Washington roadtrip help needed!!

I don’t see any mention of when this visit is supposed to happen? Which month is it? Are you flying into Seattle or Portland? If portland, you could see the columbia gorge, multnomah falls, eagle creek trail, and summit Mt St Helen’s instead of spending 4 days at Rainier 3 would be enough. Do you have good legs to do all this hiking or are you planning to chill at your base camp mostly?

You have a lot of driving on your itinerary. It's not as bad as some people's sample itineraries, but it still is a lot of time in a car.

Mt Rainier to Forks in 4.5 hours? I think you misread 4:50. It's more like 5 hours, if you're traveling when there's not much traffic on I-5, and could be longer. If it were me, I'd be stopping at the beaches along the way - Klaloch and Ruby Beach at a minimum, which are well-worth exploring. Download tide table - how much beach you get to walk on really is influenced by the tides.

Forks is a pit, ok because yes, it has services (grocery store, motels), but it is coasting on Twilight fame still and is completely unremarkable.

I'd consider stopping at the Aberdeen Wal-Mart on the way to buy some rubber boots for beach walking. You don't need great quality for a few days on the beach. Another pro-tip: stop at the Trader Joe's near the Black Lake exit of Hwy 101 to get food for meals, snacks, picnics, etc. Dining and even grocery shopping on the coast can be spotty until you reach Port Angeles. If you stay in cabins with cooking facilities, you'll save yourself time and money.

Maybe that's the reason to stay in Forks. If you do the shopping and the beach walking - you'll arrive late and exhausted, and who cares what Forks itself has to offer.

But another way to work this would be a night at Klaloch Lodge, and a cabin at La Push, and skip Forks. Stay on the beach, since you appear to have the budget - it's much nicer.

Because Rainier is snow-free for such a short time, and so many people want to visit, the park now has some sort of timed entry ticketing system. I don't know much about this, as the last few years I've only entered the park via bicycle, or through the less popular Carbon River entrance. I'm sure the park website explains it. Make sure you get the tickets, and don't just show up hoping to get in.

I'm not sure about the availability of accommodations in or near Mt Rainier NP, and camping can also be completely full, too.

Leavenworth is not so amazing. I'd spend more time in the North Cascades. Go up from Mazama to Hart's Pass, and do a day hike there. That's gob-smackingly beautiful.

You don't have to go to Staircase or that side of the park.

The road to Mt St Helens is under repair, and you can't get to the Johnson observatory or any hike leading from there.

Honestly, rather than trying to cram in another sight (Mt Baker, Mt St Helens), I'd be loosening up your itinerary and spending less driving time, more time outdoors.

Check out WTA.org for hiking information - it's your best source.

No, I don’t think Rainier - Forks would be feasible in that amount of time. When you did the estimate, what time of day? That’s gonna add a lot of potential extra time if there’s traffic (like there is most days). Any day you’re traveling on a weekend add an hour to your estimate

1. Your drive times are all low, there can be heavy traffic in the Puget Sound at certain hours, so I would allow a bit more time to Paradise, then at least another hour or two to Forks. Port Angeles to Winthrop is a whole day driving with the Ferry.

2. Time of year matters a lot. Summer is when everyone comes here, if you can push until Fall, sometimes it is nicer.

3. There are timed entry permits for Rainier, if you come in the summer.

4. Hotels can be difficult, depending on exact dates (July 4th weekend, no chance and avoid the Peninsula).

5. If you are a hiking machine, able to do big KM and elevation, check out Enchantments day hike near Leavenworth. You can do a Thru hike with a shuttle, leave your car at one end, then shuttle to the other. Just Google Leavenworth Enchantment Shuttle. If you do this in July (assuming you can find hotels), it may not be smoky here.

6. We will probably have lots of wildfires all around this year, it has been pretty dry. Road closures happen and it can get very smoky at times. Highway 20 near Ross Lake was closed last year for quite a while due to a fire, Highway 2 was closed the year before. Plan on some flexibility as in Winthrop or Leavenworth might be out due to fires.

Good luck

I think you're really missing out by not doing St Helens. I would trade staircase and a rainier day for it easy. There is nothing else like it maybe on the continent. Yeah the visitor center is closed but you can hike up the ridge on your own and get the full crater view. Bring lots of water it's incredibly exposed. and has no sources to filter from. plus paradise is a zoo in July I'd only stay there for Muir Camp and that is one dayhike. st Helens ought to be much quieter with the drive up views unavailable

skip Leavenworth unless you simply must see the enchantments but if you're in the rest of the north cascades you're probably good.

nothing to see in Forks either. La Push only if you have time. if you want to see big pointy mountains, Winthrop is too far east. sleep in your car at Rainy Pass and dayhike Cutthroat Pass or the Maple Pass loop.

