Seattle/Olympic NP/Vancouver or Banff/Jasper NPs/Vancouver

OK -- you like the outdoors, but you have limited time. As someone who has spent a lot of recreational time in the Northwest, here is what I would do if I had only a couple of weeks -- I'd fly into Seattle or Bellingham and spend much of my time in the North Cascades. Our favorite area is east of Bellingham, east of the town of Glacier, in the Baker Snoqualmie National Forest (which would be a national park in any other state). It looks like this:



There is a huge variety of great hiking and camping in the area, very conveniently located. The only problems are (1) there are people on the trails -- this is not empty wilderness, and (2) depending on the year, snow can linger into August -- it is a good idea to bring microspikes, which are slip-on crampons. They work great, like 4 wheel drive for your boots!

Here is a link to our most recent posting about that area -- lots of photos:

Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan area, east of Bellingham

The posting before that one is about the North Cascades National Park, just south and east of Mt. Baker -- also a great area, great hiking, jaw-dropping scenery. The posting after that one is about the Olympics, which would certainly merit several days' worth of activity.

Wherever you go in Washington, bring good rain gear -- a high quality poncho, a goretex windbreaker, maybe even goretex wind pants, goretex boots, goretex underpants . . . . you get the idea. It does not rain all the time in the summer, but it can rain.

Since you have been to Banff, I won't drone on about how great that area is. If you'd like to see some photos, check out our blog posts for September and October of 2012. I hope this is helpful!

Frankly, you can't go wrong. What sorts of activities do you enjoy – hiking, perhaps?

That plus biking, boating, wildlife viewing, exploring, fishing-anything outdoor related. Went to Barnes & Noble last night to get a few books on the area. Sure, I can look it up on-line but find the books easier.

Face it – there's just way too much to do in the Northwest. Rather than spreading yourself too thin, I would concentrate on one or two areas. Frankly, you can't go wrong. What sorts of activities do you enjoy – hiking, perhaps?

In any event, don't bother with Mount Rainier – it's got a lot of this ugly cold white stuff all over it:



Seriously, we spent two weeks at Rainier during the summer of 2010, just hiking to our heart's content. We spent a month in Northern Washington (the Cascades and the Olympics) in September 2014. We spent a month in the Canadian Rockies in September 2012. Take your pick! And once you focus on a specific area, let us know, and I'm sure we will all chime in with suggestions for recreational possibilities.

Very good advice from myredracer.

Consider taking the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria, then drive up Vancouver Island to Comox. From Comox, take the ferry over to Powell River on the Sunshine Coast and make your way down to the Langdale ferry near Gibsons which will take you to Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver. From Horseshoe Bay you have the option of: 1) going back to Van. Island; 2) heading northward to Whistler and on to Pemberton; 3) heading eastward to Hwy no. 1; 4) heading southward back to the Canada/US border. If you drive the Island and Sunshine Coast loop, you will see some of the most wonderful sights and scenery that the southwest coastal area of BC has to offer.

Victoria, (BC's capital) is a very interesting and unique city. LOTS of old well-preserved houses and buildings. They say it's "more English than the English". If you have the time, there are many great things to see like Butchart Gardens, Craigdarroch castle and the Empress Hotel. High tea at the Empress, the Blethering Place tearoom in Oak bay and James Bay Tearoom are all fun to visit if into that sort of thing.

If you don't have time for the San Juan Islands (very beautiful), consider taking the Wa. State ferry from Whidbey Island over to Port Townsend. From Seatac you could drive down to Olympia and head up hwy 101 on the west side of Puget Sound up to Port Townsend or Port Angeles.

What about flying into the Bellingham airport near the border? It's a LOT less congested than Seatac and you will avoid the Seattle area traffic which can be pretty bad. You could also fly back out of Bellingham. The Vancouver airport is another one to avoid if you can (busy and expensive due to airport fees). Many Canadians drive down to Bellingham airport as flights cost a lot less from there.

Ok Crowe,here's another suggestion for you. Fly into Portland,out to Astoria and up 101 to Aberdeen,north to Forks and around to Port Townsend,back to Port Angeles and over to Victoria. From there either take the ferry to the islands or Vancouver and Whistler or drop Vancouver and do the islands only instead. After the islands,head south to Seattle,Tacoma,Mt Rainer,west to I-5,south the Mt St. Helens and back to Portland,drop your car and fly home. Of course Portland has a lot to see and it's the food truck capital of the world.

Since this is the RV Parks, Campgrounds and Attractions forum I assume you are asking about campgrounds. In Banff I would recommend Tunnel Mountain and in Jasper I would go with Whistlers CG. .

You might get better responses in the "RVing in Canada and Alaska" forum.

Except WA is in the US. Actually, I'm just using the "attractions" part for now. No camper.

On the Canadian routing are you looking to fly between Calgary and Vancouver because you would you rather not drive between Banff/Jasper and Vancouver ?

Would love to but the extra fee for picking up a rental in Calgary and returning in Vancouver is cost-prohibitive.

The "Bang for Buck" is going to be pretty hard to beat this summer travelling in Canada with the Cdn dollar likely around .75 cents to the U.S. dollar. So that's a 25% bonus for every dollar spent while travelling in Canada.

Except that I've discovered much of that is lost in the more expensive flights to Canada vs. the US and that much of your "stuff" is priced accordingly so it balances out. If the exchange rate stays favorable, it definitely makes visiting Canada much more attractive.

