gge

Hello all! My husband and I are planning a 2 week trip in mid-October in Washington/Oregon State. We intend to land in Seattle and travel from there toward Portland for our return flight. We will be travelling with our 9 months old baby girl and would like to hike in one of the National Park maybe both(?). I am wondering which one is the best. We prefer our hikes to be moderate to difficult (mind you, with the baby, we'll stick to the moderate ones). Because travelling with a baby requires so much stuff (!!!) we will have a car and would prefer to have a lodge/hotel/airbnb in a satellite town which allows us to have 3 or 4 day trip from there. To give you and idea, here would be our itineary :
Seattle (3 days)
OPN (which satellite town?) or Rainier (4 days)
Not quite sure (3 days)
Portland/ wineries ( 4 days)
So what are your thoughts about Rainier VS OPN with a baby? THANK YOU SO MUCH

Gardyloo

By mid-October there's a better-than-even chance that the higher elevation areas at Mt. Rainier will have snow on the ground. At a minimum, you'll be into conditions in which clouds and rain or snow will be a daily factor; you can't do much on Rainier if it's 40 degrees, raining, and socked in.

The Olympic peninsula offers much more variety, so you can plan activities in real time. If conditions permit, you can run up to Hurricane Ridge and so some short walks in that scenic area. Or if the mountains are socked in, you can head to the Pacific coastal strip and walk in the amazing Hoh rain forest valley, or visit one or two of the wonderful beaches near La Push or farther south. Or you can take a day and cross over to Victoria BC from Port Angeles. The point being, you can change things in short order depending on the conditions you experience.

While the area has been impacted by fires over the past couple of weeks, by October the Columbia River Gorge and Hood River Valley/Mt. Hood region is likely to be back to something like normal (not the burnt areas of course, but those aren't in key tourist zones.) Mid-October is fabulous in the Gorge area - orchards and vineyards in the Hood River Valley in full harvest mode; the waterfalls along the Gorge walls will have decent flow from the autumn rains, there will be good fall color here and there, you can hike on Mt. Hood or in the Hood forest, visit the cool Maryhill Museum and Stonehenge replica out at Marysville (more excellent wineries nearby) and so on.

Look at an overall route something like this - https://goo.gl/maps/QrCBaJqiAZC2 .

From Seattle do a counterclockwise loop around the Olympic Peninsula, then down to the mouth of the Columbia River at Cape Disappointment. Follow the river upstream through Portland and on to the Columbia River Gorge and Hood River as your base for this part of the trip. Return to Portland via Mt. Hood, then do day trips into the Willamette Valley wine country from Portland (or stay in McMinnville, closer to the wineries.)

gge

Thank you for your reply! I was so focus on Mount Rainier that I never thought of stoping along the Columbia River. It is a great idea and alternative. How long would you recommend staying in Mount Hood/Columbia River to explore? Do you have recommandation for quaint little towns to base ourselves? As for Portland vs McMinnville, is Portland worth the trip? We don't do much museums, we like to just stroll around, stop for coffee, have beer/wine, etc. We are gonna flight outta there, but wondering if we should put aside some time to visit as well. Once again, really appreciate your input!

happytrailstoyou

Port Angeles is where we stay when we visit ONP. We stay at the Red Lion with a room that faces the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Hood River is a pleasing town on the Columbia River. We stay at BW Hood River Inn in a room that faces the Columbia River.

Seaside and Cannon Beach are good places to stay on the Oregon coast. Seaside has more reasonably priced lodging. In Seaside we stay at Rivertide Suites.

Portland is a very pleasing town with interesting neighborhoods for strolling and great food, wine, beer, and coffee scenes. We have not stayed in Portland recently.

HTtY