While not quite as famous as Yellowstone, Yosemite, or Glacier National Parks, Washington offers national parks that can rival any of them in sheer beauty and experience. We took a 9 day trip to Washington in July to visit 3 national parks – Olympic, Mount Rainier, and North Cascades National Parks.
In those 9 days we covered a lot of ground, moving our hotel nearly every night, but it was definitely worth it! The differences in the national parks and the variety of hikes and scenery was so fun to see in the same trip. We even had time to fit in some wineries and a baseball game! Keep reading for our itinerary and some tips along the way.
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Day 1 – Mount St Helens
We originally planned to fly into Seattle for this trip, however weather had a different plan and we ended up having to fly into Portland. We landed in Portland in the late morning, picked up our rental car, and started the drive up to Olympic National Park.
The one good part about our change in plans is that we ended up seeing Mount St. Helens. The iconic shape of Mount St Helens comes from the deadly 1980 eruption that literally blew the top off the volcano! It’s a truly unique landmark to see and is well worth the drive from either Seattle or Portland. There are tons of hikes to choose from in the area, though we were short on time so we just hiked down a short trail from the visitor center to stretch our legs a bit before continuing on our drive.
Our initial plan for the day was to drive to Olympic National Park and hike Mount Ellinor, a ~6 mile out and back moderately challenging trail. We planned to do the Staircase Rapids Loop, a 2.2 mile easier loop, assuming we still had energy and time after Mount Ellinor. Unfortunately because of our flight delay we weren’t able to do either of these hikes, but we wanted to leave them as options for your trip!
Our first night we stayed at the Olympic View Inn in Sequim, though we would not necessarily recommend it. Most of the hotel options around Olympic National Park are quite underwhelming, so we actually would recommend finding a home or cabin to rent instead.
Day 2 – Olympic National Park
Because of the size Olympic National Park (almost 1 million acres), we felt it was necessary to stay in a new area nearly every night. The park consists of several distinct environs perfect for every traveler – from the glacier covered Mt. Olympus to the rugged Pacific Coast to the fairytale Hoh Rainforest. In order to see it all in just a few days we decided to make progress on the loop road each night.
Our second day we hiked Hurricane Ridge Trail to Mount Angeles, a slightly more than 5.5 mile relatively challenging trail. The trail itself starts out relatively easy before a fork leads to a steep uphill. It’s a very popular hike in Olympic National Park, so we highly recommend getting there early. The parking lot wasn’t too crowded, but the traffic getting to it took much longer than anticipated.
This evening we stayed at the Town Motel in Forks, but we don’t recommend it. Forks is a great area to stay in for several Olympic National Park sites of interest, but there are not a lot of options for accommodations. We actually recommend finding one of the cabins nearby instead of one of the motels.
Day 3 – Olympic National Park
Our third day started with the Mount Storm King hike, a 4 mile out and back challenging ascent. The trail is one of the most popular in Olympic National Park, so we recommend starting early. The beginning of the trail winds through a forest, becoming steeper and steeper until the final challenging section at the top. This section is where crowds become annoying, as the final climb requires the assistance of ropes and the trail will get very backed up if it is crowded.
That’s not to say the trail isn’t worth it because it absolutely is! The view of Lake Crescent from the top is spectacular and the perfect reward for a difficult, though short, hike.
After hiking up Mount Storm King we walked around Crescent Lake for a bit and then drove 2 hours over to the Ozette Triangle Coastal trailhead. The entire trail is a 9.4 mile loop that includes a hike along the beach, but we did it as an out and back along one leg of the triangle.
The beginning of the hike winds through a forest before the trees end and the majesty of the Pacific Ocean is all that is left in front of you. The hike is not overly difficult and being able to see the rocky, wild Washington coast was something we won’t soon forget. We highly recommend making your way over to the coast at some point during your time in Olympic National Park, and this trail is a great way to do that.
Our second night in Forks we stayed at the Dew Drop Inn, which we again don’t recommend. We continue to recommend one of the cabins in the area instead.
Day 4 – Olympic National Park
Our last day in Olympic National Park we went to the Hoh Rainforest area of the park. This area is very popular for families as the hikes are quite easy and accessible, so we recommend going in the morning. By the time we left in the afternoon the line for getting in was incredibly long.
We started at the Hall of Mosses, a less than 1 mile long loop through the Hoh Rainforest. This was a great introduction to this biome and the hike itself is incredibly easy.
