Pacific Northwest Road Trip Itinerary
The Pacific NorthWest is the perfect route for a road trip. It’s right up there on the list of best road trips along with the ultimate Utah road trip in the US or the Pacific Coast highway in California.
Planning the perfect trip from start to finish can reduce a lot of last-minute stress.
Starting with mouth-watering street food in Portland and ending with wildlife in Cascades National Park, here’s the perfect itinerary for a road trip through the Pacific Northwest.
What is the Pacific Northwest PNW region?
It really depends on who you ask. More or less from very northern California, through Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia in Canada. Some people also include parts of Idaho and Montana into PNW.
The core of the Pacific Northwest Region is Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia.
Pacific Northwest Road Trip Highlights
- Experience Portland’s food trucks
- See Cascades National Park
- Explore busy Seattle
- Warm up in hot springs
- Stay in an A-cabin
- Get impressed by waterfalls
- Hike through the rainforest in Olympic National Park
- Spot Thor’s Well
- Get up close with wildlife
Ultimate Pacific Northwest Itinerary for 2 Weeks
Most itineraries say you can do it in a week and while you can, I really think you’d be better off spend at least 2 weeks in the region. Otherwise, you would barely scrape the surface. You can spend a month alone in each Oregon and Washington and still have plenty more to see and experience.
Many itineraries suggest a day at Olympic National Park for example and let me tell you – it’s a piece of bad advice. Especially if you’re driving from Seattle – you’ll experience about 6h of driving minimum and you’ll be able to do one hike and maybe a viewpoint. Try to save a few days for the park, more if you can.
Day 1: Fly into Portland
Day 2: Columbia River (Multnomah Falls) & Portland night
Day 3: The Oregon Coast (Thor’s Well + White Wold Sanctuary)
Day 4: Umpqua Hot Springs + Crate Lake National Park
Day 5: Mount Rainer National Park
Day 6: Mount Hood +Bagdy Hot Springs
(you can add an extra day to Mount Hood + Mount Rainer Parks because driving takes a long time)
Day 8: Seattle
Day 9: National Forests around Seattle (cabin or treehouse stay)
Day 10-11: Olympic National Park
Stay in one of many cabins on the way up north.
Day 13: North Cascades National Park + Leavenworth
Day 14: drive back and fly out of Seattle or continue to cross the bord into Canada
If you’re on your “Great American Road Trip” you can easily combine this trip with Southern California, then the Pacific Coast Highway itinerary and Northern California (to start with), then continue onto Montana & Idaho all the way to Utah.
Is This Trip Family Friendly?
You bet! This itinerary can be enjoyed as a solo traveler, couple, and also with kids. We actually did this with a 5-month-old baby and a 2-year-old toddler.
How to Get Around the Pacific Northwest?
The best way to travel around the Pacific Northwest is by car. Although in cities like Portland or Oregon you can ditch the car because public transportation works just fine.
If you’re driving an electric car, don’t worry. We found chargers everywhere on the way.