Pacific NW trip

Hi all,

I tried asking the Pacific NW forum a similar question, but didn't get much feedback. Since you all travel all over the country i'm wondering if you could help me with a late Sept. trip to Washington state. I'll be driving the Olympic Park, North Cascades, and Mt. Rainier scenic drives over the course of a week and wanted to know if you all had any idea of photo hotspots in the areas. I know some of the roads around Rainier are closed, but if you had a day / day and a half in each park, where would you recommend? I'm a grand scenic type of person and can't resist a mountain reflection or fall colors.

I will have 4WD, but would prefer to stay on non-dirt roads. Any books or websites you could recommend would be much appreciated as well.

Thanks!

Amy,

I am starting to plan a trip out there also. So I have been doing a bunch of research. For fall colors the Mount Rainier Paradise area is supposed to be really nice. Check out this killer shot by Don Paulson :
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=5087218

Wow, if 'I' only had a day or two it would be very hard not to visit Olympic National Park and the beautiful rugged coast near La Push. Here is an example:
http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/bbs.cgi?a=vm&mr=20514&b=se&st=120&la=128&ph=128&sid=21698&u=21772

Then for Oregon there is so much to see. But I could not go that far and 'not' check out Cannon Beach for sunrise/sunset:
http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/bbs.cgi?a=vm&mr=21221&b=vf15&st=0&la=2596&ph=35&sid=12895&u=12895

or Heceta Head Lighthouse:
http://www.rockslidephoto.com/cgi-bin/leaf.pl?id=2055

These are just a few of the places I really want to see when I get out there. Obviously your time is limited so you can't go everywhere. Crater Lake may also be interesting with/or without snow.

- Derek

The slam dunk shot in North Cascades is Mt Shuksan and Picture Lake. (google it) Been a while since I was there but I believe it's accessed by going east out of Bellingham on Hwy 542. The area around Mt Baker is also very nice and the Glacier Peak Wilderness south of Mt Baker is also nice especially around the town of Darrington.

I haven't photographed much on the penninsula or around Mt Ranier but I'm sure lots of other folks will respond.

I have a somewhat dated (2001) Washington Travelogue that might give you some ideas.

Good stuff! Thanks guys! I knew you'd come through!

No problem...
But you do know we want to see some of pictures even if a little OT.

i can do that. It'll be during the crazy time of the "Fall Colors" thread, but i'll make a post anyway.

For grand scenics, Second Beach in Olympic is hard to beat for oceans. I also like Rialto Beach (it's a bit of a hike to the sea stacks, though) and Ruby Beach.

I'm guessing the Hoh Rainforest and other, similar areas rich with Vine Maple look stunning in the fall, but they are not "grand scenics" because of their extremely dense foliage.

In Olympic, try Hurricane Ridge out of Port Angeles, Hoh Rain Forrest or any of several beaches along the Oregon/Washington coast.

Ken

While not a great spot for "grand scenics", the trail up to Sol Duc Falls has a very nice small stream that the trail crosses about half way to the falls that offers some excellent chances to get classic mossy stream shots. It's an easy, short hike to that area.

BTW - for ocean shots, check your tide charts. A low tide will expose a lot of beach. In the case of Ruby Beach, water standing atop the relatively flat beach at low tide produces a wonderfully flat reflective foreground; but at Rialto Beach, low tide exposes a lot of rough rock that doesn't add to the image much (an hour off of low tide, on the other hand, covers the rocks but leaves a better beach foreground than does high tide...)