Boy, this is a big change in plans!
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Day 1:Fly to Portland. Look around the place that day...(any suggestions; I had columbia gorge, all the falls, guess there is a dam nearby).
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What time will you be getting in? I hope it's early or you won't have time to get too far into the Gorge area. From Portland, take I-84 East. Somewhere along that route, there will be a place where you can veer off and take the Old Highway. This is a much more scenic drive, lots of twists and turns, and you can stop at Vista Point...one of the coolest rest stops I've ever seen with great scenic views of the Gorge. There are several dams in that area. The Cascade Locks and John Day are two that come to mind. I can't remember which one offers tours. Maybe both do? If you've never toured a dam, you should find it interesting. If you've been in dams before, I would probably skip that since you have limited time.
Multnomah Falls is along this route. I'm sorry I don't recall exactly where. It's a beauty. There are several smaller falls as well but I forget their names. You might want to pick up a guidebook on falls in the PNW. I know I've seen them at B&N stores so they do exist and might be worth your time to study.
If you have time that day, a nice loop drive would be to take I-84 to Hood River (taking the Vista Point detour along the way), then heading south at Hood River up into the Mt. Hood Wilderness area via 35. After going over the passes, you'll take 26 back to I-84 and back to Portland.
If you go that way, be sure to make a stop at the Lodge at the summit of Mt. Hood where the ski resort is. This was the hotel that they used for exterior shots in the moving, The Shining. It's a cool place. The interior is quite different and not what they used in the movie but it's sure worth stopping and checking out. It's very intimate and rustic. Built as a WPA project in the 30's.
I really don't know if you'll have time for this by the time you land, pick up rental car, etc. It's about 160 miles to do the loop.
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Day 2: drive to St. Helens(any suggestions on what to see and how long ?) & mt.rainier NP. Night stay.
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You won't have time for my personal favorite parts of the trip into Mt. St. Helens via the East side but the west side is still a great trip and will give you great views of the mountain, Spirit Lake, and the devestation around it.
Drive north from Portland on I-5 until you get to Castle Rock, WA. From there, it's easy as there are tons of signs. Go all the way to the end of the road to the Johnston Ridge VC. There are other visitor centers along the way. You won't have time for them. But the new one at Johnston Ridge is the best of 'em anyway. You really don't need to bring anything special except binoculars as there are plenty of facilities/snack bars, etc. It takes about an hour from I-5 to Johnston Ridge. So this is easily, at minimum, a 3-hour detour allowing 1 hour there, 1 hour back and 1 hour to explore. It's worth it. In fact, if you had to choose between Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens, choose Mt. St. Helens.
I think Mt. Rainier is beautiful but you're really cramming a lot into this day and, if you have to make a choice, you can always see Mr. Rainier another time. Mt. St. Helens changing each year as new growth and renewal occurs. It's unlike anyplace else in the world that I know of.
I suggest you visit the Paradise side of Mt. Rainier via the Nisqually entrance. On the way, just after entering the national park gates, you might enjoy a stop at Longmire Visitor Center. They have very interesting exhibits and will have lots of free maps for various short hikes and scenic viewpoints. The visitor center itself also is cool simply for the neat, rustic architecture.
If you plan on staying up there at the Paradise Lodge, get your reservations in fast. It fills up in the summer and may already be too late to stay in. Also, I understand it is going to be closed for awhile for renovations but I'm unsure of when this will start. The only other option in the park is the Longmire Lodge back by the Nisqually entrance. But this really fils up, too. There is camping but it's almost impossible to get a spot unless you get there first thing in the morning. You may have to return to Asford or Elbe areas for lodging.
Longmire and Paradise are both WPA projects and have wonderful architecture so a quick peek inside both is worth the time, imho.
Just a word of warning: this is a long day! From Portland to Johnston Ridge at Mt. St. Helens to Paradise and back to Ashford is roughly 280 and will take you about 7 hours to drive. This isn't going to leave a lot of time for sightseeing or any hiking. It's do-able if you insist on this itinerary but you're really not going to have time to fully enjoy both of these magnificent parks.
