<p>Tired of waiting for the perfect time (or savings account) for our dream trip, so have decided to go ahead and plan it for this spring or summer. Four kids, ages 11-20. Loose plan is to fly into San Francisco, rent a minivan or SUV, and make our way up the coast for a week or so. Looking for beautiful views, easy-to moderate hikes. Detours inland OK. I’ve always wanted to see the Columbia River Gorge, so that will be a definite. If we can add on some extra time I’d love to add BC to the trip as well, and make a huge loop of sorts… Other than car trips, we haven’t traveled in many years, and youngest has never been on a plane. I am a terrible (terrified) flyer, but will deal with that when the time comes.</p>
<p>Biggest hurdle right now is trying to figure out when S1 will be available, between LDAC in the summer and study abroad next fall, but I want to start getting ideas.</p>
<p>Would love to avoid crowds (and heat) as much as possible, but a lot of that will probably depend on timing. All suggestions welcome!</p>
<p>We flew into SF and drove a rented car to Yosemite this past August. It takes about 5 hours (they tell you 3 but plan on delays, road closures etc.) each way. Due to the fires this past summer, we took a very winding mountain pass to get into the park, which was very scary. It is so beautiful there, that I can’t wait to go back sometime. In the spring, you will see more water in the waterfalls, but it is warmer in summer. However, Yosemite is not on the coast, and I am not sure how that fits with your Portland/ Seattle idea. I really think that Yosemite is one of the most spectacular places I have been (and I like nature and have been to a few special places.) If you go, get good hiking shoes and prepare yourself to climb so that you can see some of the fabulous views. The kids will love it.</p>
<p>I suggest taking Hwy 101 from CA to WA. We’ve done the drive many moons ago, and I still have wonderful memories of that vacation. It is not as fast as taking the 5, but it offers many more opportunities for sightseeing. The road goes through the Olympic Peninsula:</p>
<p>Hoh Rain forest is a gem of our state (was decalared one of the five most peaceful places on the planet). If you need a place to spend a night, Kalaloch Lodge is a neat place situated on an ocean bluff (the ocean is really cold and non-swimmable, but your kids will like beachcombing):</p>
<p>If you end up venturing into WA, drive around Mount Rainier - it is a very scenic drive. There are some nice hikes in the Mount Rainier National park. Late June and August are usually your best bets if you don’t enjoy rain.</p>
<p>You can take a ferry from WA to Victoria, BC (don’t forget your passports).</p>
<p>I agree that Yosemite is a gem that requires a separate trip.</p>
<p>Thank you! Am already getting excited (except for the high/winding roads part!).
Just wondering - does Yosemite get as jam-packed as Yellowstone in the summer?</p>
<p>You have to do some editing. It’s way too much driving/hustling for a week. As a veteran of my dad’s many over-planned western trips, I can tell you that the kids will start fighting by the second day in the car, if not before. They would prefer to stay in one place for at least a few days and make it their own. Have them help in the planning stages. You could consider the one-way idea, or make Portland your northernmost point, or drop Yosemite and San Francisco entirely.</p>
<p>Just returned from a trip to Yosemite. We went mid week and booked our lodging in early Sept. We had no problem finding a room for Wed and Thur night but did have a problem for Friday night since we wanted a bathroom.
We stayed Wed and Thur at the Wawona. We loved it. It was peaceful. We spent Thur at Mariposa Grove and hiking near Glacier Pt. It was not crowded. The park service provides a shuttle bus to Mariposa Grove from the Wawona. There is also a shuttle that leaves Wawona in the am and returns in the late afternoon from the valley.On Friday we headed to the valley. It was too crowded for my taste. They do have shuttles running and that is the best way to get around. We ended up spending the afternoon at a nice spot along the Merced river.
If you want to stay in the park make the reservation now. Also lodging in the park is very expensive for what you are getting. You are paying for the location.</p>
<p>I also endorse dropping Yosemite and seeing it sometime in the spring or fall when the park is not crowded (in spring the ephemeral falls are great too! many more spectacular water sites than other times of year)</p>
<p>You can definitely spend a beautiful week on 101 going north and seeing the coast and inland redwood parks…</p>
<p>Just outside Portland is beautiful and over-visited Multnomah Falls. If you get off the main highway (I-84) and onto the old Gorge highway there are dozens of beautiful falls very close by. You can see several in an afternoon.
