We're having to change our Arizona October vacation to Washington state. Very open to suggestions as to where to go, with an itinerary driven by the following constraints:Week 1, depart the Salt Lake City area Saturday morning, destination???? Open to suggestions for a week and a half. The Wed of the second week we need to be close enough to Seattle that I can drop the wife off mid day for a conference downtown, and I'll pick her up mid day Friday. The dogs and I will be camping solo for those two nights, preferably camped maybe an hour or two away to the southwest being as how we'll have leave Saturday morning to be back in Utah by Sunday evening so we can return to work Monday morning. I'd like to try and keep that part of the trips driving distances as reasonable as practical hence being southwest of Seattle at that time.I'm very open to suggestions, especially regarding what to see and where to go given the time of year.

Surprisingly there aren't a ton of options in our area. I suggest Lake Pleasant RV Park here in Bothell wa. for your visits to Seattle. It's very nice with all kinds stores and restaurants nearby and has easy access to I405.

What ever you do give yourself at least two to four hours of sitting in traffic while your in Seattle I am up there at least three times a year and I have yet to go and enjoy the highways. The 405 is outrageous highway 5 is horrendous. It is nothing to travel 20 miles in an hour. Wish I was kidding but I am not. Once your in the city it's marvelous. Pikes market always puts a smile on my face. The Sound is beautiful just a magical place... But when you see the sign 405 be fearful my friend be fearful.. Day Night weekend middle of the day middle of the night Packed always. It once took me 4 hours to travel from Seattle to Bellevue (10 miles of nothing but freeway) oh there I go bragging again.. Yes 4 hours is a pretty darn fast pace for that place.. Oh yeah and 90 should also be avoided.. :-)

Perhaps it's a bit farther from Seattle than you were thinking, but camping in or near Olympic NP might be something to consider for your solo time. Several possibilities: the NP CG in the Hoh rainforest (no hookups), Kalaloch CG along the coast (on a bluff above the ocean), or farther south on the coast, we stayed at a nice little KOA in Bay Center. A short trail takes you to a little ocean cove.

Milner Historic Recreation area near Burley ID is nice. Glenn's Ferry, 3 island CG. Farewell Bend St Rec area in OR.

Olympic side. Skip all that I-5 corridor traffic. Enough said. SKP park in Chimacum is a great place to start.

Washington mid October | Good Sam Community

George_H
Explorer
Aug 06, 2016
There are many places to see and do on the West side of Puget Sound, might consider having your wife cross the sound as a foot passenger on one of the many ferries and head South on highway 101 as you head home (I5 from Olympia to I84 in Portland as a start).
profdant139
Explorer II
Aug 06, 2016
Have you considered the North Cascades? Or is that too far? If you are interested, let us know and I will post some suggestions for that area. Great hiking and scenery.
obgraham
Explorer
Aug 06, 2016
I highly recommend going on a tour of the historic Hanford B Reactor, north of Tri-Cities, on your way to Seattle.

Google "Hanford tours" for the government website where you have to sign up, as the tours are very popular. But you will visit a place like nothing you have ever seen.

Free, too. Can't beat that!
jamesu
Explorer
Aug 06, 2016
diazr2 wrote:
What ever you do give yourself at least two to four hours of sitting in traffic while your in Seattle I am up there at least three times a year and I have yet to go and enjoy the highways. The 405 is outrageous highway 5 is horrendous. It is nothing to travel 20 miles in an hour. Wish I was kidding but I am not. Once your in the city it's marvelous. Pikes market always puts a smile on my face. The Sound is beautiful just a magical place... But when you see the sign 405 be fearful my friend be fearful.. Day Night weekend middle of the day middle of the night Packed always. It once took me 4 hours to travel from Seattle to Bellevue (10 miles of nothing but freeway) oh there I go bragging again.. Yes 4 hours is a pretty darn fast pace for that place.. Oh yeah and 90 should also be avoided.. :-)

What he said. My beloved Puget Sound region is broken. Seattle is LA now.

To get to the Washington coast west of Olympia now I leave my home 50 north of Seattle at 3am to get to Olympia and the route to the ocean before the traffic jams hit. It's no joke.
Valkyriebush
Explorer II
Aug 06, 2016
Olympic side. Skip all that I-5 corridor traffic. Enough said. SKP park in Chimacum is a great place to start.
2oldman
Explorer II
Aug 06, 2016
Milner Historic Recreation area near Burley ID is nice. Glenn's Ferry, 3 island CG. Farewell Bend St Rec area in OR.
kknowlton
Explorer II
Aug 06, 2016
Perhaps it's a bit farther from Seattle than you were thinking, but camping in or near Olympic NP might be something to consider for your solo time. Several possibilities: the NP CG in the Hoh rainforest (no hookups), Kalaloch CG along the coast (on a bluff above the ocean), or farther south on the coast, we stayed at a nice little KOA in Bay Center. A short trail takes you to a little ocean cove.
diazr2
Explorer
Aug 06, 2016
What ever you do give yourself at least two to four hours of sitting in traffic while your in Seattle I am up there at least three times a year and I have yet to go and enjoy the highways. The 405 is outrageous highway 5 is horrendous. It is nothing to travel 20 miles in an hour. Wish I was kidding but I am not. Once your in the city it's marvelous. Pikes market always puts a smile on my face. The Sound is beautiful just a magical place... But when you see the sign 405 be fearful my friend be fearful.. Day Night weekend middle of the day middle of the night Packed always. It once took me 4 hours to travel from Seattle to Bellevue (10 miles of nothing but freeway) oh there I go bragging again.. Yes 4 hours is a pretty darn fast pace for that place.. Oh yeah and 90 should also be avoided.. :-)
ScottG
Nomad
Aug 06, 2016
Surprisingly there aren't a ton of options in our area.
I suggest Lake Pleasant RV Park here in Bothell wa. for your visits to Seattle. It's very nice with all kinds stores and restaurants nearby and has easy access to I405.

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