Heading to Olympic National Park and Mt Baker Forest area in July, any pointers?
My wife and I are thinking of heading up to NW Washington mid July and I was wondering if anybody had some suggestions on which area(s) are better this time of year or even if going in July is a good time? Would it be better to concentrate on the Olympic National Park and coast area or the Cascades, Ross Lake, Mt Baker, Wenatchee area? We'll be zipping around by car and interested in up to half day hikes to areas (we're young and reasonably fit :))
We'll be in the area 2 days for sure but I'm trying to figure out if its worth adding 5 days onto the trip in July or if we should just come back a better time of year and what the best time of year is.
Thanks!
Sam
Re: Heading to Olympic National Park and Mt Baker Forest area in July, any pointers?
You're trying to cover over 1/3 of the state, 30,000 sq. miles, two mountain ranges, in two days to a week?
That is a akin to a drive by shooting...w/camera, not guns. North Cascades Highway is gorgeous...Ross Lake.
Reminiscent of Glacier Park, in Montana. Leavenworth is a picturesque little town...Bavarian style.
You may find some good suggestions from another thread, here on LFPF.
Forks & La Push:
http://www.largeformatphotography.in...ks-amp-La-Push!
Re: Heading to Olympic National Park and Mt Baker Forest area in July, any pointers?
Thanks for the link, those areas are the places we have access to, I don't think we're going to cover them all (in fact I'd like to focus on a small area) I'm just mentioning all the available locations that seem like a good idea and looking for suggestions on where the best bang for the buck would be :)
Re: Heading to Olympic National Park and Mt Baker Forest area in July, any pointers?
Mt. Baker has the picturesque Heather Meadows. The lake there is very still and reflective in the morning.
Re: Heading to Olympic National Park and Mt Baker Forest area in July, any pointers?
If you only have 2 days concentrate on the mountains. Your from California so you probably have enough beaches (not that WA beaches are anything like CA but still). The places that are easiest to access and have a slam dunk experience are IMO: Paradise at Mt Rainier, Hurricane Ridge in the Olympics. These are busy areas clogged with tourists in the summer but they are that way for a reason. If you have 5 days you might consider some of the more out of the way areas like the North Cascades. But if your coming South from I-5 or from the airport and want to get into a National Park quick you really can't beat Rainier for easy access and a great experience. The Olympics are fine too but once you get on the Olympic Pennisula you are pretty much committed. It takes a long time to get out there and a long time to get back (2 hours minimum from populated areas).
Re: Heading to Olympic National Park and Mt Baker Forest area in July, any pointers?
Two days????????? I thought the Space Shuttle was out of service. If it were me I'd allow a minimum of ten days or two weeks. Check snow levels in the mtns, even midsummer. And contrary to the stereotype, we do have a lot of rocky forested beaches in northern Calif which resemble those in Wash. But those in Olympic NP are stunning. You
might be able to make a loop trip from Wenatchee into North Cascades then over to the
coast, but that is a lot of driving. Remember your raingear.
Re: Heading to Olympic National Park and Mt Baker Forest area in July, any pointers?
The trip has been upgraded to a full 7 days now :) We were originally going to go to a chef's dinner on a farm near Seattle (as a gift to my wife) which was going to eat up 3 days of the trip but it turns out she went on a lot of family trips in the ONP area as a child and has decided to skip the dinner in favor of traveling around for the full week!
Sweet!
Re: Heading to Olympic National Park and Mt Baker Forest area in July, any pointers?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sizam
The trip has been upgraded to a full 7 days now :) We were originally going to go to a chef's dinner on a farm near Seattle (as a gift to my wife) which was going to eat up 3 days of the trip but it turns out she went on a lot of family trips in the ONP area as a child and has decided to skip the dinner in favor of traveling around for the full week!
Sweet!
As a conciliation prize for your wife The Alder Wood Bistro in Sequim is a great place to get food on the Olympic Peninsula on your way to ONP. It's basically all organic/local and very good, you need reservations to get in now because it's gotten so many good reviews and write-ups recently.
