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Hello. I need some help planning a road trip to Seattle. We're planning to leave from Phoenix and I could use some ideas on places to see and possibly even stay for a night. We're looking to get there ASAP and take our time driving back to AZ. We have about 10 days. I would greatly appreciate any help.
Welcome to the RTA Forum!
Well, there certainly are no shortage of options for this trip. The fastest way there will be I-10 to the LA area and then up I-5. Its 1500 miles, which is a 3 day trip traveing 8-10 hours a day. You might be able to squeeze it down to 2 days, but you'd really be looking at uncomfortably long days (14+ hours on the road) and you'd probably be pretty exhausted when you get there.
If you take more time, you've got tons of options. You could simply make your way down the Oregon and California Coast, or you could see the more inland wonders like Mt. St. Helens, Crater Lake, Yosemite, or Death Valley. You could also work over towards Salt Lake City, and the cut south through the many national parks in Utah.
We're planning to take I-10 then I-5. I'm thinking of trying to drive to Sacramento on day 1, then driving to Portland on day 2, and finally arriving to Seattle on day 3. We're only going to spend a few days in Seattle and I was wondering if there was anything that's a must see other than the typical touristy stuff? We'll drive back to AZ through Idaho and Utah so hopefully I'll have some time to visit family in Flagstaff. I could also use some ideas on places to stay in Seattle that's not too expensive.
Hello. Some friends and I are taking a road trip up to Seattle this summer and we could use some suggestions on places to go camping especially along the coast. We are planning to drive up to Seattle as quickly as possible and drive back down along the coast. I'm hoping 2 wks. is enough time. I was also wondering which would be a better route to take since we're leaving from Flagstaff. I-5 through Cali & OR, or to go through UT, ID & OR? Also if anyone has any ideas on good places to go rafting in WA, we could really use your help. Any help is greatly appreciated.
My mapping program says this is the fastest way from Flagstaff to Seattle:
US-89 to north of Panguitch, UT
UT-20 to I-15
I-15/I-84/I-82/I-90 to Seattle
1350 miles, 21 hours driving at the speed limit, NO stops, and no traffic or construction delays. What I would do, being as you will be going right past it, is spend the first night in Panguitch and see Bryce Canyon (or you could camp in the park). The second night, Twin Falls or Boise would make sense.
I-40/CA-58/I-5 is 1520 miles and my software says it's 2 hours longer. Stops would be needed in Bakersfield and Grants Pass.
Thank you for the feedback. I think we're going to go ahead and go through UT & ID, hopefully it won't be too hot and a little more scenic than going through CA. I know Zion N.P. is kind of out of the way but is it worth making a stop to camp for the night? Are there any places in ID that we should stop to check out? We've never been to this part of the country, so we're pretty much up for anything.
A few sites I've found worth a stop near I-84 in Southern Idaho would include the Thousand Springs area, Bruneau Canyon (this does require driving a gravel road through a U.S. Air Force bombing range), Bruneau Sand Dunes, and Hagerman Fossil Beds.
AZBuck
Zion is definitely an option - not out of the way at all, take UT-9 off US-89 and go in the east entrance. Then you could go out the main entrance and pick up I-15 directly or you could go back to US-89 and head to Bryce if you want.
Thank you for the response AZBuck. Air Force bombing range huh? That sounds exciting. I will definitely take a look at these. Dirt roads are no problem since we're taking a truck. I also heard about some hot springs somewhere in ID. Is there any part of the OR coast that's a must see? I'm trying to figure out a route to Crater Lake without missing too much of the coast. We are planning to stop at Redwood N.P. after this too.
I had a couple more questions. Is it possible to do Snoqualmie Falls, Mt. Rainier & Mt. St. Helens in a day? Or would it be best if we skipped one? Since we would be coming from Richland to Seattle.
It's do-able but I'm not sure that it's really advisable. If you do it, the only way it would work would be via this route. When you're not on the these roads are narrow and windy so don't expect to make very good time. It would be a gorgeous drive though. However, you're not going to have much time to explore if you try to do this all in one day. If you leave at the crack of dawn, you should be able to get in a couple VERY short hikes, but nothing much. You're also missing Paradise, probably the more popular part of Mt. Rainier. Sunrise is also spectacular though. Anyway, there's a lot of great stuff all along this route so you're going to be rushed and have to skip some amazing places. Any way to make this a two-day trip?
Whatever you do, don't skip it!! Way too beautiful (Rainier) and amazing (St. Helens) to miss, imho.
