Hey everyone – my friends and I are planning a 3 week trip out to the Pacific Northwest national parks in late August/early September. I just wanted to share the potential itinerary I was drafting up and see if anyone had any thoughts on it.
Fly into Seattle, rent a car
3 days – Olympic NP
1.5 days – Mount Rainier NP, drive to Portland OR
1 day – drive along Columbia River gorge, waterfalls and hikes
**OPTIONAL**
Drive to Crater Lake NP (adds about 8 hrs total driving time and a day touring the park)
Drive east towards Jackson WY (1 day)
3-4 days Yellowstone
1 – 2 days Grand Teton
Take Beartooth Pass north and drive to Whitefish Montana (1 – 1.5 days)
3 – 4 days in Glacier NP (yes already have car reservations)
Drive west to Washington (1 day)
1 day in North Cascades
Drive back to Seattle and fly back home
Obviously this is a very rough, basic itinerary that I just started putting together, so will need some fine tuning, but this is the general route we are thinking of following. I know it involves lots of driving, but we really do want to hit the parks in Washington, as well those in Wyoming and Montana. So the most logical option seemed to be to start in Seattle and make a loop like this (pictured). I will be traveling with 2 others so we can all split the driving.
Does it seem like we are giving an adequate amount of time to each park? The time spent in each place could be adjusted as needed, we are very flexible (as long as we are in Glacier on the days I have reservations for).
Also is it worth the lengthy detour to visit Crater Lake? A bit undecided on that aspect.
Other than those few questions any advice/criticism is welcome!
by DueBarracuda
5 Comments
Pnw but no ocean?!
101 and crater lake are absolutely worth it. But I love here and it never gets old.
Crater Lake should not be missed. It’s the most beautiful of all the PNW NPs.
If you want a unique mountain biking experience coming out of Glacier towards I90, Route of the Hiawatha takes you through old train tunnels.
https://www.ridethehiawatha.com/trail-maps
Consenting your route through southern Idaho, you should add craters of the moon national monument. A few hours of all you really need, but I could kill days there easily.
North cascades NP is gorgeous, and not already included in your itinerary, unless I missed it?
Crater lake is awesome, but pretty far out of the way of anything else. You could just as easily pair it with a trip to Lassen or the redwoods.