Submitted by [deleted] t3_10tvrlv in Washington
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Submitted by [deleted] t3_10tvrlv in Washington
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Wow that’s quite a trip! If I may suggest, take one of your Portland days and add it to the Olympic NP. The park is huge, and you won’t even scratch the surface in one day (or two for that matter). As a fan of a nice road trip, I’m jealous… have a fun and safe trip!
You've got a jam-packed schedule there!
I think there may be a couple of days that are pretty strained for time. One that jumps out at me is Day 16. The last sailing for Victoria from Port Angeles requires that you be at the ferry by 1:00 pm with your car. This really won't give you time to do any exploration of the ONP.
Hopefully you love sitting in a car and driving a lot. Day 16 is probably gonna not work out the way you want. I'd suggest writing down the total hours driven per leg and see if that's what you want out of a trip.
They won’t have time to take a shit. They’ll be either be stuck in traffic, trapped by wildfires, or unable to make ferry reservations. You don’t just drive onto the Coho. Same with the San Juan ferries. You need reservations months out.
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Onp is massive and not really a 1 day thing. Someone else mentioned the coho sailing schedule to Victoria and that time of year you’d only have 2 sailings to choose from. I would say that your day 16 is unrealistic.
Unrealistic is an understatement. More like an insane fantasy.
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Elimininate about half the stops.
💯
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Prime mushroom season. Spend lots of time exploring Olympic National Park, you won’t regret it!
They won’t have time to even take a piss with what they have on their itinerary, much less tromp around in the woods and then bust out a stove and frying pan to sizzle up some chanterelles.
Sounds like a fun trip! Vancouver Island is great but it’s MASSIVE. I’d highly suggest either just hanging out in Victoria which is a cool town. Or skip it altogether and spend more time in the Olympics. There is literally nowhere else on Earth like the Hoh River valley, and Hurricane Ridge is epic. In my experience, everything takes longer than you think it might and I personally would rather spend a little more time at some cool places than so much time in the car.
Yeah, that Vancouver island trip sounds ambitious unless you plan on flying to Tofino. Vancouver to San Juans in one day is a stretch too, with ferries (San Juan ferry is in Anacortes, not Bellingham) and border crossing. But it sounds like a fun trip nonetheless!
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Wherever you go get there VERY early. During summer, you can’t even find parking anywhere after 9AM. If you’re going from Portland to Bend, take I-84 through The Gorge to Hood River. Then head South on OR35 until you hook back up with US26 at the foot of Mt Hood. Do NOT try to take US26 or you’ll be stuck in traffic lights and crappy urban sprawl for hours, vs. getting to see some of the best scenery, restaurants, museums, waterfalls and save yourself a few hours and a shitload of fuel.
When you head back through to Astoria, you can actually save a bit of time by heading north up I-5 and take WA14 out of Longview. Same stretch of river, but better Mexican food. Clatskanie is a dump, full of speed traps, but Skamokawa is a cute little town. There’s really fuckall to do in Astoria anyway except drink. That’ll put you right onto US101 north. Will take you straight up along the coast-ish near the beaches toward the rainforests. Be sure to get fuel in Aberdeen at the Safeway before you head up the peninsula. Otherwise the Quinaults with take you to the cleaners. Forks sucks, but you can find a cheap motel there if need.
EDIT: I re-read your itinerary, and it is completely wildly unrealistic. The only way you could make this schedule is by doing a bunch of drugs and stay awake for a month straight or own a Star Trek teleporter. Also, Portland has become a shitshow of drug addicts. The main shopping district is a mix of religious crazies and drugged out lunatics.
EDIT2: You’re dealing with an area larger than France, Germany and Spain with almost 0% of the infrastructure. California by itself is larger than Sweden and the 3rd largest economy in the world.
Snoqualmie Falls is pretty great. Plus if you're a twin peaks fan, theres a ton of locations there and in near by north bend. The Double R Diner for instance.
Union Club in Victoria is very classy, old school accommodations. Recommend highly.
Cut out about half of that or all you'll be doing is driving. That isn't really time enough to do anything. You need time to stop for walking trails (not everything is visible from the highway) and to eat. Crater Lake specifically may already be closed for the winter by October, it's a very short tourist season there.
Totally. It’s like 4 hours just from Bend to Crater Lake. One way. Then like two-to-four hours just to climb down to the lake and back. Bring water and make sure you use the restroom before you head down. That climb back up is brutal.
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Based on many of the stops, it seems like you're more interested in the nature aspects. I would suggest cutting days/eliminating either Portland or Seattle. I'd personally drop both in favor of keeping ONP. Other commenters have pointed out, but it's really worth reiterating, there is nothing in the world like the Olympic Peninsula. Portland and Seattle are big cities like many other big cities in the world, and definitely lack the charm they had in the past.
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Those are all tricky parts for sure! They're far from each other and all have specific travel considerations. However, for their isolation, they provide some spectacular nature experiences. ONP in particular is unique and hard to pass up if you've been dreaming and saving for this trip for a long time. In your cuts, I would think about what it is about each destination you are most interested in. Is it a view? A geographical feature? Are there substitute places along your path that could pull double-duty or replace a more famous (but more out-of-the-way) destination? Good luck planning, happy travels, and congrats on your marriage!
Thank you!
Tofino area is worth more time. Long drive from Victoria to Tofino area.
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Your post didn’t state what your interests and preferences are. I suggest visiting Orcas Island (nature) or San Juan Island (nature + good food).
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Check out Apes cave, near Mount St. Helens. It’s a cave system you can go in, plan maybe half a day depending on what all your going to do. Make sure to take headlamps and flash lights, it’s pitch black without.
They won’t have time for that. They will have time for like 1/10th of what they want to see.
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I would look at what's important for you on this trip. I understand this is a first draft but it feels like a trying to see everything and you'll end up seeing nothing.
Sidenote but the car rental company will probably charge you a little for the extra driver. Hopefully gas prices aren't crazy high around October.
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Lawyer-Potential t1_j79azn8 wrote
Looks like so much fun! The Olympics are incredible. A couple of additional ideas:
Enjoy your trip! It sounds incredible