Putting my summer trip together. I am planning on departing Tampa Fl (around July 4th) and heading out to the Northwest, specifically Washington State.I will have our 12-year-old grandson. His parents will fly out to meet us and then do their thing in a rental vehicle and then fly back to Tampa. We will probably have around two - two and a half weeks of sightseeing.Looking for ideas on where to go and stay. Not interested in Seattle. When we return to Tampa, it will be thru Minnesota as we must be there for a grandson's birthday. Looking at taking 20 on the return trip.Thanks...

Olympic National Park would be top on my list (even though I've been there before) Pat

HOH Forest, a do not miss area ... stunning rain-forest.

Mt Rainier NP is excellent, I think we stayed at Shady Firs CG which is right outside the park. The park is a bit odd but the Aussie owners were very nice. They had poor WIFI you had to get near the office to use it. They had a picnic table set up for that purpose. Mt St Helen's and Mt Baker are a of couple others. Then there is the Cascades NP. We plan to go this summer.The Olympics are good but it is one of those parks that you cannot drive thru. You have to drive along the perimeter and there are short roads into the park. It's a long way around the perimeter so we ended up staying in two different cg. One on the east side, Glynn Aire RV park which was nice and had a fishing dock on the Hood Canal where my son caught lots of fish. Very popular with him. And the other on the west side, the Forks 101 cg. I never heard of Forks but my wife was quite happy to be there. The cg was a swamp when we were there, just an open field. There are all sorts of excellent state parks on the east side of the state from what I've heard. You can catch a Ferry to Victoria Canada from Port Angeles.Very few beach type parks as you know them in Tampa. The water is cold all year round.

Make sure you spend some time in the eastern Cascades. I used to get tired of the rain and always spent a lot of time over there. There are plenty of great places on Nat For land outside the Parks.

If you like to sample good wine then spend a day or two for tasting in eastern Washington, particularly the Kennewick-Pasco area. There are dozens of small wineries to choose from, and some of the cabernet sauvignons are outstanding.

Washington State | Good Sam Community

ppine
Explorer II
Dec 08, 2019
enblethen wrote:
Much of central Washington was formed by the Montana Glacier. This includes Dry Falls (Must see) which was something like seven times the size of Niagra. It changed the course of the Columbia River.

Are you refering to the repeated floods from Lake Missoula?
ppine
Explorer II
Dec 08, 2019
Most people tour around Washington for awhile visiting places there have heard about like the Olympic Peninsula and Mt Rainier. Then it occurs to a lot of them maybe they would like to get out of the rain and they head for the eastern Cascades.
profdant139
Explorer II
Dec 08, 2019
ppine, the east side sure is pretty. But when we were there in July a few years ago, it was really hot -- too hot for hiking! So I guess it's "pick your poison:" cool and rainy, or hot and dry.

Cool and dry would be the best, but it's not easy to find in mid-summer. ;)
enblethen
Nomad
Dec 08, 2019
Ppine; Yes, the lake and glacier.
Montana Lake
ppine
Explorer II
Dec 09, 2019
If the weather is hot and dry just gain some elevation.
profdant139
Explorer II
Dec 09, 2019
A member PMed me asking if the blue color of the ice in my photo above is real or is a result of photo editing. It is real! Depending on the sun angle and the color of the sky, parts of the glaciers are, well, ice-blue. The picture does not do it justice. Tip -- if you want to see it up close, bring binoculars! (Too dangerous to hike on a glacier.)

And to answer two other questions, yes, that is Mt. Baker, and yes, that is me and DW sitting next to the lupines.
Gjac
Explorer III
Dec 18, 2019
Another place that I liked in WA and is worth seeing was Leavenworth, it is a recreation of an old German town.
katmann343
Explorer
Dec 22, 2019
Deception Pass good stay, camped there many times when DW was living.
Edd505
Explorer
Dec 22, 2019
I patrolled the Deception Pass area, make reservations if you plan on stay a few days, way ahead of travel date. I also patrolled San Juan Island in the San Juan Islands. Walking on the ferry is not an issue, taking vehicle can mean a long wait to catch a ferry which ran every 2 hours when I left the area. There is housing in the San Juan Islands, Lopez, Shaw, Orcas, and San Juan. Again reservations if you plan to stay.
ScottG
Nomad
Dec 22, 2019
mockturtle wrote:
ScottG is right. However, IMO, WA State Parks are vastly overpriced and I usually avoid them.

Private places are even more expensive and often not as nice. Also, you never get as much space.
I think Washington state parks are worth every penny - they're that nice. In fact, I would be fine with prices going up to keep the parks open and maintained.

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