Trip Itinerary: Portland, Mt. Rainier NP, and Olympic NP

A few weeks ago, our beloved exchange student Gaia left the United States to return home to Italy. It was tough on all of us — particularly on my 16-year-old sister Carrie. The girls had become extremely close over the past 10+ months, and it wasn’t easy when Gaia’s time in the U.S. came to an end.

I wanted to help Carrie cheer up, so I decided to take her on a trip. Last year, the two of us visited Seattle and Vancouver together; despite our extensive travels, the Pacific Northwest was a region we’d left largely unexplored. This year’s destination: Portland, Mt. Rainier National Park, and Olympic National Park.

We spent 4 full days and 2 half-days of travel. I’ve broken down my itinerary below — keep reading if you’re interested in planning your own trip!

Friday night

Flight from Kansas City to Portland (with connection in Las Vegas) on Southwest Airlines. We left KC around 8pm CST and arrived in Portland at about 12:30am PST. Yes, it was a long night… but after picking up our rental car, we drove 10 minutes to our hotel.

Friday tip: If you want to visit National Parks, you’ll need to rent a car.

Saturday

Spent the majority of the day in Portland. I have to admit that we slept a lot longer than originally planned. We left the hotel before noon and made the short drive into downtown in our rental car. Carrie is a MLS and NWSL super fan, so we had to visit Providence Park, of course. We were lucky to find free parking around the stadium, so we walked around outside, admiring every angle.

After lunch, we found that Powell’s City of Books was within walking distance as well. As the world’s largest independent bookstore, it’s a must-see, especially for readers. The store takes up an entire city block. We spent a good amount of time wandering through the stacks, flipping through new and old favorites. It’s exceedingly difficult to walk out empty-handed.

Next, we decided to check out the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). Carrie is active with her high school robotics team, and OMSI is currently hosting a robot exhibit. We had a really good time at the museum! Our ticket included a planetarium show, and my favorite part was the big atrium with logic puzzles.

Saturday night

By the time we were finished there, it was time to say “goodbye” to Portland for now. We needed to make the 2-hour drive up to Onalaska, WA, where our Airbnb was waiting.

Saturday tip: Do all of your Portland must-sees on this day.

Sunday

We woke up, grabbed breakfast in downtown Onalaska, and still had a one-hour drive into Mt. Rainier National Park. I didn’t book our Airbnb until about a week before the trip, so our lodging options were limited. No worries! The drive didn’t feel too terribly long.

When we finally arrived at the Henry Jackson Visitor Center, we took our time reading about the history of the park. We decided on a few short hikes with trailheads nearby — like Myrtle Falls. We were disappointed that we hadn’t yet seen THE Mt. Rainier, but I later overheard a ranger talking to a small group about a hike that offered a great view. The only caveat? It was three hours with a steep elevation gain.

“Want to a do a hike where we’ll get a great view of Mt. Rainier?” I asked Carrie, intentionally omitting the other information I’d heard. So that’s how we ended up on the Rampart Ridge/Wonderland trail. Carrie only complained a little bit, but we agreed the views were worth it.

Sunday night

Dinner at the eclectic Mt. Rainier Railroad Dining Co. in Elbe, WA, and that long drive back to Onalaska.

Sunday tip: Don’t be afraid to stay in the same place two nights in a row — it’s a little less stressful than packing every single day.

Monday

We had a long driving day today — from Onalaska to Olympic National Park near Port Angeles, WA. That alone was about 3 hours of driving, but we also decided to make a stop at the State Capitol building in Olympia, WA. That’s just a thing we’ve always done with our family on road trips, so we wanted to continue the tradition. This set us back about an hour, but the capitol building was really nice inside, so it was worth it.

We rolled into Olympic NP’s visitor center around 3pm. (We weren’t the greatest about early starts on this trip.) Not knowing much about the park, I asked a ranger inside what he recommended. He said we just HAD to see the Hoh Rainforest, Rialto Beach, and Hurricane Ridge. When we did the math, that was about another 6 hours of driving combined — so the ranger helped us make a plan. We’d immediately start our 2-hour drive to the Hoh Rainforest, stop at Rialto Beach on the way back to Port Angeles (where we were staying) and hit up Hurricane Ridge the next morning.

The Hoh Rainforest was spectacular and absolutely worth a visit. It’s one of only five temperate rainforests in the world, boasting 5x the biomass of any of the others. The Hall of Mosses hike was easy and left us in awe of the scenery like nothing we’d ever seen before.

Next, we drove up to Rialto Beach just so we could say we’d made it to the Pacific Ocean. What a sharp contrast from the rainforest we’d just been in. The amount of diversity in Olympic NP is astounding.

Monday tip: Make sure to stop in the small town of Forks if you’re a Twilight fan. You might even see signs referring to the Vampire/Werewolf “Treaty.”

Tuesday

We started with the one-hour drive from our Airbnb in Port Angeles to Hurricane Ridge. I’m so glad we didn’t skip out on this — the panoramic view of the jagged, snow-capped mountains couldn’t be beat. I kind of felt like we were in the Sound of Music.

We decided to do a short hike, and there were reports of a black bear with her cubs in the area. Unfortunately, we didn’t see the bears, but we did see about 6 mountain goats from a very close distance! Couldn’t complain about that.

Finally, it was time to drive back toward Portland. This was about a 4-hour drive. Before we stopped back in the city to see a few final things, we stopped at Multnomah Falls, an Instagram-famous waterfall very close to the city. It’s right next to the highway — you pull off, park in the designated parking lot, and walk through a tunnel under the highway to the falls.

Back in Portland, we visited Pioneer Courthouse Square and walked to Salt & Straw for ice cream. Then it was time to head back to our Airbnb and get ready to leave in the morning.

Tuesday tip: Don’t forget to fill up your rental car with gas before you return it. In Oregon, it used to be illegal to pump your own gas, but thanks to a new law in 2023, drivers are now permitted to do it themselves!

Wednesday

We returned the rental car and boarded our flight back to Kansas City. (Thankfully, it was direct this time.) Our dad picked us up from the airport, and our trip had come to an end.

Trip Overview

• Friday night: travel
• Saturday: Portland, drive toward Mt. Rainier NP
• Sunday: Mt. Rainier NP
• Monday: drive to Olympic NP, half day in park
• Tuesday: half day in Olympic NP, drive back to Portland
• Wednesday: travel

 

I hope this helps give you some ideas for planning your very own trip to Portland, Mt. Rainier, and Olympic NP!

Let me know your thoughts, and feel free to leave me a comment below.

-Cathy

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Originally Published on July 14, 2018.