San Francisco to Seattle via Portland

[kinberg1]

I am planning to take a 10-11 day trip in early August from San Francisco to Seattle and back. I want to see as much as possible of the local areas and hike in some nature. I wouldn't mind heading east towards Montana, but I'd rather have time to enjoy each place than I would rushing from city to city. The only "must-sees" for me are Seattle and Portland.

Any ideas for attractions on the road, and ways to make this trip as cheap as possible would be greatly appreciated!

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Here is a collection of some of my favorite posts about the northern Pacific coast. In addition, I recently did a RoadTrip on the northern Oregon Coast and Columbia River, and really loved them both, particularly the Historic Columbia River Highway and the drive around Mount Hood. There's really no need to go as far east as Montana, but you should wander back and forth between the cast and the mountains as you head north, hitting the Redwoods, Crater Lake, the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, and a bit of both at Olympic National Park. On a smaller scale, I also enjoyed the small museum and trails at the Forest Center, and the recreated buildings at Fort Clatsop. And with all the state parks and national forests, you really shouldn't have too much trouble finding camp sites.

AZBuck