Seattle/PNW road trip advice

[Colleen27]

I posted this over on the Community Board and someone suggested I ask for advice here as well, which I really should have thought of myself given how helpful this board was in planning our two California road trips. So here's the latest set of questions. Any advice is much appreciated!

We're flying back from Alaska via Seattle and recently realized we've got a bit more time than we'd expected for our trip so instead of spending the extra time in Alaska (where we're already spending 3 weeks), we're thinking about taking the last week to explore the Seattle area and the Pacific Northwest more generally. It is the only west coast state we haven't been to, so it seems silly to fly there and not take the time to see a bit of it.

Right now, the must sees in the city that I've discovered so far are the Chihuly Glass Garden and Mo-Pop, and Pike's Place market. My daughter would like to check out Bainbridge Island, specifically the Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, and of course we're interested in the national parks in the area. Olympic and Mount St. Helens are musts, and my rough plan right now is to circle the Olympic Peninsula and drive down the coast as far as Astoria or Cannon Beach and then loop around inland to Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainer. We're going to be renting a campervan for a week, but will probably spend a night or two in the city either before or after the rental because I really don't like the idea of driving something that literally screams "vacation rental" (the company has "artistic" paint jobs on their fleet) in an urban area.

So my questions are: How long should I allow for the city, and is there anything else to add to the must-see list? Are there any particular stops, sights, hikes (within reason - we're moderately active day hikers, not hard core enthusiasts), or other attractions that are must-dos? I especially love places that don't necessarily come up on all the easy-to-find internet destination guides. And am I trying to pack too much into a week or so?

 

[Douglas Dubh]

I don’t think you’re trying to pack too much in, but you might have to keep the agenda a little flexible. I really enjoyed the Underground Seattle tour but it’s been many years since I went. There’s a National Historic Park site about the Yukon gold rush nearby too, as well as an old sub. Also the museum at Boeing Field is cool if you like planes and jets. The POP museum by the space needle is pretty cool too.

Further out, you can take a day trip into Victoria BC on the ferry at Port Angeles, and I recommend climbing the column in Astoria. There’s the Lewis and Clark NHP nearby. In Vancouver, Fort Vancouver has some interesting history.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

If you go through Portland, you might enjoy hiking up to Multnomah falls, which is an hour or so east of downtown. Powell’s Books is a cool stop, and the original Voo Doo doughnuts is in Portland. The donuts there are better than the ones at CityWalk.

 

[Colleen27]

I don’t think you’re trying to pack too much in, but you might have to keep the agenda a little flexible. I really enjoyed the Underground Seattle tour but it’s been many years since I went. There’s a National Historic Park site about the Yukon gold rush nearby too, as well as an old sub. Also the museum at Boeing Field is cool if you like planes and jets. The POP museum by the space needle is pretty cool too.

Further out, you can take a day trip into Victoria BC on the ferry at Port Angeles, and I recommend climbing the column in Astoria. There’s the Lewis and Clark NHP nearby. In Vancouver, Fort Vancouver has some interesting history.

I'm pretty good at flexible, especially when we're camping. Some of the best parts of our cross-country trip in 2019 were the stops we didn't plan.

I don't think I mentioned dates but the trip is this July, so I'm assuming Canada won't be an option. Here on the Michigan/Ontario border, the rumor is that the border won't reopen to tourism until after the fall/winter holidays so they can "soft open" at a low-volume season rather than getting hit with a large influx of summer vacationers, leaf peepers, or holiday travelers by opening this year. As much as I'd love to see the Butchart Gardens, it'll have to wait for another time.

The Pop museum is definitely on my list. Traveling with a tween and an adult-teen, I think there's a lot there that they'd really like. And we'll definitely be checking out what National Park Service sites are along our route because my 19yo wants to see them all (seeing all 50 states apparently isn't challenge enough when you've made it to 35 before turning 18). Since we're not going to make it to Skagway for the gold rush historical sites there, we'll have to be sure to check out the one in Washington.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

my 19yo wants to see them al

We were fortunate enough to be able to do two cross country trips before our kids started High School, and they completed over 120 junior ranger badges. They still like to do them now when we visit an NPS, even though they’re now in their 20’s.

 

[ninergrl6]

I think what you're planning seems feasible in a week since it sounds like the places you want to see are part of the natural landscape. About 10 years ago a friend and I flew to Seattle, rented a car, and drove back home to central California in less than a week. The highlights for me were staying at the Quileute Oceanside Resort in La Push, WA (it's closed at the moment but maybe it'll be reopened when you travel) and visiting the Goonies filming locations in/near Astoria, OR including Canon Beach. Seeing tv/movie locations is my kind of tourism In the Portland area I also second Multnomah Falls and, if you're venturing into the city center, Powell's Books.