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SUMMARY:
Explore the Pacific Northwest this September with GayOutdoors! We will be visiting two National Parks in the course of a week: Mt. Rainier & Olympic. We will start this adventure in Seattle, visiting perennial tourist favorites such as Pike Place Market, the Chihuly Museum, and the Space Needle. Our first national park will be Mt. Rainier, and we will be doing a few hikes, including the iconic Skyline Loop (with the option of continuing to Camp Muir). After Mt. Rainier, we will drive to Olympic National Park and explore sites like Hurricane Ridge, Shi Shi Beach, Hoh Rainforest, and the Sol Duc thermal pools before making our way back to Seattle.
Below is our itinerary, but there is room for discussion if tweaks want to be made. Additionally, there are links to a map of our activities and accommodations, a link to pictures of the places we will be visiting, and a link to the driving route. For this 7-day adventure, we estimate the cost will be $1,440 per person for shared accommodations, airfare, shared car/gas, and some miscellaneous expenses, such as one National Park pass per car. The estimated costs are detailed below as well. Our hope is to mitigate costs as much as possible so that it is not a barrier to those wanting to join us.
Hotels are booking up now in the National Parks for Summer 2025. If you are interested in joining us, sign up as soon as possible. This should be an adventure to remember!
Tentative Itinerary:
Saturday, 9/6
- Arrive Seattle
- 2:00 PM: Pike Place Market
- 6:00 PM: Dinner
- 7:30 PM: Seattle Great Wheel
Sunday, 9/7
- 10:00 AM: Chihuly Museum
- Noon: Space Needle
- 1:00 PM: Lunch in Seattle
- 1:30 PM: Drive 3 hours to Mt. Rainier, Nisqually entrance
- 5:00 PM: Check-in at Paradise Inn
- 5:30 PM: Dinner at Tatoosh Cafe
- 6:30 PM: Hiking Bench and Snow Lake Trail (1-1.5 hours)
Monday, 9/8
- 6:00 AM: Breakfast at Tatoosh Café
- 7:00 AM: Option 1: Hike Camp Muir Route via Skyline Trail (Challenging option, 7.5 hours)
- 7:00 AM: Option 2: Hike the Skyline Loop (Moderate to Challenging option, 3.5 hours)
- 1:00 PM: Hike Pinnacle Peak Trail (for those that did Option 2: Skyline in AM)
- 6:00 PM: Dinner at the Paradise Inn Dining Room
Tuesday, 9/9
- 6:00 AM: Breakfast at Tatoosh Cafe
- 7:00 AM: Drive to Sunrise Visitor Center (~1.5 hours)
- 9:00 AM: Hike Mount Fremont Lookout Trail via Sourdough Ridge Trail (3 hours)
- Noon: Lunch at Sunrise Day Lodge
- 1:00 PM: Drive to Port Angeles (4 hours)
- 5:00 PM: Check into Olympic Inn & Suites
- 5:30 PM: Dinner in Port Angeles
- 6:30 PM: Walk or Bike Ediz Hook in Port Angeles (2-3 hours, 3 miles)
Wednesday, 9/10
- 6:00 AM: Breakfast at Olympic Inn & Suites
- 7:00 AM: Drive to Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center (45 mins)
- 8:00 AM: Hike Hurricane Hill via Hurricane Ridge (2 hours)
- 10:30 AM: Hike to Sunrise View Point via High Ridge Nature Trail (1 hour)
- Noon: Lunch
- 12:30 PM: Drive to Marymere Falls Trail (1 hour).
- 1:30 PM: Hike Marymere Falls Trail (1 hour)
- 2:30 PM: Drive to Sol Duc Falls (45 mins)
- 3:15 PM: Hike Sol Duc Falls Trail (1 hour)
- 5:00 PM: Check into Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort
- 5:30 PM: Dinner at the resort
- 6:30 PM: Hot springs/Thermal baths
Thursday, 9/11
- 6:00 AM: Breakfast at the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort
- 7:00 AM: Drive to Shi Shi Beach (2 hours)
- 9:00 AM: Walk Shi Shi Beach Trail (3 hours)
- Noon: Lunch (bring with us)
- 12:30 PM: Drive to Hole-in-the-Wall (2 hours)
- 2:30 PM: Hike to Hole-in-the-Wall from Rialto Beach (1 hour)
- 3:30 PM: Drive to Kalaloch Lodge (1 hour)
- 4:30 PM: Check into Kalaloch Lodge
- 5:30 PM: Dinner at Lodge
Friday, 9/12
- 6:00 AM: Breakfast at Kalaloch Lodge
- 7:00 AM: Drive to Hoh Rain Forest (1 hour)
- 8:00 AM: Spruce Nature Trail and Hall of Mosses Loop (1 hour)
- 9:00 AM: Drive to Quinault Rainforest (1.5 hours)
- 10:30 AM: Quinault Loop (1.5 hours)
- Noon: Lunch (bring with us)
- 1:00 PM: Drive to Seattle (3 hours)
- 4:00 PM: Check into the hotel
- 6:00 PM: Dinner in Seattle
Saturday, 9/13 Fly home
Estimated Costs
*Please note that we are not collecting any money. You are responsible for booking your flight. We can coordinate booking hotel rooms and vehicles.
*Costs are estimates that do not include taxes, price fluctuations, and other fees
Accommodations:
- 2 nights in Seattle (location TBD) at $200, divided by 2 people = $200
- 2 nights at Paradise Inn in Mt. Rainier at $210, divided by 2 people = $210
- 1 night at Olympic Inn & Suites at $150, divided by 2 people = $75
- 1 night at Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort at $281, divided by 2 people = $140.50
- 1 night at Kalaloch Lodge at $351, divided by 2 people = $175.50
- TOTAL ESTIMATE for Accommodations = $801 for 7 days
Transportation:
- Roundtrip airfare: $350
- SUV rental $70/day x 7 days, divided by 3 people = $163
- Gas (30 gallons at $3.50), divided by 3 people = $35
- TOTAL ESTIMATE for Transportation = $548
Miscellaneous:
- America the Beautiful pass $80, divided 3 people per car = $27
- Chihuly Museum & Space Needle combo pass = $64
- TOTAL ESTIMATE for Misc. = $91
Estimated cost per person for accommodation and travel: $1,440 per person
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