Hi all,
We are landing in Seattle for a 10 day trip and have a week reserved in Port Townsend to explore the Olympic Penninsula mid August. We are arriving in the afternoon and need 3 nights lodging before our checkin. My thoughts are either the San Juans or Mt Raineer/Mt St.Helens area. We love to hike and my father-in-law is a wildlife photographer. Any advice or suggestions as to what would be doable.
Thanks...Barb

For starters I can tell you that Port Townsend is not a good base for exploring the Olympic Penninsula--you would be much better off in Squim, Port Angeles, or at my favorite, Crescent Lake Lodge.

Port Townsend (gate way to Hurricane Ridge) is 47 miles from Port Angeles, a route which includes a slow 25-mile round trip from Highway 101 to Port Townsend.

Sorry, it is from Port Angeles that one takes the road to Hurricane Ridge.

Agree with Happy Trails - I live near Port Townsend and it's not a convenient location for seeing the rest of the Olympic Peninsula. I would spend a couple of days max in PT, then somewhere in the Lake Crescent area (Log Cabin Resort is another good option there), then maybe Forks for the Hoh Rain Forest and beaches, then down to Lake Quinault before heading back to Seattle.

As to your three pre-Olympic Peninsula days, your ideas are fine although this is the peak season for the San Juans and reservations may be hard to get. What about Seattle itself? Easily good for a three-day stay. There's a lot of opportunity for hiking, canoeing and other outdoor activities within the city itself.

I agree with the previous posters--if you're going to stay for a week and you love to hike, then you want to be further out on the peninsula. And dividing your time between the northern part and the SW part is a good idea as well.

I'd go with the San Juans over Mt Rainier/Mt St Helens for a 3 day stay but as the PP said, it might be tough finding space. And you don't want to go TO the islands on a Friday or come back on a Sunday.

My lodging in Port Townsend is the Kala Point Village(timeshare) so would be hard to change. The other timeshares are in Ocean Shores..would that be better??? I was thinking of maybe taking the whalewatching trip which is all day with a stop at one of the San Juans. Our checkin is Friday so the days that we need lodging are Tues, Wed, Thurs. Would there be enough to see from Port Townsend for a week in the northern part of the Olympic Penn. and maybe the 3 days before that I should find lodging in the southern area?

Thanks Barb

No, Ocean Shores would not be better (same issue as Port Townsend but from the other direction, and even further), but if you can split the week between the two places, then that would be a good solution.

Agree with NWWanderer; Ocean Shores is no better as a base for the Olympic Peninsula. One suggestion would be to spend your first three days (Tues, Wed, Thurs) making your way around the Peninsula in a clockwise direction - starting near Ocean Shores, then spending time at Lake Quinault, Ruby Beach and the Hoh. You could even make your way up to Neah Bay. Then proceed to Port Townsend for your week there. You can certainly make day trips back to the Sequim, Port Angeles, Lake Crescent and Hurricane Ridge areas from PT; I do this all the time. You could even take the fast ferry from PA over to Victoria BC for a day. The rest of your time in Port Townsend could be spent seeing PT itself (lots of old Victorians and interesting shops), and taking daytrips on the PT-Keystone ferry over to Whidbey Island, for places like Langley, Coupeville, and Deception Pass State Park. To be honest, the Olympic Peninsula is huge, and there's probably no single place that's ideal as a base to explore the whole area.

I recommend a day at Mount Ranier. The water falls and hikes from Paradise Lodge are beautiful. Both National Lodges are interesting places to visit. I recommend taking your lunch. A picnic in the park is superior to any of the restaurant options.