If you have to skip anything, I suggest it be Snoqualmie Falls. But, really, once you do the two mountains, the zig over to the falls really isn't adding all that much time or miles. Why don't you see how late it is and how tired you are aftering visiting Mt. Rainier before you decide whether you are up for seeing the falls? If you decide you're not up for it, your route would look like this.
How many days are you staying in Seattle? Snoqualmie Falls is really just a very short daytrip from there.
Thanks for your help. Well we are planning to spend a few days in the area. I really want to go to Olympic N.P. too, along with the touristy stuff in Seattle. We'd much rather play it safe and besides I hate being rushed. I was curious if it would be possible, which it is. It might not be the smartest thing to do after a long drive the day before. I know we're going to want to do some hiking in the area as well. Thanks again PNW Judy, your honesty is greatly appreciated. I'm so excited, I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS TRIP!!!
If you're going to be in Seattle for a few days, and probably not doing as much driving for a day or two, then why not go for a long but great day on the Richland-Seattle leg? Like I said, you could cut it short if it doesn't work out and then make daytrips to Rainier or Snoqualmie.
How are you going home? You could also hit Mt. St. Helens on the way home...if you're going home via I-5 South, that is. If you decide to wait until going home to see Mt. St. Helens, you could see Rainier and Snoqualmie Falls via this route. Then, on the way home, see Mt. St. Helens from the other side.
What are your plans for the Olympic Peninsula? I'd be glad to help you out with that area as well.
OMG! PNW Judy you're AWESOME!!!! We'll more than likely see how we feel at the time, but I would like to do some hiking & camping at Rainier. If we camp we'll have time for the falls without rushing. I hope its as beautiful as Havasu Falls, in a different setting of course.
As for the Olympic Peninsula. I have no idea. Obviously camping & hiking. I don't know where. One of my friends was telling me about First beach, Second beach & Third? Any ideas?
We still have the rafting trip we want to take. Possibly in the Columbia River Gorge. We're still doing research on that.
Here's a list of places that my friends and I want to go to on the way home:
Cape Disappointment, Crater Lake, Redwood NP, San Francisco, Santa Monica then Flagstaff (home). Sort of. Denver is now home for me. Ill be flying in from Phoenix. I think we have a plan for this, but it may involve missing out on the OR coast.
The Olympic Peninsula really has a lot of things to see. I'm sure with your time constraints you'll have to make choices. I'm not clear on how much time you have for your trip home.
Very few visitors to these forums come to Washington state so, when someone does, I really enjoy helping people play in my backyard, so to speak. Glad you're finding my advice helpful.
Back to camping at Mt. Rainier...I suggest you get your reservations in pronto. They have only a couple of campgrounds in the park and they fill up fast. I hope this link works and takes you straight to the map of campgrounds. Looking through the dates available, it looks like every weekend is booked through the summer so I hope you're not going to get there on a Friday or Saturday or your chances of camping are non-existent. There are openings during the week but don't wait. Well, at least the Ohanapecosh campground (SE corner on the map). I didn't check all the other potential campgrounds near Mt. Rainier NP.
This map shows the rafting you'll find near the Columbia River Gorge. We have been on trips with Zollers several times and really enjoyed them but I'm sure all the companies do a good job. The Gorge is really known for its wind-surfing. I've never tried it so I can't make any recommendations but if you're in decent shape, it should be a hoot. Hood River OR is the hotspot for wind-surfing so I'd google around and see what you find there. I think there's quite a few companies that offer introductory classes/rentals at reasonable prices, last I checked anyway.
First, Second, and Third Beach are all in the Kalaloch area (F on this map). Fine beaches. But I prefer Ruby Beach which is just a bit north of Third Beach (there are signs on 101 pointing you to it). Ruby Beach has more haystacks and tidal pools.
You will also want to explore the Olympic Park's rainforest. Amazing. Since you're short on time, the best place to do this would be at Lake Quinault (G on the map). There are many other trails but this is the closest to the main highway and will take you the least amount of time to get there. And, besides, the lake itself is also beautiful to visit.
From Kalaloch, drive south on 101 and just before Lake Quinault, look for the North Shore Road. There's a somewhat ramshackle, wooden mercantile store on the left side of 101 right next to the road but I don't recall the name off-hand, sorry. Anyway, drive about 8-11 miles down the Northshore Road and you'll see a ranger station. Across from the ranger station, from the parking lot, is a fantastic interpretive trail only about one miles long, maybe a tad more, taking you through a forest that seems Jurassic. Huge ferns, even more moss, etc. It's an excellent example of the rainforest's old-growth forests. Well worth the detour.
