(And a little dip into Oregon!)
What a beautiful state!! My son served a Spanish speaking mission for our church in the central area of Washington state. After he completed his mission, we decided to plan a trip back to Washington to visit the people he taught and explore areas of Washington he wasn’t able to experience. We saw so much in the short amount of time!
13 Day Itinerary
Day 1: Flew into Seattle, rented a car (Turo) and Deception Pass
This was our first experience renting with Turo. I always use multiple metasearch engines before booking my hotels and car rentals. We knew we were going to put on a lot of miles on this trip and we wanted something with fabulous gas mileage. We found a Toyota Prius that was similar rates as the popular rental companies so I thought I would give it a try. The Turo host was fabulous- he met us at passenger pick up and handed over the keys. It was the same process for drop off as well. During our trip, we did have a slow leaking tire. It did put a few hours of inconvenience but the Turo host was quick to respond and we got it taken care of at the nearest Discount Tire.
Will I rent from Turo again? If the rates were lower than the the big name rental companies then yes I would consider it again. Just make sure to check with your Insurance company or your credit card company to see if it covers peer to peer sharing platforms. (I typically rely on my Chase Sapphire rental car insurance benefit to save money)
Deception Pass
We actually met up with an old roommate of mine at Deception Pass State Park. You do need to pay an daily entrance fee ($10). This iconic bridge connects two islands and has breathtaking views. We spent some time down on the beach and took a quick hike then rented some kayaks to explore the water before we drove (and walked) across the bridge. At the top of the bridge they have a little gift shop as well.
After exploring Deception Pass we drove north to Deming to check out Mt Baker Ski area. It was about an hour or so north to Deming. We stopped at a grocery store on the way (since there is not a large grocery store in Deming) and headed up to meet my cousin and settle into the cabin. We stayed in this cute and roomy cabin through Airbnb- it was perfect for our 2 full days in Mt. Baker (I highly recommend renting it if you are in the area!)
Day 2 & 3: Mt Baker hiking
We explored the small town and started with a nice and easy leisurely hike. This hike is very family friendly with little incline that follows the Nooksack river. The color of the water and the shades of mossy greens made this short hike amazing. (Alltrails link on the photos below!)
Chain Lakes Loop Trail
This is probably my favorite hike that we did in this area. Jaw dropping views, beautiful alpine lakes and on a clear day you can see Mt Shuksan and Mt Baker. This hike is a bit more challenging with 6.2 miles and 1,794 ft elevation gain. There were some snow field even in July- so make sure you are prepared for cooler weather, possible snow fields, hot sun and of course rain. (Alltrails link in photo!)
Yellow Aster Butte Trail
Ok, I change my mind… this was my favorite hike in the area! If you are up for the challenge, this 8.2 mile with 2,828 ft elevation gain gives you stunning alpine scenery with picturesque mountain and stunning meadows. You truly feel like you have accomplished something when you make it to the top of this mountain. When we arrived on the top, the clouds were thick. We hung up at the top long enough to eat our burritos and watch the clouds move to reveal a spectacular view.
Nooksack Falls
This is worth a short stop on your way to or on your way back from the Mt Baker ski area. We stopped here after our Chain Lakes Loop hike.
Nooksack Falls is a Historic Hydroelectric Project. These falls are amazing to see in person and a perfect stop for families. The falls are surrounded by a chain link fence to keep people from climbing down and getting hurt (which is kind of a bummer for taking pictures) but it is still amazing.
Washington Trails Association link for more information:
Day 4 Travel to Leavenworth
We left Deming/Glacier and headed south and east to Leavenworth. (OK… we had a couple hours stop at Discount tire in Everett with our punctured tire fiasco but happy we were still in the big city when it happened). We took Hwy 2 to Leavenworth because of our time fixing our tires but next time we will go via North Cascade Hwy (Hwy 20). This scenic route is closed in the winter but it is a beautiful drive near North Cascades National Park. This is a definite route next time!!!
On our way to Leavenworth we happened to see a number of cars parked on the side of the road so we decided to check it out.
We found a pull off parking spot and headed down the short trail. It was an easy walk down to the rocks and discovered a lovely calm river where many people were staying cool by jumping off the rocks. Further up the river is a waterfall but we didn’t feel like we had time to check it out.
It was worth the short stop to cool down in the 95 degree weather before we arrived in Leavenworth.
Day 5 Enjoying Leavenworth & Floating the Wenatchee River
Leavenworth is a very cute Bavarian themed village near a small ski resort (downhill skiing and alpine). Leavenworth is very popular around Christmas time but it is fun all year round. One day is plenty of time, in my opinion, to shop around the cute stores and enjoy the ambiance. We spent time shopping, eating, strolling through the art show and went tubing down the Wenatchee River- –a perfect activity in the heat of the day. You can, of course, dip your tube in the water on your own but we paid for a shuttle and tube rental and it was worth it!
Day 6 & 7 Mattawa, Othello, Quincy & Yakima
We left Leavenworth and headed to some very small towns that most people would not include on their vacation itineraries. If you do find yourself through these small towns take time to enjoy the small town welcome feel. The towns are full of apple orchards and fields and in some towns, like Othello, they have large Spanish speaking populations – my son felt at home speaking Spanish. We visited friends and went to the Pulga (Flea Market) in Mattawa and enjoyed some good eat’n.
Day 8 Driving Old Historic Hwy 30 Columbia River Gorge (OR) to Vancouver WA
If you love waterfalls you must take this scenic old historic Hwy 30. The highway was build between 1913 and 1922 and was the first planned scenic roadway in the United States. Along this beautiful highway you stop to see six amazing waterfalls.
