AZ to WA round trip

[PNW Judy]

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.

[n8vofaz]

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!!!

[PNW Judy]

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.

[n8vofaz]

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.

[PNW Judy]

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.

[n8vofaz]

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.

[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!

[n8vofaz]

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?

[PNW Judy]

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.

[n8vofaz]

In General. We're not looking for anything extravagant. I was thinking downtown, but it may be little pricey.