Los Angeles to Seattle in 5-7 days

I am new here and looking forward to using this forum as I plan an epic road trip for me and my kids (with husband meeting us at three different points in the trip at key locations). For now I am getting ready to practice my solo road tripping with just me and the kids (currently 11, 4, 1). We have done several three week road trips as a family now and love, love, love them!

For this coming trip I will be driving with my kids from the Los Angeles area and meeting me husband in Seattle to finish off our vacation. I am thinking of going part coastal, part inland. I know the coast is an absolutely gorgeous drive - we've done it three times now! We have favorite stops we love, and new adventures are always awesome too. I am thinking of 5-7 days, one of which will be meeting up with a friend in the Portland area for the day (a hike at a falls - the name escapes me). I'd love some help working up an itinerary for this stretch of my trip. We are seasoned road trippers, usually traveling for almost three weeks at a time. BUT, this will be my first solo road trip with the kids. I am hoping to test this out so I can actually extend our three week trips a bit longer while sending my husband back to work!

Then we have rental house in the San Juan Islands for 5 nights to pretty much unplug and relax. After this we have two nights at Great Wolf Lodge (my oldest (11) really, really wants to go - we got a great deal since it is midweek in September so we are gonna go for it). We check out on a Wednesday and have two options:

1) Drive home with my husband. We will need to be home on Sunday, so 4-nights only.

2) Explore a bit more of Washington, or maybe the Gorge area, or near Portland. We can drop him at an airport to fly home on Sunday (either Seattle again, or Portland). The kids and I would then fly down the five home.

Any input on how to handle the last 4-nights of our trip would be awesome!

Talking through the options with other road trippers usually helps me figure things out and get an aha! moment. Thanks in advance for any input you can offer!!!

Welcome Back to the RTA Forum! (You started using the forum 6 years ago, so it doesn't seem like you're new here?)


For your trip home, it would seem like there are 2 big questions about the best option for your family. First, what does your husband want to do? I mean, if you gave me the choice of flying home, or spending 4 days driving home, I'd take driving every time, but his thoughts could be the complete opposite.

Second, if he flys home, when do you need to be back? If you've got to be back before Late Tuesday night, then that's not an option I would even consider.

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

Welcome Back to the RTA Forum! (You started using the forum 6 years ago, so it doesn't seem like you're new here?)


For your trip home, it would seem like there are 2 big questions about the best option for your family. First, what does your husband want to do? I mean, if you gave me the choice of flying home, or spending 4 days driving home, I'd take driving every time, but his thoughts could be the complete opposite.

Second, if he flys home, when do you need to be back? If you've got to be back before Late Tuesday night, then that's not an option I would even consider.

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I think I came here when we did our first big road trip years ago! I always lurk, just rarely post.

My husband is good either way. He doesn't mind flying home if Washington is where I want to explore. But he also would happily drive home as well if that is what I want. It is tough when the place you love and want to explore is Washington, and you live in the LA area. Though Oregon has a lot to offer, as does Northern CA.

So, if we were to drive home in 4-days what would you recommend? If I told you the one place I really, really want to return to visit was Second Beach & the Hoh Rainforest how would you make that work in the 4-days we have left? I'm not sure if it would make more sense to go there first after the San Juans, then Great Wolf, then four days home. Maybe that would work?

If I do drive home I can take my time. It would all come down to money at that point, so it couldn't be all that leisurely, but I don't have anytime I need to be home by.

As we've told many people, and you've probably seen us do it, we can give you many options but the one to ultimately decide what you are going to do, is you and your fellow travelers.

Do you have any Twilight series (books or movies) fans in your house? (Thinking more along the lines of you or the 11 year old, not the little ones.) If so, the coastal area west of Olympic National Park, was where much of the series was set. If Hoh Rainforest is an eyes-light-up thought for you, so may that area. Then you could spend a day or two over there and then hightail it down the 5 in 2 days. (Seattle to LA is almost 1200 miles, so those two days will be almost 600 miles each.)

Staying around Portland, dropping hubby off at the airport in Portland - you could take the kids out to Astoria to the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center there, with Fort Clatsop. From Portland, LA is 960 miles -- two days of about 480 miles each. (Easier on the preschooler and the baby.)


Donna

I am planning a road trip to get from LA to Seattle. I am considering driving the coast but I am curious how long the drive will take to really enjoy it. I will be driving with my kids - 11 & 4 - and we will be meeting my husband in Seattle. I will also be meeting up with a friend in Portland on a specific date as well. I am just trying to figure what I want to do for getting to Portland.

The end of my trip looks like this and is set:

Saturday - arrive Portland
Sunday - Portland
Monday - leave Portland
Tuesday
Wednesday - meet husband in Seattle

How much time I have to get from the LA area to Portland is flexible. The earliest I could leave is the Sunday before - so that would give me at most 7-days to get to Portland. Could we take the coastal route? Or is that pushing it? How would you break it up?

Mod note. Please keep all questions regarding this trip in one thread. Thank you.