Waterfalls Along Highway 30
- Horsetail Falls
- Multnohmah Falls (pictured)
- Wahkeena Falls
- Bridal Veil Falls
- Sheppards Dell
- Latourell Falls
Because we hit these waterfalls later in the day we were able to score parking at each stop. If you don’t want to deal with parking (and not getting any) you can choose to do the shuttle:
We arrived late for a quick night in Vancouver and headed north to Olympic National Park.
Day 9, 10, 11 Olympic National Park
We were so excited to explore Olympic National Park. This is an enormous park with a very diverse elevation and ecosystems. We were going to try to hit all the main areas in the park: rainforest, beach and alpine. We rented an Airbnb in Port Angeles for 2 nights – not too far from one of the park’s main entrances. With 2 full days we were going to pack it all in! On our way to Port Angeles, we stopped at the Staircase Entrance and enjoyed a couple hikes near Lake Cushman.
When we finally arrived in Port Angeles we were very grateful for some time to just relax and do some laundry before the next day.
Rialto beach
One of the most popular destinations in the park we knew we had to get there on time. Make sure to check the Tide Charts to see when low tide will be on the beach. For us, it was 8am and we are about 1 hr 45 minutes from the beach. So we set our alarms for 5:30 am and headed out- there is limited parking so if you aren’t there first thing in the morning you may need to wait until someone leaves to find a parking spot.
The “hike” is a short walk (3 miles RT) along the beach from the parking lot. We spent a lot of time wading through the tide pools, carefully walking across the driftwood and rocks and taking in the beautiful scenery on the chilly morning. WTA link for more information: https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/rialto-beach-hole-in-the-wall
After we left Rialto beach we explored a few others:
Second Beach– This beach was a little unique becuase it was a little hike through the forest with switchback stairs down to the water. It was quiet with not many tourists. https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/second-beach
Ruby Beach (pictured below). This beach had a large parking lot (but does fill up) and a lookout point not far from the parking lot if you didn’t want to walk down to the beach. https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/ruby-beach
I do want to add that on our way to Ruby Beach we stopped in Forks, WA (where Twilight was filmed). We wandered through the stores and enjoyed a little vampire influence. If you are a big fan, they have a museum tour you can take as well. We just enjoyed a nice ice cream cone and headed to Ruby Beach.
Hoh Rainforest
Our day was not over yet. We headed to the Hoh Rainforest – we knew that this was a more popular area in the park as well and we would probably have to wait in line for parking.
We did have to wait a little but it wasn’t too bad since we were nearing the end of the day.
We hit a couple trails from the Hoh Rainforest visitor center including the Spruce Nature Trail and the Hall of Mosses. These are all very easy and family friendly.
Hurricane Ridge
On our final day in the park we headed to Hurricane Ridge early in the morning. Parking can fill up quickly in this area so if you don’t want to have to take the shuttle, you need to head out early!
We chose the most popular hike- Hurricane Hill. This 3.5 mile hike (RT) is a paved walkway with a subtle climb.
Beautiful views all around! https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/hurricane-hill-via-hurricane-ridge
After Hurricane Hill, we drove out towards Crescent Lake to do a couple hikes in that area.
The first hike we did was a short, very family friendly hike to Marymere Falls. It was a pretty 1.8 mile (RT) with only 500 ft elevation gain. Our plan was to walk to the waterfalls and enjoy our packed lunch next to the falls.
https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/marymere-falls
On our way to the falls, you pass the trailhead for Mt Storm King. I remember seeing that hike on the map and read that it could be challenging – since we planned this day to be more “leisurely” I didn’t really have it on the agenda for the day.
After the Marymere Falls, we passed by the trailhead when a few people were coming down from the trail. We asked them about the trail and they said the view from the top was amazing. So…. of course we decided to do it.
Mt Storm King was 4.1 miles RT but with 2,100 ft elevation gain (that is 1,000 ft elevation gain each mile). This hike is not for the weary. It is a constant climb of switchbacks and if the weather is wet, it could be very slippery. When you get closer to the top, there are some ropes to help over some washed out and steep parts of the trail. Although it was challenging, the view at the top was well worth the hike. Just breathtaking!
End of Day 11- Travel to Seattle- Ferry Ride
We will be staying in Fall City the next two nights and we purposely took a route where we could catch a ferry. We first drove to West Seattle to stop to have some delicious dinner with the view of Seattle and the Space Needle. The food was delicious and the view was spectacular. Everyone should experience a ferry ride when in Seattle. We could have driven around but chose to take the ferry for the experience. (We even spotted a bald eagle as we were departing on the ferry) We caught the ferry to Seattle and made our way to Fall City.
Here is a link to the ferry schedules: https://wsdot.com/ferries/schedule/
Day 12 Snoqualmie
We started the day with another waterfalls hike then we went into the town of Snoqualmie and had some lunch and wandered around the shops. In the afternoon, we put a couple kayaks in the Snoqualmie river and floated/paddled for a couple hours. (we had a vehicle at drop in and out points). That evening we went out for dinner and viewed the Snoqualmie Falls.
Day 13 Seattle
We had a later evening flight out of Seattle so we decided to spend the day downtown before we headed to the airport. It was a very busy day (Saturday) and just happened to be a weekend of a Taylor Swift concert and Mariners game so it was extra crowded.
We parked in the parking garage in the mall and walked down to the Pike Place Market. We spent the day shopping in the market, passing by the disgusting gum wall, eating clam chowder with Seagulls patiently waiting for you to throw a fry or two and enjoying the Space Needle and Seattle Center (there was a music festival going on at the time). Make sure you purchase your space needle tickets in advance on a busy clear and sunny Saturday. There is a lot to see in Seattle – we only scratched the surface!
