r/PacificNorthwest • u/chemicista • 4d ago
PNW Road Trip 2.5 week (Jul 2025)
Hello! đź‘‹
My partner and I are looking to organise our second road trip in the Western US after an unforgettable Chicago -> San Francisco adventure in 2023. We've settled on the Pacific Northwest this time, and all we've booked so far are our flights (landing in Seattle on Wed 2nd July and flying from San Francisco on Sat 19th July).
We've done some basic research and have so far arrived at the rough itinerary below. I was wondering if anyone had any feedback or advice on how to improve it? Or suggestions on things to see and good stopping places on some of the drives. I realise we may be shortchanging ONP/Redwoods however we've already had to scale back quite significantly from our initial (mad) plans to include San Juan Islands, Vancouver and Yosemite NP! About us: we're a couple in our 30s from the UK, huge fans of the amazing natural beauty the US have on offer! We do enjoy hiking and sightseeing however not into camping or biking/skiing/surfing/mountaineering etc... We've hired a car in the US before and booked accommodation for a road trip so are okay with the budgeting/logistics, also we both drive so will be sharing the driving. Thanks in advance!
Day 1 (Wed 02 Jul): Land in Seattle Tacoma Airport, pick up car and drive to Mt Rainier. Overnight in Mount Rainier, WA. [unsure whether Sunrise entrance may be preferable to Paradise?]
Day 2 (Thu 03 Jul): Explore Mt Rainier, end overnight in Mount Rainier, WA.
Day 3 (Fri 04 Jul): Leave Mt Rainier early AM and drive to Seattle. Explore Seattle during day including 4th July fireworks. Overnight in Seattle.
Day 4 (Sat 05 Jul): Explore Seattle. Overnight in Seattle.
Day 5 (Sun 06 Jul): Leave Seattle very early AM and drive to Hurricane Ridge (either via Bainbridge ferry or via Tacoma Narrows Bridge?), explore then drive to Lake Crescent and visit Marymere Falls. Overnight in Lake Crescent.
Day 6 (Mon 07 Jul): Drive from Lake Crescent to Hoh Rainforest. Detour to Ruby Beach then on to Lake Quinault. Overnight in Lake Quinault.
Day 7 (Tue 08 Jul): Make way to Portland with arrival time flexible in case more time in ONP needed. Overnight in Portland, OR.
Day 8 (Wed 09 Jul): Explore Portland.
Day 9 (Thu 10 Jul): Drive east of Portland to visit Multnomah Falls and Columbia RIver Gorge NSA via Hood River. Drive back west though Portland to Astoria. Overnight in Astoria, OR.
Day 10 (Fri 11 Jul): Start from Astoria, OR, end overnight in Newport, OR.
Day 11 (Sat 12 Jul): Start from Newport, OR, end overnight in Port Orford, OR.
Day 12 (Sun 13 Jul): Leave Port Orford early and long drive to Crater Lake via Bandon/Tri-City. Arrive in Crater Lake PM and explore until evening. Overnight in Crater Lake NP.
Day 13 (Mon 14 Jul): Half day in Crater Lake then long drive to Crescent City, CA.
Day 14 (Tue 15 Jul): Redwoods day 1. Start from Crescent City, CA, end overnight in Trinidad, CA.
Day 15 (Wed 16 Jul): Redwoods day 2. Start from Trinidad, CA, end overnight in Mendocino, CA.
Day 16 (Thu 17 Jul): Start from Mendocino, CA, end overnight in San Francisco, CA after dropping car off at SFO.
Day 17 (Fri 18 Jul) and Day 18 (Sat 19 Jul): San Francisco
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u/tractiontiresadvised 3d ago
While July does tend to be a fairly sunny time of year, please note that there may still be clouds and rain. (I know somebody who has periodically run field trips to Hurricane Ridge, and it's apparently a 50/50 chance for being a stunning view vs. a bar of clouds and fog up there.) But if you're from the UK, I've heard the weather there tends to be fairly similar to the coastal PNW.
You'll want to have your hotel or campground reservations nailed down in advance, particularly in the small coastal towns and the redwoods, as it's peak tourist season. You should also expect traffic on Highway 101 to be slow.
For some touristy things to do in the places on your agenda that I can recommend....
