What to do for 6 night/7 day trip in August?
 

So I have figured out that we want to go to Washington State in mid to late August . . . now I am trying to figure out where to go and for how long. There are SO MANY things I want to see, but I am beginning to figure out that everything is not near each other or in a logical loop. We love beautiful hikes/wildlife type of things. I know there is Mt. Rainer, Olympic National Park, viewing of whales/orcas sometime in the year, the Cascade loop, Victoria Island, Vancouver, and the city of Seattle to boot. That is a lot and I want to do it all, but I know that it is not possible after looking at the drive times between places. What are the best things from the list above to do in a 7 day trip. We will be renting a car so we will be completely mobile. If you don't think, we need a car then let me know that too. I appreciate all help. I am a bit overwhelmed by all the wonderful things to choose to visit!

I'd rent a car and do either:

Plan A- Seattle, Mt Rainier, and the Olympic National Park.

Plan B- Seattle and the Cascade loop

I would definitely not miss out on Olympic or Rainier, as the wildflowers in the Alpine areas might still be in bloom. If I had 7 days, I would:

Drive from Seattle to north entrance of Rainier, via routes 169 & 410. Visit Sunrise, take a walk there, then the Stevens Canyon road up to Paradise for another walk, then head out of the Park on route 706.

Head over to west coast of the Olympic Peninsula on routes 101 & 8 & 12, via Olympia and Aberdeen. Drive up the coast, visiting beaches and taking a walk in the Hoh Rainforest.

Continue on route 101 to Port Angeles, then head up to Hurricane Ridge in the Natnl Park. Take another walk, then head back to P.A. to take the M.V. Coho ferry to Victoria.

After sightseeing in Victoria, do one of two things: either take the WA State ferry from Sidney, or the B.C. ferry from Swartz Bay. If you take the Sidney ferry, you could conceivably get off on one of the San Juand Islands (San Juan or Orcas would be best) before continuing on to Anacortes. If you do the latter, you will end up in Tsawwassen, just south of Vancouver.

If you end up in Tsawwassen, go sightseeing in Victoria before heading south to Seattle. If you end up in Anacortes, you can either take I-5 back to Seattle; or the much more scenic route down through Fidalgo and Whidbey Islands, before taking a ferry from Clinton to Mukilteo, and then on to Seattle.

This is do-able in 7 days, although it would not be a leisurely pace!

The alternative would be to stay in the Cascades, doing a big loop. You could do Rainier & St. Helens, as well as one of the N Cascade passes, either Stevens (Rte 2) or Washington (Rte 20). You could add the Whidbey/Fidalgo island trip to this, particularly if you are already on Rte 20. You could even go up to Vancouver too. Still, I'd vote for the first option as a more diverse route. If mountains are your main thing, then the Cascades might be the way to go.

Well shoot, I typed too fast! I meant that if you take the ferry to Tsawwassen, then you could sightsee in VANCOUVER, not Victoria.

All those places are worthwhile, but I'd do Seattle, Rainier and the San Juans-2 nights each. This gives you a great mix of city, mountain wilderness (with the hiking and wildlife you want) and sea/whales.
Save Victoria and Vancouver for another trip-you could spend your whole week in and around those places.

Thanks for the info! Right now I am working on finding some air tickets from IAH to Seattle. After we get those, then I will start on the precise itinerary and ask more questions about lodging and what not. I am so excited to visit this part of the nation!