Long distances, but lots to see – that’s an American road trip.

Driving from San Francisco to Seattle, we chose a coastal-cum-inland route to visit the most popular destinations.

 Here’s our route: 

San Francisco to Seattle route map
Expanded route map showing Yakima to Grand Coulee and Seattle

The Avenue of the Giants

This was our first stop. This 31-mile stretch of road meanders through giant redwood trees. We took time driving along this stretch and stopping at interesting spots. The Shine Drive-Thru Tree has a natural split through which you can drive a small car. There are several other interesting spots, such as the Founder’s grove which offers options for a short hike.

Giant redwood trees
Avenue of the Giants
Shine Drive-thru Tree

Crater Lake National Park

The sunny city of Klamath, at the southern tip of Klamath lake was our base for exploring the Crater Lake National Park, Crater Lake and Klamath falls area over two days.

Crater Lake, America’s deepest lake, lies within the crater of an extinct volcano, Mount Mazama (altitude 7,000 feet above sea level). The best way to see it is by driving around its 33-mile rim, stopping at vantage points for photos, hikes and trails.

Among the top attractions are Phantom Ship Overlook, Pumice castle overlook, Wizard Island, the Pinnacles and Cloud cap Overlook. There is a lovely hike by the unique Pinnacles area. There are beautiful waterfalls too – Plaikni Falls in Crater Lake National park, and Clearwater and Watson falls in Klamath region.

Pinnacles at Crater Lake
Crater lake
Phantom Ship overlook at Crater Lake

Columbia Gorge

Our next stop: We based ourselves at ‘the Dalles’, at the eastern end of Columbia gorge, to look around for three days.

The historic 75-mile drive on Columbia River Highway connects Troutdale in Oregon with the Dalles. It is full of beautiful scenery – tall waterfalls, old mossy bridges, and greenery, hiking trails and mountain views.

There are quite a few highlights here:

Multnomah Falls – plunges from a height of 620 feet and is easy to access, but crowded. Benson Bridge provided good spots, both above and below, to admire these falls.

Punch Bowl Falls needs an hour’s hike but is totally worth it.

Latourell Falls plunges for more than 200 feet to create a long ribbon of rushing water and mist. Quite impressive!

Mutnomah falls, Columbia Gorge
Punchbowl falls at Columbia Gorge
Latourell Falls

Rowena Crest is a stunning viewpoint with spectacular scenery in all directions. There is a 3-mile hike from Rowena Crest viewpoint with some great views as well. Be ready for a windy experience though!

Hood River (city), with sprawling restaurants and galleries, can be a good base while exploring the area over a couple of days.

At Cascades Locks you can watch the big Sternwheeler Columbia Gorge boats, or take a ride to get 360 degree views of this gorgeous landscape.

View from Rowena Crest
Sternwheeler Columbia gorge boats
Sacagawea Circle statue

Bridge of Gods – situated in Cascade Locks, it is a huge Cantilever bridge connecting Cascade Locks to Stevenson, Washington on the other side of the Columbia river. Worth a stop for some photo-ops! 

Bonneville Lock & Dam (not to be missed) gives an awesome view across the Columbia gorge against the mountain backdrop. Its hydroelectric power plant generates enough electricity to power a city of the size of Portland, Oregon.

Bridge of Gods
Bonneville lock and dam
Fish ladders at Bonneville lock and dam

Yakima

After crossing Columbia Gorge en route to Goldendale, we noticed white dancing flashes on the horizon, which turned out to be windmill blades spinning lazily against the blue sky. Soon we saw hundreds of gigantic wind turbines dotting the landscape – one of the largest wind energy projects in the United States. This unusual sight deserved a stop and some clicks.

Further North lay Yakima valley whose volcanic soil and warm climate suits agriculture, especially hops and grapes.  The Yakima Area Arboretum has 46 acres of picture postcard gardens and collection of various trees – lovely views while sipping the specialty refreshers.

Windmills in Goldendale, Yakima valley, USA

Soap Lake

Foamy waters of mineral rich Soap Lake, WA, USA

On our long drive towards Grand Coulee Dam, we stopped to admire the Soap Lake.

This is an interesting place. It gets its name from the foamy waters in its beaches. It is a lake formed by mineral-rich groundwater. It is called “Nature Spa” because of the healing effect of its highly alkaline water and the mud of the lake-bed.

We could see people soaking in the very shallow water, and lounging on the beach. Following the local Indian tribes for many centuries people have bathed in it for relief from skin, circulatory, digestive, and joint problems.

