Where Ya Been?

[El_Jefe]

I'm slowly realizing that a Pacific Northwest trip needs to be shrunken down to a much smaller area. Any suggestions around Seattle and Olympic NP, and surroundings, would be appreciated. I'm thinking even adding in North Cascades is too much.

Of course it depends on how long you'll be there ...

About 10 years ago we (brother, dad, and I) went to Seattle + Vancouver for a week. We did not do Olympic or Cascades, but did do Mt Rainier.

Seattle:
- Seattle is limited as a tourist city, can do it in 2d, 3d max. But it has beautiful waterfront views in many places. My favorite: on a clear day, you can see Mt. Rainier from Husky Stadium as if it's 5 mi away -- it's really 90 min away.
- Do the standard tourist stuff: Space Needle, Jimi Hendrix Experience (now Museum of Pop Culture), Chihuly Glass Museum, etc. Pike Place Market is severely overrated, can skip that, but some of the market restaurants are good if you're already there.
- Severely underrated: Seattle Underground Tour (starts downtown near Pioneer Square) and the Japanese Garden (in a quiet residential area in the east side of town). Do these.
- Plan to eat a lot of Asian and seafood (especially king, sockeye, and coho salmon, halibut, and dungeness crab). Ivar's is good -- go to the one on Northlake just off I-5. Also lots of good places in West Seattle, that feel more like Annapolis than a major city.
- Seattle has big problems with homelessness and political violence. Pay attention and be wary of downtown and Capitol Hill (the hipster district that the city allowed anarchists to take over in 2020). If you do either, be aware of the situation (and hopefully it's ok that day).
- Traffic is very nearly as bad as LA and SF. There are very few ways in and out. Plan accordingly.

Mt. Rainier is about 90 min S of Seattle. We did it as a day trip, but it is a long day. Plan to leave early. Also, I think you now need to reserve entry.

Between Seattle and Vancouver: do the Boeing factory tour. It's about 1 hr N of the city, so best done to/from Vancouver (or to/from Cascades). Bellingham is a decent pit stop if you need to stretch your legs, but not a priority.

Vancouver:
- Vancouver is a very pleasant city but kinda boring. And expensive. Manhattan thinks Vancouver is expensive.
- In town, do Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden and walk around Chinatown. Drive or bike thru Stanley Park, then take the bridge to North Vancouver and walk over Capilano Suspension Bridge. Do the markets on Granville Island.
- Take the car ferry to Victoria, which is a lot like Annapolis. While on the Vancouver Island, definitely do Butchart Gardens. Can be done in a day, does not need an overnight. Definitely need a car, ferry terminal is about 30 min from Victoria, and Butchart is in between.

Don't take a ferry across the border between Seattle and Vancouver. Passport control on both sides can make the boat ride much longer than driving. Consider the ferry between Olympic NP and Vancouver Island (Victoria BC) -- but first check the ferry schedules.

 

[amattaro]

I'm slowly realizing that a Pacific Northwest trip needs to be shrunken down to a much smaller area. Any suggestions around Seattle and Olympic NP, and surroundings, would be appreciated. I'm thinking even adding in North Cascades is too much.

Many childless years ago my wife and I circled the Olympic peninsula and also hit Mt St Helens, Mt Rainier, and Crater Lake. They are all definitely worth seeing. The diversity across Olympic is amazing. We are planning on taking the kids to see them but will probably do Olympic and North Cascades in one trip and the volcanoes/Crater Lake/Bend in another. Maybe when track and field team trials are going on.

 

[AgSurfer]

I'm slowly realizing that a Pacific Northwest trip needs to be shrunken down to a much smaller area. Any suggestions around Seattle and Olympic NP, and surroundings, would be appreciated. I'm thinking even adding in North Cascades is too much.

Stay out of Seattle. It used to be a nice place to visit but it’s now not much better than Oakland.

Go to Mt Rainier and/or the Olympics for awesome natural scenery. A trip to the San Juan Islands is also worth it.

And go between mid July to mid August for the best weather unless you want a rainy vacation.

 

[HikeNatParks]

My wife and I are still trying to figure out what to do for vacation in June this year. We went to Yellowstone and Grand Teton last year and we absolutely loved it. My son also enjoyed it and suggested we go out west to another national park this year.

I'm looking for advice from anyone that's been to a few of them and suggestions on what you believe are the most beautiful parks to visit in June.

One of my favorites is Glacier National Park, but I’ve never gone in June. We like September, for cooler hiking weather and fewer crowds. If you don’t mind a relatively level hike, take in just a few miles of Highline Trail (see me below).
The other shots are a grizzly on the eastern side of Going-to-the-Sun Road near St Mary Lake, and Lake Sherburne, on the way back to the Many Glacier area (a must see). Maybe others can actually give precise suggestions for where they've visited in June. I wish you good weather wherever you choose!

 

[AgSurfer]

Our view from our back deck in Bonney Lake.

 

[RockySmith]

I’m following the Big10s from Chile today.

Retired 18 months ago, and have been traveling a lot since, doing all the things I never had time to do.

Our friends invited us to whitewater raft in one of their bucket list locations, on the Futaleufú River here in Patagonia. The area is a bit like PA, if Pennsylvania had turquoise rivers and glaciers. The mountains also remind me of the Canadian Rockies more than the Appalacians.

My wife and I had never rafted before, but it’s great. About 5 days of class 4/5 whitewater, plus 2 days of inflatable ducky kayaks on class 2-3+, plus a 7 mile hike with 3000 feet of elevation gain to a glacial lake. Nice cabins each night, hot tubs, etc. The weather was dicey, with rain about half the time and morning lows between 30-45 degrees. But we also had some warm and sunny days.

Anyway, I recommend it if you ever get the chance.

Like this:

Futaleufu Multi-Sport Adventure | Earth River Expeditions

Experience Chile’s Futaleufú like never before—raft, kayak, hike, bike, and canyon on a world-class multi-sport adventure with Earth River.

earthriver.com