I will start by saying a month long road trip would not be long enough to explore all of the beautiful and breath taking parks, towns and sights we fit into this trip. I wish we had a few days to spend in each location, but we definitely made the most of the time we did have! My husband and I own a Jiu Jitsu school (which can run just fine when we are away) but we didn’t want to be gone for more than 2 weeks.

Living in Delaware, it always felt like such an overwhelming trip to plan since we are almost as far away as you can get from our destination. There is so much we want to do, how would we fit it all in? Would we ever get to go back? Where would we fly in to? Should we rent a car and stay in Air Bnbs? Or should we rent an RV or camper?

We have friends that recently settled in Bend, OR so that have us a great reason to visit and plan this trip! After a ton of research we decided to fly in to Seattle, head to Olympic National park, down the Oregon Coast, over to Bend, OR and finally up to Mt. Rainier National Park before returning to Seattle. After planning our route we decided to rent a camper van through outdoorsy and booked some VERY fun campsites through Hipcamp!

We flew into Seattle, picked up our camper van and headed to our first campsite right outside of Olympic National Park in Port Angeles Washington. I really wish we had a few days to explore the park, but we only had time to do one trail and keep it moving. We got to our campsite at SolDuc Camp Ground after the longest travel day of our life. It was a beautiful site along the water, but we got in late and left very early so we didn’t get to see any more of the camp ground besides our site. The next morning we headed off to Olympic National Park to see the Hall of Moses in the Hoh Rain Forest. To get there we had to drive through Forks which was a cute little tourist town and a fun thing to check off the list as a former Twilight nerd.

The park was pretty empty and we easily got a parking spot at the trail head. The trail was not very long but it was BEAUTIFUL. We have done a lot of hiking in the southwest, so being in a rain forest was an incredible difference. Once we were back to the van we left for our next stop, Astoria, Oregon.

Our campsite was about half an hour away from Astoria and definitely out of the way, but there was a very good reason for the detour. GOATS. We booked this site through Hip Camp and had an incredible experience at the Skamokawa Farmstead Creamery.

We went into Astoria for dinner at South Bay Wild, a small family owned & operated fish market & restaurant. They had amazing reviews and a lot of gluten free options to choose from. We are big seafood fans and did not want to pass up the opportunity to get some freshly caught high quality fish in the PNW so we got ceviche and of course fish tacos which did not disappoint. They don’t currently have a website and are not active on socials, but it does look like they are open by reading recent google reviews. The next morning we packed up and headed back to Astoria and a visit to Coffee Girl on the Famous Pier 39 with hopes to spot some sea lions. Sadly, we could only hear them in the distance, but walking around the Pier and old cannery made for a great morning. Astoria is also where the Goonies was filmed, so Billy loved that he could recognize the different locations as we drove around.

Our next destination was Cannon Beach, a very popular beach with beautiful rock formations. We didn’t spend much time here as parking was difficult so we only stayed for a few minutes to stretch out legs and look at the shoreline. I will say, the West Coast shorelines absolutely took my breath away as a life long East Coast resident.

Next we drive through Tillamook and as much as we would have loved to stop for a tour of the creamery, we didn’t have time! This is something I would love to do if we ever have the chance to go back (even though we are both dairy free 😭). The highlight of the town and possibly the trip was our accidental stop at Luz Mexican Restaurant. Now this might sound dramatic, but these were the best tacos we have EVER had. And that is saying something because as people who at gluten free, we eat a LOT of tacos and mexican food. Luz looks like it used to be a gas station and welcomes you with an interior painted with bright colors and a mismatch of tables and chairs. You order at a small window with the same person who is cooking all the food. We got a few different types of tacos, grabbed some our the home made sauces and headed back to the van for the best authentic tacos of our life.

I was absolutely taken by the West Coast shorelines so we stopped at The Lookout at Cape Foulweather visitors center for some breathtaking views, then headed to the Devil Punchbowl about 10 minutes south. It was beautiful, but it was also low tide so we didn’t get the full effect.

