aussiekate

Hi all
my husband and i (from Australia) are spending a few days near Cannon beach with friends before heading to seattle for a meeting. we will leave CB one morning and need to be in seattle (Bullard) by mid afternoon the following day.
I am looking for suggestions on where to stay for the one night - is my husband's birthday and I would like somewhere near or on the ocean and then your ideas re the quickest way back to seattle the next day. Price around $150 - something nice but not extravagant.
Is it best to go via Tacoma say if we go via Olympia or up via Bremmerton and ferry - how long would it take to do the latter from Olympia?
Thanks a bunch
aussiekate

Gardyloo

When is this?

Leaving Cannon Beach in the morning and not due into Ballard the following afternoon means it would be fairly easy to come via the wonderful Olympic Peninsula west side. Look at the Lake Quinault Lodge or possibly even Kalaloch Lodge on the Olympic National Park coastal strip, or Lake Crescent or several of the places around the town of Forks. Don't miss some of the gorgeous rocky beaches - Rialto, Ruby, etc., and the Hoh Rain Forest - amazing.

If you stay between Quinault and Lake Crescent, it's around 4 hours max into Seattle (via the Bainbridge Island ferry) the following day.

Here are some links for accommodations -

http://www.nps.gov/archive/olym/lodging.htm
http://www.visitkalaloch.com/
http://www.tourismgraysharbor.com/DB...ake%20Quinault
http://www.lakecrescentlodge.com/
http://availability.olympicpeninsula.org/

aussiekate

thanks so much - it is actually July 19-20 - your suggestions sound great.
If we wanted to cut down on driving would an ok alternative be via Bremmerton and get the ferry to seattle that way (ie come via olympia) or is what you suggest so much better
I am just a bit worried if we do the longer trip we won't have any time to really do anything (not that we will have much time whatever route we take) but would be nice to be able to get out and walk a bit rather than just drive
thanks again and will check out the websites you mention
aussie kate

NWWanderer

It's only a 4 hour drive between Cannon Beach and Seattle so why not just stay the extra night in Cannon Beach? If you do want to explore the Olympic Peninsula, that's definitely a possibility even with just an overnight, but you'll definitely be in the car a lot (probably 4-5 hours of driving per day, depending on where you break up the trip--so you would have time to at least make a couple stops and take a short hike or two).

Going to Bremerton to take the ferry doesn't really make sense to me--unless you wanted to go out of your way a bit to spend the night at a place like Alderbrook out on the Hood Canal.

aussiekate

thanks for that NW Wanderer!!
For a range of reasons I think it will be easier for us to leave Cannon Beach on the 19th and I was just thinking it would be nice to take an extra day to seattle so we wouldn't be rushing - we need to be in seattle by about 4pm on the 20th
The Olympic Peninsula just seems like it might be too much driving.
I am wondering if there are any nice spots on the coast but north of Cannon Beach - say towards Aberdeen so we cut down the amount of driving on the 20th into Seattle.
I take your point re Bremmerton - just seemed like it might be a nicer trip than via Tacoma but doesn't sound worth it - will just go the most direct way
thanks again

NWWanderer

No, not really, not until you get quite a bit further north into the park as Gardyloo suggests. There are some nice spots on the Long Beach Peninsula but that's so close to Cannon Beach...and then not again until the area north of Ocean Shores (Ocean Shores itself is not a place I'd recommend, but the area around Moclips isn't bad). But you're not really saving any time if you go there--it's still going to be a 3 hour trip to Seattle.

There is Westport--but I wouldn't really recommend that either--and again, you wouldn't really be saving more than about an hour of driving time.

aussiekate

thanks again for that info
it is helpful
I guess the choice is really between teh Olympic pen as Gardyloo says or we should just try to stay an extra night in cannon beach and then drive straight through to seattle via the highway.
wish we had longer to spend - the usual story!
about how long would it take to drive from Cannon Beach to say Forks if you didn't stop along the way (we would!) but as a guide for planning?
thanks a bunch

NWWanderer

4 to 4.5 hours I'd say. And if you just want a simple place in the Forks area, try the Brightwater House--in addition to some B&B rooms, they have a cottage with a couple of housekeeping units on the road from Forks out to Rialto Beach. I've stayed there before and am going out at the end of July for a couple nights to do some hiking. Nothing fancy but it's nice. There are some nicer oceanfront cabins at the La Push resort (the new ones) but I think they are going to be more than $150.

Gardyloo

In my opinion the "direct route" - cutting over by some means to Interstate 5, then north into Seattle, suffers from a near total lack of interest.

The Olympic Peninsula rain forest valleys (of which Hoh and Quinault are the most accessible) are nearly unique in North America, and I think it would be a real shame to let the prospect of an extra hour or two in the car prevent you experiencing them.

Here are some images someone took that include the Hoh forest and Ruby Beach along US 101 on the west side of the Olympic Peninsula. Photographic talent notwithstanding, this is really what it looks like. http://www.geraldbrimacombe.com/west_coast_3.htm

aussiekate

mmmm this is very tempting - we might just have to leave early on the 19th to ensure we can fit this in
thanks again to both of you - much appreciated

suze

I'd probably just stay down at Ocean Shores, Graylands, or Westport then drive up thru Aberdeen the next day. Of just drive the entire stretch Cannon Beach to Seattle direct (it's not all that horribly far, I've easily done it in a day).