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Old 06-20-2018, 08:21 AM   #1
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Camping in Pacific NW

We're looking to take a camping trip from Northern Utah to Portland and Seattle sometime this September. Probably driving from UT to Portland area for a few days and than onto Seattle for the remainder of the trip. We've never been to either state so were looking for recommendations on campgrounds and attractions. We typically stay in State Parks or dry camp on Forest service land, anything that has a decent view and 30ish minutes from the city.
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Old 06-20-2018, 09:14 AM   #2
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From a Washington State park perspective there are 2 that are around 30-60 minutes south of Seattle (depending on traffic which can be quite bad at times) - Saltwater State Park and Dash Point State Park. Both are fairly close to I-5. Dash Point has a larger campground. Saltwater tends to have more day-use traffic. Saltwater is in the flight path for SeaTac Airport as well, but I suppose that is par for the course in an urban setting.

Further south if you are interested in seeing some of the other sights you might consider Seaquest State park. It's just over an hour north of Portland and about 5 miles east of I-5. From there it's about an hour to the Johnston Ridge Observatory on the north side of Mt St Helens overlooking the crater. There are a variety of hiking trails along the way as well as Cold Water Lake.

If you are looking for campgrounds to stay along the way there are a couple of Oregon State Parks that we've used off I-84 when traveling to/from the southwest. One is Farewell Bend which is right at the border with Idaho. Another is Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area near the summit of the Blue Mountains.

Good luck with the planning and have a great trip!
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Old 06-20-2018, 06:06 PM   #3
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WA State Parks are awesome!

Reservations open about 9 months in advance and parks can fill fast. September should be pretty open, but the earlier the better for making reservations.

https://washington.goingtocamp.com/W...StateParks?Map

A little further than 30 minutes... but Fort Worden up by Port Townsend is a great place to stay. They filmed An Officer & A Gentleman there and the military housing is all still in use (as vacation rentals and other camp facilities). It's one of the only campgrounds I know of with a Brewpub on site!

RV's, trailers and motor homes (and logging trucks) do fit on the WA State Ferries - but plan on going at high tide so you don't bottom out! And bring a credit card... our Seneca is $85 each way for a 30 minute ferry ride (but that beats the 2 hours to drive around in city traffic!)
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Old 06-21-2018, 08:08 AM   #4
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This is great information, I was already looking into Dash Point just because of the proximity to Seattle but i'll look into the others as well. I was going to ask about the Ferrys so I'm glad you mentioned that.

Would you say Olympic National park is worth a stop? I was looking at the map yesturday and I think from Portland were going to try and drive the 101 towards Seattle and maybe spend a day on the coast. That would also bring us by Olympic
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Old 06-21-2018, 12:00 PM   #5
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Olympic National Park is beautiful, and the rain forest near Forks (of Twilight fame) is amazing. If you do go all around the coast, Kalaloch is a nice campground - more rustic than some, but on a great bluff over some amazing beaches.

https://www.recreation.gov/camping/k...O&parkId=70944

But... if you're limited on time, I'd aim for Mt. St. Helens first, and Mr. Rainier second.

One downside of Olympic Nat'l Park, if you travel with dogs and like to hike... no dogs allowed on trails in the Park (if you're not a dog person, I guess this would be a plus?). They are welcome at the campgrounds and on the beach, but not up the rainforest trails due to wildlife concerns.

PS - the pic in our signature, below, was taken at Kalaloch.
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