After seeing the Hall of Mosses we went to the Spruce Trail, another easy short loop through the rainforest. The best part of the trail is that it ends with a wonderful and peaceful view of the Hoh River.
After our two short hikes we drove down to the coast to see Kalaloch Beach. We wandered around the area, including down to the beach itself for a bit before stopping for lunch at Creekside Restaurant.
That evening we drove over to Lacey, a very nice town and area to visit. This wrapped up our time in Olympic National Park and set us up nicely for visiting Mount Rainier National Park. In Lacey we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express which was as expected and is not a bad option.
Day 5 – Mount Rainier National Park
From Lacey the drive is about 45 minutes to Mount Rainier National Park, one of the most beautiful national parks in the US! We hiked the Skyline Trail to Panorama Point, a beautiful 5.5 mile hike which features stunning views the entire way. We’ve done quite a few hikes and this is one of our absolute favorites.
After finishing the Skyline Trail we went to the Snow Lake Trail, a 2.5 mile out and back hike that is relatively easy. The view from Snow Lake at the end of the trail is spectacular, but we did not stay to admire it for very long as the mosquitos were swarming!
For dinner we went to Snorting Elk in the Alpine Inn at Crystal Mountain Hotel (where we also stayed for the night). The dinner here was excellent and the hotel is great as well, if very basic.
Day 6 – Mount Rainier National Park
This day we hiked the Mount Fremont Trail in Mount Rainier National Park. This is a challenging 6 mile out and back hotel along a ridge with beautiful views of Mount Rainier and the surrounding mountains the entire way. The climax of the trail is an old fire hut that offers sweeping views of Mount Rainier. We loved this trail and highly recommend it for your visit!
After the hike we made our way to our final national park – North Cascades. The drive from Mount Rainier National Park is about 3.5 hours. We stayed at the Mount Baker Hotel in Concrete, a pretty barebones hotel in a very nice location. Accommodations with access to North Cascades National Park are pretty sparse, but this at least was a good location.
Day 7 – North Cascades National Park
Day 7 was spent exploring North Cascades National Park, a very beautiful and highly underrated national park that is definitely worth a visit!
The first stop along our drive was Diablo Lake, a beautiful lake that is famous for its mint green color. The overlook is a can’t miss experience when driving through North Cascades. After getting our fill, we drove to the trailhead of the Maple Pass Loop.
The Maple Pass Loop is one of the most beautiful hikes we’ve ever done. The entire 7 mile trail is incredible and just a truly wonderful experience. However, this trail also featured more mosquitos than any trail we’ve ever been on. The few times we stopped to take a picture we were immediately swarmed within seconds. Bug spray helps and is an absolute must on this trail!
We worked up quite an appetite from our hike, so we drove back to Concrete for dinner at Birdsview Diner. This was a very cute place with a very nice outdoor area and great food! We then ordered some ice cream from a local ice cream parlor for a sweet treat.
Day 8 – North Cascades National Park
For breakfast we headed to 5b’s Bakery which was super cute and definitely worth stopping in. After fueling up we drove to the Easy Pass Trail, a 7.5 mile out and back hike. We did not love this hike quite as much, though that is because much of it is through a flat valley. We would have liked to do a Cascade Pass hike, but unfortunately a mud slide had washed out the road to it and we could not access the trailhead.
After the hike we decided to reward ourselves with some wine. We decided to check out two different ones – Glacier Peak Winery and Eagle Haven, both of which are worth a visit when in the area.
Day 9 – Seattle, Wineries, and Baseball
In the morning we drove 2.5 miles south to Seattle where we’d be flying out the next morning. Along the way we decided to sample the famous Columbia Valley wine region.
We first stopped at Chateau Ste. Michelle, a huge winery that we really loved! It gets very crowded so in order to do a seated tasting you have to have a reservation, but you can get a glass or bottle of wine without a reservation. It was really a lovely experience.
After Chateau Ste. Michelle we went over to Matthews Winery, naturally. We just had to visit a winery named after Matt! It is definitely smaller, but really nice and the wine to this day is some of our favorite. It is a bit more expensive but we highly recommend it!
For the evening we decided to stop by T-Mobile Park for a Seattle Mariners game since they happened to be in town. We loved the stadium and it got us one park closer to our goal of seeing every stadium in the US!
We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Tukwila, a nice hotel in a very convenient location for flying out of Seattle.
That’s our 9 day trip through Washington’s National Parks! We covered a lot of ground, but we loved every minute. We hope this will help you plan your perfect Washington vacation!
For another Rocky Mountain experience, check out our Banff and Jasper itinerary!