Help - Seattle - Yellowstone - Vancouver - Seattle

Hi guys,

Firstly - wow - what a great resource! The trouble is trying to pull out all this amazing info and fitting it into your own plans.

I've been through a lot of threads about driving around the NW and I'll have a few more to trawl through I'm sure. Especially around Yellowstone, Glacier etc.

My wife and I are flying into Seattle in the middle of June, we're staying for 3 weeks as I really want to spend a few days in Yellowstone and my wife really wants to tour the NW - Vancouver / Seattle / Portland.

There's been a few chats about staying purely on the NW and doing Yellowstone and the BC parks another time but I'm hoping with 3 weeks we can see a lot but not feel like we've had to drive for 6 hours per day.

So far I've thought about leaving Seattle, heading over the N Cascade Hwy and winding across to Yellowstone over 2 days. Hoping to spend 3 nights in Yellowstone before heading north, taking in a few sights before basing ourselves in Vancouver for a few days then making our way down the coast.

So what's the must do / must see? Is there a chance of mountain fatigue?

The trouble with so much info is that you feel you need to see everything - I've 3 lonely planets already - just for this trip and have tourist overload!

All help very welcome - Big scenary is a plus - Great small towns are also good, as well as the must do in the big cities. Any B&B / resorts / hotels that are worth planning ahead for would also be of interest.

I'm not asking much am I?

Thanks a million
Gary

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Your general plan seems workable, and there is certainly no shortage of things to see. If you can handle that much mountain driving, by all means go for it. You will be breaking it up every so often with stays in more level surroundings such as Yellowstone. A couple of things to plan on seeing and doing on your trip. I'd make sure to stop and visit the Grand Coulee Dam. If you call ahead, you might even be able to schedule a tour.

Heading north from Yellowstone, you should at least plan on a drive across Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park and then using the Crowsnest Highway across southern Alberta and British Columbia. If you remember the movie Roxanne with Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah, that was filmed on location in Nelson, BC.

Finally, while I liked Vancouver, I much preferred Victoria, the provincial capital, on Vancouver Island, Look into taking the ferry over, poking around the gardens and museums, and then returning to Washington by ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles.

I do think you may be setting yourself up for information overload by trying to see everything. You simply can't cover it all or even most of it in three weeks. Many people who do too much research end up regretting that they couldn't get to everything they wanted to see rather than reveling in all the things they did get to see and do.

AZBuck

Great reply,

Normally I do things on a whim and probably will again. I just don't want to head down some main road and miss a "must do" drive.

Had a look at the dam, so we'll take that onboard too.
Cheers
G

Hello

Sounds like a great trip!!

I am from Vancouver so I could tell you that Victoria and the Gulf Islands are the places to see. Vancouver has Stanley Park, Queen Elizabeth Park, Downtown Is nice, stay away from east Hastings!!!! Gastown Is beautiful and the waterfront Is of course beautiful.

Victoria and the Gulf Islands are truly for the tourists. They are spectacular In every which way, food, bars, hiking etc... The only Issue you will have Is the weather. We get a lot of rain In this part of the world and June IS wet, so be prepared. Like I've told many tourists, Vancouver Is a great place to VISIT, but you don't want to live here.

Have fun!