California road trip

[Dandock]

Funnily enough we've just booked flights to Seattle next summer with the intention of going to Yellowstone and Mt Rushmore with a possible side trip to Vancouver so without wanting to hijack this thread would be grateful for any more suggestions in that neck off the woods.

Pleased to be the catalyst.

[SAC1]

Funnily enough we've just booked flights to Seattle next summer with the intention of going to Yellowstone and Mt Rushmore with a possible side trip to Vancouver so without wanting to hijack this thread would be grateful for any more suggestions in that neck off the woods.

That's over 1500 miles of driving. So if you want to get out of the car for a while, you may like to do a boat trip to Victoria on Vancouver Island and do some whale watching en route. Also if you make it to Vancouver, you can get the train to Whistler and do a bit of skiing.

Or go south and take in Portland and then even further south to Golden Beach and take the epic mail boat trip https://www.roguejets.com/64-mile-jet-boat-trip/

So many choices; such little time!

[Dandock]

Funnily enough we've just booked flights to Seattle next summer with the intention of going to Yellowstone and Mt Rushmore with a possible side trip to Vancouver so without wanting to hijack this thread would be grateful for any more suggestions in that neck off the woods.

That's over 1500 miles of driving. So if you want to get out of the car for a while, you may like to do a boat trip to Victoria on Vancouver Island and do some whale watching en route. Also if you make it to Vancouver, you can get the train to Whistler and do a bit of skiing.

Or go south and take in Portland and then even further south to Golden Beach and take the epic mail boat trip https://www.roguejets.com/64-mile-jet-boat-trip/

So many choices; such little time!

It’s looking like two holidays or maybe three

[Deleted User 1874]

Also if you make it to Vancouver, you can get the train to Whistler and do a bit of skiing.

Very limited skiing at Whistler in the summer, but the mountain biking is spectacular!

[SAC1]

Also if you make it to Vancouver, you can get the train to Whistler and do a bit of skiing.

Very limited skiing at Whistler in the summer, but the mountain biking is spectacular!

We went skiing there in June ⛷

"Summer Glacier Skiing & Snowboarding in Whistler
Horstman Glacier on Blackcomb Mountain is open for sun-filled days of skiing and snowboarding
Incredible summer conditions with soft snow and blue skies - sunscreen is a must!"

https://www.whistler.com/activities/summer-skiing/

[Deleted User 1874]

Also if you make it to Vancouver, you can get the train to Whistler and do a bit of skiing.

Very limited skiing at Whistler in the summer, but the mountain biking is spectacular!

We went skiing there in June ⛷

"Summer Glacier Skiing & Snowboarding in Whistler
Horstman Glacier on Blackcomb Mountain is open for sun-filled days of skiing and snowboarding
Incredible summer conditions with soft snow and blue skies - sunscreen is a must!"

https://www.whistler.com/activities/summer-skiing/

Was it any good on the glacier or just a token gesture? Actually prefer the quieter interior BC ski resorts, but it's all good out there. Whistler is a bit too commercial for my liking, but still a great resort. Only been skiing there in the winter though!

[SAC1]

Very limited skiing at Whistler in the summer, but the mountain biking is spectacular!

We went skiing there in June ⛷

"Summer Glacier Skiing & Snowboarding in Whistler
Horstman Glacier on Blackcomb Mountain is open for sun-filled days of skiing and snowboarding
Incredible summer conditions with soft snow and blue skies - sunscreen is a must!"

https://www.whistler.com/activities/summer-skiing/

Was it any good on the glacier or just a token gesture? Actually prefer the quieter interior BC ski resorts, but it's all good out there. Whistler is a bit too commercial for my liking, but still a great resort. Only been skiing there in the winter though!

It was brilliant...and very bright!

[Miopyk]

Funnily enough we've just booked flights to Seattle next summer with the intention of going to Yellowstone and Mt Rushmore with a possible side trip to Vancouver so without wanting to hijack this thread would be grateful for any more suggestions in that neck off the woods.

That's over 1500 miles of driving. So if you want to get out of the car for a while, you may like to do a boat trip to Victoria on Vancouver Island and do some whale watching en route. Also if you make it to Vancouver, you can get the train to Whistler and do a bit of skiing.

Or go south and take in Portland and then even further south to Golden Beach and take the epic mail boat trip https://www.roguejets.com/64-mile-jet-boat-trip/

So many choices; such little time!

Most of our road trips tend to be quite long distances, this years was just short of 2500 miles but over 3-4 weeks it doesn't seem that bad. We reckon next years might get to the same with potential side trips. We were thinking of tacking on a cruise to Alaska as ships tend to go from Seattle or Vancouver but might save that one for the future.

[Ferdie]

"California" - very exciting, the US has some spectacular scenery if that is your main interest

Back in the day we did a North loop and a South loop on different occasions as it was so large an area to cover and the roads do not always go where you want due to the topology .

We generally had a full day driving and two nights at stop with side trips to the sights (a long ~2 weeks both times) . I would fully endorse Miopyk's list and would also add in to your research (given in the random order that I recall them):

- Death Valley is expensive - check out the Amargosa Hotel for a crazy place to stay (take food ) http://www.amargosa-opera-house.com/
- Bryce canyon - the most visually spectacular place, we thought the best canyon if not the biggest.
- Red Rock Canyon - a nice stop on the way to Vegas; where Mrs F refused to stay so we cancelled and stayed in Boulder City (no gambling allowed, very principled person )
- Meteor crater - very odd https://meteorcrater.com/
- The Petrified forest - if passing https://www.national-park.com/welcome-t ... onal-park/
- Mono Lake https://www.monolake.org/ - as I recall there was a superb restaurant in a petrol station near there and in that area Bodie https://www.monocounty.org/places-to-go/bodie/

I may have drawn some maps out of the routes we took but it was in pre-digital day and we generally booked night before but today I would definetly be on Booking.com or similar as you may end up somewhere less salubrious shall dig about in the attic for some more ideas.

Washington state and environs another story

[Nosmo]

Very limited skiing at Whistler in the summer, but the mountain biking is spectacular!

We went skiing there in June ⛷

"Summer Glacier Skiing & Snowboarding in Whistler
Horstman Glacier on Blackcomb Mountain is open for sun-filled days of skiing and snowboarding
Incredible summer conditions with soft snow and blue skies - sunscreen is a must!"

https://www.whistler.com/activities/summer-skiing/

Actually prefer the quieter interior BC ski resorts, but it's all good out there.

Ever been to Big White or Silverstar? Champagne powder and very quiet off peak b season.