Washington state parks in mid-March
 

My family and I - two kids aged 13 and 16 - are headed to Seattle in mid-march for 10 days. We want to go to some parks while there and hike and snowshoe plus see some of the coast.

Will have a car and considering Northern Cascades and Olympic plus San Juan islands. However, this seems like a lot to fit in.

Suggestions please!

I would drop one of your 3 destinations and spend more time in the other 2. Personally I would not take a boat in March.
You could snowshoe in Mount Rainier NP or even Mt. St. Helens.
Do you or your family have experience snowshoeing?

I'm not sure that the highway into the North Cascades will be open in March. March is still blustery and wet in this part of the country. And we got a lot of snow this year. Note that the San Juan's get less rain than the mainland, as they are in the rain shadow.

you know, maybe consider somewhere on the east side and the gorge. Or spend your whole time in ONP area. March is pretty likely to be nasty near Seattle and it's not a time I enjoy in the cascades. So I'd head where rain is less likely. Trails tend to be a mess.

Snowshoeing is a possibility but I don't think I've been that late, so I don't know about conditions. However- this year might be different given the amount of snow we've gotten.

Snowshoeing with a ranger-
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/m...telprdb5403349

I have been snowshoeing but the rest of my family hasn't.

Thanks for the good advice re: the North Cascades -- we've crossed that off our list for this trip.

What about a side trip to Vancouver?

<Northern Cascades and Olympic plus San Juan>
You are correct in thinking this is too much for a 10 day trip.

<What about a side trip to Vancouver?>
If you mean Seattle, ONP, San Juans, and adding Vancouver... again that's too much for 10 days.

Generally speaking March is a little early in the year weather-wise to be comfortably spending a lot of time outdoors.

What about something like Seattle, Whidbey Island, Victoria, Vancouver?

You could do a whistler-Vancouver-Victoria trip. Whistler has probably the best chance of snowshoeing at that point.

Assuming you're renting a car rather than bringing your own, be aware that the rental car companies don't permit the use of snow chains, and the national parks (Rainier and Hurricane Ridge in Olympic NP) require that you have them. Catch 22.

Snowshoeing in the kind of snow you're likely to encounter in March ("Cascade concrete") is very difficult. You might think about a day trip to one of the ski areas instead. Look at Crystal Mountain - https://crystalmountainresort.com/ - which has accommodations nearby, and, if the weather's decent, a spectacular view of Mount Rainier from the gondola and restaurant.

Otherwise, I'd probably forego the snow and focus on lowland activities instead - waterfalls, islands, etc. March is usually quite wet around here, and <i>when</i> in March is critical. Early March is still winter (and this has been a very snowy winter so far) while by late March you've got fields of daffodils in the Skagit Valley, spectacular spring tides running through Deception Pass, scary volumes of water going over Snoqualmie Falls, and lots more to see.

Is your destination (Seattle) optional or are you coming for another purpose besides tourism? If it is optional, or if you could split the time, consider looking at the Columbia River Gorge east of Portland instead of or in addition to Seattle. The Gorge is terrific then - waterfalls galore, skiing or snow sports on Mount Hood, orchards in bloom in the Hood River Valley, and easy access to dry sagebrush country with cool hikes etc. just east of Hood River. It's also very convenient to Portland (you could take the train or drive from Seattle, around 4 hours to Hood River.)