seattle to Lake Quinault for the first night? Is this doable on the day of arrival (assuming we arrive around noon)? I also like the idea of skipping Port Townsend and adding a day to the San Juans. The issue with Mt. Rainier is whether it is too much driving to go Seattle - Mt. Ranier the first day; see Mt Rainier the second day and then drive to Lake Quinault the same day (according to mapquest this looks like about a 4 hour drive) and then drive to Lake Crescent/Port Angeles the third day where we will finally spend 2 nights and then on the the San Juans for 3 nights. To avoid 3 straight days of driving, I am rethinking Mt. Rainier. Thanks again for everyone's thoughts on this.

Mt Rainier is wonderful, with some of the prettiest alpine landscapes (and most stunning flower fields, if they're in bloom) you'll find anywhere. So I wouldn't miss it. People do this as a day trip from Seattle all the time--we go day hiking there. If you aren't hikers a day trip should suit you fine--you can walk around on the nature trails and just enjoy the scenery. You could do a long day and circumnavigate the mt, stopping at both the Paradise and Sunrise Visitor Centers.

I agree with Quiet Traveler--the south side of the Olympic Peninsula is much more "missable". I'd skip Lake Quinault and focus on the northern 1/2 of the Peninsula--Lake Crescent, Hurricane Ridge, the Hoh if you have time, Rialto Beach, Port Townsend.

There are lots of nice places to stay in the San Juans, so don't worry about missing out on Roche Harbor. Check trip advisor for reviews. You might want to book a whale watch boat trip in advance.

I agree that Sun Mountain Lodge is a good North Cascades stop.

Are you talking about August of this year? We made a similar trip in August a few years ago and the hotels/inns on the OP booked very quickly. Of course, the economy was much better back then.

Getting from the Olympic Peninsula to/from the San Juans is rather complicated (with a car, that is - easy by boat.)

Basically the trip requires an intermediate island/ferry crossing; either the Coho from Port Angeles to Victoria, then the WA ferry from Sidney BC to Friday Harbor; or ferry from Port Townsend to Whidbey Island, then drive up to Anacortes for the WA ferry going the other way (i.e. toward Canada.) Frankly I would go via Victoria - AM boat from PA to Victoria, look around for a few hours, then drive (half an hour or so) to the WA ferry dock for the 6 PM crossing to Friday Harbor. Both ferries would need to be booked in advance, but to my mind it alleviates needing to double back so much.

As for a base camp on the Olympic Peninsula, I would personally stay all nights at Lake Crescent, and just handle the rain forest, coastal beaches, and Forks from there - all not terribly strenuous day trips. Accommodation in Forks is (understandably but unreasonably) expensive in terms of value, and accommodation on the coast is scarce and expensive. If your interest in Quinault is the rain forest, the Hoh Valley is much closer to the northern end of the peninsula, and is (IMO) superior for walking around and seeing things than Quinault, even if the Quinault Lodge <I>is</I> a picturesque (translated: creaky) old national park lodge. Don't miss Ruby or Rialto Beaches which, along with the Hoh Valley, are a couple of the best wild beaches in the country. Oregonians weep.

So my take would be 4 nights Olympic Peninsula, with one day trip to Hoh and the nearby beaches, another day trip to Forks, and another one to Port Townsend, then go to Friday Harbor via Victoria in the manner described, then two nights on San Juan Island, then back to Anacortes and straight over SR 20 (which becomes the North Cascades Highway) to wherever you want to stay in the mountains/eastside, then back to Seattle (my recommendation is via US 97 to US 2) before flying out.

If you wanted to shorten things up a bit (in order to include Mt. Rainier) you could do the Forks/Hoh/Beaches thing in one day and really not miss much. Or skip Port Townsend, which could be compensated by more time on San Juan, or in Victoria, or somewhere else/ Any of those edits would free a day or more to spend going from Seattle to Mt. Rainier and back, or else continue south on US 97 from Omak or Pateros down to Yakima, and cross over the mountains on US 12, from which you can easily duck into Mt. Rainier NP and then exit toward Seattle/Tacoma, turning the whole shebang into a big loop trip. Easy.

