Seattle to San Francisco 3 weeks
 

Hello Everyone,
My daughter and I will be flying into Seattle August 19th and have 3 wonderful weeks to visit the Pacific coast. We are planning to travel to Friday Harbor , Olympic National Park, and then over to the coast . We fly out of San Francisco Sept 10th. I would love suggestions for places we shouldn't miss. There are so many to choose from so I'm still fine tuning our "flexible" agenda. We are traveling from Maryland and have been very fortunate to visit many states but the whole Pacific coast will be new for us !!
Thank you all in advance !

Having visited Seattle and San Fran last year here is what I suggest. In Seattle, the pike place market area is the place to stay, (We stayed at Crown Plaza) so much happening and so many choices for food. You can get to Mt. Helens and Olympic national park in a few hours. Both great day trips from Seattle. The French bakery in pike place had the BEST Croisants I have ever had. The chocolate almond one was unbelievable. The very first ever Starbucks is on the corner. San fran is my absolutely favorite place to visit. From Alcatraz , to the cable cars, the pier there isn't anything better. We stayed in the pier district and found it just perfect, ( we stayed at Sheraton long wharf) We found this Great restaurant near Chinatown called Mamas and was absolutely the best food and my kids wanted to go everyday for breakfast or lunch. Golden gate park and walk across the bridge are also a must. The presidio was fantastic as well. Next take a drive across the Big sur coast. It is NOT to me missed. Of time allows you should miss trying to see Yosemitee National,park. We spent almost a week there as well. You can't go wrong with anything along the west coast as all so very scenic. Sounds like a great trip. In Seattle if you get the chance, take the ferry to Bainbridge island or even to Vancouver. In San Francisco, you can take a bus or ferry to Montery and you have to see the redwood forest, I can urge you enough to try and see Yosemitee. It is well Worth it.
Hope this helps, and have fun!

With 3 weeks you have the time to return the car back to Seattle to avoid the drop fee.
It is about 420 miles from San Francisco to Crater Lake NP. At least see the lake even if you can't get lodging there.
Leaving Crater Lake NP via the north entrance you have several choices on how to get back to Seattle.
1. Rt. 138 west down the Umpqua River to Roseburg then north on I-5
2. Rt. 138 east to US 97 and north through Bend, Madras and Hood River.
3. Rt 138 east to US 97 and north through Chemult and then west on Rt. 58 to I-5 near Eugene. If you take this route you can stop at Salt Creek Falls which is Oregon's second highest. The good thing about Salt Creek is that you walk to the top of the falls and look down.
The SEA airport is south of the city along I-5 so you don't have to go through the city again to return the car.
I'm hoping you have not bought a non-refundable ticket out of SFO locking yourself into a drop off fee for the car.

Before I even opened your thread -- just from the title I <i>knew</i> there would be suggestions to avoid a drop off fee and to visit Crater Lake.

Why do a round trip to avoid a <i>possible</i> drop off fee when the extra gas to drive all the way back to Seattle would likely cost just as much?

Three weeks is a lovely amount of time and I'd probably divide it up something like 2 or 3 days in Seattle, maybe 2-3 days for Olympia NP/the WA coast, 4 days along the Oregon coast, 2 days in the Redwoods on the norther CA coast, 2 days in Mendocino, 3 days for Sonoma County (wineries/vineyards/beautiful coastal scenery), 4 days in SF.

I must disagree with Holly1226: ONP is not a day trip from Seattle UNLESS you want to travel for three hours each way by car and ferry to visit only Hurricane Ridge. To do it justice, ONP requires a minimum of two days...there are three distinct ecosystems: mountains, beaches, and rain forests, and they are separated by many miles of boring two-lane roads from which no part of the park can be seen.

http://www.nps.gov/OLYM/planyourvisit/index.htm

Thank you so much everyone !! Especially for the detailed directions and suggestions for places to stay and eat ! holly I really appreciate the ideas for Chinatown, and San Fran ( I cannot wait !!)
Tom , I have seriously been thinking about a way to incorporate Crater Lake into the journey, and doing the return flight out of Seattle (I think you guys have definitely convinced me on that one !
Janisj, Your itinerary suggestions are perfect ! I have made a reservation to stay at Heceta Head Lighthouse, (that's all so far ) looked like a very cool surprise for my daughter. Esp with the sea lion caves nearby. She and I both love everything to do with the coast,,ocean,tide pools, etc..
Bob, we love the National Parks and cant imagine not spending at least a couple of days and would also like to stay in one the lodges any recommendations ?
Thank you all again !
Wendy

Disagree with Holly that you can take a ferry from San Francisco to Monterey.