This brochure has some of the trails on the south side of the lake. Still gorgeous with large rainforest trees, ferns, and moss, but not quite as prehistoric feeling. Also worth doing though.
You just can't come to the rainforest area and miss these forests. It would be a real shame.
The rest of the map shows how you can see the places you want to see without missing the coast. And some of the towns worth visiting.
Anyway, start by taking the ferry across to Bainbridge Island from Seattle and enjoy your tour. If you have anymore questions, about the map and anything else, let me know.
Oh, if possible, I'd allow at least 5 days for this stretch.
I'm glad you're finding my posts helpful. Most visitors to this forum aren't coming to my "backyard" so, when someone is, I love to give them extra help.
We have about 2 wks to make it there and back (July 26- Aug. 8.). We're planning to leave on a sunday and hopefully be in Seattle on tuesday or wednesday if we camp. For Rainier, we'd be there on a mon. or tues. The original plan was to drive straight through to Seattle to allow for more sightseeing, since there will be 3 of us maybe 4 if he can get time off. That is still an option for us. We would like to go rafting on a thursday or friday. Head to Crater Lake on sat., then hopefully get to the Redwoods on Sun. That would leave us about 4-5 days for the California coast. Can we do all the touristy stuff for Seattle in a day? I hope so. That would give us more time for ONP, which is where I really wanted to go.
So many things, so little time. I wish we had more than 2 wks for this trip. We'll just have to make do with the time we have. Descisions, descisions. We're still working on a route to fit in everything. It looks like we may loop around ONP, down the coast to Cannon Beach, to Columbia River Gorge, Down to Crater Lake, then to Redwoods, and down the coast from there.
Thanks again for all your help PNW Judy.
No matter how much time you have, more is always better. Ah, well....
No, you won't be able to see everything in Seattle worth seeing in one day. Not a chance. You will have to make some difficult choices.
Some of the best of the highlights might include starting early at the Farmer's/Pike Place Market (watch out for flying fish!), then down to the waterfront and a visit to the Ye Olde Curiousity Shoppe, then a walk down to Pioneer Square (where Seattle first started, the historic district) where you can take the infamous underground tour of Seattle (lots of fun and quite interesting) which start at Doc Maynard's, and then a walk back to downtown Seattle area to the Westlake Mall (about 10 long city blocks) to take the monorail (left over from the 1962 World's Fair) to Seattle Center. Take a ride up the Space Needle and, if you have time, maybe a quick tour of the EMP/Experience Music Project in the fascinating Gehry-designed building. If nothing else, walk around the outside this unique building.
This would give you a good taste of Seattle but there's a lot more to see. Lake Union and its houseboats, Hiram Chittenden Locks with the salmon ladders and arboretum/gardens, the very unique Fremont District, Queen Anne Hill and the Victorian mansions, Lake Washington, Burke-Gilman Trail, yada yada. But the stuff in the paragraph above is probably the best to start with.
Possibly your friend has other ideas I haven't mentioned that would be worth doing, too.
Oh, eat at one of the Ivar's locations, preferably the one on the waterfront which is the original location. Ivar is gone now but he was a Seattle institution, for many years. I can still sing the "At Ivar's...acres of clams" theme song. :)
You route would work. You'll miss the heart of the Oregon Coast but the California coast, particularly if you do the stretch on CA-1, will make up for it. Enjoy!
Thanks for all the info. You've been such a great help. We'll definitely look into all of these places. We're trying to get an idea of the things we want to do, so we can plan accordingly. I'm sure we'll make changes while we're on the road anyway. Do you happen to know where a good location to get a hotel room for a night or 2 would be? Oh, and some places to go for a night out on the town?
Are you concerned about lodging at specific locations? Or in general?
I'm not big on night-on-the-town stuff so I'm probably not much help there.
In General. We're not looking for anything extravagant. I was thinking downtown, but it may be little pricey.
Oh, yeah...it's pricey! I suggest you go someplace like Hotels.com to find one. You will want something in downtown Seattle, if you can find something affordable for you. If you're in the suburbs, you will deal with horrible traffic congestion to get downtown to explore. Or near Seattle Center so you can take the monorail into downtown.
I'm not real comfortable making specific recommendations because I haven't stayed in downtown Seattle for about ten years. Our trips there are generally day trips. The few times in recent years that we've spent the night, we've stayed with various relatives who live in the suburbs.
