My wife and I are planning roadtrip from San Francisco to Seattle in June. We are going to take our time and check out a lot of national parks etc on the way. We are from Australia
Is this time of the year normally busy?
Should we need to pre book our accommodation on the way or would we be ok with winging it?
18 comments
I’m sure someone who lives on that side of the country can provide a more thorough answer, but in my experience, I think you’ll want to book well in advance, particularly if you want to stay in or right near a park. Particularly that time of year, national parks can be very crowded; in fact, a handful of parks (including Yosemite, which might be on your agenda) require advance reservations even to *enter*.
You may want to book ahead, especially if it’s late June. It’s a little different all over, but most schools in the US start their summer vacation in June, and July 4th is a really big vacation holiday. So lots of families do vacations and trips in June and July.
Yes, it will be very busy. If you want to go to Yosemite in particular, you should book your accommodation ASAP.
You 100% need to plan visiting National Parks in advance.
[Mt Rainier](https://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/index.htm) and [Yosemite](https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/index.htm), for example, have restrictions on access and how to get into the parks due to overcrowding. Use the “Plan Your Visit” pages that I linked.
Hotels and motels in those areas will also be crowded. I’d strongly recommend having all accommodations booked in advance.
If you were hoping to stay in the lodges inside the national parks, there’s a very good chance you’re already too late, they are booked many months ahead…the day that lodging opens up those rooms are gone. Camping in those parks is going to be pre-booked as well, some of them have sites set aside for non-reservation camping but you had better be at the gates at dawn to try to secure one of them.
Yosemite is 2 hours from the nearest decent sized city, Merced, you don’t want to find out at 8pm after hiking that you’ve got nowhere to sleep.
Yes, plan ahead. /r/NationalPark is a good sub for more information and planning. Many of the parks also have their own subreddit.
You will need to book your lodging and most excursions in advance. Especially in and around most national parks.
That is the prime summer time here for families to travel and vacation, so yes. Expect it to be very busy in any tourist destination.
Don’t overlook the numerous state and even more local parks along the way as very often they are less busy, but equally beautiful.
June is the beginning of the busy summer travel season. I’d recommend booking your accommodations in advance and just making sure you build in ample time. Unlike some roadtrips people plan, your route is actually really pretty basically the whole way, so there’s no need for you to try to slog through 10 hour days of driving just to get to somewhere worth stopping.
National Parks are *very* popular, especially in the summer. You should try to find accommodations just outside the parks you want to visit and not really worry about what time you arrive. Start your park days stupidly early (ideally driving in before sunrise) and you’ll get to see so much more. My wife and I went to Yosemite two years ago in May (so when school was still in session and before peak travel time). We arrived in the dark and did some hiking around sunrise. We drove into the valley where we had our pick of parking spaces and then just walked around looking at everything. Around lunchtime we were already done for the day and went back to our car to eat and then leave. The car that took our space had been trying to get a spot for two hours. They literally just pulled over and waited while we ate. Not every park is quite that insane, but seriously, you want to be there early.
One other note on National Parks. Like another person said definitely check ahead and see if they need reservations. Most major western NPS parks due. They usually only allow reservations a month in advance but you can check the parks website for specific details. Also, I’d advise going during the week if you can as they will be slightly less busy then. (But still busy) Also, a lot of fee charging parks are going cashless on entry fees so check ahead and make sure you have a credit or debit card you can use.
Yes, that’s busy season for sure so I’d try to get reservations well ahead of the time at least for weekends.
You’ve got great options, biggest hard part will be deciding how much time to spend near the coast versus in the mountains. Since you might find it useful, here’s a comment i wrote up a while ago on a northern California/ southern Oregon road trip.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskSF/comments/94a17o/question_which_other_places_in_california_are/e3jgts7/
Don’t forget state parks and local parks too. They’re just as beautiful and maybe even less crowded.
Check out Astoria and Cape Disappointment. Don’t let the name fool you, it’s wonderful.
School is out in June in the US and Canada, so tourist attractions will be at their annual peak.
It is late spring or early summer in June, but the northern coast of California and the Pacific Northwest is much chilly than most people expect due to the cold ocean currents. It’s chillier than Melbourne. You will still need a jacket, some long pants, and close toed shoes, particularly if you’re planning to stay near the coast. You will also need your summer clothes if you plan to head inland. The climate Northern California changes quickly and dramatically as you move inland.
The coastal highways will be slower than taking the 5 (by a lot), but the coast is beautiful. I’d highly recommend Patrick’s Point, north of Eureka, CA
If you’re heading to the PNW and want to explore a bit, some cool stops:
– smith rock near bend Oregon
– Oregon coast/ cannon beach (you’ve probably seen pictures)
– crater lake, Oregon
– multanoma falls, think it’s < an hour outside Portland easy, cool for a day trip if you’re spending some time in Portland
– Johnston ridge observatory to check out Mt St. Helens from afar
Once you’re in Washington/ Seattle area, the Olympic peninsula is great, but out of the way.
– Leavenworth, Wa. Weird fake Bavarian tourist town but undeniably in a beautiful part of the mountains. Also some wineries and such out there if that’s your thing. Take highway 2 for the cool mountain drive.
– really out of the way, but if you can drive highway 20 through the north cascades, it is the most beautiful highway I’ve ever driven on. Alpine views from your car. If you stop in Mazama there is the general store there which has the best baguettes I’ve had, almost anywhere. But it’s a solid 4.5 hr drive from Seattle. So it’s out there. Great scenery though
Good luck with accommodations. If you’re comfortable with some car camping it makes things easier. Also there is a difference between national parks and national forest, different rules and such
Bring warm clothing for visiting that part of the Pacific coast in June. Windbreaker, beanie, etc…
If you aren’t totally committed to national parks, you should know that all three west coast states have wonderful state parks and even county parks that you can look into visiting – it will be a little more complicated to plan than just picking a few of the 13, well known national parks in those states, but it may be totally worth it. Once you get away from the bustle of the national parks, it will likely be easier for you to get accommodations and stuff, although I still recommend planning and not winging it. Additionally, there are many ways to travel from SF to Seattle other than the main interstate, and taking (for example) the coast or a route east of the sierra/cascade mountain ranges could be really rewarding.
Aside from everything else, if you plan on visiting three or more National Parks, buy an America the Beautiful pass. They sell them at all staffed National Park entrances (as well as other locations, but you can look those up to see if any will be convenient).
For $80, you can enter essentially any property managed by the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Army Corps of Engineers, the National Forest Service… for one year. There are two possible “owners” of a pass, and only one needs to be in the car for a whole carload of people to use it… so you could even sign one part and sell it on Craigslist as you’re leaving Seattle to get, say, half your money back.
A seven-day pass to just one national park will run at least $20, often $30 for more popular ones, so it pays off quickly – plus, many popular parks have a separate line for pass holders, so you get in quickly.
Alas, Australian citizens do not qualify for Global Entry. Trust me when I say that it would be worth the price just to avoid a bad line *once*. I’ve avoided *hours* in immigration from having it, and that’s compared to being able to use the US-citizen-only lines. I’m comfortable scheduling a domestic connecting flight just 1.5 hrs after my international arrival.
Yes, the sun will actually be out! I always wing it when I go to the PNW so I think you should be okay.
It will be busy but nothing overwhelming in my opinion.
If you have time I would suggest going to coastal Oregon as well. Finally, if you enjoy hiking and swimming, Oregon also has some beautiful hikes to waterfalls and pools. Please check it out!
Cannon Beach