My wife and I want to go to the Seattle area in august this year. We have never visited the Pacific Northwest so looking for suggestions.

From the little research I've done it looks like there are a lot of options. We will have 5 nights total. Is that enough time to do the park and islands? Or should we stick to one or the other?

We enjoy outdoors stuff like hiking, fishing, kayaking etc. Any suggestions on where to stay? Would prefer something nicer since it's an anniversary trip.

Thanks for any help!

I love the San Juan Islands.

Last time I was there was October of 2020 and we camped 3 days on San Juan and 2 on Lopez. We just hiked and explored and enjoyed not being rushed.

The first time I was there was 2003 and stayed in a hotel for just two nights. We did whale watching, hiked and explored the town (Friday Harbor).

Somewhere in between, we did a one night stay.

All three visits were great. I'd say it's worthwhile no matter the length.

The drive to Anacortes (ferry port) always seems to take longer than it should and you want to allow time for getting in line for the ferry.

oh - camping was with my son

when I traveled with my wife, we stayed at the Friday Harbor House - close to the harbor and shops...great harbor view, especially at sunset. restaurant was great.

while your wife is getting ready for dinner, you can walk to the grocery store and pick her up some flowers.

also recommend Duck Soup (restaurant) for dinner. It's a quirky, eclectic spot in the woods.

ONP is a really great trip from Seattle as you can do a loop staying 1 night each at Lake Crescent lodge, Forks / Kalaloch Lodge and Lake Quinault lodge. If you have more days then you can add on days in Port Townsend or Bainbridge Island. Tons of things to do in ONP with great beaches with tide pools, beautiful mountain hikes and majestic old growth forests all within short drives each day. And the lodges are historic with lots of character and good restaurants. You could also take the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria to spend a night at the Fairmont Empress and go to the Burchart Gardens. 5 days is enough time to really experience ONP and still have lots to go back and see the next time.

I think we were in ONP for three days and got a good amount of it experienced. Hurricane Ridge, the rainforest, and the beaches. Hopefully you can be there for a really low tide and go out tidepooling. It's pretty incredible. We stayed at Lake Crescent Lodge, which is in a beautiful setting.

OilManAg91 said:

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ONP is a really great trip from Seattle as you can do a loop staying 1 night each at Lake Crescent lodge, Forks / Kalaloch Lodge and Lake Quinault lodge. If you have more days then you can add on days in Port Townsend or Bainbridge Island. Tons of things to do in ONP with great beaches with tide pools, beautiful mountain hikes and majestic old growth forests all within short drives each day. And the lodges are historic with lots of character and good restaurants. You could also take the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria to spend a night at the Fairmont Empress and go to the Burchart Gardens. 5 days is enough time to really experience ONP and still have lots to go back and see the next time.

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This is my jam: Fairmont Empress is so dope for an anniversary.

I'm in PDX and spend a lot of time in Olympic. I have a few MTB races at Dry Hill in Port Angeles every year. It's wild taking the boat after hiking Hurricane Ridge all day to white glove service at the Fairmont in BC.

San Juan's aren't really my jam. Although, Orca's Mt. Constitution is an unreal view and kayaking to Yellow Island during the spring bloom should be on your life bucket list.

Bainbridge is fun on the way from SEA to Port Angeles. But it's not a destination for us.

Not to pivot too hard and sound like a blowhard, but for an anniversary, it's hard to beat Oregon Coast + Willamette Valley wine for a romantic getaway in the US. Cannon Beach, McMinville, Silver Falls State/Trail of 10 Waterfalls. Stay a night at Timberline on Hood to round out a full trip. Sip all the wine you can in between. Plenty of hiking, massive old growth, and schwank (E.g., Okta).

Just found my post on Olympic from my 2019 trip:

BSD said:

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We visited Olympic National Park earlier this week. It's spread out but it's beautiful.

Crescent Lake:


Hoh Rainforest...check out the trees growing off the old root structure of the fallen tree.


Sol Duc Falls:


Hurricane Ridge and Obstruction Point:





Waterfall in the Quinalt rainforest:


Ruby Beach and tidepooling:

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Quote:

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Hurricane Ridge and Obstruction Point:

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OP mentioned August. So a heads up that the first Sunday of every August is "Ride the Ridge." The road will be bike only to the top (and to Obstruction Point if the Rangers let us this year).

Thanks everyone! And great pictures!

It will likely be late August when we go. Still undecided if we want to prioritize the islands or ONP but sounds like we can't go wrong either way.

Oregon does sound intriguing as well. May look into that a little bit. Keep the info coming if anyone else has any experience!