Recommendations for Camping and Stops in PNW

Taking a sabbatical this summer, after 10 years at work, and heading up to the PNW from Phoenix for a 2-3 week solo road trip.

From Phoenix will be routing through Flagstaff -> Las Vegas -> Salt Lake Area then planning to make stops in the following locations to visit friends/family.
Boise
Coeur D'Alene
Wenatchee
Hood River
Bandon

What hidden gems or stops should I be making in these areas? I've got places to stay in all the named areas, but looking for any tips for camp sites etc.

 

If you haven't been to Zion (north of LV and south of Salt Lake off I-15), I recommend it. April/May is a great time to hike the 'Narrows'. Gear can be had w/day rental, but you'll just need to 'time' it while you're there as spring run off can make for dangerous conditions depending on how far you hike into the narrows...

 

Pony Express Trail. Just SW of SLC is one end, and south of the Bonneville Salt Flats is another end (that’s the one I started from and headed south, then east). Incredible drive through the Great Salt Lake Desert along old trails, if I remember correctly it’s around 130 miles? If I hadn’t had plans, I’d have camped somewhere out there but I don’t remember manicured sites or anything, just boondocking.

When in Hood River, if you have time for hiking, hit Multnomah Falls as you head west from Hood River, or if you can find parking, do the Oneonta Gorge Trail for an utterly unique experience. I’ll attach a pic below of the Gorge.

 

When in Wenatchee, you can head west to Leavenworth, a beautiful Bavarian-style town that’s great for summer fun or Xmas.

As you head to Wenatchee, if you pass Yakima and head towards Ellensburg on your way there, consider taking the 821 between Yak and EBurg. It’s the Ellensburg Canyon that the Yakima River runs through, it’s absolutely beautiful and adds maybe 10 mins to the drive, aside from all the times you may decide to stop. If into floating, that’s an awesome river to float especially when it’s nice out, and that area of the state is desert and gets warmer earlier than most other places in WA.

 

Bandon is a haven for insanely great golfing, many highly-regarded courses. I have family in Gold Beach, it’s at the mouth of the beautiful Rogue River, south of Bandon. If you have time, consider doing Rogue River tour via Jerry’s Jet Boats. So much fun, so crazy beautiful, and a view you’ll never forget.

And honestly I’ve drive the 101/1 from the top of WA to the bottom of Cali without ever leaving the coast, maybe a dozen times, and I’ve never been on a more wonderful drive (ok maybe Road to Hana in Maui is better). If you head south going home and can do that, I’d suggest it. The best part is below Monterrey, down to Morro Bay, although that part is often washed out by slides and closed.

 

So many things to see/do/hike in the Columbia Gorge around Hood River. Ski/snowboard on the Palmer Snowfield at Timberline. Raft the White Salmon and hit Hussum Falls. Hike any of dozens of hikes up the face of the gorge.

If you’ve never seen it, get up close to Mt. St. Helens. The access to Johnston Ridge won’t be open this year (road washout last year), but the viewpoint from Windy Ridge on the east side is still accessible and takes you through some amazing vista of the blast zone. Some cool hikes up there too.

Crater Lake shouldn’t be missed if you are going to be heading to Bandon. From Hood River, go up/over hood down into Bend area and then south to La Pine to the entrance of Crater Lake. Lots of places to camp outside of the park in various NF lands.

Out of Wenatchee area, I’d head north through Winthrop and take Highway 20 over the North Cascades. Breathtaking scenery.

if you’re spending a whole summer bouncing around the PNW, don’t miss the Olympic National Park, Hoh Rainforest, and that whole upper coast of Washington. Get a chance to see the San Juans.

 

When you are in coeur d'alene of you have time do the drive around the lake and if you have another day drive up to pend oreille and priest lake are both amazing and have tons of easy overnight camp sites. Palouse falls in eastern Washington is also beautiful but may not be running very hard depending when you go.

 

As a matter of fact, one of my favorite EVER campsites was on the sandy beach at Oceano Dunes, next to Pismo Beach. You can drive on the sand out to the grounds and camp out and watch the sun set. Sleeping next to the waves is incredible.

