What are best towns, hikes, views, lakes, waterfalls wineries and breweries to see in 5 weeks in the states Oregon and Washington (Page 2): DougS brings up a good point about British...

Fayle Loc: Seward, Alaska and Rionegro, Colombia

home brewer wrote:

My previous post on waterfalls convinced me that going to the northwest may be a good idea. We are 73 years old and still can hike 5 to 8 miles a day and handle steep, rocky trails; don't like gravel. At what airport should I start and end the trip. Is there 5 weeks of sites. When to visit we preferer off season to save money.
I need to get flights, determine car rental and scope out Airbnb and get use to paying too much for lodging.

DougS brings up a good point about British Columbia. Victoria is a beautiful city well worth a visit. You can take a ferry there from Port Angeles WA. The crossing takes about 90 minutes. I would recommend spending a night so you can photograph the Legislative building and the harbor in the evening light. There are several hotels across the street from the ferry terminal and most everything is within easy walking distance from there. You can save a little money by going as a walk on passenger and leaving your vehicle in Port Angeles.

https://www.cohoferry.com

There is also the Butchart Gardens which is worth a visit as well. It is too far to walk there from Victoria so you will need to take your car or rent one for the day to get there. I don't know if they have public transportation from victoria or not. Professor Google can help answer that question.

https://www.butchartgardens.com

My victoria photos can be viewed here:
https://www.fayledvisionphotography.com/Canada/British-Columbia/i-SPQTdQz

Dan Wik

/Users/danwiklund/Desktop/Screen Shot 2022-12-02 at 8.43.08 AM.png1-Mt. Rainier NP
3 Nour saint et Writs iß Park
6-Hood Canal Bird Photoshoot
3. Mattiro, ale a fer oloniain Lodee
9-North Cascades NP and Diablo Lake
10-Mt. Stuart, Shuksan Baker
13-Cape Flattery & Neah Bay
14-Copalis Beach & Ruby Beach
15-Steamboat Rock State Park
16-Rainforest and Mima Mounds
17-Lake Quinault Lodge
18-Clear Lake& Alder Lake
20, 5 Bruit Rature preserve
21-Palouse Wheat Fields
25-Grand Coulee Dam
39 Nashe achiamshine
28-Tacoma and Olympia
31-Stadium & Lincoln High School
32-Tacoma Presbyterian Church
33-Wright Park & Browns Point
34-Owens Beach & Dash Point
38 Paint ha farro la Bicketow Beach
37-San Juan Islands, Skagit Valley
38-Elbe Church and Mineral Train
39-Seattle and Pike Street Market
40-Chihuly Glass Museum
42 Seauto" Sea de Netari, and tiydroplane Races
43-Idaho Salmon River Boating
44-Lake Chelan
45-Victoria, Empress Hotel and Parliament
46-Butchart Gardens
47-Vancouver, British Columbia
48-Lake Roosevelt and Hot Springs
49-Whistler Ski resort
50-Banff and Jasper NP
51-Mt. Hood, Oregon
52-Columbia River
53-Crater Lake NP
54-Ecola State Park
55-Oregon Painted Hills
56-Haystack Rock
59-Bandon Dunes and Southern Oregon Coast
89. Prenta a Vissoula River Fishing
62-Montana Glacier NP
63-Family Vacation Photos
64-Northwest

home brewer Loc: Fort Wayne, Indiana

Fayle
thanks. your photos were great. are distances as far as I think. I do not spend most of the trip driving.

Our 2022 fall trip from Munich to Rome was about 2,400 km over about 36 days of driving; much of that was at very low speeds. The Dubrovnik , Bosnia, Montenegro trip in spring 2022 had less driving. We tend to find an apartment and spend 3 to 7 days there while finding as many places to visit less than an hour drive before moving on. Most apartments were no more than 1 1/2 from each other so we had the afternoon for adventures. Can we do that with Oregon and then Washington?

We were beginning to think that after I put what to see in google maps that the distances between "great stuff to see" was making the trip longer than 5 weeks. The grandkids who live very close and whom we normally see multiple times a week start asking when we will come home after a few weeks and we need to get some quality time. Maybe we will take 2 trips we have done that before. We still need to do more planning.

My wife wants to see northern France, 1 trip; and Spain and Portugal for another trip for the first time before we wear out. So maybe we have 2023 and 2024 planned out if we take a spring and a fall trip.

Jsykes

home brewer wrote:

My previous post on waterfalls convinced me that going to the northwest may be a good idea. We are 73 years old and still can hike 5 to 8 miles a day and handle steep, rocky trails; don't like gravel. At what airport should I start and end the trip. Is there 5 weeks of sites. When to visit we preferer off season to save money.
I need to get flights, determine car rental and scope out Airbnb and get use to paying too much for lodging.

I have two 10 day itineraries that we completed in 2021, covering an initial "west coast swing" and a second trip around "internal" Oregon. It includes data on the accommodation we used and mileage distances between photographic locations.

It includes an analysis of the best photo locations (Scenic Value: Photography Interest; Road Difficulty; Trail difficulty) from the definitive "Photographing Oregon" publication by Greg Vaughan.

PM me and I can provide details.

