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Hi Judy,
I love the suggestion of driving through Penninsula.. Can you give an approximate time frame that I need to add to my travel.. If possible can you send me link for the return trip defined by you....
I am planning to leave Vancouver around 5pm on this Thursday and my return Journey on Sunday between 6 - 7 am.
Thanks for everything........
Sorry, no link. It's just from a map. I'll try and explain it better so you can trace it with any good roadmap. Here goes:
1. Take I-5 from Portland to Olympia.
2. Take Exit 104 to Hwy 101 (this will take you west).
3. You will go about 5-6 miles and then take the 101 Exit towards Shelton (at this point you'll be going north).
4. Enjoy a beautiful drive of about 75 miles to Port Townsend. Along the way, enjoy the drive along Hood Canal (on your right). You might enjoy a stop at Hoodsport. There's a nice winery there. Brinnon and Quilcene are both cute, little towns to poke around in. The scenery is gorgeous. But don't expect to make good time. It's curvy, narrow, and there might be some slow traffic like RVs along the way. Don't try to rush it. Just sit back and enjoy the drive.
5. When you get to the southern tip of Discovery Bay, you will want to veer NE toward Port Townsend on Hwy 20. It's just a short 15-20 minutes into Port Townsend. Port Townsend is world-reknown for its Victorian architecture. There are a lot of cool shops, some good restaurants, and you can even rent a kayak for a quick trip around the bay. If you have time, you might enjoy going out to Fort Worden State Park on the very tip of the peninsula just past downtown Port Townsend.
6. From Port Townsend, you can take the Port Townsend/Keystone ferry ride to Whidbey Island. Take Hwy 20. Coupeville is a very cool town on the island that you might enjoy. Oak Harbor is OK but I haven't been there for awhile so it might have gotten nicer since my last visit.
7. To get from Whidbey Island back onto the mainland, you'll simply be crossing a bridge. Right before the bridge is Deception Pass State Park. Deception Pass is really cool. If you have time, check it out. If you don't, it's not that far from Vancouver BC so you could easily go back there another time.
8. Continue on Hwy 20 until it meets up with I-5 in the Mt. Vernon/Burlington area.
This whole trip would be about 330 miles. The reason why is say leave early is because it's a beautiful drive once you get past Shelton and I'm sure you'll want to stop and take in the sights as bit, explore the towns a bit, etc. The ferry trip is about 1/2 hour but they don't take reservations so you'll need to get in line to get a spot. Depending on how busy it is the day you're there, this could take awhile. I'd get in line as soon as they let you and then walk around Port Townsend. The ferry schedule is here. But I would check back before you leave because I know it sometimes changes. Fares are reasonable. It will be about $11-12 for you, your vehicle, and another person.
If it were me, I'd leave Portland by about 7am with plans to catch the 2:15pm or 3:45pm ferry. It's only about 120 miles from Fort Casey (where the ferry drops you off) to Vancouver BC and, since most of this is on I-5, the only thing that will take more time will be any exploring you might do on Whidbey Island and then the border crossing.
Hope this helps!
Wow that's a cool description. I am totally exicted and thinking of leaving portland at Noon on Saturday, and plan for a stay in PortTownsend for the night.
Any ideas.
I've never actually slept in Port Townsend. When I've been up that way, I've usually stayed more in the Port Angeles area or farther south closer to Hoodsport area. And we usually camp.
Here's a good link to stuff to do and lodging in Port Townsend. In the lodging section about Victorian Inns is the Ann Starrett Mansion. I've heard a lot of wonderful things about this place but I've never had the pleasure myself. I would imagine any of the Bed & Breakfast or Victorian Inns would be great to stay in.
Have a great time and let us know how your trip went. We love trip reports here!
Port Angeles area or farther south closer to Hoodsport area >>>
Is this a nice place to retire for the night. I don't mind checking this tooo... How much farther ??
Oh, I've only just stayed in Port Angeles or closer to Hoodsport because that has been where we have been when we feel like stopping. Nothing against staying in Port Townsend at all. Believe me, it's a wonderful town and there are some real quality lodging choices there that are definitely a step or two or three above what is typical of a town that size. Some day when I feel flush in the wallet, I'd love to go up there and just spend a romantic weekend with a nice dinner and a night or two at someplace like Ann Starrett's Mansion (the link I gave you in an earlier post).
For the most part, we camp. If we're not camping, we usually stay in budget hotels so I'm not really sure if this is what you're looking for. In the Hoodsport area, we've camped at Potlatch State Park and Twanoh State Park (this is a little off your route). We wanted to stay at Fort Worden SP in Port Townsend but there were no open sites.
When we've been in Port Angeles, we've usually just stayed at the KOA or have driven out to Solduc Hot Springs or camped at the Sol Duc National Park campground (scroll down the page). While there is a lot to see and do out this way, it's really too far off of your route for this trip, imho. Save it for another time.
I really think for this trip that staying in or near Port Townsend is your best bet. If you like the area, come back and explore it more another time. It's not all that far more Vancouver via the ferries.
My apologies for joining something that's a year old, but I'm new to the site and in my search to discover how to travel from Vancouver, BC to Portland Oregon I stumbled onto this site.
I'm currently living in sydney, australia and looking to make my trip back (home) to Canada a little more interesting. We will be flying into Vancouver and rather than just catching a plane to Edmonton, I thought it would be great to show my Australian friends a little of the coastline.
Having never driven from Vancouver to Portland, I'm not sure how long we should allow ourselves, how much a car hire will cost etc. Any help that people can offer would be great.
well, I did Vancouver- Seattle speed run, in 2005 with my buddy to see a Mariners game. Left Anmore (eastern Vancouver) at 6am almost on the dot. Went with the truck crossing (176th street), the line was short, a cool half hour. Got to the stadium around 10 30, took a long time to find parking that wasn't outrageously expensive. ($5) Stopped in some nowhere place to get gas. Coming back I believe we left Seattle at about 3 30 pm. Traffic jam getting out of the stadium area (not unexpected). Stopped around Bellingham for some McDonalds and some gas. Border line was very bad, line for truck crossing started just off the I-5, and took 2 hours, but by all reports the I-5-99 crossing line was worse. Got home around 9 pm.