Summer 2023 · Oregon, Washington, British Columbia
North by Ferry
Eleven days from Portland to Seattle the long way round, by a rain forest, two ferries, a slot canyon and a night of fireworks over English Bay.
- When
- Route
- Multnomah Falls → Portland → Olympia → Lake Quinault → Port Angeles → Victoria → Parksville → Vancouver → Seattle
- Length
- 11 days, 10 nights
In late July we flew to Portland and took the long way to Seattle: a waterfall and a bookstore, a rain forest, two ferries, two dawns on the tide flats at Parksville, a night of fireworks and one last morning at Pike Place.
The plan went all the way down to the tide tables, and not all of it worked out: a closed highway and a lost hour on the way to the rain forest, rain on the beaches, and a bear-watching boat in Tofino that we never boarded.
The route
Day 1
A waterfall, a bookstore, a capitol
We flew in to Portland from Sacramento and drove straight to Multnomah Falls for our nine o'clock entry window.
It was clear and warm, and we hiked on past the falls, a longer walk than expected. On the way back we stopped at Vista House on Crown Point and at a viewpoint over the Columbia River Gorge.
In the city we rode bikes to the South Park Blocks and on to Powell's, where we found a bench above the stacks. There was time, too, for an iced vanilla latte from a coffee shop just about to close.
That afternoon we drove to Olympia for dinner at Zen Ramen, and by eight we were walking around the Capitol in the last of the sun.
The practical bits An early Southwest flight from Sacramento to Portland; rental car from the airport. Multnomah Falls needed a timed-entry permit for nine o'clock. Slept at a hotel on Capitol Lake in Olympia.
Day 2
Lost, then rain forest
Highway 101 was closed, and Google Maps sent us on a detour that ended at a gated road, with almost no cell signal and, for a while, no idea where we were. By the time we reached Lake Quinault Lodge it was raining, so we stayed a good while among dark wood, leather armchairs, an empty chess set and a life-size bigfoot by the front window.
Then a short loop through the Quinault rain forest, all moss and ferns with a creek down the middle, and north up the coast in the rain. We reached Ruby Beach in fog and got no farther than the drift logs at the top of the sand.
That night we were glad to reach Port Angeles and the Quality Inn, and to get the laundry done.
The practical bits Breakfast in the hotel room. Two nights at the Quality Inn in Port Angeles; dinner was takeout from Songoku Hibachi on Front Street. Drizzle, about 15 degrees.
Day 3
Clouds on the ridge, clear water below
The clouds had come down to meet us on Hurricane Ridge, and we could see the Olympics across the valley with snow still on the tops, and not much else. We walked the Hurricane Hill trail, hard going up and much quicker down.
It brightened as we came down. At Lake Crescent we walked the trail through old-growth forest to Marymere Falls and stood at the edge of a lake that really is that color, then looked inside Lake Crescent Lodge.
Back in Port Angeles: a big Italian lunch at Bella Italia, a nap, the stairs down to the harbor and out to the wharf, and sunset behind the trees on a hill above the water.
The practical bits Up early; waffles and sausage at the hotel. Hurricane Hill is about 3.6 miles there and back. Lunch at Bella Italia (mushroom ravioli, shrimp scampi, spaghetti and meatballs, fettuccine with salmon).
Day 4
Victoria, lit up twice
The Port Angeles waterfront doubled itself in flat water under a sky full of clouds, and we had more than an hour to look at it before the Coho sailed. An hour and a half later we were in Canada, at the lookout on Mount Tolmie and then the Marriott.
Victoria was all sun and very clean. We took a selfie on the lawn in front of the Empress and walked the Inner Harbour to the totem poles of Thunderbird Park.
After a rest we crossed to Fisgard Street for bubble tea at Loyaltea, whose name runs across one wall in red light bulbs, and noodles at Momi Noodles. We came back to the harbor after nine, when the Empress lights up and the water holds it twice.
The practical bits The Coho ferry leaves Port Angeles at 8:20 a.m.; we drove the car on. One night at the Victoria Marriott. Clear, about 20 degrees.
Day 5
Peacocks, a train mural and a sand woman
Beacon Hill Park had peacocks, and a fountain on the pond to pose in front of. Up the island in Chemainus, the town that paints its history on its walls, a steam-locomotive mural rose several times a person's height.
