Pacific Northwest trip help

[luvsvacation]

You all were a huge help a couple of years ago when I was planning a southwest trip!! Next summer we are planning a northwest trip (we've never been out this way at all) and I was hoping for some tips and can't miss recommendations...

Plan is to fly into/out of Sacremento, rent a car and go on a road trip...we love road trips so driving long distances doesn't bother us at all...

Day 1 fly in early, drive to Yosemite, maybe a simple hike near the valley

Day 2 hike in Yosemite, Glacier Point, drive to Monterey

Day 3 Kayak tour in Monterey and whale watching boat tour, maybe a nice dinner?? Maybe drive 17 mile drive, is it worth it??

Day 4 Drive Highway 1 through Big Sur, I understand there are some mud slides, hoping it will all be open by late June?? Any can't miss stops along here?? The plan for the day is basically to drive and stop at scenic places...In the evening we will drive to San Francisco

Day 5 San Francisco, thinking of doing the basic touristy things...

Day 6 Drive up to Oregon, to a treehouse resort. Drive through Redwoods national park, and Avenue of the giants. We want to see lots of the large trees and would love to be able to do a drive through tree. We will be renting a mini van so I'm not sure about that...I have 2 teenagers who love photography and want to get lots of shots of the large trees/forest

Day 7 staying in a treehouse resort in Oregon, possibly drive to Crater lake for the day, it looks like about a 2 1/2 hour drive from the resort so 5 hours round trip for the day, not sure if it's worth it or if we should just have a down day relaxing at the resort...

Day 8 Drive to the Oregon coast and drive 4 wheelers in the dunes and then drive about an hour up the coast and ride horses on the beach

Day 9 Drive to the Portland area, staying in Vancouver WA, and see some of the falls there...Multnomah for sure, are there others that are not to be missed??

Day 10 Not sure what to do, we are staying in Vancouver WA, I'd like to do something in Washington for the day, but whatever we do is going to be round trip and back to Vancouver for the night. Thinking Seattle and the space needle, or Mt Rainer maybe. Mt Rainer looks beautiful but we do spend a lot of time in Colorado in the Rocky Mountains so I'm not sure if it will be different enough to be worth it???

Day 11 Drive back to Sacremento and fly home

Thanks for any help!!

 

[bcla]

The area around Multnomah Falls is really a complex of several waterfalls.

The place I really like around there is Edgefield in Troutdale. It's a bit hard to describe, but it's amazing.

https://www.mcmenamins.com/edgefield

You didn't mention Mt St Helens.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/...ull&navid=091000000000000&ttype=main&cid=null

 

[Morningsun70]

I live here in WA, about halfway between Vancouver and Seattle. Seattle is fun, but the drive from Vancouver to Seattle is NOT fun. There are many potential traffic choke points between the two. Time it wrong and it can add hours each way. Google says the drive is 3 hours... It can easily turn to 5 or more hours each direction regardless of day or time. The drive to Mt Ranier is less bad, but there are still potential issues.

Since you appear to enjoy hiking I would highly recommend visiting Mt Saint Helens. There are many hikes to choose from. It's so beautiful. You can explore the west side, Hwy 504 up to the Johbston Ridge Observatory is a lovely road trip with multiple visitor centers. There's so much to do. OR you can visit the south side via hwy 503 (also so much to do) and see Ape Cave (a hikeable lava tube) Then continue around the mountain counter clockwise and hit up the windy ridge Observatory (if they got the road repaired and the mountain didn't eat it again this winter) then use hwy 12 to get back west to I5. That second plan makes for a LONG day, and there are so many things to potentially see, but maybe not longer than trying to visit Ranier. I would not try to do Hwy 504, which is a spur, and driving around the mountain in the same day. There is a very long hike around Mt St Helens that theoretically can be done in one day (Lowitt trail, 28 miles) if you're into endurance. I did the Norway Pass hike (5 miles round trip 800 ft elevation gain) last year and the views can't be beat! Mt St Helens would definitely be different from the Rockies because of all the changes the eruption made.

 

[Morningsun70]

The view from Norway Pass at Mt St Helens (if this works, I've not tried to share a photo before)

 

[cruisehopeful]

Overall, that sounds like an amazing trip. I am tired just reading about it. I don't have much to say other than to this part:

Day 3 Kayak tour in Monterey and whale watching boat tour, maybe a nice dinner?? Maybe drive 17 mile drive, is it worth it??

I enjoyed 17 mile drive. The first half of it is nice. You have a map and make various scenic stops. I would do it again just for the first half. The second half is pretty bland, you end up at a golf course that has some shopping and an expensive seafood restaurant and a sandwich place.

Whale watching out of Monterey is excellent in that you will see whales and other things. However, the water is extremely choppy. Half of the people on my tour were throwing up, even people who took seasick medicine.

 

[ADisneyFamilyof5]

We live in the Portland area and I would recommend Oneonta Falls. Multnomah Falls is really nice but always very crowded. I also agree with PP about Mcmenamins Edgefield. We frequent there a lot for dinner and stayed there once for a wedding. It is a very fun, unique place. It is a property with a hotel, restraunts, pub, soaking pool and movie theater. In the summer they have concerts on the lawn. Adele came a couple years ago. Mcmenamins has lots of restaurants and a few other porperties with hotels in Oregon and Washington. Kennedy School in Portland is very cool as well.

I just would like to add that I think Crater Lake is worth the drive. We couldn't believe how gorgeous it is. You mentioned your teens like photography and the water is unreal! Some of the best pics I have of any trip. We did the Watchman Peak hike and had some great views. Our little one was only 1 at the time, so we couldn't make it over to Wizard Island, but I think that would be great fun.

 

[luvsvacation]

Thanks for all the input!! I've decided on Mt St Helens for the day in Washington. Thanks for the visual of the Columbia River Gorge, I'm really looking forward to that drive and hikes to the waterfalls!

I'm a little nervous about the choppy water and seasickness while whale watching in Monterey...is there a better place along the coast for whale watching??

 

[kappyfamily]

Another Portland native here, just wanted to say hope you love Oregon! In the summer there's no place like it. Have a great trip!

 

[Douglas Dubh]

When we used to live outside Portland we would almost always take out of town visitors to Powell Books and Voodoo Donuts. Also if you are near Multnomah Falls and it’s a nice day, be sure to drive up to Vista House. Great views of the gorge.

 

[cinnaminny]

Another Oregonian here. So many great suggestions here, particularly the Crater Lake, which was mentioned earlier. Its quite a drive up there, but it really is amazing.

Same with the Powells, if you're a book lover this is a great bookstore. We like to stop at Jakes Famous Crawfish and eat when we go.

Also if you're going in the summer and you're anywhere near Mt Hood, the Alpine Slides (and other activities) at Ski Bowl are so much fun. We have a blast doing this. http://www.skibowl.com/summer/