Planning a Road Trip in the Pacific Northwest

I love a good road trip. Part of the reason I like to travel so much is that I genuinely enjoy the thrill of discovery, and a road trip brings discoveries in spades. I could build an entire trip around a scenic drive. My family, however, prefers the type of vacation where we stay in one spot for a week.

Imagine my surprise, then, when both my eldest child and my husband pitched the idea of a classic Pacific Northwest road trip for our annual family vacation. Three of the west coast’s most iconic cities – Seattle, Portland and San Francisco – laced together with a dash of the National Park Service thrown in for good measure makes this travel agent a happy lady indeed.

San Francisco

We’re choosing to start our West Coast adventure in San Francisco. I’ve been there once as an adult, but none of the rest of my family has visited. It’s a very densely populated city, but small in terms of area which makes it very walkable. It’s diverse, and has some of the most varied and best food in the country. Plus, there’s Alcatraz.

I’m not sure if San Francisco really even counts as the Pacific Northwest, but it is climatically and geographically more similar to Oregon than to southern California. I imagine we will spend some time at Pier 39, and make a trip up to Muir Woods. Honestly, I’m pretty certain that the main reason we’re going there is so Zach can eat dim sum and langostines. Plus, there’s Alcatraz.

Northern California

Our route from San Francisco will take us over the Golden Gate Bridge and right through the heart of wine country. We’ll drive right up the Pacific Coast Highway, passing through Point Reyes and Mendocino (of Murder, She Wrote fame) before arriving in Arcata, Eureka or the Redwoods National & State Park.

I am weirdly excited to see some redwoods. They are the tallest trees on the planet, reaching heights of over 350 feet. By comparison, the average two-story house in the United States is just over 20 feet tall – less than 1/10 the height of a redwood.

This is also John Muir country. A prolific author and self-proclaimed “mountain prophet,” John Muir is frequently credited as one of the earliest (and certainly the most often quoted) conservationists in American history. Muir called the Sierra Nevada mountains the “range of light,” and would frequently do things like climb up into a tree during a thunderstorm in order to feel what a tree felt during the rain. Without the writings of John Muir, we may not have a National Parks system today. Visiting the redwoods seems like a way to pay a bit of homage to Muir. (If you haven’t watched the Ken Burns National Parks documentary, you really should).

Crater Lake Oregon

Our next stop will take us to the middle-of-nowhere Oregon to visit Crater Lake National Park. This has been on my list of places to visit for quite a long time. Crater Lake, as its name implies, is a lake that formed after a volcano blew its top; over the years, rainwater filled in the crater. It’s now the deepest lake in the United States.

Fun fact, the island in the middle of the lake is called Wizard Island. It is also a volcano, albeit a dormant one.

Portland, Oregon

After Crater Lake, the plan is to head up to Portland. I confess to not knowing much about Portland, other than its reputation for “hipsters.” However, it is also known for its coffee, and I love coffee. There’s also a book store that takes up an entire city block as well as the original Voodoo Doughnuts location.

The other thing I know about Portland is that its citizens are an outdoorsy bunch, and there are plenty of opportunities to get outside in the area. In fact, Portland is one of only three cities in the United States that has an extinct volcano within its city limits (Mt Tabor). Portland is also known as the “Rose City” because of the many gardens.

Olympic Peninsula

Continuing our journey up the west coast, we’ll swing through the Olympic Peninsula and Olympic National Park. Olympic has three very distinct ecozones – ocean, the paleozoic-reminiscent Hoh Rainforest, and the alpine environment of Hurricane Ridge. One of the things my younger kid likes to do when we go to national parks is participating in the Junior Ranger program. It’s a pretty simple idea – you pick up an activity booklet at a ranger station, complete a certain number of activities, and then turn in the book for a badge. We’ve done junior ranger at dozens of national parks over the years, and it’s a great way for kids to learn about the natural and human history of the area.

Seattle & Mt Rainier

Seattle is such a great city, although every time I visit I’m sort of surprised to find it there because it just feels so far away. From where we live in Florida, I don’t think we could be much further away and still be in the continental USA.

Anyway, there’s tons of fun stuff to do in Seattle, from visiting the Pike Place Market to checking out the displays at the Museum of Pop Culture. The flagship REI Store is in Seattle, as well as the original Starbucks. And one of the crown jewels of the National Park System is just down the road – Mt. Ranier.

Mount Ranier is massive, and is still considered an active volcano. Its distinctive shape is recognizable from a distance, and its peak is heavily glaciated. In fact, it is so heavily glaciated that it was used as a training ground for the US Army’s 10th Mountain Division all throughout World War II. I imagine we’ll spend a day hiking and picnicking in the subalpine meadows.

There’s one site in the Seattle area that deserves mention, even though it’s extremely unpleasant. During World War II, the United States government interred thousands of Japanese-American citizens – many of whom lived in Seattle. Bainbridge Island near Seattle has a memorial site. The site commemorates those who spent part of their life imprisoned due only to their ancestry. Part of the reason that we travel and take our kids places is to teach them about the country we call home.

Heading Home

The worst part about a west coast trip is that it often means an overnight flight home, and that is probably the case for this trip as well. But we will have made happy memories, enjoyed the thrill of discovering new places, and feel contented coming home to our own beds.

Ready to plan your own West Coast road trip? I can help!