This post may contain affiliate links. If you click one and make a purchase, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It helps support the site so I can continue to offer great content to you!
Our family of four took an 8-day Pacific Northwest trip in April of 2023. We had the best time and I definitely fell in love with this part of the United States. Planning this trip was challenging in a way because there is so much to do. In this article, I will share our final itinerary, our favorite things to do, and additional tips to help you plan the perfect vacation.
Pacific Northwest high level itinerary
- Day 1: Seattle
- Day 2-3: Olympic National Park
- Day 4-5: Seattle
- Day 6-7-8: Portland
Pro tip: This itinerary has you driving over 800 miles. Make sure to rent a comfortable car with enough space for all of your luggage.
Pacific Northwest trip detail
Day 1 – Seattle
We landed in Seattle around 9:30 am. We made the conscious decision when planning this trip to stay in Seattle for the first night. It would have been too much to go straight to the Olympic National Park on the first day. After all, we had already been up for over 8 hours when we landed.
My husband is a huge hydroplane racing fan and the Hydroplane and race boat museum was number one on his list. This museum restores old boats and displays an enormous collection of all things hydroplane racing. The owner and staff are fantastic and we talked with them for a long time. Overall, we spent about 1.5 hours there before heading to lunch with my husband’s cousin.
We finally headed downtown Seattle late afternoon to check into our hotel. For this first, night we decided to splurge and stay at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront on Alaskan Way. We had a beautiful partial view of the harbor. The room was clean, modern, and comfortable for the four of us. Although it was cold and rainy, we were able to walk to Pike Market and see them toss the fish around.
We walked around the market and saw the interesting-looking, but gross wall of gums before returning to the hotel to relax a bit before dinner. My husband and I enjoyed a French 75 at the lobby bar before we all headed out to dinner at Ivar Acre of Clams’ restaurant located on Pier 54. The food was good and the view was great. We watched the ferries come and go, the countless sea birds, and even a group of seals swimming by.
Pro tip: The Pacific Northwest is very wet, especially in the Spring. You won’t want to let rain negatively impact your trip. Pack accordingly! A good rain jacket and clothes that you can easily layer are essential.
Day 2 – Seattle to Olympic National Park
We woke up bright and early and started driving North. We chose to take the ferry from Edmonds to Kingston to continue our Pacific Northwest trip. There are a few different ferry routes and also a land route if you do not want to take the ferry. However, if you are heading to Port Angeles, the land option is quite a bit longer. In addition, the ferry is a fun and unique experience.
The drive to Edmonds was about 30 minutes. When you arrive, you need to go buy a ticket at the ferry booth which is located on road 104/Ferry Terminal Lanes. We arrived on Main and were facing the ferry directly. It was a little confusing to figure out where to get the tickets from. We were able to get on the 8:50 am ferry. The ferry offers a surprisingly large selection of food and beverages which was great since we had not had breakfast yet.
Pro tip: You can find the ferry schedules on this website. The site also gives you info about the best/less busy time to get on the ferry which is helpful.
We continued our drive and arrived at the Olympic National Park visitor center near Port Angeles around 10 am. Unfortunately, Hurricane Ridge was closed for construction during the time we visited. It would 100% have been on the agenda as it is known to be one of the most beautiful hikes you can do on that side of the park.
Because it wasn’t an option, we did two small trails near the visitor center. We were surprised to see so much green even in early spring. Most of the ground is covered in bright green ferns and the moss hanging on the trees creates a beautiful scene.
We then headed to Port Angeles and enjoyed lunch at the Next Door gastropub on 1st Street. This small restaurant had great service and we all liked our food. I had the avocado bacon sandwich and it was delicious.
After lunch, we drove an hour west towards Lake Crescent. This is an absolute must-see. The Lake was crystal clear and surrounded by white-capped mountains. We even saw an eagle resting on a tree.
We hiked the Marymere Falls trail which is 1.8 miles round trip. The vegetation is beautiful. It was raining while the sun was shining as we walked through the woods. I will never forget this hike.
Pro tip: The Pacific Northwest is muddy during the spring. I highly recommend wearing actual hiking boots or shoes. We even wore rain pants to stay dry for most of the hikes we took during our Pacific Northwest trip.
Finally, we drove back to Port Angeles to check into our hotel. We chose to stay at the Red Lion Hotel. We wanted to stay right in Port Angeles and be able to walk to dinner. Our room had a beautiful view directly of the water. The town has a paved boardwalk and our daughter was able to run a nice 6 miles in the sun. The hotel itself is older, but it was clean and we had no problems.