Real Nikon Lover Loc: Simi Valley, CA

Oregon Caves is a good easy site to see. Also, without hesitation...if you get to Seattle area it would be well worth it to take the Ferry to Vancouver and see the Butchart Gardens. That is paradise on earth. It is awesome sauce.

https://www.butchartgardens.com/

Ralphoto Loc: Washington state; now in Pittsburgh

Shi Shi Beach, in the upper left corner of WA, is a fantastic place to shoot, and to see wildlife and sealife. Getting there also goes past Lake Crescent and Port Angeles, and the sunny town of Sequim. Go in spring or summer, or any time you can. Fly into Sea-Tac.

clint f. Loc: Priest Lake Idaho, Spokane Wa

Toment wrote:

Port Angeles, Hurricane Ridge, Crescent Lake, Mt Rainier, etc etc etc

Hurricane Ridge road was closed for road work in October when we visited. Victoria BC is a ferry ride from Port Townsend and could easily occupy you for a week or more by itself. Near the waterfront, the parliament building is lit up. Almost seems like they did it specially for tripod photography. Nearby are pier’s with floating houses and restraints. Bouchart gardens is incredible. Make reservations for the ferry online or you will be disappointed. We also visited the San Juan islands. We spent the nights at Friday Harbor. Ferry, so get reservations. Have fun.

avemal Loc: BALTIMORE

What ever state you plan to visit, go to YouTube & type in parks, hiking. It will give you a list. Happy trails to you as Roy Roger & Dale Evans would say.

avemal Loc: BALTIMORE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRXcZ-7aj9U

Leland22 Loc: Texas

If you like waterfalls, the Columbia River gorge is the mother lode. We hiked/saw 65 named in 6 days plus many unnamed. Silver Falls State park for waterfalls also. the most in a localized area and most are real good. Just get out of Portland quick! Eastern Washington State to Snake River, The Palouse, which every photographer needs to shoot. We spent 5 days driving country roads, lots of old barns and the topography is amazing. Stay in Colfax- centrally located. Of course the National Parks and seashores, Ruby Beach etc.

scooter1 Loc: Yacolt, Wa.

home brewer wrote:

My previous post on waterfalls convinced me that going to the northwest may be a good idea. We are 73 years old and still can hike 5 to 8 miles a day and handle steep, rocky trails; don't like gravel. At what airport should I start and end the trip. Is there 5 weeks of sites. When to visit we preferer off season to save money.
I need to get flights, determine car rental and scope out Airbnb and get use to paying too much for lodging.

I haven't noticed the town of Leavenworth, Wa. mentioned. It's a small Bavarian town in the Cascade mountains and looks like town in the Alps. If you are around in the winter Leavenworth is incredible. It's all christmas and then some. Check it out online.https://leavenworth.org/christmastown/

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

TriX wrote:

You can fly into Portland or Seattle unless you pr... (show quote)

I second these recommendations.

Also, I'd consider visiting Ashland, Oregon, home of the Ashland Shakespeare Festival with three theaters running about 140+ days a year, on average. One is an outdoor Elizabethan theater, so go in warmer months and take blankets. The town is full of restaurants and shops and B&Bs and hotels and is basically just there for entertainment. We've been there many times. My parents lived there for a couple of decades, and my sister's family has lived there since the early 1980s.

Of course, further south in Napa Valley and the Sonoma areas of California, there is a high concentration of wineries. The Pacific Coast Highway is worth a ride, but be prepared to go slow. Check out the redwood forests. Check out Sea Ranch. San Francisco is a destination in and of itself, and deserves a few days. In the northern part of California, Lassen Park is worth some hiking to see the fumaroles and bubbling hot mud springs.

There are so many cool places to see and enjoy, you could go broke seeing them if you had time.

Wanderer2 Loc: Colorado Rocky Mountains

home brewer wrote:

My previous post on waterfalls convinced me that going to the northwest may be a good idea. We are 73 years old and still can hike 5 to 8 miles a day and handle steep, rocky trails; don't like gravel. At what airport should I start and end the trip. Is there 5 weeks of sites. When to visit we preferer off season to save money.
I need to get flights, determine car rental and scope out Airbnb and get use to paying too much for lodging.

The North Cascades Highway which crosses the Cascade through the North Cascades National Park should be part of your itinerary I think. There are some water falls and lakes in that area. The Olympic Mountains also.

StanMac Loc: Tennessee

home brewer wrote:

My previous post on waterfalls convinced me that going to the northwest may be a good idea. We are 73 years old and still can hike 5 to 8 miles a day and handle steep, rocky trails; don't like gravel. At what airport should I start and end the trip. Is there 5 weeks of sites. When to visit we preferer off season to save money.
I need to get flights, determine car rental and scope out Airbnb and get use to paying too much for lodging.

That’s quite an ask. Maybe you should visit travel websites or visitors webpages for the states you’re traversing and build your own itinerary from what you see there. That’s what my travel companion and I do for each trip we take, then map it all out on Google maps for the best routing to touch all the bases on trip.

Stan

DougS Loc: Central Arkansas

[quote=StanMac]That’s quite an ask. Maybe you should visit travel websites or visitors webpages for the states you’re traversing and build your own itinerary from what you see there. That’s what my travel companion and I do for each trip we take, then map it all out on Google maps for the best routing to touch all the bases on trip.

Go a step further, collect places you see on-line that look interesting. Place them in a file(s!), by location (state, or country), for future trip planning! I also copy/paste from brochures, etc. as needed.