[Waterfalls</a> of Oregon - Columbia River Gorge Regional Map](<a href=“waterfallswest.com”>Waterfalls of Oregon - Columbia River Gorge Regional Map)</p>
<p>Redwoods NP is between SF and Portland and is worth a stop and a hike. The coastal route won’t be the fastest but will generally be more scenic but keep in mind that much of the coast in Northern Cal, Oregon, and Washington can often be socked in with fog - sometimes up to around the road so there can be times when you say to yourself this would be a spectacular view if only you could see it.</p>
<p>Mt. St. Helens is between Portland and Seattle. It’s been quite a while since I drove up there but it was pretty awesome to see the impact of that volcano with all the blasted down trees and destruction caused by the blast and the views were very nice also. It was well worth the drive up the mountain. I don’t know what it’s like now though but I’m sure other posters do.</p>
<p>Yosemite is very nice especially if you get out and do some hikes to get away from the village area where most people are. There are lots of different levels of hikes you could do. Not too far from Yosemite, but south from it rather than north, is Sequoia NP with it’s massive and spectacular trees. It’s usually less crowded than Yosemite.</p>
<p>If you’re into saving some money and getting a little closer to nature you could always camp since you’ll be in areas with great camping. If you don’t want to go quite that route you can sometimes rent cabins or tent cabins and still save some money.</p>
<p>You’ll need to work up more detail and figure out what you want to do/see and how long it’ll take because it’d be tough to do it all enjoyably in a week. Ideally extend the time to do everything you want.</p>
<p>checking in again–
Thanks, all. Would only venture to BC if we made it a longer trip. I agree that Yosemite/Sequoia would probably be ideal for one trip, and OR/WA another. One of the main expenses will be airfare, though, and there will be at least five of us, so it would probably be a while (if ever) before we get a chance like this again. 10-12 days or so would be a possibility. The plan was going to be fly in to SF, and fly home from Seattle (or vice versa).</p>
<p>Be sure to swing through Crater Lake National Park on your way through Oregon. Absolutely gorgeous - the deepest lake in the US and clearest water anywhere on the planet.</p>
<p>Hmm. Depending on time available, the suggestion to do Yosemite some spring or fall is probably a sensible one (though terribly disappointing-- I REALLY want to go). But, if it meant not rushing and avoiding crowds, I’d consider it. Guess that’s why I’m posting here!</p>
<p>Another vote for Yosemite at Easter/spring break. Spring break for California schools varies a little bit, and may be less crowded, but as importantly, this is when the falls are at their best.</p>
Given what you’ve stated about it being difficult to make a second visit and the fact that you ‘really’ want to go, I suggest just doing it this trip now even if it means you’re a bit more rushed or spend an extra day or two on the vacation. You can make up some of the time in other areas of the trip - perhaps with a couple of longer driving days. Keep in mind that if you really wanted to you could drive from SF to Seattle or Yosemite to Seattle in a day but of course wouldn’t get to do much in the way of sightseeing so you can just adjust driving time with sightseeing time and get at least a taste of it all.</p>
<p>Thanks–must weigh the options. Our main problem at the moment is finding out when S1 will have to be at LDAC in Ft. Lewis (WA). Could be the beginning, middle or end of the summer. We have a lot to discuss but are going to figure it out. It’s been a miserable couple years and we need something like this. I appreciate the suggestions!</p>
<p>Just a suggestion, take dramamine with you. Our daughter had severe car sickness due to the winding nature of highway one (the rest of us loved the road). And we stayed in Mendocino at a great bed and breakfast. We stayed in the carriage house so there was room for all of us. There was a state park nearby with redwoods and no people. Lovely.</p>
<p>Some years ago we flew to Seattle and drove down the coast to San Francisco with 4 kids, age 4 - 13. Great trip!</p>
<p>Your kids will love the trolley cars in San Fran., Ghirardelli chocholate, and the famous winding road downhill whose name I forget at the moment. We couldn’t believe we were supposed to drive down that thing! We also drove up to the lodge at the treeline on Mt. Hood. It was cool to see the beginnings of the glacier there (of course, it meant we had to pack winter coats in August.) Famous hollow redwoods you can drive through are in several places, but the MOST scenic and beautiful area was Hwy. 101 around the Olympic peninsula. Not-to-be missed temperate rainforest of enormous trees with moss hanging from them, like a fairyland. </p>
<p>I don’t remember how many days we took to drive…maybe 5? And then a couple of days in S.F.
We had a pretty loose itinerary–didn’t even know about the Olympic rain forest until we saw a brochure at the motel in Seattle, then we HAD to go there. So we drove a lot, but also spent a lot of time hiking and wandering around.</p>