Pacific Northwest Road Trip: Redwoods, Crater Lake, Olympic, Mount Rainier and Glacier

After Lake Tahoe and Yosemite, Jack went home with my parents so we could do the big national park hikes where dogs aren’t allowed. Then the two of us headed north for a summer of waterfalls, rainforests, glaciers and wildflowers, from the redwoods all the way to Glacier National Park.

Route: Mount Shasta → the Redwoods → Umpqua → Crater Lake → Mount Hood → Columbia Gorge → Olympic → Mount Rainier → Seattle and Bellingham → North Cascades → Leavenworth → Glacier
How long: About 6 weeks, in two stretches
Who came: Just Colin and me (Jack was home with my parents)
Best for: Hikers who want a different landscape every few days

Mount Shasta and the Redwoods

We started under snowy Mount Shasta with a swim in a clear alpine lake, then drove to the coast and into the redwoods near Crescent City. Standing in those groves, surrounded by ferns and trees taller than anything you’ve ever seen, is humbling. Just north, the southern Oregon coast has sea arches and tide pools.

Tall redwood trunks rising above a fern-covered forest floor — Among the giants near Crescent City

Sun bursting through a redwood canopy above ferns

Snow-capped Mount Shasta beyond a field of grey rocks under clouds

Forested cliffs and a natural rock arch over the ocean

The Umpqua waterfalls and Crater Lake

Inland, the North Umpqua is waterfall country. We did a few short hikes to falls through burned forest full of wildflowers. Then came Crater Lake, the deepest blue I’ve ever seen.

Deep blue Crater Lake framed by evergreen trees — That Crater Lake blue

Waterfall plunging into a green pool in a basalt canyon

Angela standing on the stone rim wall above Crater Lake and Wizard Island

Dirt trail through burned forest with white wildflowers

Mount Hood and the Columbia Gorge

Mount Hood at sunset, a lake with the mountain reflected in it, and then the mossy, green waterfalls of the Columbia River Gorge.

Mount Hood rising above evergreen forest at dusk

Snowy Mount Hood beyond a calm lake under clouds

Thin waterfall dropping down a mossy cliff into a pool

Olympic National Park

Olympic is three parks in one: wild beaches with sea stacks, moss-draped rainforest, and mountains. We went out to the far northwest tip of the country on the Makah Reservation, walked the beaches, and took in the views from above Port Angeles.

Forested sea stacks rising off a pebbly beach — Sea stacks on the coast

Colin and Angela smiling in a selfie by the water

Moss-draped trees in a temperate rainforest

Colin and Angela selfie with mountains and meadow behind

Visiting Cape Flattery on the Makah Reservation requires a Makah Recreation Pass.

Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier in August is wildflower season: meadows full of color with the mountain floating above them. We hiked, ate pasta at a picnic table in the forest, and couldn’t stop staring at the mountain.

Angela walking a dirt trail with Mount Rainier behind

Wildflowers in a meadow below a rocky ridge and snowfields

Rocky creek flowing through a valley below Mount Rainier

Seattle, Bellingham and the North Cascades

A quick Seattle stop came next, then up toward Bellingham and across the North Cascades Highway, with turquoise lakes and a teal river at every turn. Near Mazama we paddleboarded a calm lake under jagged peaks, then spent an afternoon in Leavenworth, a Bavarian-style mountain village.

Turquoise lake below forested mountains, boulder in the foreground — Glacier-blue water

Colin and Angela standing at a railing with the Seattle skyline across the water

Colin and Angela hugging in a meadow below rugged mountains

Wooden paddleboard nose on a calm blue lake with peaks ahead

Bavarian-style buildings along a street in Leavenworth with mountains behind

Glacier National Park

We ended in Glacier: clear glacier lakes, the views from the mountain road, and meadow trails on the Many Glacier side. It was the perfect finish.

Clear shallow lake water below forested cliffs and peaks — Crystal-clear glacier water

Green valley and layered cliffs along a mountain road

Blue lake below a massive rocky mountain with shrubs in front

Valley with a distant lake and peaks, sun in the sky

Glacier tip: in recent summers, parts of the park have needed a vehicle reservation, including the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Check the National Park Service site for the current system before you go.

What worked on this trip

A parks pass. We visited enough national parks to pay for it many times over.
Layers. Coastal fog, alpine wind and valley heat could all happen in the same day.
Book popular campgrounds early, especially at Olympic, Rainier and Glacier.
Plan dog-free parks honestly. Most trails in these national parks don’t allow dogs, so we planned this stretch without Jack.