Vancouver BC to Oregon coast newbie needs help please!

[Westcoast fan]

Hello,
I'm hoping I can get some help on very short notice! Ive been trawling this forum for a few days (hubby made last minute plans) but can't find an answer to my question.
We are traveling with a 6yr old from Vancouver BC. We are booked for 2 nights at Cannon Beach and 1 night in Newport. Where is a good half way point to stay overnight between Vancouver and Cannon Beach? Seattle? We are looking for someplace interesting and convenient to the trip at the same time.
We are hoping to drive back home from Newport, stay overnight in Portland then straight home to Vancouver BC.
Does anyone have any better ideas?
We are trying to break up the trip so as not to wear out our 6yr old.
I've gotten some great ideas about the Cannon Beach an Newport from this forum-- thank you--I'm hoping for route ideas too!
Any advice would be very much appreciated.

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Vancouver to Cannon Beach is only about 350 miles, so that it can be driven relatively easily in a single day, especially if you take a couple of 'time outs' from driving and let your child (and you) get some needed fresh air and exercise. Maybe two or three from: Wenburg Park before plunging into the Seatle-Tacoma traffic, the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center if you're taking I-5 as far south as Longview. Willapa National Wildlife Refuge if you head for the coast from Olympia, and Fort Clatsop whichever way you go.

If you really want to break this drive up into two days, then I'd suggest that you look at somewhere around the southern or western suburbs of Olympia so that you will have done the great bulk of your urban driving and will be in a position to drive out of town the next morning without having to worry about rush hour traffic.

You might also want to consider an entirely different route if you and your child are not already jaded with ferries. You could take the ferry from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay, and then a second ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles, WA, spend some time in Olympic National Park, and then take US-101 all the way down to Cannon Beach. Obviously this would also work in reverse if you chose to do this on the way home.

AZBuck

[Westcoast fan]

Thank you so much, this is really helpful!

[Mark Sedenquist]

I was going to offer some similar suggestions, but I started on this post nearly 8 hours ago and got sidetracked a few times.

If you do explore some of the Olympic Peninsula on your way south, here's one such route:


I'm sure your child would love to see the Sequim Trolls -- for a nice side trip. Click, on the red flag RA near Sequim (nearest to Seattle) to see what I'm referring to. You can also scroll in on the map to see some routing suggestions.

Mark

[Westcoast fan]

Thank you, Mark! Sequin trolls looks like fun on the way to CB.
We were thinking of hitting the Tilamook Cheese factory on our way to Newport.
We are even more excited now with all these great suggestions!