Yes you could travel up the coast from LA into Oregon and over to Portland in 6 or 7 days. You would need at least one overnight stop and 2 days to travel between LA and SF. From SF you could make your way up to the Redwoods and continue into Oregon. You can cut across to I5 at various points if you run short on time, which will depend on how much time you spend at places along the way, you might want a couple of days in SF, or the Redwoods area for example.

Mod note. Please keep all questions regarding this trip in one thread. Thank you.[/QUOTE]

Should I then change my original message since my trip is now DIFFERENT than when it started. Seems a little silly to combine my messages since I wasn't getting any responses in the other thread and therefore when I made changes I thought a new thread was needed. I apologize. I suppose this is why I prefer to lurk forums. I never get the help and ideas I am after when I ask questions...

Okay, so I see no way to edit my orginal thread title/post to display my changes to my trip. How can I get the answers I am now looking for if I don't change my thread?

Also, I know it is possible to get from LA to Portland in this time frame. I am looking for ideas from others on where good places to stop for the night are to make the drive a relaxing one and allow us to see and do things along the way...

Plans change, trips change, and all of us regulars know how that goes. OK, LA to Portland, ideas for stopping:

In the Lake Shasta area -- see Lake Shasta, or Whiskeytown Lakes area. North of there, the Mt Shasta area. Castle Crags State Park in northern California. Crater Lake National Park in Southern Oregon. Three Sisters Wilderness area in Oregon.

Does that help?


Donna

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Originally Posted by DonnaR57

Plans change, trips change, and all of us regulars know how that goes. OK, LA to Portland, ideas for stopping:

In the Lake Shasta area -- see Lake Shasta, or Whiskeytown Lakes area. North of there, the Mt Shasta area. Castle Crags State Park in northern California. Crater Lake National Park in Southern Oregon. Three Sisters Wilderness area in Oregon.

Does that help?


Donna

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Thanks. We are coming home inland. It will be quick 4-days from Seattle to the LA area, but we'll stop a couple times. We'll be tired by this leg so I'm not too worried about.

I was actually asking a new question to help with the first leg of our trip. I am looking to get help on going the coastal route. Wondering if 7-days is a good amount of time to make it a comfortable, not rushed, trip up. How to piece together a trip up the coast, good places to stop for the night, and then where best to head inland to get up to Portland. I'm trying to decide where a good place to head west would be if I start off going up the five just to put some distance in before we truly explore.

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Should I then change my original message since my trip is now DIFFERENT than when it started.

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Most trips take on a whole new format through the planning stages, that's why members are asking questions in the first place. If there is a new thread started for each question the forum would be over run with bits and pieces of trips that would make it hard for everyone to follow. Apart from that, I can't see how your trip is much different from your original plan. Every time you make a new post it goes to the top of the forum postings and each member will see it in the same way as if you had started a new thread.

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Seems a little silly to combine my messages since I wasn't getting any responses in the other thread and therefore when I made changes I thought a new thread was needed. I apologize.

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Each time you have posted you have had a response, including your latest post that was merged, so I don't see your point. I'm sorry you feel that it is silly, but the few regular members that give up their free time to respond feel that seeing the full picture rather than parts of it dotted around the forum is the way to give the best advice.

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I suppose this is why I prefer to lurk forums. I never get the help and ideas I am after when I ask questions..

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Again, I see that you have had a response to each question and we try our best to answer your questions as best we can by giving up our time. If you have specific questions to help with your planning then ask.

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Also, I know it is possible to get from LA to Portland in this time frame. I am looking for ideas from others on where good places to stop for the night are to make the drive a relaxing one and allow us to see and do things along the way...

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Then I am sorry, you need to ask that question not the one that you did ask written below.

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How much time I have to get from the LA area to Portland is flexible. The earliest I could leave is the Sunday before - so that would give me at most 7-days to get to Portland. Could we take the coastal route? Or is that pushing it? How would you break it up ?

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I responded by saying, yes you could take the coastal route which you clearly asked if that would be pushing it and I gave you an indication of other areas to visit and how to break it up. There is no point in us giving you stop by stop instructions when we don't even know details like whether you want to stop in SF for a day or two, or the Redwoods, or wherever, so we can only base our answers on the info offered. I prompted you to respond in my last post, yet you totally ignored the suggestions I made and decided to talk about our forum policies. Donna also responded without response from you, which could be considered a little rude. As has been said previously, ultimately it is up to you where you want to spend your time and we are here to help, but if you want someone else to plan out the whole trip for you then you would be much better off going to a travel agent. It's your trip and your input is vital.

You are more than welcome to continue asking questions, but the key to any planning is to do your own research and then ask for opinions based around your ideas.

What would the 11 year old find fun? Nature or buildings or hanging out on the beach or in woods?

What would you consider a successful trip up to Seattle? I ask, because you are the one who knows your family best. If you say "nature", then suggestions can be directed that way. If you say buildings, then we can suggest places to stop and view.

Let the 11 year old have fun looking at Oregon Coast Attraction sites, and make a list of 5 places that sound interesting, and then let you decide from there.

Sorry if I am came off rude before - Just trying to get a feel for how things work around here...

No problem Jocelyne, hopefully you have found the explanations useful. :-)

Now back to the trip planning.

Dave.