Hi, my fiance and I want to visit your beautiful state later this year when we get married. We are early in the planning stages of the trip but have a tentative plan of flying into Tacoma then road-tripping through the state spending a couple days near Olympic National Park to see the rainforest and beaches before heading to the Mt Rainier area for a day or two before making our final trip to Leavenworth to relax for a couple days before heading back to the airport. I wanted to see if that's reasonably doable in a week to a week and a half and if there are any must see's along that route, we love taking scenic routes when available. We're not big day hikers so anything more than 8-10 miles round-trip we'll probably have to pass on and we don't have much interest in spending time in the city aside from eating.

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Cold-Express t1_jahox20 wrote on March 1, 2023 at 2:53 PM

Avoid driving on i90 and through/near Seattle, too much traffic. I'd either go to the olympic peninsula then take the ferry to Bellingham and take hw20 across the mountains, go to Leavenworth, and see Rainer on your way back. Or drive down south from the Olympics, over hw12, stopping at Umtanum Creek Recreation Site, then going on to Leavenworth.

Overall your trip is doable but I would give yourself a little more time, or either spend your time at the coast or in the mountains.

You'll have no issue finding plenty of hikes <10 miles, not sure what you're used to but 10 miles here can be a grueling all day hike. In order to access most of the public lands you'll need to get yourself a Discover Pass, and possibly a North West Forest Pass, depends on the area.

The Olympics are a rain forest so bring rain gear.

rosesandpiglets t1_jahxsvq wrote on March 1, 2023 at 3:52 PM

The west* Olympics are a rainforest

Shortsleevedpant t1_jai86nz wrote on March 1, 2023 at 4:59 PM

Goto Ruby Beach, it’s one of the most beautiful places in our state. Your route will take you through more than you could see in a week, you will love it. Keep in mind some mountain highways such as 410 are closed in areas this time of year https://wsdot.wa.gov is a great place to check.

LynnSeattle t1_jai3vg2 wrote on March 1, 2023 at 4:31 PM

Have you made hotel/lodge reservations for your nights in Olympic National Park? If not, do so ASAP.

jcooklsu OP t1_jai6ezz wrote on March 1, 2023 at 4:47 PM

Will do, any recommendations on moderate sized towns to stay in the area? We love to eat good after spending the date out hiking. We took a trip to Colorado years back and stayed in Estes Park, hoping to find a similar outdoor tourist town.

DickTooRadical t1_jaisfli wrote on March 1, 2023 at 7:06 PM

I would definitely plan for more than a week especially if you want to see Olympic National Park. That place is huge and most of the must see stuff is a pretty decent drive from each other. I stayed in Sequim last time I was up in that area at a gorgeous airbnb yurt. You must see the hoh rainforest and ruby beach. Hurricane ridge is also a popular sight in the park and has easy walking trails.