The Pacific Northwest runs on ferries, fog, and very good coffee. I built a loop out of Seattle through the San Juan Islands and up onto the Olympic Peninsula, letting the ferry timetable set the pace rather than fighting it.
The San Juans are made for slow travel. I rented a bike on Orcas Island, rode up Mount Constitution for the view across the whole archipelago, and spent a lot of time just watching for orcas from the deck of the next boat.
The Olympic Peninsula felt like three trips in one: the Hoh Rain Forest dripping with moss, the wild driftwood beaches at Rialto, and alpine meadows up at Hurricane Ridge — all within a couple of hours of each other.
Trip highlights
- Island-hopping the San Juans by ferry
- Cycling up Mount Constitution on Orcas Island
- The mossy, otherworldly Hoh Rain Forest
- Driftwood and sea stacks at Rialto Beach