Grand Coulee Dam

We love dams and couldn’t miss one of the biggest dams in USA located in Washington state. This dam is grand and massive, and holds an equally massive lake.  The best place to view the dam is the “Crown Point” lookout, about two miles west out of Coulee Dam, where the evening sun bathes the downstream side, while the morning sun lights up the upstream side.  We had a lovely picnic dinner watching the evening laser light shows projected onto the dam wall.

Banks Lake

Grand Coulee is unique as it has a second large lake called Banks Lake – named after the engineer who built the dam. When the demand for electricity is low especially at night, pumps drive the water from the reservoir 280 feet up into the Banks.

Grand Coulee Dam, Washington, USA
Road leading to Grand Coulee dam
Bank's Lake and Steamboat rock, WA, USA

Dry Falls

A short drive away are the Dry falls.

Can you believe that Dry falls was once bigger than the Niagara falls? It is the remnant of a waterfall created during the Ice Age when an ice wall on Lake Missoula collapsed. You can look down from the edge of the basin on the plunge pools far below where the mass of water dropped hundreds of feet over an embankment.

Dry Falls, Washington state, USA

Wild Horses Monument

Wild Horses monument

 

Further up by the side of the I-90 you will find the unique Wild Horses Monument, a 200 foot line of steel ponies on a ridge, against the sky, with the wide and deep Columbia gorge falls on the other side of the road.

This is a unique sight and a hidden gem – not to be missed.

Snoqualmie falls

We moved on further towards Seattle and stopped to see the majestic Snoqualmie falls on the Snoqualmie River. The rim of its gorge provided awesome views of the falling water forming a misty curtain as it poured down the cliff. There is an observation deck, a park and a gift shop. We took an easy trail around this place. A more difficult trail leads down to the base of the falls.

There were more hiking options – Franklin falls, Snow lake, Annette and Mekalwa Lake.

 

Snoqualmie falls

 

SEATTLE

Finally!!

In two days we took in the view from the Space Needle, the lively Pike Place Market, the Seattle Aquarium and the Pacific Science Centre. Art fans will enjoy the Seattle Art Museum and the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum.

EUGENE

Our overnight stop on the drive back to SF was at the pretty University town of Eugene, full of parks, trees and waterways, and the perfect destination for hiking and cycling enthusiasts.

We loved walking along the Willamette river path with beautiful views and pretty little bridges. Alton Baker Park is a beautiful big park with a lot of walking trails and bicycle routes.

Wilamette River, Eugene
View of Mount Shasta from the road

MOUNT SHASTA

Further south we stopped at Mount Shasta – another scenic region.

The views of Mount Shasta – the highest peak in Northern California – are impressive even from I-5 and around Mount Shashta city. The views keep appearing when you drive up near the town of Dunsmuir and also near Weed.

Unfortunately, we did not have the time to spend more time in this beautiful area and had to head towards San Francisco.

San Francisco

Back in San Francisco, we realised that we had seen just a small part of this awesome Oregon and Washington states. Only if we had more time. …..

Oregon and Washington
Redwood Trees and Rowena Crest, USA

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Leisurely Drives
Pinnacles valley, Crater Lake National Park, OR, USA
San Francisco to Seattle route map
Expanded route map showing Yakima to Grand Coulee and Seattle
Giant redwood trees
Avenue of the Giants
Shine Drive-thru Tree
Pinnacles at Crater Lake
Crater lake
Phantom Ship overlook at Crater Lake
Mutnomah falls, Columbia Gorge
Punchbowl falls at Columbia Gorge
Latourell Falls
View from Rowena Crest
Sternwheeler Columbia gorge boats
Sacagawea Circle statue
Bridge of Gods
Bonneville lock and dam
Fish ladders at Bonneville lock and dam
Windmills in Goldendale, Yakima valley, USA
Foamy waters of mineral rich Soap Lake, WA, USA
Grand Coulee Dam, Washington, USA
Road leading to Grand Coulee dam
Bank's Lake and Steamboat rock, WA, USA
Dry Falls, Washington state, USA
Wild Horses monument
Snoqualmie falls
Wilamette River, Eugene
View of Mount Shasta from the road
Oregon and Washington
Redwood Trees and Rowena Crest, USA
Driving the Blue Ridge Parkway – North Carolina
A Fun Trip to Grandfather Mountain – North Carolina
Easy Hike to High Falls Gorge – New York
Marvelous Maine – A 6-day Driving Trip
A Fun Hike to Flume Gorge – New Hampshire
A Road Trip through New Hampshire – USA
Driving the Blue Ridge Parkway – North Carolina
A Fun Trip to Grandfather Mountain – North Carolina
Easy Hike to High Falls Gorge – New York
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