Pacific NW in July
 

HI Everyone. This is my first ever forum post. My husband and I will be flying to Seattle in July and need some advice. Our itinerary is this:
Seattle --2 nights (Saturday and Sunday)
Port Townsend--2 nights (Monday and Tuesday)
Lake Crescent Lodge --2 nights (Wed. and Thurs.)

One of my questions is this--We will leave Lake Crescent Friday morning and will fly out of Sea-Tac Saturday around 1pm. Where would be a good place to stay Friday night?

I am also open to suggestions re restaurants with a view, routes to take, things to see, etc. We plan to avoid the ferries due to what I have read about summer traffic, etc.
I appreciate any feedback!!

Well, how early are you willing to get up on the day you leave? If you don't mind getting an early morning start, you could see if Lake Quinault Lodge has room on Friday night and see a different part of the peninsula. But it's going to be about a 3.5 hour drive from there so you'd need to leave by 7:30 AM or so to get to the airport by 11 AM (two hours before your flight).

Another possibility if you'd like a bit of a splurge for your last night would be Alderwood Lodge on Hood Canal--from Lk Crescent you could drive down Rt. 101 along the western shore of Hood Canal and do a couple good hikes (if you're into hiking). That's probably 2-2.5 hours from Seatac, driving around.

No need to avoid the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge on a Monday to get to Port Townsend. If it were a Friday afternoon or a Saturday morning, that would be a different story--but on a Monday morning you should be able to line up 30 minutes before the sailing time you want and be fine. And it's such a unique, northwest-y way to travel, it would be a shame to avoid them, IMO.

Hmm, restaurants with a view--none of my top favorites happen to have views, either here or out on the peninsula--but Ray's Boathouse or Anthony's Pier 66 would both be decent choices for good seafood with a view here in Seattle. The restaurant at Lk Crescent does have a nice view but the food is just ok. In Port Angeles, I really like Bella Italia and in Port Townsend, the place that used to be Lonny's (can't think of the new name but anyone in town could tell you).

The Six Seven at the Hotel Edgewater has amazing views from the inside dining room and the small outdoor patio. We had some really good calamari appetizers there. :)

Salty's on Alki Beach also has gorgeous views of Seattle from their back patio. There is an outdoor fireplace if the weather is chilly. ***kim*** ((#))

My suggestion would be to head down 101 along the Hood Canal - a very scenic drive. You could then spend Friday night in Olympia, which is (of course) the state Capitol and an interesting and attractive town.

The drive from Olympia to Seatac shouldn't take more than a couple of hours on Saturday morning.

Thanks everyone for your feedback. Is it general consensus that the ferry to Bainbridge on a Monday morning in July will not be swamped with tourists, as NWWanderer suggests?

Ferry TO Bainbridge on a Monday morning? Empty. Ferry FROM Bainbridge on a Monday morning? Slammed.

I agree with Gardyloo. I read through the post and absolutely, the ferries are a wonderful way to go. However, the Bainbridge ferry (BI to Seattle run) is packed and overloaded frequently on Monday mornings. I think that a lot of tourists have begun staying over on Sunday night in hopes of avoiding long lines on Sunday evening. However, the lines on Monday often back up for miles on Highway 305. If you have time to hang out in your car and read a book this is not too rough, but if you have to catch a flight it can be incredibly stressful.

My choices for the Friday night would be Seattle or Lake Crescent Lodge.

IMHO, two nights in Port Townsend is too many.

May I suggest: Seattle (Sat-Sun), Lake Quinault Lodge (Mon), Lake Crescent Lodge (Tue-Wed), Port Townsend (Thu), Seattle (Fri).

Actually, I'd agree with happytrails about one night in PT being enough--but I was assuming you had your reasons for wanting to stay 2 nights there.

In any event, I hope the talk about taking the ferry TO Seattle on a Monday morning hasn't confused you--taking a ferry FROM Seattle to Bainbridge will not be an issue.

Thanks for the info on the Bainbridge ferry. We will definitely do that now. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.