Post-cruise - SEATTLE - National Parks?

[iphotograph]

Hi,

 

we (DH, DS who's 5, and myself) are going on an Alaskan cruise with my in-laws this June and will be spending a few days in Seattle after the cruise.

 

Weather permitting, we plan to rent a car and take a day trip to one of the national parks near Seattle, which one would you recommend? Which one offers a scenic drive with plenty of photo-ops along the way?

 

Any other recommendations would be most welcome. Also, we're thinking of doing a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island - once we are in Bainbridge, what are the things to do there without a car? :confused:

 

Thank you.

[Gardyloo]

Hi,

 

we (DH, DS who's 5, and myself) are going on an Alaskan cruise with my in-laws this June and will be spending a few days in Seattle after the cruise.

 

Weather permitting, we plan to rent a car and take a day trip to one of the national parks near Seattle, which one would you recommend? Which one offers a scenic drive with plenty of photo-ops along the way?

 

Any other recommendations would be most welcome. Also, we're thinking of doing a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island - once we are in Bainbridge, what are the things to do there without a car? :confused:

 

Thank you.

There are two national parks that can be visited in a day trip - Mt. Rainier NP and Olympic NP. North Cascades NP can be reached, but it's a long drive each way, and compared to the other two, not really that much to see (some superb alpine scenery but that's about it.)

 

Olympic NP is enormous, and only accessible by road on two sides, the north and west. The west side of the park (the Pacific coastal strip) is a good 5-hr drive from Seattle, so it makes for a pretty long day trip. The northern part, in particular the Hurricane Ridge view area, and the area around Lake Crescent, can be reached in around 3 - 4 hours from Seattle, using the very Bainbridge Island ferry you plan to use anyway. You just keep on going from Bainbridge, over a bridge to the Kitsap Peninsula, then another bridge (Hood Canal) which puts you on the Olympic Peninsula. From Bainbridge to Port Angeles, the main town on the peninsula and the place you turn off to get up to Hurricane Ridge, is around 90 min. or less depending on traffic.

 

If you were planning to spend a few days after the cruise, it might behoove you to consider spending the night in PA, or in Port Townsend, an attractive town around 30-40 min. east of PA, instead of driving like crazy people for a day.

 

Mount Rainier NP (in particular the Paradise visitor center) is around 2 1/2 - 3 hours' drive from Seattle. It's extremely scenic when you get there, but not especially so en route. In June you'll still have snow in the general vicinity of the visitors center, also (probably) a bunch of wildflowers. If you go on a weekend, you'll also have a whole lot of fellow humans milling about - tour bus heaven.

 

Mt. St. Helens is also a possibility, but close to 4 hours in each direction. Scenic and interesting when you arrive, bleh before that.

[iphotograph]

Thank you!!! The info you provided helps us narrow down our choices to Mt. Rainier NP and Olympic NP. We plan to go on a weekday so hopefully it won't be too crowded.

 

The reason I mentioned about taking a ferry to Bainbridge Island is... we disembark on a Sunday morning and since we can't check in to our hotel anyway until later in the afternoon, we thought it's probably a good way to pass the time (after we drop off our bags at the hotel). I'm not sure though whether the ferry runs frequently on Sundays?

[Dan G]

you might also try looking on the Seattle tripadvisor forum as there are many itineraries already posted to give you an idea. I love Mt. Rainier if the weather is clear and sunny. ONP is a great drive. Taking the ferry, seeing Port Gamble and the drive thru Sequim is pretty nice. If its clear and you can drive up to Hurricane Ridge its quite nice. It is a lot of driving but its nice. Mt. rainier is probably more logistically easy for a one day trip. If you did the ONP part then walking on the boat to Victoria would b very easy to do without a car. Assume your boat won't stop there on the cruise.

[5waldos]

The Olympic Peninsula is quite wonderful and if you have time, I would really recommend it.

[Splinter]

If you want to do Olympic National Park, I would recommend not staying in Seattle, but getting your car at the airport and heading right away to Port Townsend. There are a number of lovely bed and breakfast inns in that area you might want to check out, and you could probably arrive in time to walk around town and have a nice dinner in the waterfront area. Then drive on to Olympic National Park early the next day, including Hurricane Ridge if the weather is decent. Coming back, take the Port Townsend ferry to Whidbey Island, then drive north over Deception Pass state park bridge to the Anacortes area (drive to the top of Mount Erie if you have time), and return to Seattle through La Conner (joining Hwy 5 south at Mount Vernon).

[CoughEQueen]

Also, we're thinking of doing a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island - once we are in Bainbridge, what are the things to do there without a car? :confused:

 

We're also planning to do this....any suggestions/recommendations for Bainbridge Island? not to miss places to eat on the Island?

[relin711]

For a single day trip, I would do Mt. Rainier. If you have more than a day, maybe 2 or 3, then I would do Olympic NP.