We will be staying in Port Angeles for 5 days of our 10 day Seattle area trip at the end of September before returning to fly home from Seattle. We want to be able to spend 5 days in Port Angeles and don't want to have to circle around the entire Olympic Pennisula since the sights we want to see are in the upper and west coast areas. We will be seeing Mt Rainier and doing a day ferry trip from Anacortes to San Juans before we get to Port Angeles.

Will some of you please check our Day Trip Itinerary and give us any advice as how we can do it better in order to avoid wasting mileage traveling over same areas to get to another sight? We are unsure how much of these sights we can expect to do in one day or if any can be combined. Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated!

Day 1 Ferry to Port Townsend - See
Port Townsend, Sequim, Hurricane Ridge. Stay in Port Angeles.

Day 2 Port Angeles to Pillar Point, Neah Bay and Cape Flattery. Return via Sappho to see Lake Crescent and back to Port Angeles.

Day 3 PA via Forks to see Rialto Beach and First Beach then on to Hoh Rain Forest. Return from Hoh to PA.

Day 4 Take ferry as foot passengers from Port Angeles to Victoria for the day and return to Port Angeles.

Day 5 Port Angeles to see coast area from Ruby Beach to Kalaloch and return to Port Angeles.

Is it possible to fit more into one of our days than we have planned? Thanks for any help!

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I would say your first day is a bit ambitious if you're traveling from Anacortes that day. You'll probably only really have time to see Port Townsend and drive out to Port Angeles.

I'd combine days 3 and 5, and go to Rialto and/or Second Beach (First Beach is right at La Push and more similar to Rialto than not, whereas Second Beach gives you a nice hike down to the relatively secluded beach). I don't think seeing Kalaloch and Ruby Beach add so much to your experience (once you've seen Rialto and/or Second) that it's worth the long drive again. Spend day five seeing things you couldn't to on Day 1, like Hurricane Ridge and Dungeness Spit. However, a caveat: if you have a nice clear day anytime during your stay, THAT'S when you should go to Hurricane Ridge! You just never know if that nice day will be repeated ;-).

Do be sure to visit the museum out at Neah Bay if you have any interest in Native arts and artifacts. It's quite well done.

Continuing Sheri's point, touring the west coast of the Olympic Peninsula in late September is definitely a weather crapshoot. Are you pro-rain, I mean, REALLY pro-rain? (Remember this is one of the rainiest areas in North America.) If not, watch the weather reports like a hawk and blast off for the Pacific coast at the first hint of decent weather. The climate in PA or Sequim/Dungeness is entirely different from the coast or Hoh valley, etc., so plan accordingly. Actually, places like the Hoh valley are very atmospheric in the rain and mist, while the shore can be romantic in the wind and rain. However, my family personally finds the romance ends with wet underwear and a car parked a mile away.

Also, the last time I went up to Hurricane Ridge (about 2 months ago) we drove (slowwly) through fog and clouds the consistency of skim milk - really couldn't see a bloomin' thing, except the edge of the road/abyss - until 100 feet below the summit and lodge, then boom, into the sun, with friendly deer and distant mountains and wildflowers all over the place. There's a Park Service recorded radio report which gives conditions every few minutes.

Thanks so much for the help and the tips! I've taken your good suggestions, Sheri, especially about the coast and rearranged our day trips for better use of our mileage.
We particularly want to see that museum at Neah Bay.

Thanks for your advice too, John. We are certainly not "pro-rain" especially on a vacation! We will heed your warnings and pack umbrellas and needed raingear. We know this is a "Rain Forest" but are hoping we will luck out and get some "sunshine" too!

Thanks again to you both!

Umbrellas? If anyone sees a person under the age of 70 (a 70+ old female that is) holding an umbrella in the Pacific Northwest they KNOW that person is a tourist (and probably from California).