We had dinner at Bella Italia (if you are a Twilight fan you know) on First Street. The restaurant looks nothing like in the movie (because none of the movies were actually filmed in Washington) but it was fun regardless. I would rate the food average. I had the smoked salmon pasta and my husband had the mushroom ravioli.
Day 3 – Olympic National Park
After a leisurely walk downtown Port Angeles and a delicious crepe breakfast at La Belle Creperie, we started our drive towards Forks.
The first stop on the third day of our Pacific Northwest trip was La Push. La Push is a stunning beach in Olympic National Park. It is located on the Quileute Indian Reservation. You can even rent a cabin that overlooks the Pacific Ocean which we did not do. We spent a little time walking the beach and taking some pictures.
For lunch, we stopped at the 3 Rivers Resort restaurant. This is the location of the famous “fake” treaty line sign (another Twilight reference). They fully embrace their Twilight fame era. Pictures are everywhere and all the menu items have a name inspired by the famous movie saga. I had the Quil burger which was pretty good.
After lunch, we drove to the Hoh rainforest entrance. We hiked the famous Hall of Moss trail as well as the Spruce trail. It had snowed the night before and the contrast of the white snow and green moss was gorgeous. It’s hard to say if I prefer Marymere Falls or Hall of Moss. I’d do both if you can. We even saw Elks during our hike!
We checked in at the Pacific Inn Motel late afternoon. The motel was as expected. Old and very average. To be honest, there isn’t much to do or see in Forks. We chose to stay there so that we could be closer to the rainforest and not have to drive back to Port Angeles at the end of the day. If I had to redo it, I might consider staying at a cabin on La Push Beach or using Port Angeles as a home base.
We had dinner at Pacific Pizza, also very average. You only have a few choices in Forks and several restaurants were closed on Sunday, the night we stayed there. After dinner, we had a fun little Twilight drive going to the Cullen’s house address (again, not the one in the movie since it wasn’t filed there, Bella’s house, and where they keep Bella’s truck on display (both the one from the movie and one as described in the books). Here are the addresses:
- Bella’s house: 775 K Street, Forks, WA 98331
- The Cullen’s residence: 654 E Division Street, Forks, WA 98331
- The Chamber of commerce (where Bella’s truck is): 1411 S Forks Ave., Forks, WA 98331
We finished the night watching Twilight in our hotel room.
Day 4: Olympic Peninsula to Seattle
To be fair, most of day 4 was spent driving back to Seattle from Forks. It’s about a 3.5 hours drive depending on traffic. We chose to around the south side of Olympic National Park to get back to Seattle. The first portion of the route is really pretty as you drive near the cliff that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. It was a pretty drive to continue our Pacific Northwest trip.
We made two stops during our morning drive. The first one was at Ruby Beach. This is another classic and stunning well-known beach in the area.
Our second stop was to eat breakfast at Quinault Internet Cafe. The food was nothing special but tasted good. The server was very nice but was the only one working. It wasn’t exactly a quick stop. I thought we see Lake Quinault from the road or restaurant but we did not. If you have time, it is said to be beautiful.
We arrived back in Seattle around 1 pm. For the next two days, we opted to rent a condo via VRBO. The condo had everything we needed and was located in a super convenient location. It also had a garage which is pretty much a must in that area. The condo was 2 bedrooms and 1 bath and included a washer and dryer. The building also had a pool and a gym that my daughter and I used. The owner was super helpful and physically met us to explain how the fob works and gave us a tour of the condo. I would recommend it.
Pro tip: Every time we travel as a family, we favor condo rental if our stay is greater than two nights. It is nice for everyone to have a little more space and be able to have some alone time.
We grabbed lunch across the street at Buckley’s pub. It’s a fun sports bar/restaurant with pretty good food. We relaxed at the condo for the rest of the afternoon.
Dinner that night was the best of the entire trip. We ate at Umi Sake House. Everything was perfect from the service to the atmosphere and the sushi. So good! I would recommend making a reservation because this place is quite popular.
Day 5: Seattle
Day five was the only full day in Seattle of this Pacific Northwest trip. We had a fun packed-day. We first grabbed delicious breakfast sandwiches, pastries, and coffee at the bakery located directly next to our Condo building.
Then, we walked to Pike Market again to visit the Orange Dracula store and get our fortune from the psychic chicken. It’s kinda goofy of course, but you have to entertain the husband. We then walked to the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop located on Pier 54. You can spend a long time in this store, there is so much to see.
The next stop was the spheres aka the glass bubble on 7th Avenue. These unique structures are pretty impressive to see. You can visit the inside, but we did not. Make sure to stop by the very first Starbucks along the way. Be aware that if you want a drink, you will likely need to stand in a long line.