We checked in at the Bayside in Parksville in the middle of the town's beach festival. That evening we walked to the sand sculpture competition; our favorite was a woman with flowers in her hair and her eyes closed, taller than any of us.
The practical bits Breakfast from the 7-Eleven, and a sandwich from Murchie's. Left Victoria at noon and drove north over the Malahat. Two nights at the Bayside in Parksville.
Day 6
Low tide at half past five
The tide at Parksville goes out a very long way, and early in the morning the flats below the Bayside were bare and shining. The garden path along the bank was full of pink coneflowers, and the sun came up over the strait.
Then inland to Englishman River Falls, where the river drops into a slot of rock you can look straight down into from the bridge, and south to WildPlay, a ropes course strung high between the trees above the Nanaimo River canyon, with platforms a long way up the trunks.
After lunch in Nanaimo's Old City Quarter, we had a cappuccino and a Nanaimo bar downtown, good but sweet, and walked the harbourfront. That evening we walked the beach at Qualicum Beach. The bear-watching boat in Tofino, booked for that afternoon, never happened.
The practical bits WildPlay took about three hours. Late Greek lunch in Nanaimo's Old City Quarter (fettuccine with crab, an appetizer platter, chicken souvlaki). Laundry ten minutes up the coast.
Day 7
Fireworks over English Bay
Just after ten the fireworks started over English Bay, red and gold above a crowd on the sand. Getting there took the whole day. One more pink sunrise from the beach at Parksville, then the late-morning ferry from Departure Bay to Horseshoe Bay, moved up from the evening sailing to buy us an afternoon in Vancouver.
We checked in at the Hyatt Regency, walked down Robson Street and set off for Sunset Beach and the air show, by way of Davie Street with its rainbow benches and the seawall at English Bay at golden hour.
At English Bay there were tents and blankets on the sand, the bay full of anchored boats and the sun going down orange behind them. We stood among the bronze laughing figures of A-maze-ing Laughter at dusk, and then came a long wait for dark.
The practical bits BC Ferries from Departure Bay at 11:05, into Horseshoe Bay about one. Three nights at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver. We reached the hotel about eleven.
Day 8
Up the Grouse Grind
After a walk across the suspension bridge in Lynn Canyon Park, we drove to the foot of the Grouse Grind, the trail up Grouse Mountain. Three of us climbed it; the fourth, who had done it once before and had no wish to again, wandered Edgemont Village and then waited at the gondola station, where the internet was fast enough to upload videos.
The hikers came down by gondola, after posing at the top with big chainsaw carvings. That evening we walked to the Fanny Bay Oyster Bar, then on to Gastown and its steam clock, and Canada Place.
The practical bits A half-hour jog before breakfast at the Hyatt. Happy hour at Fanny Bay: fish tacos, mussels, clams, a lobster roll, pasta and geoduck.
Day 9
Market day, then dim sum
By half past nine the aisles of Granville Island's public market were full of fruit stands and shoppers. Late in the morning we stood at the top of Queen Elizabeth Park, the highest point in the city, with the North Shore mountains laid out behind us.
Then south to Richmond for dim sum at Yue Restaurant and a walk around Aberdeen Centre. The day ended at the Olympic Cauldron and along the Coal Harbour seawall, where we stopped for one more photo as the sun went down.
The practical bits Granville Island's market opens at nine. Dessert on the way back from Richmond; chili at Tim Hortons in the evening.
Day 10
Stanley Park, then south
There wasn't a cloud over the mountains at Prospect Point, where the Lions Gate Bridge crosses to the North Shore right below you. We had driven the Stanley Park loop that morning, stopping at the totem poles at Brockton Point.
By evening we were in Seattle and walked over to Pacific Place for dinner. The line at Din Tai Fung was too long, so we ate green curry and pad see ew at a Thai place instead.
The practical bits Left Vancouver in the afternoon; the Peace Arch crossing came a little after five. One night at the Hyatt Regency Seattle.
Day 11
Pike Place before the flight
An early run went out to the Space Needle and back, with a look straight up at it against a clear sky. Then came a walk to Pike Place Market and a second, very large breakfast, and later lunch at Din Tai Fung.
The flight home left about forty minutes late, and we got in at a quarter past one in the morning, eleven days and two countries after we'd left.
The practical bits Southwest home from Seattle, booked for 9:50 p.m.; we returned the car and ate Vietnamese food at the airport.