We are traveling in August for 7 nights starting in Seattle going to Vancouver then to the Olympic National Park then back to Seattle.
Should we stop at both Bellingham and Port Townsend or are those towns very similar? If only one, which one and why? We enjoy kayaking, hiking and good food.
We will be spending one night at Lake Crescent then driving to Hoh Rainforest or Quinault Rainforest on our way back to Seattle. Which one and why?
Thanks for your assistance!

If only one, definitely Port Townsend because it's really cute. Bellingham is more just a normal town/city imo. Not as unique or special.

Sorry can't help further, while I live in Seattle I've never spent time in ONP.

Lake Crescent is a beautiful place to kayak- and they have rentals there at the lodge. There is a nice waterfall hike you can do right from the lodge.

You are only spending one night so not much time to do many things. You should take the time to hike Hurricane Ridge- spectacular!

I don't have a recommendation about which rain forest to see

Bellingham is a college town beautifully situated on Puget Sound whereas Port Townsend, also on Puget Sound, is a small, quaint town with buildings historic by NW standards.

If you drive from Seattle to Vancouver, you will pass through Bellingham on your way. If you want to see the town, get off at Fairhaven--founded in the 1880s and now part of Bellingham.

Port Townsend would be a detour if you are arriving in Port Angeles from Victoria and then returning to Seattle via Lake Quinault.

While at Lake Crescent you will walk through a rain forest when you take the easy hike to Marymere Falls.

Hoh Rain Forest requires a fairly long detour in and out. We prefer the Maple Glade Nature Trail on the north shore of Lake Quinault, easily accessed from 101:
https://www.google.com/search?client...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

The historic lodge on the south shore of the lake is well worth a visit.

HTtY

My in-laws lived in the OP (Sequim) for a few years and then moved to Bellingham, so we spent a lot of time in both places. I also worked in Port Townsend for a while.

Port Townsend gets our vote. Although Bellingham is nice, we found it a bit bland (as did my in-laws, one of the reasons they moved to Oregon wine country). PT, in our opinion, is a more special and visit-worth place in almost every way.

However, I suspect you really don't have enough time in your trip to do either.

Agreeing with the last thought above. You've listed a LOT of places and a lot of driving time for only a 7 day trip.

Bellingham is the cloudiest city in America (pop. 50,000+), so why not go there just for that:


http://www.city-data.com/top2/c475.html



On the other hand, you could see (all of) the next 14 places on the list while on your trip, if you merely consent to drive around just a little bit...

Thank you all for your replies. Let me know your thoughts on this itinerary:

day 1 drive from Seattle to Vancouver - mapquest says 3 hours plus should I expect an hour at the border. Stay 2 nights.

day 3 drive to Port Townsend spend night. Wouldn't we be passing relatively close on our way from Vancouver to ONP?
day 4 drive to Lake Crescent spend two nights - kayak, hike to waterfalls, hike Hurricane Ridge, rainforest.
day 6 and 7 Seattle

If we can get to a rainforest near Lake Crescent I would be ok not continuing to Hoh unless it was so different and totally worth seeing.

Wouldn't we be passing relatively close on our way from Vancouver to ONP?

Yes, but it's on the other side of Puget Sound so you need to take a ferry to get there. If you "drive" from Vancouver to Port Townsend it would be (very) wise to have a reservation on the ferry that goes from Coupeville to PT.

We prefer to stay in Port Angeles rather than Port Townsend. Hurricane Ridge is accessed through Port Angeles.

If we can get to a rainforest near Lake Crescent I would be ok not continuing to Hoh unless it was so different and totally worth seeing.

I gave you a link to photos of a NW rain forest, which I don't find as exciting as a tropical rain forest or Spanish moss: https://www.google.com/search?q=span...w=1324&bih=934

From Crescent Lake Lodge it is two hours to the Hoh Rain Forest and two hours back. It's not worth the drive to me, but it may be for you. The forest you pass through on your way to Marymere Falls gets an average of 120 inches of rain per year.

HTtY

happytrailstoyou Thank you for your response. We will be driving the whole trip. Going from Vancouver to Port Townsend - mapquest says to take the Keystone Ferry, is that the same as the Coupeville Ferry? Wouldn't I need to take this same ferry if we were stopping at Port Townsend or going straight to Lake Crescent?

After researching your suggestion about going to Lake Quinualt, we could cut out the overnight in Port Townsend (just stop for a bit to check out the town). Get to Lake Crescent Lodge a day earlier, still spend two nights there, then drive to Lake Quinualt Lodge and spend the night there before heading back to Seattle. This way we won't be back tracking and we will get a good flavor for ONP. Doable??

Coming from Vancouver, you need to take I5 to Highway 20, which will lead you over Deception Pass Bridge and through Whidbey Island to the Keystone (used to be called Coupeville) ferry. This will take you to Port Townsend, but be aware you need reservations for this ferry...check the WSDOT website for info.

Although PT is my county seat and a lot of people really love the town, I think you could probably see all you want to see there (historic downtown, Victorians, Fort Worden and lighthouse) in a few hours. From there it is about an hour and a half to Lake Crescent. However, if you want to do Hurricane Ridge, you might want to overnight in PT because then you could get an early start and do Hurricane Ridge on the way out to Lake Crescent.

Yes, the Keystone ferry was recently renamed the Coupeville ferry. It is the ferry to take to Port Townsend, Port Angeles, Lake Crescent, etc.

I like your revised plan, and I hope you have no trouble booking rooms. It gives you the opportunity to visit Ruby Beach, Kalaloch, and Maple Glade. You will pass through Forks (of Twilight fame) and you won't be far from the La Push.

HTtY