Here's the route I would suggest:
* I-5 north to Castle Rock, WA
* Spirit Lake Hwy/504 to Johnston Ridge VC and back again to I-5
* I-5 north to for about 20 miles until you get to the exit to Hwy 12. Take Hwy 12 east. This is a gorgeous drive. You won't regret getting off the highway and this is actually a shorter and quicker route than taking I-5 farther north.
* At Morton, take Hwy 7 to Elbe.
* At Elbe, take 706 to the Nisqually Entrance and follow the park road to Paradise.
* Then back down 706 to the towns of Ashford or Elbe for lodging. (I would really do a search for reservations as these areas are quite popular and lodging might be hard to find.)
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Day 3: drive to Olympic NP.
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From Ashford/Elbe area, take Hwy 7 west until it merges with I-5 just south of Puyallup. From here, you have numerous options. But since you've allowed yourself 3 days for Olympic NP, I really think you should do the loop so I would suggest the following:
* Go south on I-5 to Olympia, WA and follow the signs to the Ocean Beaches via 101. You'll only stay on 101 for about 5 miles where 101 veers of the highway you're on and heads north. Don't take that exit. Stay on the highway at this point. 101 becomes Hwy 8 here. Continue west on this highway. It eventually changes it's name to Hwy 12. I know...weird. Now stay on Hwy 12 through Aberdeen/Hoquiam. In Hoquiam, you will follow the signs (it's well-marked) to go north toward Quinault and Forks on Hwy 101.
Note: I live in Hoquiam. If you want to meet-up, let me know. Depending on when you're coming, I might be able to play tourguide for a bit. Or just grab a bite to eat with you for a quick hello. If you don't think you'll have time or want to tie yourself up with that, I understand and won't be offended. But, if you're interested, let me know and we can figure out how to meet up.
* Continue north on 101 until you get to Lake Quinault. I would suggest planning to spend the night here. The Lake Quinault Lodge is gorgeous (another WPA project) but rather pricey. Rain Forest Resort is owned by a friend and I've heard it's rather nice but I haven't stayed there myself. It has a hotel section and small individual cabins. The hotel section is newer but the cabins should be more unique. There are other lodgings in the area as well. The Rain Forest Resort is home to the biggest ????...gosh, what kind of tree is it?...anyway, it's worth a look-see. There are some campgrounds but, again, if you don't get there early, it will probably be too late to find a spot.
In Lake Quinault, you have the option of various trails. There are several short, well-marked interpretive trails here that will give you a great taste of the rainforest and it's unique flora and fauna. Most of the trails start across the road from Lake Quinault Lodge and the ranger station is right next to this lodge, so I would stop here for info to help you determine what trail(s) you will want to take.
This drive is about 165 miles and should take you about 3.5 hours. If you do decide to stop here, that will be nice to get a shorter day in and to take advantage of the many things to explore here.
If you want to press on and get a few more miles under your belt, you might want to do some of the trails here and then head on to the Kalaloch Area. If you decide to do that, you MUST get reservations as the Kalaloch Lodge and Campground are the only places to stay along here. If you can't stay here, the next places are in Forks, quite a ways up the highway. If you continue onto Forks, you probably won't have time to enjoy any of the beach areas here and that would be a shame. Kalaloch Beach is gorgeous but my favorite beach in this area is just a few miles north of the Kalaloch Lodge area called Ruby Beach. It's well-marked. This is a very wild, rustic beach. (Wear good hiking shoes and not sandals because it's a very rocky beach.) It has gorgeous tidepools and other neat things to explore.
Kalaloch is about 35 miles from Lake Quinault. (Forks is another 35 miles from Kalaloch.)
So, either staying Kalaloch or Lake Quinault should be good plans as long as you have reservations. If you're just going through Lake Quinault quickly, pick at least one, short trail to explore. YOu won't regret it.
From either Kalaloch or Lake Quinault, drive north on 101 to the Hoh area of the rainforest. You'll want to go east into the park at this point and checkout the beautiful Hall of Mosses. It's like being in a prehistoric world. Fascinating.
Then onto Forks and continue north on 101 towards Port Angeles. If you think you'll have the time and energy, go into the park at Solduc area to view the Solduc Falls. Gorgeous, but this will add several hours and a lot of miles to your day. It's just a short hike to the falls once you get to the ranger station there. You might also want to stop and check out Lake Crescent a bit.
