San Diego to Bellingham, Washington

[Swalters]

Planning a road trip just me and my dog from San Diego to bellingham Washington the month of July. Would like to stop for a night or two in various spots to hike, enjoy lakes, mountains and scenery. Thinking of Mammoth, Klamath, bend, rogue river (open to suggestions) really want to do some hiking at mt. Rainier but NO DOGS😁! So anything nearby. I will be looking for dog friendly hotels and don't want to be on the road more than 8 hours. I will also be returning on the coast, Astoria, Gold Coast . Any suggestion, recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

[Lifemagician]

Hi, and Welcome to the Great American Roadtrip Forum.

With your desire to drive 8 hours - ~450 miles - per day, at 1350 miles this is a full three day's drive by the most direct route, i.e. I-5. If you want to stop at the places you mentioned for hiking and other activities, you will need to allot more time or plan on having longer driving days.

As an alternative to Mt Rainier NP, have you thought of Mt St Helens? I don't know if pets are allowed there. There is also the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Drive with hikes to waterfalls and such. From SF to LA the Pacific Coast Highway is a must. Allow two days for this scenic, but very slow route. Any good map will show you many more places suitable for hikes with dogs. Most State Parks and Forests allow dogs, as do quite a few National Forests. The Humboldt Redwoods State Park, with its Avenue of Giants, is more pet friendly than the Redwoods national park.

You can search for pet friendly hotels, at RTA's lodging tab on the green bar above.

Lifey

[DonnaR57]

From experience, the Gifford Pinchot National Forest (which includes Mt St Helens) is a lot easier in regards to dogs on the trails than most national parks are. There are loads of day hikes in the area. Years and years ago, we did a backpacking trip into the Goat Rocks Wilderness area southeast of Mt Rainier, with a dog. Here is the website you'll want to look at, along with some links in there.

Mt St Helens has had quite a bit of flooding this past winter and spring, with some roads and campgrounds being listed as closed because of it.

Valley of the Rogue State Park is always one of our favorite stops if we have to go up the 5 for whatever reason. There's a lovely river's edge trail in there, and if memory serves, dogs are okay on it. (In looking at this online pamphlet, I don't happen to see any mention of dogs.)

Generally speaking, Motel 6 and La Quinta Inn are two chain motels that seem to allow pets at the majority of their locations. My cousins travel to dog shows and almost always use Motel 6, though she says they'd prefer something a little more upscale. Other properties are more hit-and-miss. As mentioned above, the lodging tab here at RTA also has a place to look for the "pet friendly" hotel. You'll just have to figure out your approximate overnight spot, in order to find something comfortable for you and Fido.


Donna