Oregon Hikers

adamschneider wrote:

Don Nelsen wrote:I usually think of the "Real Vancouver" as the one just north of Portland

That sound you hear on the far northern horizon is 2.5 million Canadians laughing.

Let them eat cake!

Great suggestions, thanks all! Posting on here was clearly a worthwhile exercise

And yes, I meant Vancouver, BC! Sorry for the confusion, I'm from across the pond and we aren't used to adding the state after!

I haven't decided where I'll stay over - certainly in Seattle for a couple of nights; but if there's a longer hike that would make sense to do, perhaps with some camping, then I'll make a plan to incorporate that. Of course what I do and precisely when will be weather dependent, as that will be the biggest factor at the time of year!

If you're car camping, Kalaloch on the beach of the Olympic Peninsula is pretty nice. Few people in the winter. Nice walk along the beach.

Lots of hikes in the vicinity like Hoh River, Third Beach, or Rialto Beach.

Kalaloch Lodge is a nice place to stay but it isn't cheap.

Or another place is Dungeness Spit. There's a county park you can camp in, Dungeness Recreation Area. Walk along the spit. That is in the rainshadow of the Olympics so it can be nice when it's rainy everywhere else, not that it doesn't rain there sometime. There's a ferry from Port Angeles over to Victoria. Hurricane Ridge is spectacular but it's probably closed due to snow now.

retired jerry wrote:Hurricane Ridge is spectacular but it's probably closed due to snow now.

The Hurricane Ridge road is open Fridays through Sundays in the winter, because there's a funny little ski area up there. They rent snowshoes too.

https://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/ ... winter.htm

neillmackay wrote:Thanks for the suggestions guys!

jessbee - I'm in Portland for a conference. After it finishes my plan is to rent a car and head north as far as Vancouver, stopping off at some places along the way to do some sightseeing and some hiking. I'll have 8 full days before I have to be back in Portland for my flight home.

Okay, so you need Washington hike recommendations then! Alas I don't have much to offer there, unless you feel comfortable soloing up Mt. St. Helens (an "easy mountain" by mountaineering standards, but it has its challenges in winter). Perhaps others have suggestions for the Olympic penninsula. I'm not sure what winter access is like and I imagine it will be really wet or snowy.

I'd suggest spending some time in and around Bellingham, Wa. to break up your drive to Vancouver. It's a really cool town with lots of great parks and things to do. There's some decent hiking nearby too.

A quick detour to Mt. Hood can get you some high elevation snowshoeing and views. Drive up to Timberline Lodge and just head uphill. Check snow, weather and avalanche conditions before you do so.

Enjoy your trip!