Oregon and Washington States

Use the forum search feature - must be plenty of threads on this subject. You should be advised that until the kids go back to school the popular campgrounds will be booked. Fortunately for you most of the schools are in session after the first week of Sept.

I suggest you not try to see everything in one trip, there is simply too much. Heck, I could easily spend a month on the coast. We set up a base camp at Beverley Beach sp, about halfway down the Oregon coast, then explored from there. It was an easy day trip to many attractions. Did the same thing at Bend and Yakima.

I would urge you to go to Leavenworth, WA. It is a small town on US 2 that is a Bavarian motif. Just west is Tumwater Canyon. It has great color in the fall.
Another trip you should try to do is over WA 20 through North Cascades park.
Loop around the Olympic Peninsula on US 101. Some great campgrounds. We like Kalaloch Natl Park along the coast near Queets.
I would do the western portion of Oregon and Washington early in September as it turns a little moist later in month. Eastern Oregon and Washington has a completely different environment then western Or. & WA.

A month is a good start. Sept east of the cascades can be outstanding, warm dsys cold nights. Central/eastern paeta of both states are high desert country. Bend is approx 4000 feel elevation and dry. Sept/Oct is the best time to visit the coast.
If all you want is sight seeing the coast is your best option. If you want lots of outdoor activities central eastern is a better choice.
The Deschites river is now listed as a scenic wayerway. From Bend/LaPine area you can access the river for anywhere from a couple hours to several days. State parks like LaPine is eight on the river, has 14 miles of hiking biking trails to explore. Bend area offers hundreds of miles of trails. Surrounding Bend are lava flows, caves, lots of places to explore.
Far eastern Oregon is Willowa Lake area calles the Oregon Alps for its scenery..
Do not expect to see it all in a month. There is just too much. Remember you will eat up over a week just traveling to and from. So, do you have a month total or a month here?

Salt Creek Rec Area, Pt Angeles site 11 gives a marvelous view of De Fuca Straits. Get lucky and see a NAVY Sub

Visiting Fish Hatchery is a must. As previously stated Leavenworth is like going to Munich.

Casino's are everywhere. Drink coffee make your own or drink at fast food Mickey dees $3.00 up per cup in other venues.

donn0128 wrote:
A month is a good start. Sept east of the cascades can be outstanding, warm dsys cold nights. Central/eastern paeta of both states are high desert country. Bend is approx 4000 feel elevation and dry. Sept/Oct is the best time to visit the coast.
If all you want is sight seeing the coast is your best option. If you want lots of outdoor activities central eastern is a better choice.
The Deschites river is now listed as a scenic wayerway. From Bend/LaPine area you can access the river for anywhere from a couple hours to several days. State parks like LaPine is eight on the river, has 14 miles of hiking biking trails to explore. Bend area offers hundreds of miles of trails. Surrounding Bend are lava flows, caves, lots of places to explore.
Far eastern Oregon is Willowa Lake area calles the Oregon Alps for its scenery..
Do not expect to see it all in a month. There is just too much. Remember you will eat up over a week just traveling to and from. So, do you have a month total or a month here?

Deschutes Brewing in Bend has good beer for the end of the hike ;)

Pickup SR20 near Sandpoint Id & drive the entire length. You will drive trough mountains, many small towns, Winthrop is n old style western town, stop fro ice cream at the store. Continue across the cascade Pass, cross Fildago Island to Whidbey Island. Stop at deception pass! There is a park but you will need reservation, continue south to Coupeville. From Coupeville catch the WA state ferry to Port Townsend. SR20 will turn to US101 go S though the rain forest and toward Tacoma. You will cross Galloping Gerty a suspended bridge to Tacoma where you can catch I5 to OR. There are too many camp grounds to list along the way, state run, BLM, private. I retired in WA.

If you’re into kayaking I would suggest a few nights at Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend. Then hop the ferry to Couperville to Deception Pass.Should cost less than $80 for your rig. Deception Pass State Park is one of the most scenic in the State. Great kayaking out of Bowman Bay. Make sure though, if you go, to keep a eye on the tides. If you were to head south out of the bay to get a look at the two bridges and pass and tide is coming in you could be sucked into the pass.

If you are thinking about staying at any of the Oregon state Parks it is best to have a reservation for the coastal parks, yes even in September! There are a couple parks that are first come first severed they are a little south of central, Washburn is one can't recall the other.
It is currently the third week of October, and the numbers are finally getting smaller, and we have empty spaces, currently at South Beach SP.

Other than our favorite of the Oregon Coast, Mt Rainer, Crater Lake, The Olympic NP and Peninsula. I have discussed with DW of hosting in Central Washington to see the scars of the Glacial Lake Missoula. Grand Coulee dam and all the dams of the Columbia.

If you ever can stick to a schedule, make sure your are on Reserve America at 11:55 pm nine months before the date you will be at Beachside SP (just south of Waldport, OR and try for site #63! Site is about 40' and has Ocean exposure on two sides (door side and rear)! Good luck! If you can't get it try for sites #64, #66, #68, and #70 all have rear ocean exposure.

Beachside SP Map

Are you planning a month from leaving Michigan? Or a total month in Washington & Oregon? Remember that you'll be driving through other fantastic states depending on your route. You may want to add more time, if possible.

Definitely plan to drive Hwy 101 from Washington and down Oregon. Stay at the state parks. They're awesome! Stay at Fort Worden in Port Townsend, WA. Then drive around the whole peninsula and down into Oregon.