August is a good time to go - that's when I usually went when I lived in San Francisco. My favorite part of your itinerary is the Columbia River Gorge, with all the waterfalls. I did not enjoy the Washington Coast down from the Olympic Peninsula because it rained non-stop. You might get lucky, but don't depend on it. The eastern portion of the Olympic Peninsula is nice, however.

Mount St. Helens is not what it used to be when I first visited there in the 1970s.

As you know, I will be in Philadelphia while you are on the West Coast.\

I would allow more time in Vancouver and visit Lynn Canyon in North Van. I prefer the British Columbia coast to Washington's coast, and I have taken the train to Squamish with a boat ride going back - that was a lot of fun. Whistler is nice also.

We flew into Portland, did Portland (love love the Rose gardens, just amazing, and Ken's lemon croissants), drove to the Oregon coast and then up to Seattle. Spent a few days there, then drove up tp Vancouver, then flew to Calgary, did Lake Louise, and flew home from Calgary.

Not sure if you'd give up anything else for Lake Louise or if you need to go into and out of Seattle (seems like a waste) vs doing an open jaw?

PS make sure you do a bike ride around Stanley park in Vancouver! And stay in the boathouse w a beautiful skyline view... I stayed there and then SueB checked in right after us! LOL

I love, love, love Vancouver, but with your wish list, I might save it for another trip. You could fly to Seattle, then drive to Anacortes WA, take the ferry to Victoria (gorgeous trip through the San Juan Islands, explore Victoria, then take a different ferry to Pt Angeles WA. I'd consider skipping the drive down the WA coast, although the Rain Forest is worth seeing, but it's a LONG drive and I think the Oregon Coast is much more scenic. You could drive down Hood Canal (the eastern part of the Olympic Peninsula) from Pt Angeles, then either continue to the Oregon coast and pick up your itinerary as planned, or head east toward Olympia on to Mt Rainier, Mt St Helens and then over to the Gorge, down into Oregon to the Coast and then pick up Portland on your way back. Or go to Portland first and get to the coast after, maybe down to Eugene and over to Florence, then drive up the coast and back to Seattle. Or consider flying into Seattle and out of Portland. Seattle traffic is insane and the Portland airport is wonderful.

This is an ambitious road trip...not sure where you live but the distances here are far! One time I was traveling on a train from Philadelphia to visit a friend in Boston. I met a woman and we were chatting. I told her that since I was so close, I'd planned traveling from Philadelphia to Boston to see my friend. She was familiar with the PNW and said, "Only someone from the PNW would think that Philadelphia and Boston are "close."

Many of the places you're visiting require reservations that you should make NOW - ferries, hotels in Seattle and Victoria, (eta - lodging on Oregon Coast) and other high demand tourist places in August. Also, the last couple of years, the PNW has been plagued by forest fires and inundated with smoke in August. So be sure to buy travel insurance!

So much to consider. This was supposed to be a trip to the Canadian Rockies, but that got cancelled. This was our next choice. I am beginning to agree that we are pushing too hard and maybe Washington and Oregon are enough.

Seems to be agreement that the WA coast can be skipped. Maybe Vancouver can be saved for a Western Canada trip. I really want to visit Lake Louise.

oly, I have multi trip travel insurance through Allianz, so I think I’m covered. The fires were horrible last year, from what I read and heard.

i think east coasters measure distance by how much traffic is between destinations!

Given your timetable I would scrap Vancouver and Victoria. From Seattle to Vancouver is a 4 hour drive plus anywhere from 30-90 minutes border crossing time depending on the day and time. Ferry crossing from Vancouver to Victoria is 1 1/2 hr plus 45 minute drive from Vancouver and you have to be there 30 minutes ahead (assuming you can still get reservations then make it at least 60 minutes ahead) and that's assuming they're running on time plus the drive into Victoria.

You are going to spend most of your time in the car. August is peak travel time in this area on both sides of the border. The Oregon coast is stunning - spend your time there and come and see us in Vancouver when you have more time. The time is worth it.

ETA - During the forest fire season the last couple of years the sun was there but couldn't be seen because of the smoke. Our son is getting married next summer and the date is the end of June - just to avoid the forest fire season. He is not the only bride/groom starting to book with this in mind.

We did Vancouver, Victoria with a trip through Jasper, Lake Louise and Banff and left from Calgary. That was fab, but plenty.

We also did a trip to see OR, into and out of Portland, up to Ft Clatsop, down the coast saw Crater Lake and OR caves, crossed the mountains, came up through the high desert region, thru Colombia river gorge (which is gorgeous). That was fab, but plenty. We went specifically to see Crater Lake as my in-laws went in the 1930s and said it was the bluest blue they'd ever seen. We went and they were right. It is incredible.

Can't comment too much on WA as we've been to Seattle several times on business and visiting friends, and it was ok, but never made it to the Olympic Peninsula which I'd love to do.

If it helps at all, take a look at tauck tours just to see what they do, where they go and where they stay to give you an idea of travel times and highlights: https://www.tauck.com/tours/pacific-northwest-escorted-tour

This trip keeps shrinking! I think we may have to adjust as none of us wants one of those trips where you are trying to play beat the clock. Blfenton, when I visit a Vancouver, I want to do it right and my original idea sounds like we would be doing a fly by of each city.

Annie, thanks for the link. That’s why I like tours, although many don’t. Just pay your money, show up and let them take care of the details.

