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:
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
Soap Lake
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. …..
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I might be venturing out to San Francisco soon for work so this would make such a great close vacation! I’ve always wanted to see the Avenue of the Giants and Crater Lake so I was excited when your itinerary hit both of them. Definitely saving for later!
This looks like an awesome road trip. I really like the Shine Drive-Thru Tree, I’ve never seen anything like it. But theres also so many beautiful stops on your itinerary. Hopefully flights to the US will start again soon
I am doing a similar road trip in July and am really looking forward to seeing the redwoods and coastline. I will rent the smallest car I can to drive through the tree! I had only planned 1 day at Crater Lake but will need to look at that again and make sure I see Phantom Ship Overlook, Pumice castle overlook, Wizard Island, the Pinnacles and Cloud cap Overlook, Plaikni Falls, Clearwater and Watson falls.
Wow this is an amazing trip. Love the entire stretch that you have showcased here. Road trip have the charm of their own and every holiday that we do we include a few of them to experience the countryside.Pumice castle, Wizard Island, Plaikni Falls are beautiful places to spend some relaxed time and experience these great views. Wild Horses Mounument looks so nice from a distance.
You make me long to take this trip. The landscape is so awesome. There are craters, waterfalls, lakes and I am sure the air is amazing. It would be really my kind of holiday. Lucky you, having done this!
Long distances, but lots to see – that is true! These two cities are my most favorites in the United States. Also, driving from San Francisco to Seattle would be fantastic as you can see different types of landscapes: high and arid deserts, semi-arid shrublands, mountain ranges, and deep temperate rainforests.
We have done the route between San Fran and Seattle a few times. You have shown some of my favourite sights along the way. But some new ones for our next road trip. I can’t believe we have never made it to Crater Lake. So many great viewpoints on the drive around. This engineering geek would definitely want to take the route by Grand Coulee Dam!
Wow! This is definitely a long trip and truly worth it. Thank you for sharing your wonderful adventure. The scenery and views are breathtaking. I would love to visit Latourell Falls and Snoqualmie falls in the future.
Wow, what a road trip! So many beautiful places. I went on a road trip around Oregon with a friend a few years ago & was completely blown away by Crater Lake. I’m not sure if we visited many of the other places although we did dip into the redwood forests. It looks spectacular though so I would love to head back that way at some point…you’ve sold me!
This drive looks incredible! We have visited a few spots featured here, but I never imagined how wonderful driving between the two could be! Such beautiful scenery. Maybe one day we need to consider following your route.
Wow now this looks like an epic roadtrip. The giant trees and the craters, oh my god they are so amazingly beautiful. I have never been to Seattle or San Francisco till now but I have definitely heard that they are the most beautiful places in US. I would love to visit them and do a road trip like this when I can. I am bookmarking this page for sure.
Wow! Simply WoW! What a beautiful stretch of a roadtrip you have showcased and one that I am very likely to follow. From the giant redwood trees, the crater lake and what amazing mystical sight of the wind turbines! Amongst all, I am much captivated by the Wild horse monument which I have heard of and hope to visit one day.
The US are, obviously, the perfect land for extended road trips. I’ve been dreaming of a road trip through the South like Arizona, Texas, and mainly New Mexico. However, the Westcoast is very alluring, too. I’ve been to San Francisco – and beyond – a couple of times, however, Washington State is still on my list. My main problem with road-tripping in the US is that I’m not driving. And while I don’t mind going by bus or train, they simple don’t always stop at places of interest…
I saw pictures of one of friends in Crater Lake National Park and ever since, its been on my list. I visited San Francisco 5 years ago but couldn’t make it to Seattle back then and ever since, it’s been on my mind that I need to go back to the US for all those cities that I missed. I had no idea that there were so many places one could visit, if they did a road trip from San Francisco to Seattle but now it seems like it might be a great idea! Bookmarking this post for future, when I do finally make it back.
This road trip sounds absolutely amazing! I’m hoping to plan more road trips for this summer, and this is one I would love to do. So many beautiful places to see!
What an epic road trip! All of the sights you stopped at look amazing! the Avenue of the Giants is somewhere I’d love to experience! Plus, Seattle is one of my favourite cities so this road trip sounds right up my street! Thanks so much for sharing it!
Oooh I LOVE the look of this! Sometimes US roadtrips are sooo fast (loads of driving, but not enough nature.) I love that your route involves so many gorgeous waterfalls, forests and places that you could use as a springboard for a hike.
p.s. I hadn’t heard of the wild horses monument before – that is so lovely!
There are so many places here that I want to visit! I’ve always wanted to see Crater Lake and Multnomah, but now I have Snoqualmie Falls on the list too! This would be such a fun road trip!
I need to do another PNW road trip at some point! We went last summer but I’d love to go back to check out the Columbia Gorge + Yakima! This would be an awesome trip! <3
This road trip looks incredible! I’ve never been to the PNW but I’ve always wanted to go. It looks so beautiful, and I’m a sucker for the coast. Great post!
Your descriptions and the photos make me want to pack my case and go tomorrow. A little more patience is needed right now ….. but hopefully one day …..! Love the wild horses monument.
Woah what an epic road trip to go on! There are so many beautiful stops along your route – I want to see them all! I would love to go on a road trip like this in the states.