Anyway, ten years ago, the Travelodge by the Space Needle was decent. Not fancy, but clean. And I just checked the prices at Hotels.com and at the Travelodge website. While the chain's own websites are often cheaper, in this case the Travelodge website quoted $120 but $102 at Hotels.com.
Like I said, you can take the monorail to the downtown area and walk to the places I recommended in a previous post.
Check around and see what else you find. If you want, let me know what you're thinking of and what area it's in. I may not know the hotel but I could probably tell you the plusses/minuses of staying in certain parts of Seattle.
Note that if you're planning on doing the beaches in the Kalaloch area (First, Second, Third, and Ruby Beaches), lodging is really precious here. The only place to stay that is close by is at either the Kalaloch campgrounds or at the lodge. That's it. And they are VERY popular. Get your reservations here.
It's been a couple years since we've camped there but I'm assuming they still have the overflow area. Now, this is more like camping in a big gravel parking lot with some patches of grass around the perimeter. Not really a pleasant tent camping location. Especially because the lack of trees/brush means that the wind can really whip through there. But, if you can't get a spot in the campground, it's really your only other option in that area unless you spring for a room in the lodge or one of the cabins. And, when we were there, I think they only charged $3/night for the overflow.
Whoa, slow down there. I am afraid that trying to see the Falls, Mt. Rainier and MSH all in a day would not work! I just got back from a day trip to MSH with my science students (300 of them!) and we left N. Seattle at 6:45 AM and returned at 7:30 PM, had about 5 hours at 3 different stops at the mountain (including a wonderful hike on the Hummocks trail) but we were exhausted, and we were on a charter bus!
I am a native Northwesterner, and would most definitely pick either Mt. Rainier or MSH over the Falls, if you plan to take a whole day. Try not to go on a Friday because of traffic. Walking in the meadows up at paradise on Mt. Rainier or going up to Johnston Ridge Observatory at MSH are both incredible experiences and shouldn't be rushed. You can take a tour bus to either place, but if you have a car, it's easy to drive to either place. Take a picnic lunch with you if you go to MSH, there's really no good place to eat in the Monument and there is a lovely little picnic spot on Coldwater Lake on the way to Johnston. Be sure and pick a clear day if you go either place. Have a great time, hope this helps! By the way, although they look close on the map, going to Mt. R. and MSH on the same day would really be stretching it! It's a toss-up for me, but how often do you get to see a recently-erupted volcano? And the winding road up to MSH from Toledo on the Spirit Lake Highway is incredible, the views!
Kathleen
Oops, forgot to mention a few more things. The absolute best and cheapest way to stay in Seattle is to use Priceline.com. Just pick a 3 or 4 star rating in DT Seattle and go for it! You can't miss, they will often upgrade your room for nothing, and it's possible to get a really really nice place for $79-89 a night. You have to pay out front and don't know the specific place until you are approved, but the high star rated places are all fantastic. My sweetie has been flying up from Phoenix since January and we always use priceline. We have stayed at the Edgewater (our favorite!), the Alexis, the Westin and Hilton this way, all for under $100. Good luck!
About the coast: our favorite spot is Ocean Crest Resort. The rooms are a bit outdated but overlook the ocean, and the restaurant is FANTASTIC! Do not miss eating there!!!!! It is not crowded like Ocean Shores, but do drive out to the tip of ocean Shores to enjoy the pounding surf. Also, it is an easy drive up to the Rainforest/Quinalt Lodge from Ocen Crest which is at Moclips. (There really is NO Moclips, though! Just a bar or 2!)
Kathleen
Spirit Lake Hwy? Where's that at? I'll look it up. I didn't even think of using pricline. Thanks for that reminder. It sounds like we should spend our whole 2 wks up there to see almost everything. I guess i'll have to make another trip up there some time. I know weather is unpredictable, but any idea what we should be prepared for in late July, early Aug.?
The map I gave you that has you going up the east side to Windy Ridge is do-able and, yeah, you could do both mountains in one day if you see St. Helens from that side. Going to Spirit Lake Hwy and up to Johnston Ridge adds almost 2 hours driving time to your trip. Johnston Ridge has a fancy visitor center and Windy Ridge does not. But the drive and views are superior at Windy Ridge.
Yes, it will be a long day and, yes, you won't have a lot of time to linger and explore, but it can be done. And, yes, your idea to camp near Mt. Rainier is better than trying to do it all in one day. It would be much more enjoyable and less taxing. But, if push comes to shove and you don't have much time but have the desire, you can do it.
