jand

We (family of 4) will be spending 5 days in Seattle this Aug and then plan to drive to Portland to visit family. What are the scenic spots along the drive? Is there any national park or such along the route where we can stop?

Thanks

Gardyloo

By the freeway, it's around 3 1/2 hrs. center to center, and IMO surpassingly boring.

You can easily detour off the road to Mt. St. Helens, which is probably the most convenient excursion to I-5. The road up to the Johnston Ridge visitor's center is 45 min - 1 hr from the freeway, and worth it; i.e., it adds around 2 hours + sightseeing to the trip.

gocats2002

Agree with Gardyloo that Mt. St. Helens is the place to go along the way, but think you should allow the entire day, leaving by 9 AM, and expecting to reach Portland between 7 and 9 PM. You can do it faster, but you would miss a lot.

The exit off I-5 at Cougar is about 2 hours from Seattle, 1 hour from Portland.
There are 3 National Park visitors centers on the way up, each well-worth visiting and with a different theme. (Not to be confused for the commercial center just as you exit and the County center part way up, both of which I would pass on. Weyerhauser also has a center on the reforestation and I hear it is good, though we haven't gone.)
The first visitors center is well marked and within a few miles in from the exit. You pay a small fee there, pick up a guide (very important) and get a wonderful introduction to the events that led to the explosion, as well as a perspective on this explosion compared to others, and what a volcano is. They have an excellent (not to be missed) slide presentation as well as 3d displays, including a volcano you can walk through.

The second center is part way up and is on the regrowth of life in the area. It has talking statues and a wonderful trail.

After leaving there, as you head towards Johnston Ridge, you will pass a newly formed lake, Spirit Lake. This is a wonderful spot for a picnic and you will be ready for one by the time you reach it. It has tables and lovely trails along the waters edge.

Johnston Ridge is the last visitors center with the best view of the crater. It has exhibits on the geology/detection of earthquakes/volcanos and a fantastic movie - again not to be missed. Also great paths with wonderful ghostly views.

Please allow enough time to get the most of this unusual mountain experience. Allow time to see the slide presentations and films, to walk the trails, to see the displays. It is a national treasure (literally a national monument).

SaraLM

I agree Mt. St. Helens is fabulous. The Weyehouser center is good too. It can easily take a day if you like to take lots of time. The centers are good for all ages. A picnic is a good idea, there aren't very many places to eat along the way.

I think Mt. Rainier is off I-5 between the two cities but I think it is further off the freeway.

mlc

I live in Olympia, 60 miles south of Seattle,and can tell you there aren't many scenic spots between Seattle and Portland. I agree with the posts above about Mt. St. Helens. It's an amazing place to visit. You'll head easton Highway 504 from Castle Rock off I-5 and will have many visitor centers to visit, the last one on Johnston Ridge being the coolest due to its proximity to the mountain. Don't miss the movie there and the surprise that awaits you at the end of it. I also love seeing the mountain from the east side at Windy Ridge head east on highway 512 off I-5 to Randle, then south at the sign). It gives you a whole different perspective - more of the blast zone (trees knocked down flat, still laying where they fell). Just did a great 12 mile roundtrip day hike there last Sunday that took us right onto the flank of the mountian. But it's difficult to do both in one day (although people do). The two main visitor centers on Mt. Rainier are about a 1 1/2 hour drive east off I-5.

jimshep

Hi, The drive on I-5 from Seattle to Portland is not all that beautiful. The main attraction is Mount St. Helens, but I made this trip recently and it is DEFINITEY a 4-hour detour--minimum.

We like to stop in Olympia and have lunch on the water at Anthony's Restaurant. There's a nice park nearby for a stroll.

Jim

gocats2002

I misidentified the exit for Mt. St. Helens in my previous message. The exit is for Castle Rock and not Cougar, to get to the main visitors center and drive to the Johnston Ridge Observatory. Sorry about that!

And another good stop to break the otherwise dreary drive is at exit 68 for the pies at Spiffy's.