My family and I are looking at a 9-10 day road trip from Sacramento, Ca to Vancouver B.C., starting the towards the end of June. I've been playing around on this site, which I love, but needed some more help.

First, does anyone know of a great book or books that would be handy in the trip planning process?

We're going the hotel/motel route and will try to save as munch money in that department as possible as luxury is not a priority.

We're thinking of driving up 101, cutting over to Seattle, then up to Vancouver. Then turning around and coming home via Highway 5.

Any tips, places to stop and sleep, and things not be missed would be awesome!!

First road trip in years and want to to do this right.

Thanks!!!

How long do you plan staying in Vancouver or Seattle? Do you want to visit Victoria as well? How about detours like the Columbia Gorge?

The reason for asking is that it's relatively easy to do a big loop - north on 101 all the way to the top of the Olympic Peninsula, then across to Victoria (ferry from Port Angeles) then across to the mainland for Vancouver, then south through Seattle and back to California via I-5 (or if time permits perhaps east of the Cascades via the Columbia Gorge and down to Crater Lake before rejoining I-5 in the Rogue Valley.

But it might depend on family composition, interests, etc. There's more variety in the region than you can possibly cover in 9 or 10 days - Redwoods, wild coast, rain forest, islands, mountains, great cities... so more info on your group might help in giving specific suggestions.

As for books, pretty much any decent guide of the Pacific NW will cover all the bases.

Your time is limited.

My routing would include the Redwoods (if possible), part of the Oregon Coast (at least from Florence to Cannon Beach), the Olympic National Park (Lake Quinault and Quinault Rainforest and Lake Crescent), Victoria (Butchart Gardens), Vancouver, Seattle, Mt Rainier (if possible), and then a straight shot home.

Rooms on the Oregon Coast are expensive. Plan to stay in motels that aren't on the beach. You will probably find the lowest rates in towns such as Florence (Holiday Inn) and Lincoln City.

Gardyloo, thanks for your reply and info. We're thinking since we don't have too much time for this entire trip, a day or two tops in Seattle and Victoria is all I think we can spare. We've done Seattle on a separate visit so that shouldn't be too tough. Do you recommend including Columbia Gorge?
How's the trip between Victoria and Vancouver? Long?

Any other must sees would be awesome or if you've done this trip already and want to share your itin. and places you've stayed, that would great too!!

Happytrailstoyou, thanks for the tips. Yes, we want to hit Redwood National Park on the way up, and then pretty much follow 101 all the way up to Port Angeles, then over to Victoria.
Have you done the San Juan Islands. Would love to see some Orcas if its the right time of year, which I still need to research. Any other must-sees and/or motel recommendations would be awesome! Thanks again, TB

From Victoria to Vancouver involves around a 30-min. drive to the ferry dock at Swartz Bay, then a 90-min. ferry crossing to Tsawwassen on the mainland, then another 30-40 min. drive into central Vancouver. Counting wait times and loading/offloading yoga at the various ferries, you need to book a good 3-4 hours for the whole magilla.

Frankly, looking at your itinerary, I'd strongly recommend you do it in reverse order from what you've described. There are a couple of reasons for this, including being on the ocean side of the road heading home, and the ability to book it like mad on the freeway northbound. Also if you go Victoria to Port Angeles rather than v.v. you can leave your car in the ferry queue in Victoria and then wander around the Inner Harbour while you wait for the boat, as opposed to waiting in a parking lot in PA with nothing much to do. Border crossings will be easier too as the Canada > US direction on the mainland is the scene of the greatest traffic delays. Not so with the Victoria - PA ferry entrance.

Yes, I think the Columbia Gorge is a don't miss - it's not much of a detour either.

Again, without knowing much about your family's interests, it's a bit of a crapshoot, but you might think about the following kind of itinerary.

Day 1 - Sacramento to Ashland on I-5. Maybe get tickets for a play at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival - www.oreshakes.org.

2 - to Portland on I-5 (5 hrs) and a tour of the Gorge, overnighting near Hood River.

3. Morning trip up to Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood, which is a lot of fun and (if you choose) can take the place of Mt. Rainier. (Timberline Lodge is way more impressive than Paradise Lodge in MRNP.) Afternoon to Seattle.

4. Seattle to Vancouver - Breakfast at the Pike Market, then hit the road. Dinner at some place on Granville Island in Van.

5. Vancouver to Victoria via Tsawwassen. Butchart Gardens (near the Swartz Bay dock) if you must.

6. Victoria to Port Angeles, west/south on 101 to Hoh rain forest, overnight in Ocean Shores.

7. South on 101 to Newport/Yachats on the central Oregon Coast.

8. South on 101 to Arcata/Eureka/Ferndale, stopping at one or more Redwood Groves (Founders, Avenue of the Giants etc.) Dinner at the Samoa Cookhouse in Samoa (across the bay from Eureka.)

9. Home to Sacramento. We usually cut over on SR 20 past Lakeview but it's your choice (probably want to avoid the Bay Area traffic.)

Pretty high-speed stuff, but I do think you'd find the Oregon sojurn (Ashland, Gorge, Mt. Hood) to be interesting, especially if kids are traveling. Extra days, if available could be added to Seattle, Vancouver, Victoria or the southern Oregon/N. California coastal areas.

Oops - typo alert! www.orshakes.org

It should be pointed out that 101 in WA isn't very scenic (lots of clearcuts) and only skirts the edges of Olympic National Park. You'll have to detour off 101 onto park roads to get to the amazing places in that park, which you absolutely should do (go to the Hoh Rainforest and Hurricane Ridge). 101 does go to Kalaloch, on the coast, which is lovely.

Man..thanks a ton Gardyloo!! That is huge. And when it's all layed out like that, it looks like a lot in 9 days. I might need to talk to the boss about a few more days off

Thanks again!!!

Thanks Christy1,

I'm still researching Washington's 101 stretch. I'm afraid I might be stuck doing it as it includes Forks, and my wife is a huge Twilight fan

The clearcuts along 101 in WA are no worse than those visible along stretches of 101 in Oregon, and I'll trade one of them for Lincoln City (OR) any day. Like any road trip, this one has its high and low points.

Sounds good