(As an aside, you have to understand that when anyone in this region sees discussion of a "day trip to Forks" the gut reaction is a gobsmacked "Huh?" followed by laughter. Strange days we live in.)

Yes, you could drive straight to Lk Quinault from Seatac in about 4 hours.

That said, I don't disagree with setting one base on the Olympic Peninsula, in the Lk Crescent/Port Angeles area rather than doing the circle around the Peninsula. I do like Lk Quinault though so one night there wouldn't go amiss IMO.

I'm not sure I'd agree with going via Victoria to get to the San Juans...having to go through customs/immigration twice in one day makes that route a bit more time consuming I think. And if you're going to Orcas rather than SJI it doesn't work well. But either way would get you there. Can't remember if it's been mentioned but if you do go via the Port Townsend/Keystone ferry be sure to make a reservation on that ferry. Same with the Coho and the ferry from Sidney to Friday Harbor if you go via Victoria.

We went to the OP two years ago and stayed at the Lake Crescent Lodge - right on the lake. Loved it there!! We did day trips to Forks/Hoh/Beaches, another to Hurricane Ridge and one just staying around the lake area.

We did go to Mt. Ranier (somewhere close by - don't remember the exact location but it was a Holiday Inn) on the first night after arrival and spent the day in the Mt. Ranier park the next day since we'd be going to Seattle for business later in the trip.

Have a great trip!

<i>I'm not sure I'd agree with going via Victoria to get to the San Juans...having to go through customs/immigration twice in one day makes that route a bit more time consuming I think.</i>

Well I wouldn't do it just to drive through; but if the OP has any interest in Victoria it could be an interesting alternative to schlepping over to Whidbey, then driving up through Oak Harbor to the Anacortes terminal, with ferry waits in both/all areas. As for immigration, you pre-clear US immigration at Sidney in the ferry line, so no real delay there; Canadian immigration coming off the Coho is no biggie.

But if Orcas has to be it, then probably the Victoria route is a bit inconvenient; I think it involves a couple hours' layover in Friday Harbor, and gets into Orcas pretty late.

Another recommendation, thinking about it, would be to suggest the OP drop the San Juans, take the Coho to Victoria, then head to one of the Gulf Islands in BC, which are likely to be less crowded and cheaper than the San Juans. Then take the boat to Tsawwassen, drive over the Cascades on the TCH/BC 3 then hit the North Cascades (or head south to US 2 or US 12) on the way back west. I'm a loopy guy, can't deny it.

Thank you all for these ideas. Gardyloo - I am not sure where we would fit in Mt. Rainier in your suggested itinerary above. I am willing to miss Lake Quinnault and spend more time doing day trips from Lake Crescent. I guess with this itinerary, we would have to tack Mt. Rainier on the end, right? In other words, Arrive Seattle, drive to Lake Crescent and spend 3-4 nights there, then go to the San Juans for 3 nights (possibly the Gulf Islands as you suggest if we can't get reservations in the San Juans or on the ferries - I have never heard of the Gulf Islands but I love the idea of getting more off the beaten path), then 2-3 nights in the Cascades going clockwise and then going down to Mt. Rainier for the last night before retuning to Seattle. Does this make sense? I am hoping that because we have some flexibility on exactly when we leave (Tues or Wed) and how many nights we can stay (11-12), I will be able to get reservations somewhere. I have started making phone calls and it looks like there is still availablity although maybe not my first choice places. I really only care about the places we are going to stay more than one night. Everyone's suggestions have been great but I guess I need to decide yea or nay on Mt. Rainier and Lake Quinnault to finalize my itinerary.

I think that sounds good,and I like the idea of having the last night at Rainier. It would be great if you could get a room at the Paradise Inn but if not, the Longmire Inn or a b and b in Ashford would be fine, too. I'd stick with the San Juans--the Gulf Island option adds drive time, adds border crossing time, and I'm not sure they're really more off the beaten path (people in Seattle go to the San Juans, people in Vancouver go to the Gulf Islands).