Car for Olympic Park and Mt. Rainier

[Amazon22]

We are flying into Seattle and then driving to Olympic State park and then Mt. Rainier. Coming back to Seattle and will return the car as we plan on using uber there. What kind of car do you recommend for this trip? Mazda 3? Toyota Corolla? Or bigger? We are a family of 4

[Anonymous]

A corolla/mazda 3 is fine for a family of 4. We did this years ago as a family of 4 and just had a sedan. There is no need for an SUV.

[Anonymous]

We were in Mt Rainier last summer and there absolutely was a need for AWD. We did one hike that was 10 miles, MILES, down an all gravel road (Tolmie Peak).

I would not get a Toyola Corolla for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were in Mt Rainier last summer and there absolutely was a need for AWD. We did one hike that was 10 miles, MILES, down an all gravel road (Tolmie Peak).

I would not get a Toyola Corolla for sure.

Was this the case for most of what you did in Rainier? Dirt/gravel roads? Really will depend on OP's plan. I can say that on Olympic we had no need for anything more than a sedan.

[Anonymous]

Depends on your exact plans, but most people will be fine with a regular sedan.

[Amazon22]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on your exact plans, but most people will be fine with a regular sedan.

We are there for 3 nights in each of the park with one day planned for Victoria. So, will only be able to hit the key spots. Was wondering how the driving conditions are but does sound it will be fine with a sedan. Mazda 3 is coming out to be cheaper than Corolla-having driven none of these, not sure what the difference is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were in Mt Rainier last summer and there absolutely was a need for AWD. We did one hike that was 10 miles, MILES, down an all gravel road (Tolmie Peak).

I would not get a Toyola Corolla for sure.

Was this the case for most of what you did in Rainier? Dirt/gravel roads? Really will depend on OP's plan. I can say that on Olympic we had no need for anything more than a sedan.

Just for a few hikes. But the road condition certainly wasn't indicated on the maps. The only giveaway was that it noted that a 15 mile trip would take an hour. We didn't think much of that (assumed it was farther away than it really was, or traffic?) but it was because of the roads.

Lots of people do these trips and don't really hike or venture far. You can totally visit the visitors center areas and loop roads in a sedan. We just don't stop at that.