Our next campsite, which we also booked through HipCamp, was right outside of Newport, OR. The photos on the app were what really sold the site, but the price was great too! We arrived and were escorted to our site by the owner because his property was HUGE. I didn’t know what to expect but it definitely wasn’t a sprawling property with levels upon levels of beautifully crafted campsites. The owner told us that he has been working for years on leveling each part of his property to create unique campsites for people to experience the beauty of the Oregon coast. Our original site was called “The Terrace” which has an ocean view, but the owner offered us an unlisted site that was even higher on the property with absolutely STUNNING views. We spent the night eating take out from a local Thai restaurant and watched the sunset from the roof of our camper van.

The next morning we headed into Newport, where I was determined to find some sea lions. I don’t know what it is about me, but I have terrible luck with spotting wildlife no matter where we are. We grabbed breakfast at a cute little restaurant on the water and walked down the docks where the sea lions were supposed to be. To no ones surprise there were ZERO sea lions but I can blame this one on mother nature as the docks they usually lay on were destroyed by a storm. Right before we left we did get to see one swimming in the water and spotted some pretty cool jumping fish.

Even though there was so much more I wanted to see, we had to head inland to our next stop, Bend. We were so excited to see our friends and almost equally excited to take a shower and sleep in a real bed. There are a TON of things to do in Bend, but since we only had a few days we packed in as much as we possibly could. We walked around the Bend Whitewater Park, and checked out a Food Truck Pod (my new favorite thing!). There are food trucks in Delaware, but you can find these cute little food truck pods all over Bend where the food trucks are permanently parked with seating, music stages and fire pits. Take a guess at what kind of truck we ordered from.

The next day we checkout out their jiu jitsu gym for some training and then went paddle boarding. The original plan was to go up to Diablo Lake, but when we got there it was absolutely FREEZING, so we headed back down to a reservoir instead. Paddle boarding is a new hobby for me, but I absolutely love it.

On our final day in Bend we grabbed coffee at Back Porch Coffee Roasters and Breakfast at Chow (so many GF options!) before heading out on our adventure for the day. We went hiking at Smith Rock State Park and did a trail called Misery Ridge and Summit Trail Loop. The views were incredible and we got to see people rock climbing and slack lining! I could not believe that is was a state park, since the ones back home are barely more than a walking path in the little bit of woods we have. We went to another great restaurant that night for even more tacos and got the most incredible dairy free gelato at Bonta.

After a few amazing days in Bend it was time to head to our last major stop on the trip, Mount Rainier National Park! With only 1 day to spend in such a huge park, it was difficult to decide what trail we wanted to do. Since we went at the beginning of June there was still snow in the park and sections of the main road through Paradise were still not plowed. We decided to go around the East side of the park and do a trail in the Sunrise section of the park. Our last camp site was basically just someones driveway with an RV hookup, but it was right outside the park and perfect for what we needed. No matter where we are hiking we like to hit the trail early so we were up and on the road before the sunrise. As we were driving it became very clear that the weather was not going to cooperate with our hope to see the mountain. It was very foggy and gloomy and although that meant no views, it made for a very unique and beautiful hike. We did the Crystal Lake to Sourdough Gap Trail and were the only people on the trail the entire time. It started snowing on the way up which made for quite the experience when I had to use a very out in the open pit toilet. Although we didn’t get to see the mountain, the lake and entire trail were beautiful.

After that hike it was pouring and we were very cold and wet, so decided to skip our last camp site and get a nice hotel room instead. It was a long drive back to Bremerton, but absolutely worth it once we got settled in. It was truly a perfect way to end our trip even though I was not at all ready to go home.

Would I ever do a road trip again? ABSOLUTELY! As much as I wish we had another day in each location, I am so grateful for what we were able to experience in the time we did have. I also have no doubt that we will be back again and get to see even more of the Pacific North West.