Our next visit was to the iconic Space Needle and the Chihuly glass museum and Garden. We chose to take the monorail to get there. It gave our legs a rest and was a fun way to see this part of the city.
We grabbed lunch at the restaurant The Bar located immediately next to the Space Needle. Despite the name, it is a restaurant and children are welcome. I think this was my favorite lunch during this trip. I had the sliders and they were delicious. The Chihuly Museum is incredible. We had a fantastic time looking at all these pieces of art.
To go up in the Space Needle, you need to purchase tickets. You can do so online or in person. We spent approximately 1 hour at the top. We walked around both the top level with the outdoor deck and the rotating floor level. They have food and drinks you can buy.
Pro tip: If they offer to take your picture at the top, do it. It is completely free and we got a beautiful family photo out of it.
We walked back to our condo to rest for a bit. We finished our downtown Seattle adventure with a fancy dinner at Anthony’s on Pier 66. The food was delicious and we had a beautiful view from our table. The place is on the more expensive side, but we knew this when deciding to eat there.
Day 6 – Seattle to Portland
For the next portion of our Pacific Northwest trip, we decided to head to Portland Oregon. We have friends living in the area which was a big part of that decision.
Before leaving Seattle completely, we made a stop at the Museum of Flight located on the south side. We spend about two hours visiting. This place is enormous and you could easily spend more time. It has an entire space exploration section that had our teenage son really interested.
We then grabbed some fast food and started our drive toward Portland. We checked into our Condo, located near Pearl district, at about 4 pm. The condo was clean, spacious, and equipped with a washer and dryer. There is a coffee shop inside the building on the first floor. There are a lot of restaurants and shops within a walking distance.
Pro tip: Work on your patience before heading to Portland. The parking situation was extremely frustrating. Our condo did not come with a parking pass and there was no public parking near us. We had to park on the street and deal with renewing parking every 4 hours during the day. We got used to it, but this surprised us.
On this first night, we went to our friends house for dinner.
Day 7 – Portland
The next morning, my husband and I walked to St Honore’s bakery for coffee and breakfast while the teenagers slept in. Once everyone was ready we drove around for a bit. Downtown Portland is still in very rough shape in my opinion.
We drove near our friend’s house to get lunch before leaving the teenagers at their house and go visit some wineries. We had a fantastic adults’ afternoon tasting delicious wines at Adelsheim and Hawks View wineries. From a learning and experience perspective, I preferred Adelsheim. The host was extremely knowledgeable. Hawks View has a much better scenery, but it was grey and rainy so it didn’t matter.
Later, we drove back to Portland and finished the night with dinner at Fireside. The restaurant had a lively atmosphere and the food was delicious. I had the half roasted-chicken, it was so good!
Day 8 – Portland
For our final day in Portland, we decided to drive towards the Columbia River Gorge and see the many waterfalls. Wow, this drive and the many short hikes we took did not disappoint.
Our first stop was at the Vista House. Did you know this was built to be a women’s restroom? The story is really interesting.
Stop two, only a few miles further, was a short hike to see Latourell Falls. If you chose to hike the entire trail loop, it’s only 2.4 miles. If you don’t want to hike the look, you can start from the end and the falls are really close.
Next was the Bridal Veil Falls. The 1.4 miles hike is really pretty and the falls are beautiful. However, nothing can compare to Multnomah Falls. This is the iconic breathtaking falls with the bridge that I bet you’ve probably seen pictures of. You can hike, but the falls are right there. You can even see them from the street. We did walk up (not really a hike, it’s so short and paved) to the bridge. They also have a restaurant at this location, but it’s really busy. We did not try to eat there.
Pro tip: Be patient. The parking at Multnomah is small and busy. We had to wait about 15 minutes to get a parking spot, but it’s totally worth it.
The final fall we saw was Horseshoe which is also visible from the road. There are a few more that we did not stop to see during our morning in the Columbia River Gorge.
We then drove East to lunch at Thunder Island in Cascade Locks. The restaurant had great food and again, beautiful nature views.
Once we arrived back in Portland we went to visit Powell’s City of Books. This is the largest independent bookstore in the world with over 1M titles. We spent over an hour browsing books. Our son is a huge reader and he truly was in heaven. We all loved it and purchased several books.
We went for sushi again for the final dinner of our Pacific Northwest trip. Yama Sushi and Sake Bar is a nice local small restaurant that I’d recommend if you are in the area.
In conclusion
I am so glad our family planned this Pacific Northwest trip. I really fell in love with this area of the United States and cannot wait to go back. If you love nature, make sure to put the Pacific Northwest on your bucket list.
Bon voyage!
Cat xx
