Help planning trip to NW

[jjohn]

We are planning a trip to the North West with our Scamp after Labor Day and need help/suggestions on route and camping spots along the way. Been to Glacier a few times and now want to head on to Seattle and then to San Francisco then back home to Iowa. Any suggestions would be helpful.
Thank you
Jack and Linda

[Wayne Collins]

Where are you in Iowa? When will you be going? How long will you be away?You can get a large directory of all the parks and campgrounds from Camping World/Good Sam Club.

We are in Dubuque. Have traveled almost every road - West, Northwest, Western Canada, Alaska, etc.

So, it's a matter of deciding what to see and do along the way at at various places. We are guilty of driving too much, and not staying in one place long enough to really learn about it. So, if you have a limited time, you may want to pick a destination, then stay there and explore the area.

Happy Camping!

[pholloway]

Seattle is great, the outdoor market is one of the best in the country. The Space Needle is a little pricey but worth it for the views. San Francisco has so much to do and see that you could spend a week there and still not see and do everything. Cable car rides, Fisherman' wharf, Chinatown are just a few of the things to see there. I would be happy to tell you about some favorite places I've visited over the years.

[Casita Greg]

While I will agree that the Pike Place Market in Seattle is great, I certainly wouldn't want to drive in downtown Seattle, especially towing a trailer. Besides, you'd never find a place to even park a car around there, much less enough room for TV and trailer both. If you can get into a site somewhere in the area, they have a good public transit system and you can make a walk-on "day trip" of wandering around. Besides the Market, the former site of the Seattle World's Fair and Space Needle are nearby as is the waterfront where you can see a lot of things. There are many great shops and restaurants as well.

[EllPea in CA]

Well, we can't recommend the Oregon coast highly enough, along with the Northern CA coast as well, especially Patrick's Point. Take it slow through the Redwoods, and I would plan to travel during the weekdays and camp over the weekends. Weekend travel during the summer means traffic traffic, and hours behind motorhomes.

Old town Eureka is also nice. If you'd like to see inland CA, travel east over 299 and visit Whiskeytown Lake and Mt. Lassen, Burney Falls -- so much to do and see!

[Jack L]

I would avoid Seattle traffic at rush hour. In Seattle rush hour starts at 4 AM and ends at 1 AM. Other interesting things in Seattle are the Museum of Flight (Boeing) and Paul Allen's music museum, rock n roll, experimental and a Star Trek museum.


Cape Disappointment State Park (reservations recommended) in Ilwaco ,Wa. is a personal favorite. It's just across the river from Astoria, Or. and offers lots of history of the Lewis & Clark expedition. Also salmon fishing opportunities there. The Columbia river bar is not a drinking establishment, it's where the river and the Pacific Ocean meet. The bar is also referred to as " The Graveyard of the Pacific" The Oregon coast is wonderful too. The 20 miracle miles between Newport and Lincoln accurately describes this area. DePoe Bay is where the fishing trip in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest was filmed. If you go to Depoe Bay, walk up onto the Hwy 101 bridge and watch boats enter the harbor. If you get to Brookings and Gold Beach, set your watch back 25 years. Too many bakeries and chowder places to mention Mo's is very famous with locations all down the coast, but it's not my favorite. Too much bacon.

[Jack L]

Oops, forgot The End of the World Rod Run the weekend after Labor Day weekend. About 800 classic cars, maybe more, are in the Long Beach Peninsula, Ilwaco north to Ocean Park. If you enjoy old cars this is a great opportunity. Hope you have lots of time for this trip. 2 months would not be enough.

[k corbin]

if you want to visit downtown Seattle and see the sights such as the Space Needle, Gold Rush Museum, the waterfront, etc, the way to do it affordably is to park in one of the neighborhoods just north of Downtown and ride a bus into the city. There are a number of "Rapid Ride" routes where the bus comes every 15 minutes.

There is no RV park within the city of Seattle but you can legally boondock on the street in areas that are zoned industrial. Ballard , Fremont and Wallingford all have those zoning types right along the ship canal. They are not dangerous neighborhoods, they are well patrolled and they are close to nice residential areas with stores, restaurants, etc. Certain spots do have some train noise at night. If you are not over 80 inches wide you can also park in residential neighborhoods. But it is best to be very low key about it and choose a place near an apartment house or such where they are not all about being on high alert stranger danger.

[gretchens]

There are a couple of camping areas close to Seattle. There is a KOA in Kent about 25 minutes south of Seattle. There are 2 national forest campgrounds, Denny Creek and Tinkham, off of I90 about 40 to 50 mile east of Seattle, both close Sept. 18th. As for route, I agree figure out what you want to see. We picked up our scamp in MN, and followed HWY2 dropped down to Yellowstone and them up to Flathead Lake in ID. In Seattle, go to the Pike Place Market, Klondike Goldrush National Park. Boeing museum of flight or even a tour of the
Boeing plant in Everett. Further afield, Mt Rainer or Mt Saint Hellens. If you like wine go to Woodinville for many wineries. From There I would go to the Dungenes Spit and then catch on to HWY 101. Stopping at Olympic National Park and the many places after that.

[jjohn]

Thanks all for input. Your suggestions are helpful. We don't have a set itinerary on where and how long a stay for each stop and are just trying to set up list of options.