I added a monkey wrench last night. Mt. Ranier National Park looks quite interesting as well. Wondering if just a WA state trip and maybe a few days in Vancouver is in order. AAARRGGHHH! :) Keep the suggestions and thoughts coming. Knowing me, though, after all this I'll wind up somewhere else entirely!

busguy22 wrote:
The "Bang for Buck" is going to be pretty hard to beat this summer travelling in Canada with the Cdn dollar likely around .75 cents to the U.S. dollar. So that's a 25% bonus for every dollar spent while travelling in Canada.

On the Canadian routing are you looking to fly between Calgary and Vancouver because you would you rather not drive between Banff/Jasper and Vancouver ? If you think you are up for the drive (there's nothing overly challenging about the roads you would be driving on) there is a lot of pretty spectacular scenery enroute and it can easily be covered in 2 days of driving time.

If I was looking to explore that area I think I would spend some time in the Banff/Jasper area then take HWY 5 from Jasper to Kamloops and then on to Whistler (via #1 and #99) for a day or two before heading to Vancouver. Alternatively you could do Banff and Jasper returning to Banff before heading to Vancouver via Kelowna and the Okanagan valley. There is sooo much amazing scenery and things to do between Banff/Jasper and Vancouver on either of these routes.

To get an idea what these routes look like add these "destinations" in to Google maps for a trip between Calgary and Vancouver :

1) Calgary -> Banff -> Jasper -> Kamloops -> Whistler -> Vancouver or

2) Calgary -> Banff -> Jasper -> Banff -> Kelowna -> Vancouver

Whatever you end up doing, give Whistler and Victoria some serious consideration for a visit while in the Vancouver area (both would be good for at least a night).


On the U.S. side a circle trip around the Olympic Peninsula would be a nice drive although to really enjoy it (the drive itself isn't terribly stellar scenery wise as the road doesn't skirt the coastline like one might wish it did) you really need to do some hiking and exploring the "interior" of the peninsula. The San Juan's are nice but a little tough to "tour". If you stayed a couple of days on San Juan Island itself and explored it (English camp, American camp, Friday harbour, Roche Harbor) you would probably be seeing the best of the islands (that can be explored by car rather than say a kayak). That said Lopez and Orcas are also nice islands to explore if you have the time.

If I was doing that trip I would probably look at a route something like :

Seattle -> Aberdeen -> Forks -> Port Townsend -> ferry -> Anacortes -> Ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan island -> ferry to Sidney on Vancouver Island (from Friday Harbor) -> Victoria -> ferry to Vancouver -> Whistler

X2, the last suggestion. Except, I would suggest going from Port Angeles to see Sequim and Port Townsend ( home of Fort Worden and An Officer and a Gentleman )and then back to P.A. and over to Victoria to Sidney,the San Juans and then up to Vancouver and then Whistler.

The "Bang for Buck" is going to be pretty hard to beat this summer travelling in Canada with the Cdn dollar likely around .75 cents to the U.S. dollar. So that's a 25% bonus for every dollar spent while travelling in Canada.

On the Canadian routing are you looking to fly between Calgary and Vancouver because you would you rather not drive between Banff/Jasper and Vancouver ? If you think you are up for the drive (there's nothing overly challenging about the roads you would be driving on) there is a lot of pretty spectacular scenery enroute and it can easily be covered in 2 days of driving time.

If I was looking to explore that area I think I would spend some time in the Banff/Jasper area then take HWY 5 from Jasper to Kamloops and then on to Whistler (via #1 and #99) for a day or two before heading to Vancouver. Alternatively you could do Banff and Jasper returning to Banff before heading to Vancouver via Kelowna and the Okanagan valley. There is sooo much amazing scenery and things to do between Banff/Jasper and Vancouver on either of these routes.

To get an idea what these routes look like add these "destinations" in to Google maps for a trip between Calgary and Vancouver :

1) Calgary -> Banff -> Jasper -> Kamloops -> Whistler -> Vancouver or

2) Calgary -> Banff -> Jasper -> Banff -> Kelowna -> Vancouver

Whatever you end up doing, give Whistler and Victoria some serious consideration for a visit while in the Vancouver area (both would be good for at least a night).


On the U.S. side a circle trip around the Olympic Peninsula would be a nice drive although to really enjoy it (the drive itself isn't terribly stellar scenery wise as the road doesn't skirt the coastline like one might wish it did) you really need to do some hiking and exploring the "interior" of the peninsula. The San Juan's are nice but a little tough to "tour". If you stayed a couple of days on San Juan Island itself and explored it (English camp, American camp, Friday harbour, Roche Harbor) you would probably be seeing the best of the islands (that can be explored by car rather than say a kayak). That said Lopez and Orcas are also nice islands to explore if you have the time.

If I was doing that trip I would probably look at a route something like :

Seattle -> Aberdeen -> Forks -> Port Townsend -> ferry -> Anacortes -> Ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan island -> ferry to Sidney on Vancouver Island (from Friday Harbor) -> Victoria -> ferry to Vancouver -> Whistler

Since this is the RV Parks, Campgrounds and Attractions forum I assume you are asking about campgrounds. In Banff I would recommend Tunnel Mountain and in Jasper I would go with Whistlers CG. .

You might get better responses in the "RVing in Canada and Alaska" forum.