Washington Route with Coulee Dam?
 

We're putting together our Oregon/Washington trip. Love the PNW and had a super time based in Pt. Townsend two years ago. This time we thought we would explore eastern WA a bit. We would like to travel east from Hood River to Kennewick then north through Spokane to Kettle Falls and then west on highway 20. South on 5 and back down along the Oregon coast. Can we do the above WA route in 4 days? The stop at Mukiteo and tour of Boeing sounds like a good idea picked up from an earlier post. Where should we overnight up north? Anything scenic or quaint up around the Kettle Falls or Coulee Dam area?
We always value the advice from the Fodorites! Thank you.

You can, but it will be quite a bit of time in the car, especially depending on where on the Oregon Coast you are ending up. You could easily spend the 4 days driving from Hood River to the Boeing Plant via Spokane and Hwy 20. Adding the Oregon Coast is a little ambitious.

BUT, your choice of taking Hwy 20 from eastern Wa. across the North Cascades to I-5 is terrific. Hwy 20 east of the Cascades gets hardly any tourists-just campers and hikers-and it is that lovely ponderosa pine mountain scenery. Hwy 20 across the mountains is the prettiest drive in the PNW. Don't let anyone try to talk you out of doing the North Cascades Hwy. The Methow Valley (the towns of Winthrop and Twisp) are a particularly nice place to spend some time and stay overnight. There are many short hikes and scenic backroads in the area-if you're interested, just ask. Sun Mountain Lodge in particular is a great place to stay overnight though there are many other less expensive options as well.
I wonder, is it necessary to go as far east as Spokane? I can't think of any reason to drive from Kennewick, to Spokane and then to Kettle Falls. It'll be mostly farmland. Perhaps you could save some time, and not miss anything scenic, by cutting up the middle of the state, seeing Dry Falls at Sun Lakes State Park and Steamboat Rock at Banks Lake (two of the best sights of the Ea. Wa. desert). You could get onto Hwy 20 at Omak or Republic.

I should clarify that Dry Fall and Steamboat Rock are quite close to Grand Coulee.

Christy, thanks, this is exactly the info we were looking for. Our draft itinerary, while not final, is:
Day 1: Salinas, CA to Mendocino
Day 2: Mendocino to Grant Falls
Day 3: Grant Falls to Hood River
Day 4: Hood River to ? WA
Day 5: Sun Lakes driving north, overnight?
Day 6: HWY 20 west, overnight?
Day 7: Overnight Mukiteo
Day 8: Boeing tour
Day 9: Drive south to Oregon, overnight coast town.
Day 10: Continue south and head in East at Reedport to Hwy 5.
Day 11: Overnight McCloud
Day 12: Drive through Lassen Volcanic Park
Day 13: Drive to Salinas

Actually I need to keep this to 11 days so I guess I will have to leave the Boeing stop for another time. Any help with overnights in WA is much appreciated. We like short nature hikes (1 mile or so) and lovely scenary biways. Appreciate your suggestion of heading straight north skipping Spokane. Again, thanks for the help.

I'm not sure what to suggest in terms of overnights, other than to reiterate my suggestion of staying one night in Winthrop/Mazama/Twisp at Sun Mountain or some nice B and B or lodge (http://www.methow.com/lodging.html). The Methow Valley is definitely going to have the most choices in terms of lodging and restaurants compared to other parts of Ea. Wa. Once you get east of there, there's no accomodation until you are out of the mountains and into the Skagit Valley.

I forgot to ask when you are coming. Hopefully in the summer, as all of the following recommendations might not be snow free until July:
This link:
http://www.nps.gov/noca/challenger/ch8.htm
will tell you a little about some short walks along the NC highway-you can click on the map for a better view. The Washington Pass overlook is a must-see-it’s not really a walk, mostly a rest stop with a great view. Rainy Lake is a good easy walk nearby. Ross Dam, Ladder Creek Falls and Gorge Creek overlook are other possibilities further west.
For slightly longer walks, the trail to Cutthroat Lake is very easy and scenic. Blue Lake is slightly longer, but very pretty. Here are more descriptions and directions:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/getawa...2_hike26.shtml

For a scenic, off the beaten path drive, I’d recommend the Hart’s Pass Road/Slate Peak Lookout drive near Winthrop. Warning: This is an unpaved mountain road, and though it is quite safe and driven by most types of vehicles, I would not recommend it for nervous drivers (parts are narrow and there are some steep dropoffs) or if you are driving some type of low-riding vehicle (ie a Town Car). Also, I’d stop at the visitor’s center in Winthrop and ask about road conditions. Sometimes there are washouts that close the road. Here is a bit about the lookout:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/getawa...00/hike03.html

Once you are on the west side and heading for I-5, take Hwy 530 (at Rockport) south toward Darrington, and then to Arlington at I-5. This route is shorter and much more scenic then taking 20 to I-5. It's usually faster, too, although it's a 2 lane highway and you may get stuck behind an rv.

One more thing: 3 miles east of the town of Rockport, on the west side of the mountains, is the Cascadian Farm stand. You can’t miss it. They make homemade ice cream and shakes from the organic berries they grow right there. It’s out of this world. Avoid the shortcake, though.
http://www.marblemount.com/cfarm/default.htm

Correction: I meant once you get WEST of the Methow Valley there is no lodging.

Thanks Christy, I'll get my map out and start some serious plotting this weekend. Our trip is planned mid June so hopefully the weather will cooperate. We live in Holland and will be flying to SFO and spend a few days with my mom in CA before heading north. We love north America road trips! Appreciate your input and the helpful web links.

On your trip to Grand Coulee Dam, include the scenic portion of Route 155 which stretches from the dam to Soap Lake. Our other favorite drives in Washington include:

 Route 2 between Sultan and Wenatchee.
 Route 20 (The North Cascade Highway) between Rockport and Winthrop.
 Route 153 between Winthrop and Pateros.
 Route 97 beween Zillah and Maryhill.
 Route 14 between Maryhill and Washougal