Hi all, what is your take? If I have one week & I am most interested in mountain vistas, short-mid range hikes, what would you recommend? Go to Fresno & visit Kings Canyon/Sequoia or to Seattle & off to Mt. Rainer/N. Cascade/Olympic...

Thanks in advance.

Been there; done both. If you have been to Yosemite, I recommend Mt Rainer/N Cascade. If you have not been to Yosemite, consider including it in your Sequoia plans. Without Yosemite, I would choose Mt Rainer/N Cascades in a heartbeat.

http://www2.nature.nps.gov/air/WebCa...am/moracam.cfm

I will second lucian688 suggestion.

I think Rainer and the NC are more spectacular, but I know that's subjective. NC will have far fewer visitors than any of these other parks you mentioned in August, which is nice. If you are most interested in mountain visits you could skip Olympic entirely-the park is wonderful for its diversity (rainforests, ocean beaches and mountains) but the mountains aren't as spectacular as the other two Washington parks. In fact, if mountains are indeed the best part for you, I'd go to Artist's Point/Heather Meadows near Mt. Baker, just west of NC National Park, as well as NC and Rainier. The scenery is spectacular just from the parking lot, and even a short easy hike is breathtaking, without the usual national park crowds. Google images for this place to whet your appetite.

Here-I found a site quite quickly that shows you the Artist's Point area:
http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/g...MtBaker-l.html

My recollection of Kings Canyon is that the walking starts low on the valley floor. While there is one beautiful overlook in Sequoia, most of the hiking in the trees is without vistas. You get better views in the Northwest mountains.

The Sierras were my first love, mountain-wise (have hiked the whole John Muir Trail). But from the Fresno side you woun't get any real mountain vistas without a lot of strenuous hiking. I live in the Northwest now, and I have to agree that here you can enjoy incredible mountain views with very little work. Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker are two of my favorite hiking places, and would be excellent choices for August. Would you stay in town, camp in the mountains, or stay in lodges? It's a long drive (3 hours or more) to Artist Point from Seattle; two hours to Paradise on Mt. Rainier.

Tough call! Kings Canyon would be 1st on my list, then Mt Rainer, then Sequoia.

And if, as suggested, you can add Yosemite, it would be 2nd behind Kings Canyon.