The moody weather of the Pacific Northwest can make visiting this region one of the most frustrating but also rewarding experiences at once. Just when you’re ready to turn away, giving up all hope of seeing Mt. Rainier’s peak, she manifests, poking above the fickle clouds that dance around her, often shrouding the view.
In our case, 2020 shutdowns caused by COVID added to the uncertainty of what would be accessible, but with a little persistence, luck, and lots of additional time built into our itinerary, we found that this was one of the most enjoyable trips, offering otherworldy views of misty mountains, mossy trails and bottle-green lakes of the Olympic Peninsula.
Avid travelers likely plan trips such that they avoid redundancy in routing– and we often do too. However, during our weeklong summer visit to the Pacific Northwest, we found that, for once, it paid off to not be so efficient, as retracing our steps offered us multiple opportunities to catch views previously hidden due to the weather.
Pro Tip: Download the Sygic Travel App to help plan your trip and access offline maps. I have the premium version, and I love that it shows me cool places to check out while I travel. Sometimes the sites are minor/hole-in-the wall places. Other times, I’ve found hidden gems while traveling in Cartagena, Colombia, Iceland, and yes, even the Pacific Northwest! It’s a great way to plan your trip in advance– and even document it afterwards.
Caveat: The trails we did were super easy– I had a toddler on my back for all of them, which means they should be a breeze for you.
Day 1
- Arrive in Seattle Tacoma
- Lunch at Jackson’s in Enumclaw
- Head into/towards Mt. Rainier Park: View Skookum Falls & Tipsoo Lake
- Scenic drive toward Ohanapecosh Visitor Center along Stevens Canyon Road
- Grove of the Patriarchs Trail – easy, scenic- beautiful emerald waters and humongous trees. No photo filter needed.
- Dinner at Wildberry Restaurant – A MUST – not because of the taste of food, but because of the story of the owner! (Although the field greens and spicy nut salad and samosas were very good) This is a Nepalese/Himalayan restaurant and the owner is a sherpa with a Guiness world record for the fastest ascent of Mt. Everest! If I remember correctly, he’s summited Everest 13 times, and his memorabilia is on display at the lodge. His wife and daughter are usually in the restaurant, and he runs alpine climbing tours of Rainier since he found that moving to the US and doing so was more profitable than his sherpa life guiding tourists up Everest!
- Stay overnight at Nisqually Lodge
Day 2
- Entering the park– stop at the Kautz Creek Trailhead as you may sometimes catch a good view of the Rainier peak if you wait around a bit for clouds to pass. Note: given the PNW weather, it’s hard to get a good view of the summit. I call Mt. Rainier the “modest mountain.” Her peak is rounded and typically hidden behind clouds. Like a modest woman– she makes you wait and work for that view, so the moment you see it, stop wherever you are and grab the photo.
- Twin Firs Trail
- Reflection Lakes
- Narada Falls
- Paradise Valley Ranger Station – supposed to have the best meadows in the spring/summer. Unfortunately when we went, the meadow was still blanketed in snow
- Sunset – Great place to get a view of the peak, and has several trail options
Day 3
- Grab coffee/breakfast at Paradise Village Restaurant -delicious sweet and savory options like crepe and french toast.
- Head to Port Angeles
- Lunch at NextDoor Gastropub – delicious burgers, and don’t miss the loaded fries
- Olympic National Park – Hurricane Ridge – Keep those highbeams on until you get to the top!!! The fog here along the winding roads is so thick, sometimes it’s hard to even see 2 feet in front of your car!
If you’ve read the Twilight books or watched the movies, the overcast skies and verdant rainforests will take you right back to the love story.
Day 4
- Views of Lake Crescent, heading towards Forks/La Push area
- Sol Duc Falls
- Rialto Beach – recall scenes from the reservation from Twilight! You’re in Quileute territory!
- N Fork Sol Duc Trail
- Marymere Falls
Day 5
- Ruby Beach
- Hoh Rainforest Visitor Center
- Hall of Mosses Nature Trail
Day 6
- Olympic Game Park (if you’ve seen Tiger King, you’ll probably want to avoid this for ethical reasons). But since we had a toddler with us, we thought it would be fun to see the animals.
- Eberle Lavender Farms – but really there are lavender farms everywhere so you can stop at any one of them, take a tour, and buy lavender soaps, lotions, extract for your food, cookbooks, essential oils, etc.
- Staircase Rapids Trail – and recharge with a quick bite afterwards at the Pacific Coast Pizza
- Dinner at Tedesco Italian Fresh in Sequim – interesting combos like this Thai-infused Fettucine alfredo made with coconut cream sauce and of course, a lavender infused martini
Day 7 – Seattle
- We didn’t do much here due to COVID restrictions
- Pike’s Place Market
- I only have one recommendation for Seattle- eat at the Goldfinch Tavern at the Four Seasons– delicious food! We had the gazpacho and blackberry bruschetta as starters ,and they were SOO good. These were so yummy, I recreated them at home a week later, per Jis’s request!