In Port Angeles take signs to Hurricane Ridge. This gives you a great view of the Olympic Mountains, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and even Vancouver Island, Canada. That is, IF the sky is clear. You can't count on that though. There are some nice short trails here to explore.
Go back to 101 and head east toward Sequim and the Dungeness Spit Wildlife Refuge. Tons of great marine wildlife to check out!
I would suggest spending the night in Port Townsend where there is fantastic Victorian-era architecture that has been preserved there. There's also gorgeous views of Puget Sound.
Not counting sidetrips to the Hall of Mosses and Solduc Falls, your drive this day would be about 220 miles from Lake Quinault or 185 miles from Kalaloch. My mapping software won't let me map the route to those places. I'm guess that it will take you about 30 minutes to get to the Hall of Mosses from 101. It's been awhile since I've been there. And, if I recall correctly, Solduc Falls is about 45-60 minutes from 101. So either/both of these stops will add significantly to your time and miles.
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Day 5: Olympic NP; Night stay - Seattle.
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* You can head onto Port Gamble and enjoy the funky architecture of this town that was previously a company-owned town. At least I find this quite interesting. Then, from there, go to Poulsbo, a Scandinavian village with wonderful architecture, shops, restaurants, and waterfront views. Then onto Bremerton. Bremerton has an interesting water tour of the Pacific Naval Fleet. It's quite impressive to see aircraft carriers from the water. You could then take the ferry into Seattle. It's about an hour for this trip and gives you wonderful views of the Sound and the surrounding mountains. Plan carefully for the ferry. It can get busy and hard to get on if you don't get there plenty ahead of time. This is a short day of driving. Only about 50 miles. But don't be surprised if the ferry crossing takes you 3 hours by the time you wait in line to board, board, cross, and deboard. It will deboard right in the heart of downtown Seattle.
* You can continue south on 101 along Hood Canal. This is a gorgeous, Gorgeous, GORGEOUS drive along the water with lots of interesting little towns and many hiking trails into the eastern portion of Olympic NP along the way to explore. I'm partial to Mt. Elinor. I would suggest checking out one of the many great books on short hikes into the Olympics if you want to explore this area a bit. Each trail is so different that it's hard to give suggestions.
Anyway, continue south on 101 until you get to Olympia, then head north on I-5 to Seattle. This route is 160 miles. If traffic is good, you should be able to make the drive in about 3 hours. But this is also a windy, 2-lane road and if you get behind slow traffic that doesn't pull-out to let you pass, you could mosey along pretty slow. In a way that's good, you'll be able to enjoy the sights better. But this is not a drive where you can plan for speed.
I have no idea which to suggest. I would have to flip a coin myself.
As for Seattle lodging, unless you want to explore Seattle itself, I would highly recommend staying someplace north of Seattle for the night. Trafffic through Seattle is a nightmare. Rush hour is roughly from about 6am-10am and 2pm-6pm. A drive that can take 30 minutes late at night might take you 1+ hours during rush hour. So, even if you explore Seattle for awhile during the late afternoon/evening...and it's a gorgeous city and worth checking out...go north for the night. I would suggest heading north about 30 miles to Everett. While there's still a tad of rush hour traffic here, it starts thinning out at this point.
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Day 6: To spokane via North cascades NP.
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Gorgeous drive but that's about all you'll be doing is driving. From Everett, this is about 8 hours of driving/365 miles. And there are definitely things you'll want to stop and check out along the way. The gorgeous viewpoints at the top of Rainy Pass on the North Cascades Hwy, the fun and funky little town of Winthrop, and Grand Coulee Dam are just a few of the must-sees on this route. Grand Coulee Dam is easily a whole day unto itself. The tour is amazing. This dam may not be as tall as Hoover, but it is far greater in size, i.e. the amount of concrete to build it. It's pretty impressive. And, at night, they do the coolest laser-light show on it's face.
I didn't mean to write a book but I just love the sights in this area and so few people tend to write for help for a trip up here...it seems like most trips are in the SW. So I get kind of excited.
It's been years since I've been to Glacier NP so I won't give any suggestions for that leg of things. If you want more suggestions, or if I've confused the heck outta you, let me know what I can do to help you out some more.
You've got a great trip planned. Enjoy and report back after it's over.
SFO to Glacier NP
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