irishswampyankee

Here I am again. We will be arriving at SEA about noon on Sat, 9/12. Had thought about getting a ferry to Orcas after that but would be worried about plane being late, etc. So, I think we will stay over Sat night somewhere, depending or where we get the ferry. We will spend 2 nights, Sun & Mon, in Orcas Island and then drive from the ferry terminal to Mt. Rainier on Tues if you all think that is doable. Which ferry terminal(s) should we use going and coming? I find the website confusing, esp not knowing the area.

Also, what is the Whistlin' Jack Lodge like in Chinook Pass? We would only be there 1 night. It gets good reviews on Trip Advisor.

Thanks,
isy

lennyba

The San Juan ferry leaves from Anacortes, which is a couple of hours north of Seattle.

PamSF

I recommend staying overnite in Seattle. There are some great things to see and do in Seattle. Otherwise, you could drive straight through to Anacortes and stay the night there. Depending on the dates of your travel, the ferry lines can be long at Anacortes. It might be nice to be right there and simply get up and roll on down to the waiting line for the ferry. Ferry lines do decrease after Labor Day here(First Monday in September).

NWWanderer

The lines on Saturday late afternoon/early evening are usually not bad, especially by September, so I'd plan to just head up to Anacortes after you get in, and get the next ferry that you can to Orcas. There are ferries going every few hours throughout the late afternoon and evening. It's about a 2 hour trip from Seatac to Anacortes and if you are stopping at all on the way and trying to time your arrival, plan on getting to the terminal about 60-90 minutes before the ferry you want to catch.

That would be my preference because while it will be a long travel day, you're THERE when you wake up on Sunday, KWIM?

But if you'd rather stop over somewhere, Whidbey Island might be a good choice...if you're a foodie, the Inn at Langley has a great restaurant focusing on locally produced foods.

nukesafe

Here is the Washington State Ferry site:

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/

This will give you all the information you need. The Summer rush will be pretty much over, so there should not be a need to make reservations. Be aware that you will be on the Summer schedule, still, as the Fall schedule does not kick in until September 26th.

You will love Orcas Island! If you are interested in the Arts, and since you will have two nights on the island, I'd suggest you make an appointment to see the Lambiel Museum.

http://www.lambielmuseum.com/

It is a privately owned museum, run by one guy, and it is simply amazing, IMHO. Leo is an charming chap, and you can make an appointment to see his incredible collection of San Juan County artists by calling (360) 376-4544.

irishswampyankee

Thanks, everyone. That's great info. May be back with more questions. isy

NWWanderer

Just avoid confusion, I just wanted to add that you *can't* make reservations on this particular route (only ferries to and from Sidney BC and between Port Townsend and Keystone can be reserved).

nukesafe

You are correct, NWW. I should know that, as I just got back from a trip to/from Port Townsend.

irishswampyankee

Oh, my. Not being able to make ferry reservations makes me very nervous because I'm so used to having to make them a year ahead of time for Martha's Vineyard/Nantucket to bring a car. So, we should get in line 90 min ahead and we should be OK on that date, late 9/13 or early 9/14? Haven't decided whether just to try to grab a ferry to Orcas Sat or stay over somewhere and wait until Sun.

On another note, after doing Mt. Rainier NP, if we head south from Yakima to the river and then W towards Kelso to do Mt. St. Helens, are there any short (a couple of hrs) boat tours available along the river? When I get our itinerary tentatively together, I'll submit for critiques.

irishswampyankee

Whoops,have my dates wrong. Should be 9/12 or 13. A senior moment! Sorry.

Serendipity42

Don't worry about not having reservations. School will have started on the dates you're traveling & it won't be anywhere as busy as a summer day. If you're taking the Anacortes ferry on a Sunday morning I would not worry a bit. Now if it were Friday night I might worry, but Sunday morning going to Orcas? Nope. Saturday evening will be busier than Sun am. but I still wouldn't worry.