In Seattle, the Underground Seattle Tour is a guided walk underground, looking at what remained after the city burned down in 1889 and they rebuilt the whole thing one story up. The nearby Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park has an exhibit on how Seattle got rich selling supplies to miners who were heading up to the Klondike in the 1890s. I personally feel that the Space Needle is overpriced and overrated, but it is one of the standard tourist things to do. Gas Works Park has some excellent views, but note that it's usually completely packed on the 4th of July.
Haven't been all the way around the Olympic Peninsula yet. However, if you find a museum run by one of the local tribes out there, I'd go check it out because those tend to be pretty interesting.
In Vancouver (Washington, not BC, on the other side of the river from Portland) is a reconstructed stockade at the site of the Hudson's Bay Company's Fort Vancouver. (I haven't been to the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site visitor center nor to their McLoughlin House in nearby Oregon City, but if you're in to history then you might check them out.)
In Portland, the Rose Test Garden near the zoo is nice. If you like books, Powell's City of Books is a giant used bookstore. I see that another commenter mentioned donuts -- Voodoo Donuts is a Portland-area chain of donut shops with weird and interesting flavors (IIRC they initially got famous for their bacon maple bars).
In southwestern Washington and northwestern Oregon, you may see a chain called Burgerville. While I think their burgers aren't particularly special (they're decent fast food), their milkshakes are amazing, particularly the chocolate hazelnut ones.
Note that you will probably need a timed entry ticket for the area around Multnomah Falls because it's so popular during the summer.
Hood River is right around the area where the climate and plant life starts to visibly change to that of the drier east side of the Cascades. If you drive a few miles east to The Dalles, it's pretty much a desert. Seeing the rapid change as you drive is amazing. While I have not yet been to the Columbia Gorge Discovery Museum in The Dalles, it looks like it should be interesting.
The Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria has a focus on the treacherous waters of the Columbia Bar (where the very large Columbia River flows into the Pacific), the sailors who help ships traverse the area, and the shipwrecks from the boats that didn't make it. The docks in Astoria also have some sea lions which you can hear from several blocks away.
There are many small "wayside" parks along the Oregon coast with nice views (and restrooms!). All of the small towns along the coast have restaurants with good fish and chips.
Newport has the Oregon Coast Aquarium, which has a focus on fish and animals of the north Pacific. The nearby Hatfield Marine Science Center also has an exhibit on how oceanographic research is done.
Port Orford is pretty small, but the nearby Prehistoric Gardens is an old-fashioned American-style tourist trap with dinosaurs in the woods. (If you miss this one, there are plenty more tourist traps in the same vein in the redwoods.)
I agree with the other commenter that you may not need to spend more than half a day at Crater Lake. If you have time between Crater Lake and Crescent City, the Oregon Caves (near Cave Junction) might be worth a visit.
In the redwoods, note that services such as food and gas are surprisingly few and far between for the stretch of US-101 between Fortuna and Willits (or Fort Bragg on California highway 1). If you're going down highway 1, Fort Ross (a reconstructed Russian fort) is worth a stop.
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u/peacefinder 3d ago
It’s worth noting that long distance travel in Oregon is much easier north-south (along US-101, I-5, and US-97) than east-west between them.
The Portland-HoodRiver-Portland-Astoria trip is possible in one day but it’s going to suck. You might want to make the Columbia river gorge a day trip in the “explore Portland” day, then stay in Portland longer the next day and have an evening departure to Astoria.
Your later coast range and cascades crossings to get to crater lake and back will suck far worse. If you’re committed to taking the coast all the way south, you might consider skipping Crater Lake entirely. It’s great, but it’ll soak up most of two days just getting there and back.
With that time freed up, you could spend more time in Portland, the gorge, and hood river. An alternate day trip from Portland would be Silver Falls State Park.
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u/sirotan88 3d ago
For Mt Rainier I think you can do it as a day trip from Seattle. This can give you more flexibility since Rainier is weather dependent (and in early July, not sure if everything will be open and snow free yet, eg Sunrise road may or may not be open). One full day starting early and ending late will give you enough time to drive around the whole park and do maybe 2 of the shorter hikes.
For ONP the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge island is the way to go.
In Portland you might not need to dedicate a full day to it - we usually just stop for a lunch/dinner and donuts and then get out of there.
I think Crater Lake also doesn’t necessarily need a full day/overnight. I remember visiting it and just spending a half day there, we found cheaper accommodation outside.