Washington state itinerary
 

Please critique the following itinerary for a trip to Washington, arriving at night on Sept 17 and departing early morning on the 28th:
Sept 17: Spend night at airport hotel
Sept 18: Pick up rental car and head to Mt. Rainier. Stay 2 nights in or near Park
Sept 20 Lake Quinault Lodge overnight
Sept. 21 Lake Crescent Lodge overnight
Sept 22 Whidbey Island via Port Townsend
Sept 23, 24 San Juan Islands via Anacortes
Sept 25 North Cascade Highway (stay Winthrop)
Sept 26 To Leavenworth, spend night and head to SEATAC hotel for night of Sept 27

I feel like we are biting off too much: don't mind dropping the North Cascade Hwy. Is there a better way to get from Anacortes to Leavenworth?
All suggestions welcomed.

Well, it would be useful to know what you're planning do to and see in these various locations. Top of the head, you've allocated too few days/nights for Olympic National Park.

I am not personally a fan of Leavenworth (at all) but I get the draw for some people. In any event, I'd probably drop the North Cascades plan, reallocate that day to the Olympic peninsula (thus bumping everything down one day) and then drive to Leavenworth via US 2. I'd then return to Seattle via I-90. This southern "Cascade loop" will still afford you plenty of mountain scenery. Map of the (amended) route - https://goo.gl/maps/hDza4ArKR3YxVa9Q9

Our interest in Leavenworth had to do with the route through Stevens Pass and the availability of wine tastings in the area.
In MRNP we wanted to see/hike Grove of the Patriarchs and Paradise Valley, as well as Sunrise.
For ONP we were mainly interested in the rainforest tour and sunset lake tour (Lake Quinault) and the Lodge has availability on the night of the 20th. Unfortunately, it looks like Lake Crescent Lodge doesn't have availability on the 21st, but does on the 22nd. Perhaps as Hurricane Ridge is the area we are interested in "hiking," staying a night closer to that area would make the most sense, but would the drive from Lake Q Lodge to the Hurricane Ridge area make sense?
Thanks for your help and suggestions.

It is busy, but definitely doable. I would get lodging booked in Ashford though, for Mt Rainier. That is a beautiful time with fall foliage, so it gets busy. Your time in ONP is limited, but fine as long as you know you are't going to see everything. Definitely make a reservation for the ferry from Port Townsend to Whidbey. That one fills up often, so you definitely want a reservation. I would absolutely keep the North Cascades. This area in the fall is drop dead gorgeous! Honestly, if this were my trip, I would stop the San Juans (just not my thing, so a personal preference is all) and add time for this area. Leavenworth is wonderful, especially the surrounding area and the wineries like you mention. It has changed so much in the last few years and is not nearly as touristy/tacky as it once was. Good restaurants/breweries have opened as have nice shops, and the surrounding area is stunning. Definitely try to hit Eagle Creek Winery, or at least their tasting room in town if you can't make it to the winery (literally 5 minutes out of town). The drive through Steven's Pass is really pretty in the fall and I never tire of it, which is a good thing as we do it often since we live right by it, lol.

Like mms says, it's all about personal preferences. Any way you cut it, including Mount Rainier, the west coast of Olympic National Park, the San Juans and one form or another of a "Cascade loop" in one week is a VERY tall order. As long as you recognize that you're pretty much going to be in the car the whole time, it's doable.

Leaving the Leavenworth question aside, I do wonder if you might have a look at some options on Whidbey as acceptable substitutes for the San Juans. Look at lodging options around Coupeville for example, then if you really want to see the San Juans, just go as foot passengers on a day trip from Anacortes to Friday Harbor, then back that night. That could free up a day that you could well use to deploy elsewhere. Otherwise I'd caution that your schedule could be a bit "brittle," in that unforeseen delays (or a desire to spend more than "windshield" time in places) could have a domino effect on a tightly-planned schedule. And be aware of potentially long (4+ hour) delays around Lake Crescent due to road reconstruction. These were discontinued for the summer but are being reinstated as of next Monday. https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/travel/cons...on-graysharbor

Yes it can be done if you just want to have a "drive by" of the highlights of WA state. But I would carefully map it out and make sure you are OK with so much time in the car. And not much time in any one place.

The rest (choice of destination) is personal preferences. I love it over North Cascades way, so would keep that but drop ONP. Most would say just the opposite. I like Whidbey Island and it's closer & easier than one of the San Juans. Again others would disagree.