Going on an Alaskan cruise in late June 7 days on Celebrity Infinity We arrive in Seattle at 10am the Wednesday before the boat leaves on Friday afternoon. Renting a car and then???? We like visiting national parks and obviously there are some good ones in the area. I read the other thread about the PNW and am wondering if it's too much to see Mt. Rainer and ONP in the same trip. Mt. St. Helens?? Thoughts? We also like wine, and I was thinking of maybe hitting a winery or two before we get on the boat on Friday. When we get back I thought we would explore Seattle that Friday and Saturday before flying back to the ATX on Sunday. So which park or winery would you go see? Obviously each one is going to be beautiful in it's own way, but if you had to choose one or two which one? Thoughts on hotels/inn's/B&B's in the park areas?
ONP is really cool, but iirc it is about a 5 hour drive from Seattle; if you only have 1-1.5 days it may not best choice. I think Rainier is much closer; you could probably drive up in the morning, do some hiking/exploring, eat lunch at Paradise lodge, head back in the late afternoon. could even stay the night at Paradise. I also really liked the drive up Skagit Valley to North Cascades NP; really beatiful and NCNP is a much less visited park. Have great trip !