I think you will enjoy staying at Heceta Head. Have stayed there in the past. Have an amazing breakfast in the am. It's fun to take a flashlight and walk up to the lighthouse at night. In Florence check out the Restobar restaurant for casual dining or the Waterfront Depot- might need a reservation for dinner.

There is much to see between Florence and Lincoln City. In Newport, you can see the sea lions in Old Town- they lay all over the docks. However, some years they disappear so no guarantees.

Just south of Florence, you might try a dune buggy ride- very fun in my opinion..
Or a horseback ride on the beach just north of town.

Sounds like a great trip

If you want to see all those places along the coast, Crater Lake just doesn't fit. But definitely not as a detour on a mad dash back up to Seattle. If Crater Lake becomes 'must' you'll have to incorporate it into your route south. It is very pretty, but it is a looooong detour from anywhere else you'll be.

And not to be snarky (but why stop now ;) ) I'd be leery of advice that includes a ferry to Monterey . . . There ain't such a thing.

I just consulted the all-knowing interwebs Expxxxa gods regarding the cost differential between a one-way car rental from Seattle to SF for the OP's travel dates, vs. 2 10-day round trips, one from Seattle and the other from SFO. Bottom line, no difference.

I would basically reiterate janisj's itinerary with one or two minor changes. After from a day or two on the northwest corner of the Olympic peninsula in order to see the Hoh rain forest and visit one of the stunning Olympic National Park beaches near La Push - Rialto Beach would be my choice - I'd return inland to spend at least a day or two in the Columbia Gorge area just east of Portland.

This is a compact region offering an amazing array of things to see - vistas of the Gorge itself, waterfalls, windsurfers on the Columbia at Hood River, Herman the Sturgeon at the Bonneville hatchery, then the incomparable Hood River Valley and Mount Hood. The valley - miles of orchards - will probably be getting close to harvest time, and at the south end of the valley Mt. Hood looms over all. Drive up to Timberline Lodge, a wonderful 1930s relic.

Then head out to the coast, hitting it around Newport or Yachats, then south to Heceta Head and the gorgeous southern extreme of the Oregon coast, followed immediately by the redwoods, which will most likely leave you gobsmacked.

But I'd also be inclined at that time of year to consider staying a bit longer in Oregon in order to visit the Willamette Valley vineyard areas to the west of Salem (McMinnville is the epicenter) which also might be in harvest mode, or getting close to it. This is a lovely area much more low-key than its more famous Napa/Sonoma counterpart farther south, also way cheaper.

I just returned from a weekend in Seattle. Highlight of the trip was the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island. We had a car and took the car ferry over and spent the afternoon in the idyllic gardens and driving about the island. Magical.

For San Francisco area I would suggest:
Wine country trip -- Yountville and Healdsburg are my favorite little towns.
SF is foodie heaven, so some lovely meals out would top my list.

did the coast road drive once...it's gorgious and 3 weeks sounds great. you have a lot of good suggestions above. if you want to do yosemite, check first if you can get any accommodations. likely too late unless you get a cancellation. also, i do recommend spending a few nights south of san fransisco unless you think you may be able to return to explore southern california. stay in monterey/carmel/big sur area. again, recommend making reservations as soon as you know your dates. don't forget the long weekend at the start of september...depending where you are, things will get booked up.

Thank you so much everyone for the great advice !
We have made a few reservations after deciding on the advice of some ..to fly into/out of Seattle. After a couple days in Seattle I would like to do a whale watching excursion out of Friday harbor. From what I can tell we drive from Seattle to anacortes and then ferry over to
Friday Harbor.Stay the night and tour the next morning.

Question ?? I would like to then take a ferry to port angeles and then head into
Olympic natl park ..Is that possible ?
Also we have passports but I'm wondering if taking a rental car into Canada is a pain in the behind if we decide to detour over to Victoria first ?

After a couple of days exploring the park its off to the coast with many stops along to San Francisco and back up staying over in Crater Lake !
Since I had to mull over my decision so long I added 2 more days to our trip ( for good measure ) :)

Sorry to be so remiss in replying. There is no ferry to Port Angeles other than the Coho, which runs between PA and Victoria, BC. Rental car to Victoria is a non-event as I understand from other posts...I have never tried it. Best to ask the rental agency.

Washington State Ferries (www.takeaferry.com) does have a run between Friday Harbor and Victoria...good whale watching out of Victoria.

Insofar as the lodges are concerned, there is the Lake Crescent Lodge and the Lake Quinault Lodge. Google for details.

https://goo.gl/maps/TGcLJ Zoom in and out to your heart's content.