South of that is Gaviota Beach State Park, which I think opened back up recently. Just before you get there, you can hit the Gaviota Hot Springs, just off the 101.

If hot springs are your thing, I recently traveled through Nevada and found the most incredible natural springs, here’s the link from my phone map. You can explore old mines, and there’s wild donkeys everywhere. May be like 6 or more different pools. This may be too far out of the way, but just in case, there ya go

https://maps.apple.com/?ll=39.327952,-116.856565&q=Dropped Pin&t=k

 

Zion is awesome, we did it 3 summers ago!

 

I've done Multnomah Falls many years ago, I will have to check the Oneonto Gorge trail.

the Pony Express Trail sounds interesting, and I think the Salt Flats will be a must see.

 

Bandon will be a stop, given a relative caddies there and lives in town.

Road to Hana is incredible, and I do agree the coast drive (I've done like 60% of that route) is incredible.

 

Awesome... I'm now on the Central Oregon Coast, so if you end up venturing further north on the 101 prior to cutting over to head east and pick up the Hood River and start migrating east of Portland toward Coeur D'Alene... there's some decent little eateries along Coos Bay within Coos Bay and also just a bit north in North Bend (all of which is prior to crossing the bridge to continue north on the 101...

Our most recent trip down there we hit a place called 7 Devils Brewing and the food was pretty good for a bar atmosphere, and it's basically right on Coos Bay waterfront. Beer choices, flights and such were reasonably priced and they had a good selection.

Continuing north from there, I'd recommend just popping off the highway onto several of the turn-outs along the 101 and definitely take a peek at Cape Perpetua; there is turn off on the east side of the 101 (prior to reaching the main visitor area for Devil's Churn) and appears to take you toward a camp ground. Take that road as it winds up and takes you to the top of the Cape Perpetua overlook area (incredible views from up there), and it is part of the Oregon Coast Trail... There's plenty of hiking and such from the top if you choose to walk it (which will take you all the way back to the bottom and to the 101), or you can walk an easy and relatively short hike which takes you to the top of the overlook. Once you are done there and drive back down to the 101, take the immediate exit (just cross the 2-land highway) to the west for Devils Churn; it's a short/easy hike to the bottom if you want to make it all the way down to the water, rock and beach area or you can just walk down a couple of switchback and see/feel/hear the power of the swell coming into Devil's Churn.

Just north of there is a small town called Yachats; piece together a sack lunch or grab something from one of the local places and then turn off into a little residential/beach area (just w/of the 101 and find some rocks or a nice bench to enjoy lunch and watch the waves and such coming in w/the wildlife, etc...

You'd be here during relatively mild swell season (so you'll only see 6-10' breaks in most areas); winter will get 20'-40' pretty regularly, but it's still great views and a 'feel' for the ocean (plus a bit less rainy)

From there you can continue north on the 101, drive through Waldport, and once you're in Newport head east on the 20 back toward I-5 and you're back on track the Hood River

 

Magruder Corridor

https://offroadingpro.com/magruder-...learwater and Bitterroot federal forest areas.

 

I try to do an annual road trip from Eastern Washington down to Yuma, AZ every winter to visit my folks at their snowbird home for a couple of weeks. I have been making the trip in a 5th gen 4Runner on 33's the past few years.

I became a fan of a YouTube channel called Matt's Off-Road Recovery. Matt is basically a redneck genius who owns a tow company that specializes in recovering vehicles out in the backcountry of Southern Utah. When I started watching his videos, he was brand new to YT and had an old XJ Jeep built from junkyard parts that he used to do amazing things with. He's a great guy and his channel has grown into a monster and multiple hand-built specialty off-road recover vehicles. I stopped by his shop a few years ago in Hurricane, UT and got to meet him and the crew. The area around there is just beautiful with all sorts of cool parks and trails to explore.

Check out his channel and you will fall in love with the scenery in the area and all of the amazing parks and trails.

(6) Matt's Off Road Recovery - YouTube

 

YES! I've seen this guy on YT. I will have to see if I can add their shop to the list.