I might be biased but I esp if you dont like cities (crowds?) I would deprioritize MRNP. I would only go there in off season, or bike in at carbon river, or for a backcountry overnight so you can get further from the people. all of the day hikes are slammed and driving within the park to your day hikes is unpleasant. source: I did Wonderland last July. paradise especially is overfilled to the brim with visitors utterly failing to respect the location (walking on flowers, hand feeding animals) and I found it frustrating to be there until I got away from them. luckily they do not go to camp Muir.

tbh a dayhike only circuit of these sights is the best way to halve the distance into them you could otherwise explore. even a single overnight per place would give you so much more variety of lighting, birdsong, tides, stars, sunset / sunrise, etc. and save you money on hotels

you might save driving time starting with Hurricane Ridge, looping CCW around the peninsula, and then heading east to the volcanoes and then north. for now you are zig zagging several hours each direction by doing MRNP first and then going west and then east again. If you can do that drive north on i-5 in the very late evening or early morning you will save hours. I have have no idea of relative traffic if you leave east of MRNP and head north on the east side of the mountains.

hwy 20 and hwy 2 are prettier than i90

You gotta include Saint Helens. Also, if you don’t honk you could go a bit further east when you go to Leavenworth, just looking at the scablands is amazing. Any of the coulees would be interesting to hike around, just watch out for rattlers.

Where are you hoping to stay in between and while at the parks? Do you already have campground reservations? If you don’t, and your trip is on a weekend day (F-Sun) good luck finding empty sites as these are some of the most popular areas and are usually booked out immediately when they opened 6 months in advance.

1. If you’re visiting the north and west coasts of ONP and are short on time then yeah it’s fine to skip the east side. There are a few shorter hikes there and a scenic drive along Hood Canal but you don’t need to add it to your itinerary, I’d focus more time on the North and West side.

2. Yeah that sounds like a good amount of time. Basically, 1-2 nights in ONP is doable if you skip things, with 3-4 nights you can really hit all the major spots at a more relaxed pace.

3. If you’re not into American cities and towns then Bellingham is probably skippable. There’s a nice hike (Oyster Dome) and Oyster place near there (Taylor Shellfish Farm) and Chuckanaut Drive though if you just want to go for the nature scenery.

4. You won’t be able to hike Colchuck Lake in one day unless you’re an expert level hiker. It is a very intense and long trail, usually done as an overnight backpacking trip. But there are other nice trails near Leavenworth and they have beer and bratwurst, although since you’re coming from Europe it may not be anything special and the town of Leavenworth is very very fake (like Disneyland).

5. Yes that’s a feasible drive. Most Americans are more used to long drives for road trips though (avg 4-5 hrs a day or up to 6-8 hrs a day). If you’re driving in summer should be no problem as the days are really long (sun set at 9pm)

6. I think you don’t really need 4 days for Mt Rainier. It’s a very weather dependent trip—so I suggest booking a hotel that has good cancellation policy (like up to the day before) so in case your weather forecast is not good you can adjust your dates. Basically you should go only when it’s somewhat sunny and clear or else the entire mountain is usually fogged in and cloudy. I think Rainier can be done in 1-2 days, 3 if you really want to do a lot of hiking.

Tolmie Peak is a nice hike but I would not recommend due to the very bad road that leads to it, has lots of rocks and bumps and you will risk your rental car getting damaged. You could do Mt. Fremont Fire Lookout instead which is in Sunrise area.

My best of the best list. Not in order.

1. ⁠Mt Constitution in Moran State Park, Orcas Island
2. ⁠Shi Shi Beach
3. ⁠Goldmyer Hot Springs middle fork of the Snoqualmie
4. ⁠Artist Point hikes Mt Baker
5. ⁠Grand Park hike at MRNP via Lake Eleanor
6. ⁠Grove of the Patriarchs MRNP
7. ⁠Hike to Camp Muir from Paradise (need appropriate gear, some lungs, and a beast mode attitude but it’s not technical)
8. ⁠Top of Crystal

I think everyone should read field guides cover to cover but I also recommend learning about what you are coming to look at. Here are some videos for background to the marvels here.

I don't think any of us can speak to whether or not a location is "worth it" to you. It's really subjective and personal.

Use WTA.org for trails. Check trail reports for the months your planning on traveling from the previous years. "Summer" in Seattle is July to September/October. Depending on La Nina.

Https://wsdot.wa.gov/ will help you see construction planned on your route & learn the ferries. DO NOT under any circumstances cut in line at the ferry. U/WSDOT also posts about upcoming construction and is worth following.