Serendipity42

NWWanderer

Hundreds of people do it every day ;-). It's not a big deal, honestly. Yes, get there 60-90 minutes ahead of time and you'll be fine. Week before last I got there only 45 minutes ahead of time for the ferry to Orcas and there were plenty of cars behind me who got on. Now, I wouldn't recommend cutting it that close but I'm just sayin' ;-).

clarasong

In Anacortes, they have a nice restaurant that you can dine in while you wait in line at the ferry...coming back on the Orcas side, some little fun shops, and you can walk about. It's not that dull. Be warned that Orcas is pretty dull in the winter...we were there in February and one might have thought a bomb dropped. Still, we had friends there so we had a good time. Be sure to drive up to Mt. Constitution...the view is worth it. just hang loose...like we all do in the pnw>

clarasong

P,S, From Orcas ferry terminal to Mt. Rainer is quite a drive...gotta come back toward Seattle, then about 2 hours south to Mt. Rainer, maybe thru heavy traffic. Maybe do Mt. Rainer day one, stop somewhere along the way north, then on to Anacortes next day, for more leisuely time.

NWWanderer

September is winter ;-)? I personally think it's a great time to visit, the worst of the summer crowds are gone but the weather is usually still great and most activities/restaurants are still going strong.

I do agree about the drive from Anacortes to Mt Rainier--that will be a LOOONG day...in my experience, it's more like 2.5 hours from Seattle to Paradise.

irishswampyankee

I think right now, we have tentatively decided to arrive at SEA on Sat, 9/12 about noon. We will have a late lunch with our nephew and his wife and brand new baby somewhere in Seattle where they live (their pick) and then we will head up to Anacortes and stay there Sat nt. Take the ferry to Orcas Sun AM and stay 2 nts at the Outlook Inn. Come back to Anacortes Tues and probably drive down to Kelso and stay there 2 nts at the Comfort Inn so we can do Mt. St. Helens Wed and then leave Kelso (Th) to drive into and around Mt. Rainier NP probably staying in Yakima Th nt. Fri drive south from Yakima to the Columbia and drive W along the river through Portland to Cannon Beach. From Cannon Beach, we will drive down the cosst to San Francisco and fly home from there on 9/27. Haven't even started to plan the coast trip yet but we did do it 10 yrs ago. How am I doing so far? Suggestions?
Thanks for your input, isy

NWWanderer

It doesn't really make sense to drive all the way down to Kelso then come *back* to Mt Rainier IMO. If you're going to do a long drive on Tuesday anyway, you may as well drive to Ashford (entrance to Mt Rainier NP), spend then night there, tour Mt Rainier on Wed, then head to Kelso for the night. Do Mt St Helens on Thurs (a half day will do it) then drive on the WA side of the Gorge to Skamania or Hood River for the night, then drive OR side (historic highway) on way to Cannon Beach. I think backtracking and going over to Yakima adds more hours of driving to an itinerary that already has a heck of a lot of driving.

irishswampyankee

Thanks, NWWanderer. I had already ditched the idea of staying in Kelso. Hotels and town sound awful. Because I love Capitol bldgs, I had thought we could drive down to Olympia after getting off the ferry in Anacortes, tour the Capitol bldg and stay in Olympia that nt, Tues. That would cut down on the driving. We would go over to Mt.St. Helens on Wed, then drive to Ashford and stay at Nisqually Lodge Wed nt and do Mt. Rainier NP on Th.

I get stuck after that. Should we drive out the east side of the park and stay somewhere like Yakima Th nt and then head south on Fri and drive west along the Columbia and stay in the Portland/Vancouver area Fri nt? I have read about a short boat tour on the Willamette out of Portland we could do Sat before heading over to Cannon Beach.

Or from Mt. Rainier NP is there a better way to get down to the Columbia in The Dalles/Hood River area to stay there Th nt instead of in Yakima? Would leaving from Ashford, driving through Mt. Rainier then down to the river somehow to stay in The Dalles area on Th be too much for one day?

From my reading, it looks like one could spend a whole day seeing the sights along the river from The Dalles area to Portland which would be Fri (dams, museums - (how about rt. 35 in OR down to Mt. Hood but it looks like one would then have to backtrack along 35 again to get back up to the Columbia?). Then we could still stay in the Portland area Fri nt. Just can't figure out whether we should stay in Yakima Th after MRNP or drive more and stay on the Columbia. Oh so many questions! Thanks for your help. isy

NWWanderer

My suggestion would still be along the lines of what i suggested previously. I'm just not a big fan of the scenery on the eastern side of the mountains--I know many people are but it doesn't do anything for me so I would stick to the west side and do Mt Rainier and Mt St Helens north to south, then go up the gorge as far as Hood River. If you had more time, then adding more driving might make sense but as I've said, IMO you already have way too much for the amount of time you have ;-).