Sea-Tac Airport Arrivals, Seattle, Washington, United States
Just a fun little neighborhood thing to visit under a bridge on your way in or out of Seattle!
Right in downtown, fun exhibits, short visit.
If you have time while in Seattle area, but should buy tickets ahead of time. Boeing Factory Tour.
One of the first 5 National Parks, it is the embodiment of the majesty of the pacific northwest, and contains the only remaining temperate coniferous rainforests left in the Lower 48. Must visit.
Top of the world in Olympic National Park. Check the Park Newspaper for this coming summer to see if they are doing starry night tours on the night you are there, or if it's a full moon, a moon walk. Wildlowers line the drive up to the top. Several trails around the top.
We stayed at the National Park lodge in Sol Duc, but even if you don't stay there, the short hike to the Falls from the parking area is worth it - we did it around sunset and it was pure magic.
One of a handful of access points to the rainforests within Olympic National Park, the Hoh is a top destination. If you want a quiet experience get there as close to sunrise as possible, you can walk the trails even before the Visitor Center is open.
This may be a little too far inland for your trip, but you are going at the perfect time of year to see the mountain. Often it is shrouded in fog in the early summer.
Paradise Visitor Center is the one to go to at Mount Rainier. The others are not close enough to the Mountain itself.
On your way back down south, stop at the St Helens Visitor Center
So this is actually called the South Jetty at Fort Stevens State Park. This is the mouth of the Columbia River where it meets the Pacific Ocean - the largest most important river on the northwest and key to the Oregon Trail. One of the most incredible experiences was to watch the sunrise from the top of the wooden podium on the South Jetty. Highly recommended.
National historic park dedicated to the Lewis & Clark journey, which followed the Columbia River to this point on the Pacific. Manifest Destiny baby!
From Medford - Route 62 north and then east. From Klamath Falls - Route 97 north to Route 62 north and then west., OR, US
Even though this is inland from the Oregon Coast, it is worth the stop. Deepest lake in the US. You can also stay at the National Park Lodge here as well. Look at the Park Newspaper for this summer to see if there's a ranger led hike you could go on, we did a sunset hike.
If you do end up going between Lava Beds and Crater Lake, you essentially have to go through Lava Beds. We actually didn't do any cave exploring, but we did explore the lava a bit. It's an other-worldly landscape.
This is like combining Yellowstone and Yosemite, but less than half the crowds. This is the park we want to go back to the most on the west coast.
1414 Harbour Way South, Richmond, CA, US
If you have a car in the SFO area, you should visit this park. Power to women! Also, if you look at the Park Newspaper, see if the 80-something year old woman who used to work there is giving a talk. She's amazing.
Underneath the Golden Gate - you don't get better views than this, you can walk around on the parapet.
This is a very sacred place. It is a magical dark and super silent grove of trees. It has a mystical spiritual quality. When you walk through it you have to have library voices. There is no National Park site quite like it. It does not take very long to walk through. Note this is the first park that requires parking reservations ahead of time which must be done online.
Dramatic high cliff overlook, walk out to the end of the boardwalk.
Overall, one thing I often suggest to people doing the pacific coastal trip, if you have any fear of heights, then you should consider doing a little more inland driving in the southbound direction and plan to do the coastal driving in the northbound direction. There are no guardrails on much of the coastal road and you will be gripping your steering wheel with abandon if you take the outside lane southbound on much of the California portion. Although, note that large portions of the California portion and More than half of the Oregon portion is not actually along the water. Additionally, do not be totally shocked if you get super unlucky and the temperature and humidity cause your trip to be shrouded in fog. Seems like a 50/50 chance on a trip like this. Trey and I got very lucky, my parents not so much. Also, watch out for ghosts on US Route 199 south of the Oregon/California Border.