I live off the coast of Seattle. Definitely get any ferry reservations you may need ASAP. If you decide to take any day trips via ferry that don't have a reservation system try to avoid weekends because the back-up and wait time is excruciating.

If you are physically fit, stop at Ape Cave on your way to Mt. Saint Helens. It is a 2 mile lava tube, and quite a nice adventure. To do the whole cave you need to navigate a vertical wall that if I remember right is 8 ft tall. I navigated it in my 20s, but no way could I do it now. You can do and in-and-out if you can't navigate it. You'll need flashlights or headlamps.

If you were going to Eastern Washington, I could give you a great itinerary.

Hmmm, the ferry situation sounds about the same as the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard. Not much chance to be spontaneous if you want to take your car!

Cawaps, I am not particularly fit. I wouldn’t consider that but it does.sound fascinating.

I agree, tackling anything in Vancouver or north of Seattle is a lot. On our first visit to Oregon, we started in Portland, spent some time in McMinnville in the wine country, then headed to Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River. We spent about 2 full days there, including the Maritime museum, Ft Clatsop and other attractions, then headed down the coast. Went inland to Crater Lake for 2 nights (we spent some time hiking and took the boat ride), then back to Portland via some scenic roads. Ended with a trip down the Columbia Gorge.

Don’t plan to visit Multnomah Falls on a weekend day. Go early in the morning and then work your way back up the scenic route which parallels the interstate and goes to the Vista House and other scenic overlooks. We have been to Seattle and may go again. Would definitely do the Canadian loop on another trip.

Go to Cannon Beach and if that becomes part of your itinerary, book now.

I hate that we will not see the Rogue River or Crater Lake but I don't see how we can squeeze it in.

I live near the Rogue River, and while it's pretty, I wouldn't go that far out of my way to see it. On the other hand, Crater Lake is stunning. The Oregon coast is also magnificent.

I used to live a bit south of Crater Lake. A fun day trip, if you are a hiker who can manage an 11% grade on a rocky trail at the end of the day, is to hike about a mile down into the caldera, take a boat trip to Wizard Island. The climb back out at the end of the day is the hardest part. My favorite part of the Oregon coast is around Yachats.

As I recall, we went to the dunes which were quite incredible...so unexpected compared to the rest of the OR coast.

For fun, they do have web cams at crater lake...

https://www.nps.gov/crla/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm

I live in Portland. August is our worst month. It can be the hottest month with temps near 100 and there is the possibility of fires and it being too smoky to go outside. We don't get much rain after July 1 so the countryside is dry and brown. The Gorge waterfalls have slowed as the snowpack has melted by then. Days are getting shorter whereas in June it is light out until 9 pm. May and June are gorgeous months. Everything is fresh and in bloom with few cloudy, rainy days.

I would do Seattle, the Olympic Peninsula, and Canada in August.

Sand Dunes - Yes, we did the ones in Florence (actually I think they were just slightly south of Florence)

Toby, that’s good to know. One in our group just announced that she would prefer Seattle and Vancouver area, so maybe that is a better idea. Thanks for that heads up.

If you plan on doing that stay away from Vancouver on the first weekend of August. IT's a long weekend and people use it as the beginning of one or two week holidays. Ferries will be full and border crossings will be nuts. That weekend there are also 5 cruise ships in meaning downtown will be a gong show.

So, regardless of what you're doing but if you're coming up here get your plans made and bookings done.

I was going to mention exactly what Toby did. Hottest month of the year, Multnomah Falls won't likely be 'falling' as spectacularly as usual. The trip down from Seattle will be at least 4 hours-if you go the coast route plan on it being at least 6 hours then another hour plus into Portland.

Southern Oregon and Crater Lake would not fit into your itinerary, just too far to go, plus at that time of the year the heat is brutal!

Seattle traffic is crummy and no parking, but it's a great place to visit. My Aunt recently moved to Gig Harbor and loves it, I was planning to visit in May but my reason for a trip to Seattle was cancelled, so I'll be postponing that, but I hear it's beautiful.

IMHO I'd stick to the Seattle/NW Washington/SW Canada area. You'll definitely want a rest between road trips! I'd suggest a planned visit to the Tacoma Museum of Glass. Dale Chihuly usually has exhibits there-oh and the Chilhuly Gardens. I missed that my last trip up there but it's definitely on my next list. August would be a good time to stay in that area-the weather should be perfect.

Thanks for the additional info. I hate and detest traveling in heat, so I’m glad Oregon is off the plan, although I want so much to go there one day.

We’ll start and end in Seattle, holding off on a car rental until we leave the city. The rest of the itinerary is TBD and I’m glad for further input..

Come in late June to Oregon. It may still be cool at the coast but I've had to bundle up on the beach in July because of the wind. These aren't swimming beaches in the PNW.

You could drive out to the Hoh Rainforest on the Olympic Peninsula and go out to the WA coast at Rialto Beach. It is wild and gorgeous scenery. You'd want to stay on the Peninsula because it's a two hour drive from the east coast to the Hoh. Port Townsend is a picturesque city with lots of accommodations.

I would not eliminate Oregon because of heat in August. Heat in the PNW is not heat like other places. Virtually no humidity when it's hot, so it's not really uncomfortable. Maybe in a house with no AC for a couple of weeks a year, but you'll have AC in a car and most likely in accommodations if you stay places where it's needed.

Here is a site to check average temps, Oregon coast will be comfortable whenever you're there.

I can see two trips are in order. Thanks.