Road trip.... Washington....Oregon....Vancouver Island

[jbm]

Having never visited the U.S. Pacific NorthWest, my wife and I are planning a road trip through Oregon and Washington before re-entering Canada via the Port Angeles- Victoria ferry, on to Nanaimo, then returning inland.

Being totally unfamiliar, i would appreciate any "must see" or "must do" suggestions from any board members who reside in the PNW. Perhaps a scenic road , a great park, that sort of thing. We plan on touring both the interior areas plus the coastal areas, and we will be camping.

Allthough this will primarily be a camping and sight seeing trip, I will be bringing my diving gear. Any good shore dive suggestions would be appreciated as well. And if any one wants to hook up and go for a dive, that would be good too!

Thanks in advance;

jbm

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Depends on what you like to do and see ... there's plenty to choose from around here. It also depends on the time of year.

Lots of mountain scenery around here. Check out the North Cascades Highway (Route 20) in northern Washington ... in my opinion it's one of the most scenic drives in America. Spectacular alpine day hikes abound along the highway, if you're into taking nice long walks in the mountains. Then there's the big mountains ... Mt. Hood (Oregon), Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens ... all easily accessible. There's also a lot of scenic places out on the Olympic Peninsula that's worth checking out.

For camping, Hurricane Ridge on the Olympic Peninsula has a great campground. There's quite a lot of other really nice ones out on the peninsula as well. Some nice ones coming up from Oregon if you take the inland route between Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens ... one that I particularly liked around the town of Cougar, but I don't recall the name of it right now.

For diving, near Port Angeles there's a place called Salt Creek that's quite nice. Got a nice campground nearby as well. Over on the Victoria side, there's a great dive site just near the ferry terminal called Ogden Point Breakwater. And of course, in Nanaimo the wrecks are the big draw. I'd recommend the Saskatchewan over the Cape Breton ... more life and a generally more interesting dive (IMO). Also, Jesse Island is one of my all-time favorite dive sites. I did a rather lengthy trip report on this place not too long ago. Not much for shore diving in Nanaimo though. When you get back on the mainland, just north of the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal there's a camping/diving place called Porteau Cove that's worth checking out ... I'm going to be there myself in about three weeks. A really nice dive park with a campground within walking distance.

If you're up for seeing some of the dive sites local to the Seattle area, drop me a PM. I dive quite a lot around here (nearly every day) ... and am fairly familiar with all the local sites and the appropriate conditions for diving them.

Have fun ... there ain't no place I'd rather be ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Uncle Pug]

If you've never seen Deception Pass in full flow you need to. An alternate to the Port Angeles-Victoria Ferry is the Anacortes-Sydney Ferry through the San Juan Islands. The Coho to Victory isn't much of a sight seeing trip.

At any rate... let me know when you will be through and perhaps we can hook up. If Uncle Pug is back in the water all the better.

 

[GearHead]

You guys are going to have a great trip, James, and it's good to hear that you'll be coming up through our area! Grateful Diver and UP have made some good suggestions already, and here's a thought or two from me. If you're travelling up through Oregon, spend some time out on the coast in the towns of Cannon Beach, Seaside, and Astoria. Haystack Rock at Cannon beach, and the town itself are great destinations. Lots of opportunities to hike the beach, take pictures, see sites, plus campsites, etc.

If you're interested in Mt. St. Helens at all, a short drive from I-5 in Southern Washington will take you to the scenic visitor's center full of history about the eruption and some great hiking and camping nearby as well.

And, of course, when you get up here in the Puget Sound, I'd love to join you for some diving again.

 

[bwerb]

My one piece of additional advise...make your camping reservations online NOW! I have never been so frustrated as trying to navigate the camping reservations system for the PNW (and elsewhere I assume) on a "last minute, spontaneous" camping trip. Case in point, we looked at going to Mount Baker this weekend. We went on-line on Thursday and saw the site we wanted was available for the entire weekend. Went to place a reservation...no go...had to make it at least 4 days in advance. Called directly...no sorry, you have to make it on-line. We explained our situation that our site was available, we'd be coming down in two days...well, you can make it for Sunday night but if you come down on Friday and the sites are all filled-up, you won't have any place to camp...but with your reservation you can kick someone who didn't reserve it out of the stall on Sunday...the reservation fee is non-refundable 48 hours in advance. Uh, no thanks...we'll plan further ahead next time.

So, I really love this area and camping and driving from one cool site to the next. I'd recommend just picking out some stopping points along the way and reserving a few campsites to ensure you get the most out of it.

Let us all know when you are coming!

Brian

 

[jbm]

NWGratefulDiver..........Thanks Bob, that is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. We will definitely drive Route 20 and visit at least some of the spots you mentioned. I read your Nanaimo trip report...I also preferred the "Saskatchewan" but missed "Jesse Island." I plan on diving Jesse Island when we hit Nanaimo on this trip....and re-visit the "Saskatchewan."

Uncle Pug......Thanks Pug, Deception Pass is on my list! Actually Anacortes-Sydney is a much better plan than the "COHO." I used to do a fair bit of sailing in those waters....quite possibly the best cruising grounds on earth!

Gearhead....... Thanks Rick, we will plan on hitting those coastal towns. Mt. St. Helens sounds great too!

bwerb.......Thanks Brian. That's great advise........but....we are way to un-organised to plan a firm itinerary. When on flying vacations, i win the anal award for pre-planning.......but on road trips....we just "wing it." We are keeping pretty much an open itinerary, so reservations won't work for us on this trip.

My wife and I plan on hitting the road somewhere around the 17th of this month, and will be visiting Washington/Oregon till the end of the month, then moving on to Vancouver Island for a couple of days. As we get closer to our departure, we should know when we will be in the Puget Sound area. I am definitely game to hook up and go diving!

Best regards;

jbm

 

[bridgediver]

only been out to the coast once so I'm not a great help to you but if you're coming through the rockies and want to do a dive let me know. Waterton has some nice surface stuff too

 

[jbm]

bridgediver once bubbled...
if you're coming through the rockies and want to do a dive let me know. Waterton has some nice surface stuff too

You know Mark, that just might work. We may be spending our first night at Waterton, and a dive in Cameron Bay sounds like a great plan.

I'll give you a shout if this looks do-able. I think I can find some low elevation roads going our way.

Best regards;
jbm

 

[bridgediver]

I forgot that you had said you'd been to waterton before. It would be cool. I think you got a gradual climb all the way up so its probably no big deal.

jbm once bubbled...



I think I can find some low elevation roads going our way.

 

[jbm]

........and I had to bump the dive gear. As this is rather an extended road trip, I had to rework my plans due to space limitations. I will now be shipping my gear via air cargo to Nanaimo. Unfortunately, I will have to save Puget Sound diving for a future, dedicated dive trip.

Best regards; jbm