We're coming to visit WA in July

[ironflange]

Not our first trip there by any means, but we want to see places we haven't been to yet:

Port Angeles/Olympic NP

Long Beach

Mt Rainier NP

Already been to St Helens, twice, so don't suggest that. Other than that, will we have tons of fun in the aforementioned places?

Thanks all!

[sneakythomas]

1. Good places mostly

The Olympics are great. Mt. Rainier took a bad hit with winter weather, but is always awsome to look at. Long Beach is a nice place, but a bit of tourist destination. My wife andI are big fans of Whidbey Island. There is a ton of stuf to do there, and some really nice plays to stay can be found on the net.

[ironflange]

2. Thanks, and welcome to DU

I just found out today that Rainier NP got messed up but good last fall. They expect everything to be working by July, I hope that's true. We're going to stay in Kent and do Rainier as a day trip. We don't need a place to stay, we drag it along behind us.

Inside shot, best I have on this pyooter.

Hmmm, if Long Beach is kinda touristy we may find another beach to spend more time on.

[lumberjack_jeff]

3. Long Beach is nice

If you're in the mood for hiking, the beach at Queets is wild and very, very isolated. It's probably the last undeveloped beach in the continental US. I rarely see human footprints, but I always see bear tracks.

You can get a permit to hike the beach from the Quinault indian nation.

If you're doing the olympic peninsula loop, stop at the lake Quinault south shore road and take the hike from the rest area.

[philosophie_en_rose]

4. Whidbey is scarily bloated.

I hadn't been there in years, but took the ferry and drove up the island to Deception Pass to meet friends.

It's full of McMansions on the ferry end and is a Big box wasteland in the north. (That Wal-Mart/ Burger King area is really, really ugly). Still a scenic drive in the middle, though.

[ironflange]

7. Thanks for the tips

It looks as though we'll be going through Whidbey only long enough to get to the ferry, so we won't visit there. Looking forward to Olympic, though. We lived in Victoria many years ago, but never made it across the strait to see the park. We finally will.

edit: misplaced the post. You get the message.

[uppityperson]

5. Drive around the Olympics stopping at: Sol Duc and Kalaloch

Camp at both places. Sol Duc is hot springs (developed) past Pt Angeles, nice campground and lots of hikes out of there. Kalaloch is out on the ocean, again great camping place, beaches. Stop by Port Townsend, lots of stuff here too (wooden boats, arts stuff, farmers market, uppitypeople)

[LisaM]

6. San Juan Islands?

Moran State Park is nice.

[opiate69]

8. While you're on the Peninsula, be sure to do some window shopping in Port Townsend..

Even better if you have the time to spend a night or two at a B&B.. or Manresa Castle

http://www.enjoypt.com/
http://www.manresacastle.com/

[LisaM]

9. Better yet, do some ACTUAL shopping

support the local economy! (I always do so when I travel).

Also check out Ford Worden State Park.

[uppityperson]

12. Saturday's Farmers Market uptown

Lots of good stuff.

[maxsolomon]

10. Mt. Rainier

had some horrific flood damage in the winter. the loop over Cayuse Pass may not open this summer.

[ironflange]

11. I just learned about that

We had it all planned out -- two nights in Yakima and Rainier as a day trip. Out via Chinook Pass, to Sunrise, then down to Paradise and back to Yakima via Hwy 12. That ain't gonna work now, I guess we need to pick one or the other. So, which is the nicer spot, Sunrise or Paradise?

[MiniMandaRuth]

17. Hmmmm, Sunrise or Paradise......

http://www.nps.gov/mora
Tough choice; both are beautiful. Sunrise is magnificent, but Paradise is equally beautiful & has a great interpretive center (Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson center!) A great full day trip from the West side is to head out of Enumclaw bright & early. Gas up. The main Ranger station is on Hwy 410 heading East out of town. Past Safeway & McDonalds. Lots of info there. Stop at Charlie's in Enumclaw or Buzzy's in Greenwater for breakfast (both on 410.) Or just coffee up at Starbucks in Enumclaw (on Hwy 410 across from Jeep dealer.)
Take Hwy 410 up to Sunrise. Admission is $15 for the day or $30 for one year. Dig the sights, then head back out on 410 & go over Chinook Pass (stop at Lake Tipsoo on the way up for a Kodak moment.) Head down the pass (now you're in Eastern Washington.) Drive to Hwy 12 (quickest way around the mountain since Cayuse is closed) & head up to White Pass (now you're in Western WA again.) If Ohanapecosh is open you may be able to cut thru to Paradise, if not you can take the long way through Packwood/Morton/Elbe/Ashford. Or, Skate Creek is a (old logging road) shortcut but I haven't driven it in many years so can't vouch for the condition. There's a real cool metal sculpture garden on Hwy 706 in between Elbe & Ashford worth a stop http://www.danielklennert.com/
There's many lodges around the area, or it's not far to drive back to Tacoma from Paradise. Watch out for deer, & have a great trip!
(if you do get into Yakima, grab a burger at Miner's.)
DaddyRuth

[ironflange]

18. I think I've figured it out

Two nights in Yakima. The full day we'll go to Sunrise and back via Chinook Pass. Next day we move to Portland, so we'll take the southerly route thru Packwood. If we can find a place to ditch the trailer for a few hours, we'll go up to Paradise. Otherwise, or if we don't feel like stopping, then tuff, we have a good excuse to come back another time.

BTW, we've been to Johnson Ridge at St Helens twice, so this time we want to explore the south and east sides of the mountain. Go to Spirit Lake via Cougar, then head straight back to the Columbia Gorge from there to make a nice loop trip. Sounds like fun.

[maxsolomon]

19. post 17's route won't work

if you're coming from Yakima, you can come over White Pass into Packwood & go to Paradise.

you'd need Cayuse Pass to be open to come down from Enumscratch.

at Paradise, go up the trails. there's a big loop i always take visitors on that gets above the timberline, crosses huge snowfields. its about 6 miles RT. not too tough, but the start will wind you. glissading, or just sliding on your butt, it a real treat in July.

[ironflange]

20. It's closed right to Cayuse Pass?

I guess that settles it then. We'll hit Paradise in a day trip from Yakima, then head south into the Columbia Gorge and reach Portland via the north bank.

[rhett o rick]

13. Only one word of advice when in the area: drink beer!

Best beers in the World.

[ironflange]

14. Sheesh, of course I'm gonna drink beer!! Wine, too.

I don't know much about WA beer, sorry, There are some Oregon ones I'm very fond of, like the stuff from Deschutes, for instance. We're going to provision the trailer in Yakima, what sort of Wash. brewskis should I try? Do you have that Bud Light stuff? :evilgrin:

[rhett o rick]

15. There are a lot of good breweries in Washington.

See this link: http://www.washingtonbrewersguild.org/

My favorites in Seattle are; Elysian and Redhook. Silvercity in Silverdale and Water Street in Port Townsend.

I love Portland Oregon. Pearl district has three breweries within walking distance plus at least on brew pub.

Washington has great wines also.

[ironflange]

16. Thank you

So much beer, so little time. :beer: