Its supposed to be beautiful, maybe next time. Stay: The suites and private cabins of Stanley High Country Inn have a rustic aesthetic adorned with modern touches. Maybe a few short stops. I wrote a long reply and have somehow lost it! I arrived in La Conner with some time to kill, so I drove It had grown grey and cold, and I didn't feel much like hiking or picture-taking in that kind of weather. Anacortes ferry. Hiking a couple easy trails was on our agenda, but Patricks ankle was hurting so we werent able. If youre traveling in winter, hit the slopes at Bridger Bowl Ski Area. More driving awaited on this day, but if you're planning a trip to Glacier National Park, you have to accept a good bit of driving. So, I drove back up Yakima Canyon to Umtanum Creek, where a suspension bridge takes hikers over to a trail that winds up a side canyon. Eat & Drink: Have an elegant dinner at Sun Valleys original dining room, The Ram, or indulge in Tuscan favorites at Ketchums best Italian restaurant, Cristinas. The downtown and wharf area have a lot of restaurants , shops and bars. I got there 15 minutes before it opened for the day. Reasonable, but no time to really see anything along the way. The route we chose travels north to Baker City and cuts through John Day. *Slow down and look for wildlife. Eat & Drink:Fill up with a ham gobbler sandwich, French dip, or chef salad in Choteau, Montana, at the roadside Outpost Deli. Are you thinking of visiting Glacier? Explore this trip . 2. If youre visiting in winter, hit the slopes at the Montana Snowbowl. Eat & Drink: Grab dinner at the Blackbird Kitchen, a cute Italian spot with a wood-fired oven, or splurge on the last dinner of your road trip at Open Range, a classic Montana steakhouse. What are safety concerns and precautions when experiencing nature in North America? As long as the itinerary matches your travel style, it's okay. I know what I want to do at the start, the middle and the end, its the bits in between and how long to spend at each place I am not sure about. Theres a ton of different Redwood areas and we only saw a little bit, but it was INCREDIBLE!!! Out here, the landscape is dense with national forests and national monuments lauded for their stunning beauty and cultural histories, not to mention three separate national parks: Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Teton. I'm not sure what your plans are for (ta && ta.queueForLoad ? Perhaps you can enjoy a short visit to Mt Rainier NP. Reasonable, but no time to really see anything along the way. Seriously, you cant go wrong! This one was bigger and sold white chocolate lavender ice cream! I drove around Pincher Creek on the morning of Day 7, just to see what it looked like when the streets weren't piled with snow and stained with salt. Or at least, I told myself I'd hike as far as Appistoki Falls, and then see if I wanted to go further. I love bookstores, so I just had to check it out and of course buy a couple books! As I checked out of my cabin, I had reached the end of my reserved accommodations for this trip. There are many different areas of the park with a lot of diversity. You're welcome. Day 4: Hike in the Sawtooths & Soak in a Hot Spring. And of course, I got rained-on again. I feel like Ive said this all week, but this place was GORGEOUS!!! Grizzlies, geysers and big, open skies: a US road trip through 3,000 kilometre of Big Sky country . The Columbia River Gorge area in OR (NE of Cannon Beach) is full of easily seen waterfalls. This unique, looped road trip will take you on a magical adventure to numerous enchanting waterfalls including Multnomah Falls, Salt Creek Falls, and Tamanawas Falls, among others. You can also email a road trip suggestion youd like us to cover at [emailprotected]. But this itinerary has some doozies! It was under construction, so people recommended not going until it was complete. 11 thru mt rainier to yakima or moss lake, 12 l9ng drive to west yellowstone or gardiner, 15 am yellowstone then down to grand teton. About Wyoming: The Facts: Capital: Cheyenne. A Highway 101 road trip along Oregon's North Coast. Reflections on Washington DC: A most American city; The great underrated American state capitals . Breakfast: Breakfast at The Kneadery in Ketchum, a rustic eatery with Rocky Mountain-inspired takes on traditional dishes like benedicts and omelets. Even outside the city, US 93 is an overused road that's still two lanes in many parts. I stopped for a quick breakfast at Franks Diner in Spokane, super cute! Purple Haze was a must do! I am planning a road trip for September 2018 and need some suggestions on what to see, what to do, where to stay and how long to spend in places. Trip length: 500 miles, about 8 hours of driving. What about heading to the east side of the park. It had the bluest water Ive ever seen. Unless you opt for a much longer scenic route from Denver to Yellowstone National Park and the Bridger-Teton National . Again the weather was not cooperating and it was very cloudy. Your email address will not be published. Alternatively, if you'll be heading back to Boise or into Wyoming from Sun Valley on your Idaho road trip itinerary, make it a point to stop by Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve for some dramatically different landscape to everything you've seen on the trip so far. Thank you so much for your comments. It was tiny, and probably built a half-century or more ago, but it was affordable, comfortable, and clean. We rented a small boat and went out on Lake McDonald. I gave up on Rattlesnake Canyon after a while, and found another trail that did have a payoff. Address Street Address * Hidden Major cities and towns along the route include Portland, Hood River and La Grande in Oregon; Seattle, Winthrop, and Spokane in Washington; Coeur d'Alene, Sun Valley, Stanley, and Boise in Idaho; and Missoula and Bozeman in Montana. Instead of taking US 2 from northern Idaho into Montana, why not select this scenic route instead? As Montana 49 ends, US 89 continues the scenic drive, all the way to the entrance to the Many Glacier area. Day 4 Seattle, WA drive to Portland, OR 3 hrs of driving. This time, the road was closed at Logan Pass, so I had to circle around on US 2. 9. Southern Pacific 4449, St. Louis-San Francisco 1522, Santa Fe 3751, Spokane, Portland and Seattle 700 and Milwaukee Road 261 steam locomotives to operate excursions over their rails . I explored the east side of Going-to-the-Sun Road just briefly, then called it a day, and drove back to my familiar cabin. ta.queueForLoad : function(f, g){document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', f);})(function(){ta.trackEventOnPage('postLinkInline', 'impression', 'postLinks-86306967', '');}, 'log_autolink_impression');flights we book, approx 20 days. I drove down to Portland, then took Interstate 84 into the Columbia River Gorge. Should I rent an RV to save money on a road trip? ta.queueForLoad : function(f, g){document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', f);})(function(){ta.trackEventOnPage('postLinkInline', 'impression', 'postLinks-72738360', '');}, 'log_autolink_impression');Seattle, WA, Day 7 Portland, OR drive to La Grande, OR, Day 8 La Grande, OR drive to Craters of the Moon, Day 9 Craters drive to Yellowstone NP, Wyoming, Day 11 Yellowstone NP, WY drive to Bozeman, MT, Day 12 Bozeman, MT drive to Flathead Lake, MT, Day 15 Flathead Lake, MT drive to Whitefish, MT, Day 16 Whitefish, MT drive to Calgary, AB. One more reason to go back to the area. The rest of the day was spent looking for a Walmart or Target. I drove aimlessly, in any direction that looked like it might yield a good photo. Bachelor, Broken Top, South Sister, and 14 different alpine lakes. For your first stop on a road trip from Portland to Yellowstone, consider making a pit stop in the Columbia River Gorge. Wyoming is filled with expansive landscapes, scenic roads and a rich history that all beg to be explored. If it's been a rainy fall, expect to see a little less color in Western Washington, but the mountains and much of the Columbia River Gorge are generally less effected by rain. We did a couple small hikes, because how could we NOT!! Temperatures in western Montana reach over 100 F (38 C) but are of short duration. Its in a train car! Trip: Big Sky (Washington, Idaho, Montana) - TakeMyTrip.com The Big Sky Trip An adventure in the Pacific Northwest The Big Sky trip is a 10-night driving trip to the northwestern United States. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! Do: Sun Valley is a posh, all-season outdoor getaway. He told me it was one of the best pies in Missoula. I probably stayed here less than an hour. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming Glacier National Park, Montana North Cascades National Park, Washington Mount Rainier National Park, Washington Olympic National Park, Washington Crater. Plan to divide your 5 nights in Yellowstone in to 2 different locations. Those traveling from areas with high rates of Covid-19 should consider avoiding travel for now in order to reduce spread. Washington / Oregon Road Trip Part 1: Seattle and the Puget Sound. North Cascades National Park is located about 3 hours northeast of Seattle. Town:In Idaho Falls, stroll along the River Walk to see the eponymous waterfall. Then heading back towards Oregon, We continued westward through Idaho, Spokane, Washington, and dipped a little south to finish our road trip loop in the Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Request Your Official Travel Guide Your Information Name * First Last Sign me up to receive news. I hiked to the "L" and beyond, then came back and sat on the "L" for a while, and thought about dinner. Keep your eyes peeled for bison, elk, moose, bear and other incredible animals. On the way there, I took Montana 49, also known as Looking Glass Hill Road. With a few hours to go before sunset (the days are incredibly long in late June, this far north), I gave myself an ambitious goal. The Bonanza and Custer Ghost Town is situated on the western edge of the Salmon-Challis National Forest. Relaxing in a hotel in Spokane, getting up early and seeing a bit of this city and then driving towards La Conner going through the North Cascades National Park via the east entrance. Montana has so much to offer - including its crown jewel, Glacier National Park - and we've designed the perfect 10-day Montana road trip itinerary through Western Montana, complete with details to help you plan each step of your trip. We did spend some time in the Oregon Trail Interpretive Centre, but otherwise a lot of driving. Required fields are marked *. Arrival in Seattle. 11 Places; 03:45 . In the evening we finally made it to Washington. I started the day refreshed, and drove up to the stunning Many Glacier area. Stay: Spend a night at the Cmon Inn, a Montana lodge with an indoor courtyard and waterfall, for around $120. Im honestly not sure we would have had the time anyways. DAY 1 & 2: DRIVE TO MISSOULA, GOLDBUG HOT SPRINGS, AND IDAHO FALLS. There were few places to eat, everywhere I went, and with the sun setting so late, I wasn't getting back into civilization until well after 10 p.m. My first visit to Waterton in March, 2012, was snowy and cold. Gorgeous!! Click here for all the details. Book lodging ONLY thru the Xanterra website at http://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com Do NOT book this via 3rd party. In order to get over to the coast, I had to take US 12 past Mount Rainier. *I would have really liked to have stayed in the Inn at Old Faithful. Mapbox . Hiking around Two Medicine Lake would likely have been messy, so I opted for the scenic boat cruise. This time, though, I took a longer route through eastern Washington and Idaho, before ending up in the Kalispell area near Glacier National Park. Youll probably notice a Libby, Montana has a troubled past, but its working hard on inspiring a brighter future. Tight curves, narrow drops, and endless potholes and dips make the drive slow. We use cookies on koa.com to help improve your experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits, troubleshoot how the site operates, and learn more about how koa.com is performing. We went to the Paradise visitor center to get my passport stamped and a better look up the mountain. We feel the Montana destinations included in our plan are the best places to see on a trip to Montana. There are also three suites in the Main Ranch House. You'll have to be very choosy here. Take a self-guided walking tour through the neighborhoods 19th-century dry goods stores, hotels, and churches to get the backstory of what was once a remote outpost of the Wild West. The rest of the day was spent watching Austin and then driving to our hotel in downtown Seattle. So much to see and eat! Feeling a bit worn out from moving on all the time and starting to feel a bit "blah" about the driving. The Perfect Weekend Getway: The Palm Beaches From Tampa, The Perfect Weekend Getaway: Wilmington From Charlotte, The Perfect Weekend Getaway: Cincinnati From Chicago, The Perfect Weekend Getaway: Pittsburgh From Chicago, The Perfect Weekend Getaway: Whidbey and the San Juans From Seattle. I'm guessing the birthday is September 10?! Hop into the car for America's favorite road . From here on out, I was making it up as I went along, day by day. If you don't have three full days to devote to this NP, then save it for a future trip. It was beautiful, but it was just a nice walk in the woods, without any real payoff. Breakfast: Get your caffeine fix and a breakfast wrap at Montana Coffee Traders in Columbia Falls, a local northwestern Montana chain. Oregon Cities and roads map of Oregon state. The ultimate road trip planner to help you discover extraordinary places, book hotels, and share itineraries all from the map. Take a fly-fishing float trip on the Yellowstone, one of the great waterways of the West. There really is only one way to travel north-south through the Idaho Panhandle: its US 95. Then, I headed back to Libby, where I explored the town for a few minutes, before heading out. Breakfast: Wake up with traditional and international breakfast favorites from The Wild Table. Get a look at whats left on this quick six-mile detour (about ten minutes each way) on Hwy 26. Now, it was time to head south, and that's what I did, but of course I took my time, with detours out towards the Castle Special Place (west of Highway 6), and to St. Henry's Catholic Church, an historic structure east of Route 6. Where you base yourselves in Yellowstone will make quite a difference as to what you have time for. YUM! I had pie, ice cream and Road Trip Fun from VA to WY, MT, Banff, Yoho, Jasper 2023 Northeast Europe Christmas market trip, Road trip from Las Vegas to San Francisco via Los Angeles, OKC to Chandler to Tulsa to Kansas City to Omaha in Mar '23. US 87 goes from Idaho to Montana and connects to US 287 after you enter Montana. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); on Pacific Northwest Road Trip in 10 Days. The donuts we got were huge and delish! Mount Rainier was our top destination today. had a vacay with out kids in over 10 years, so this was much needed! 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