Anonymous wrote:Thanks all, for feedback. We go in May. Are booked for flying into Seattle and out of PDX. Realize we may be pushing it with driving, but think there will be enough great scenery/stops to make it worthwhile.

Will take advice and do two nights in Seattle. Also pretty set on 2 or 3 nights on Oregon Coast. Just have to decide on where to stay for Olympic Natl. Park part of trip. Would prefer one spot for 2 or 3 nights versus multiple hotels. Finally, will do only one night in Portland.

See if you can still get a cabin at Sol Duc or a room at Lake Crescent. Sol Duc is a pain to get to, but I think it’s the best spot in ONP. (Seattle native here.)

^ Definitely two nights in Seattle!

Thanks all, for feedback. We go in May. Are booked for flying into Seattle and out of PDX. Realize we may be pushing it with driving, but think there will be enough great scenery/stops to make it worthwhile.

Will take advice and do two nights in Seattle. Also pretty set on 2 or 3 nights on Oregon Coast. Just have to decide on where to stay for Olympic Natl. Park part of trip. Would prefer one spot for 2 or 3 nights versus multiple hotels. Finally, will do only one night in Portland.

A couple of thoughts --

I would lean two days in Seattle/one day in Portland instead of the opposite. And since you seem outdoors-focused, I would use that day to do a hike somewhere off the Mountain Loop Highway or Mt Rainier NP, assuming you are up for driving there-and-back. If instead you are looking for city activities, I think Seattle has more to offer.

And I would think in terms of activities rather than specific geographies. That is, Hoh Rain Forest/Hurricane Ridge as one set of activities (although they are quite different) and PNW beaches as the other major activity. While WA State beaches are different in terms of development and infrastructure, they can both be cold/wet or sunny/beautiful and are not fundamentally that different. Oregon has more beach towns than Washington, but presumably you are there for the beach. Anyway, right now you have maybe 4 out of your 9 days at the beach. That would be too much for my family, who would prefer more days hiking (we are more mountain people) or perhaps in a city.

Finally, you can totally make the time change work for you and spend your first day doing things in Seattle -- just remember that you will lose steam earlier in the evening and may need an early night. Which might constrain your plans somewhat, too.

We basically did this same trip as a two week trip (except for Cannon Beach - we did Oregon coast on an earlier trip). This seems like a lot for 9 days. I would spend more time in Olympic. It is huge and it takes a long time to drive from place to place. Also, if you can, I would stay in the park and not it Forks, it is kind of a rundown town. If you are already exploring the beaches in Olympic, I would skip Cannon Beach. I would also skip Mt Hood. It is not that great in the summer (maybe there are some nice hikes if you are super ambitious but it is definitely not worth stopping by to see it- Hood River on the Columbia River Gorge is much more spectacular.

Also, in Seattle, rent kayaks at that wooden boat place (google it) and check out the pinball museum. If your kids are interested in science the Boeing museum near their headquarters is amazing.

In terms of getting to Olympic, you have to factor in whether you are going to take a ferry - that can make it take longer. We avoided the ferries and drove through Aberdeen (home of Kurt Cobain - I have a new appreciation of why his music was so depressing) but if you are heading from Seattle to Hurricane ridge you may end up taking a ferry.

As someone who grew up around the rain forest there, I'm not sure you have an accurate sense of drive times if you're traveling from Seattle to Forks. It can be an all-day drive on a two-lane, winding road. It might be raining hard, too. Driving in Western WA is not for novices who think they know how to drive in the rain.

Not sure what time of the year you are planning to travel there, but it's dark by 4 p.m. when the clocks move back.

The Washington/Oregon coast is lovely, but cold and windy. In Washington state, you can drive your car on the beach along the shoreline, but I would not do it, personally.

You may want a second day in Seattle.

I would add a day in Seattle. Go beyond the tourist attractions. You won't regret it. Enjoy!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Pacific Northwest is awesome! But right away I don’t see how day 1 is both a Travel day AND seeing all the Seattle things- by the time you get there it’ll be 2/3 in the afternoon and you won’t be able to do all the things in your list. At most a few things. Hope it ends up being a great trip!

From DC - early flight - arrive at 10 am local time. Plenty of time!! You forgot the time difference.

We did a day like that. It did work but my kids were VERY tired by the end of the day. Chihuly Exhibit is fabulous..do not miss it.

Anonymous wrote:I’m from the northern coast of Oregon and I agree this is a solid plan, have fun!

OP, here. Thanks. Appreciate a locals perspective.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Pacific Northwest is awesome! But right away I don’t see how day 1 is both a Travel day AND seeing all the Seattle things- by the time you get there it’ll be 2/3 in the afternoon and you won’t be able to do all the things in your list. At most a few things. Hope it ends up being a great trip!

From DC - early flight - arrive at 10 am local time. Plenty of time!! You forgot the time difference.

OP, here. That's kind of what I was thinking. Our flight is early. We arrive in Seattle at 11am. I guess that gets us downtown by 1pm? Should be enough time to hit do a nickel tour of Seattle. Just need to cross our fingers that there aren't travel delays.

Anonymous wrote:The Pacific Northwest is awesome! But right away I don’t see how day 1 is both a Travel day AND seeing all the Seattle things- by the time you get there it’ll be 2/3 in the afternoon and you won’t be able to do all the things in your list. At most a few things. Hope it ends up being a great trip!

From DC - early flight - arrive at 10 am local time. Plenty of time!! You forgot the time difference.

I’m from the northern coast of Oregon and I agree this is a solid plan, have fun!

Anonymous wrote:The Pacific Northwest is awesome! But right away I don’t see how day 1 is both a Travel day AND seeing all the Seattle things- by the time you get there it’ll be 2/3 in the afternoon and you won’t be able to do all the things in your list. At most a few things. Hope it ends up being a great trip!

I guess for day one in Seattle to happen, everything would have to line up as planned? We arrive in Seattle at 11am. This would get us to downtown by 1:00, probably enough to take in a bit of the city. I realize this is an ambitious and probably not the most relaxing day. Also, any delays or travel hiccups would of course, make this unrealistic.

The Pacific Northwest is awesome! But right away I don’t see how day 1 is both a Travel day AND seeing all the Seattle things- by the time you get there it’ll be 2/3 in the afternoon and you won’t be able to do all the things in your list. At most a few things. Hope it ends up being a great trip!

Doing this next year and thinking of following itinerary:

Day1
-Fly to Seattle
-Hang out in Seattle and do tourist things- Pike Place, Space Needle, coffee, Chihuly Garden...etc

Day 2-4
-Stay in Forks, Washington near Hoh Rain Forest
-stop at Hurricane Ridge on drive
-visit Hoh Rain Forest
-Rialto Beach/Washington Coast

Day 5 - 7
-Stay on Oregon Coast...Canon Beach?
-Oregon beach visits

Days 8 - 9
-Stay outside of Portland, Oregon
-visit Multnomah Falls
-Columbia River Gorge
-look at Mt. Hood

Will we regret not doing more time in Seattle? Is this itinerary too ambitious? Other than work trip to Seattle, first time in Pacific NW, so we would like to try and see more than a couple things. I would also like to visit Cascades and Mt. Rainier, but realize we would need more time. Thanks.