I have done this loop in one day leaving at about 6:30am and getting home about 10pm and this included about 1-1.5 hours caving at the Ape Caves near Cougar, taking a mid-day break for a swim and picnic at Swift Reservoir, and some short hikes both at Windy Ridge and a few other places on the way up to it. The miles for my loop are only about 60 less than if you followed the map I previously gave you. Obviously, you would need to move a bit faster and not do as much hiking/caving/swimming.
The way you are coming and with the time you have to do the Olympic Peninsula and down the coast, I would not advise going to Moclips or Ocean Shores. It almost pains me to say that because this really is my backyard (Ocean Shores is 30 minutes from my house and Moclips only about 50 minutes). I would love for you to explore my area. But I didn't recommend it because it really doesn't fit in well with your plans.
However, you will get plenty of pounding surf on other parts of your trip (especially Northern CA) and the beaches in Kalaloch are superior to those at either Ocean Shores or Moclips. With the time you have, the detour to either is really not worth it. If you had more time, I would encourage you to do it.
The brochure I linked you to in a previous post is of the Lake Quinault area so, yes, this is a must-see on your way south from Kalaloch.
I never think of Priceline either. Good tip!
Late July through most of September are the prime months in the Pacific NW. While rain is always a possibility, especially on the west side of the Olympic Peninsula and the coast including the Kalaloch and Lake Quinault areas, we rarely have rain during those months. A lightweight rain/windbreaker type jacket might come in handy. I keep one of those small ones that tucks up into it's own little pocket in my car all the time in case it's nice when I leave home and I don't bring a jacket and then run into summer showers.
Well since this is going to be new territory for my friends and I to play around at, we are prepared to have many long days. Besides, we can sleep as much as we want once we get home. That's my plan anyway. Part of the excitement of going to new places. Anyways, we want to take in and experience as much as possible. If we have to, we'll skip the coast of SOCAL, being as we've all been there. If anything else comes to mind, please let me know. Hopefully, by this weekend we'll have a list put together of our top 5 things to do from each of us. Thanks for all the help. It's always good to get advice from people who live in the area. I'm sure I'll have some more questions once I go through all the info.
We pretty much have our route figured out. I was wondering how many days should we allow for the trip from San Francisco to Santa Monica? We would be driving along the coast. We want to be back in Flagstaff by aug. 7th., the 8th at the latest. Is $1500/person a realistic amount? I have an idea how gas prices are in the southwest, but no idea in the northwest. I was estimating on avg $4.00/gallon for the trip. About $950 estimate for gas total. We'll be in 07 toyota tacoma (4dr). I believe its a 4x4.
I would allow 2 to 3 days from SF to LA, depending on what you want to see. In that vehicle, I'd plan on about 18 mpg - $4 a gallon may be high but better safe than sorry. Gas prices are usually pretty much the same on the whole west coast (CA-OR-WA), but if you have to get gas in a remote area, you may even see $5 a gallon, plan stops accordingly. An example is in Big Sur, the one station I saw there is so expensive they usually don't even put out a price sign. Fill up in Monterey and you should have enough to make it to San Luis Obispo.
The original plan included Rainier & Crater Lake. It seemed that we would be rushed. So this is what we've come up with so far. I'm hoping we will still be able to check out Rainier on this trip.
Day 1: Flagstaff, Bryce Canyon, Salt Lake City.
Day 2: S.L.C., Boise ID, White Salmon River WA.
Day 3: Rafting
Day 4: White Salmon to Seattle.
Day 5: Seattle
Day 6: Seattle to Olympic N.P.
Day 7: Olympic N.P.
Day 8: Olympic N.P., Seaside OR, Lakeside OR.
Day 9: Lakeside OR to Redwood N.P.
Day 10: Redwood N.P.
Day 11: Redwood N.P. to San Francisco.
Day 12: San Francisco
Day 13: San Francisco to ?.
Day 14: ? to Flagstaff AZ.
I was wondering if this plan is realistic for us to do? The times are based off of google maps, and we're trying to account for food/photo/pit stops on our driving days. I realize that the first couple of days are going to be long days on the road. Since the 3 of us can drive, i think we should be ok. I was hoping to be back in Flagstaff on day 13 which would be a Friday, but it looks like Sat. might be better.
From San Francisco, we're debating to continue down the coast to LA, or to go to Yosemite. Which would be more worthwhile for us to see? They have never been that far north in CA. We could leave a day early from Redwood, which means we can leave a day early from San Francisco.
THANK YOU to everyone who has helped with this trip. All the info has been wonderful. Only 6 more wks to go!!!