My wife and I are currently planning a two week long road trip from LA to Seattle. It's been over 10 years since we last drove through the Pacific NW, and we can definitely use some help from the NW S2K owners. FYI, Our current route will take us from LA -> Sequoia NP -> Yosemite NP -> Lake Tahoe -> Lassen Volcanic NP-> Mt. Shasta -> Crater Lake NP -> Columbia River Gorge -> Mt. Rainier -> Seattle/Redmond -> Port Angeles -> Olympic NP -> Astoria -> Redwood NP -> Point Reyes NS -> Monterey/Big Sur -> LA.

We need help on which route to take, where to stay, dine, and visit. Especially near the following locations:

1) Between Mt. Shasta & Crater Lake NP
2) Columbia River Gorge: Where to stay - Portland, The Dalles, or ???
3) Seattle/Redmond: Currently thinking Westin or Sheraton in downtown Seattle for easy access to Pike Place Market & Art Museum. For dining, how is Elliott

 

Come on guys, I was expecting about 20 responses in 30 minutes with a thread like this.

 

I don't know much about hotels and such in the area. When I'm in the area, I don't stay at one!

And when I'm on the road, I usually opt for a cheap bed and a shower rather than a nice place to stay. Usually I'm not there to do "staying". How many days will you have available? What do you like to see? Do you hike? Drive? Shop? Drink? Go to sports events? Go to museums? Go to the symphony?

When people ask about restaurants, it really helps if they identify what kind of experience they want to have (fancy, "local color", atmosphere-be-damned-how's-the-food, etc.) and how much they are willing to spend (in time and money).

As for Seattle area: Pike Place Market and Seattle Art Museum are good choices. Aquarium is pretty good. Zoo is excellent (but not downtown). Greenlake (near Zoo) is a nice place for a people-watching walk. Seattle isn't a great walking town (steep, designed for cars) but the downtown area busses are free. UW campus has many museums.

Other things in the area you may not see elsewhere: Boeing factory tour, Ballard Locks.

Olympic NP is not a "drivable" NP. It's almost all wilderness. You can (and should) drive up to Hurricane Ridge. Just about everywhere else you can drive is really just a trailhead.

Mt. Rainier NP is more "drivable". The two best drivable destinations are Paradise and Sunrise. You'll get more out the trip there if you are willing to spend a few hours walking, though.

I assume you have a NP pass -- it's only $50 and valid at all parks for a whole year.

 

Sounds like an awesome road trip! We've done a fair percentage of those segments ourselves.

For most of those areas, I don't have specific suggestions, but for this one, stop in or stay at Cannon Beach. It's a cute, artsy little town on a really beautiful section of the coast. Lots of good shops, restaurants, and places to eat. Be sure to drive up to Ecola State Park for the view.

Ted

 

the aquarium is fantastic and well worth a visit

 

Yeah, but there are lots of good aquariums on the west coast of NA. The Woodland Park Zoo, on the other hand, is one of the very best in the country, if not the world. http://www.zoo.org/ Over the past 20 years or so it has gone from cages to almost all large naturalistic enclosures.

 

1) Ashland is probably the best bet, if you are on I5. It's both a college town and a tourist attraction (Shakespeare Festival) so it's got some choices.

2) Well, it's not on the Gorge, but it would be cool to stay at the Timberline Inn at Mt. Hood.

 

Mike, thanks for all the great tips! Your comment about "drivable" NP was exactly the type of local knowledge we were looking for.

To answer some of your questions, and to be more specific in what we are looking for during this trip:

One of the main reason for this trip is to drive S2K in it's natural habitat: Smooth black tops with extra twist. Another is to stimulate our senses: forests and meadows with its own unique scent, crystal clear lakes with ice cold water, and majestic mountain and ocean vistas. Any road that will take us to these places and also provide bonding experience for S2K and myself will be ideal.

Although most of the sightseeing will be done inside the car, we plan to spend at least couple of hours hiking in each of the NP we visit. Any recommendation on short to medium, not-too-difficult, hiking trails would be great.

For destinations (Seattle & Olympic NP) where we intend to spend some time, we would like to stay at a nice comfortable hotel, preferably within walking distance to local attractions. For places where we just need to spend the night, as we would in Klamath Falls, Columbia River Gorge, and Astoria, we would like to find a motel that is conveniently located, safe, clean, and odor free.

As far as restaurants go, we are looking for ones that specialize in regional cuisine. However, we will consider any restaurants that serve good food. The service, view, atmosphere, and cost are of secondary importance. If the restaurant is truly unique/excellent, we are more than willing to spend time and money necessary. BTW, we'd love to locate a good smoke house/restaurant where we can find quality smoked salmon jerky and filet.

 

We will definitely visit Cannon Beach and possibly Ecola State Park. Thanks for the tip. If you remember a good restaurant at Cannon Beach, let me know.

 

As for the Seattle Aquarium, since we were at the Monterey Aquarium last year, we are inclined not too go there during this trip. The Woodland Park Zoo has been added to our list of places to visit. Thanks!