Pacific Northwest Archives

The Complete Oregon Coast Road Trip Itinerary, from tip to tip

With so many ways to do a road trip you can take almost any approach. We just did it with two kids so we are ready to share exactly how to get the most from the Oregon Coast. Doing an Oregon Coast road trip is really fun and very easy.

Cannon Beach Oregon from Ecola State Park

Oregon Coast Road Trip Travel Journal: Portland to Coos Bay, Oregon

It’s time for some exploring and what could be better than an Oregon Coast road trip in the off-season? We’ll be starting in Portland and heading out to the coast, stopping at hiking spots, lighthouses, cheese factories and sea caves. The kids are excited, but not half as much as

Taylor Family hiking at Panther Creek Falls Columbia Gorge 2

Springtime kid friendly hikes in Washington State: perfect PNW outdoors

As the snow stops falling up in the mountains we start to get excited about hiking. There are so many easy, kid friendly hikes in Washington, so actually picking where to go first is the biggest struggle. We’ve checked in with some of our favorite Pacific Northwest families and bloggers

Reflections while Kayaking on Quilute River La Push Olympic Peninsula 2

Kayaking in the Pacific Northwest: Puget Sound paddling destinations

The Seattle area is best seen from the water: sailing, on a ferry, or on a kayak. Just short drives from the city are countless islands and bays to explore. Across the Puget Sound are the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas, which are dotted with lakes and waterways, ready to be

Rob Taylor Watercolor of Amtrak Empire Builder passing Glacier National Park in Fall 1

Amtrak family train travel to Glacier National Park

Train travel is so common around the world, but here in the United States most of us always opt to fly places. We just did our first family train travel with Amtrak and it was pretty cool. We don’t do many trips in the northern USA in the fall or

Supporting the National Diaper Bank Network: Huggies No Baby Unhugged

A few weeks ago we shared some stories of our friends who have spent time in the NICU working with NICU nurses as part of our partnership with Huggies. We have some more cool programs to share today that are all about some relatively unknown needs within our community and

Olympic National Park in Washington State is one of the most diverse collections of ecosystems and environments in the United States. Beaches, rainforest, alpine hiking and pristine lakes are all within the bounds of Olympic National Park. 2traveldads.com

Family guide to Olympic National Park

One of the most popular places or topics we cover is Olympic National Park. We’ve created so many articles and shared so much because it’s a dream destination for so many. It’s practically our backyard, so allow us to guide you and help you have an incredible time exploring. What

Mossy gorge and waterfalls in Rainforest Sol Duc Falls Olympic National Park 9

Hiking Sol Duc Falls and the northern rainforest of Olympic National Park

When you visit the Puget Sound area or more specifically the Olympic Peninsula, you’re bound to want to make a gazillion stops. We could tell you that every stop is awesome and worth your time, but we like to direct you to just the best stops. Sol Duc Falls in

Taylor Family hiking Grove of the Patriarchs Mt Rainier National Park 14

The Grove of the Patriarchs: old growth forest hiking in Mt Rainier National Park

We’ve got another great, easy hike with kids to share! Our favorite hikes take us places with sweeping views and unusual sights, but we also love huge trees. The Hoh Rainforest is at the top of our list of hikes in the Pacific Northwest with kids, but let’s go ahead

Taylor Family and Sea Stacks at Ruby Beach Olympic National Park 3

Ruby Beach at Olympic National Park: the prettiest beach in Washington

Does anybody think of Washington State as a beach destination? Not hardly, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t have the most beautiful beaches around. True, totally missing the palm trees, but we make up for it in other ways. Of all we’ve been to, the most beautiful beach in

Nothing could be more PNW than #biking in Seattle. Using Ofo bikes with easy bike routes in Seattle is an ideal day outdoors. 2traveldads.com

Biking in Seattle: bike routes and using Ofo bike sharing platform

One of our favorite things to do with the kids when we’re traveling is to go biking. We try to do it anywhere possible and it turns out that it’s even fun in our hometown. The opportunity came up to have a “dads day” in the city and we got

Hanging tree cave at Kalaloch Olympic National Park 6

Camping at Kalaloch and exploring Olympic National Park

The Pacific Northwest is a dream destination for so many. Sure, we have our rain and grey skies, but we also have incredible mountains, beaches and forests. Olympic National Park is the perfect spot to experience all of those things, and the west side in the Kalaloch area is really

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Exploring the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park

Unless you grew up in the Pacific Northwest you probably think right away of tropical destinations when you hear the term “rainforest.” We actually have several protected, temperate rainforests here in Washington State. Exploring the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park is our favorite with the kids and we bring

Washington State's Olympic Peninsula is an amazing place with beaches, mountains, wildlife, picturesque towns, and sailing ports. Olympic National Park being the highlight of the peninsula. 2traveldads.com

The Olympic Peninsula of Washington: visiting the Pacific Northwest’s playground

The Olympic Peninsula is known around the world for its beautiful mountains, its beaches and the Twilight Saga. Well, there’s more to it than that. We’ve spent countless days exploring the OP and not just visiting our old favorite haunts we’ve known all our lives, but also exploring places that are

Hiking Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park

When we’re not lounging on a Florida beach in the hot sun or gallivanting the globe, we love to hike locally. Local, to us, is anything within a few hours’ drive of Seattle. One of our favorite local activities is hiking in Olympic National Park. It’s such an interesting place,

West Coast weekends are the best for exploring and relaxing. From beers in the Columbia Gorge to small towns just beyond the city, we've got lots of ways to relax and recharge being an Ultimate Seekender. 2traveldads.com

West Coast Weekend trips: exploring new cities one weekend at a time

It’s no secret that we love the weekends. I mean, who doesn’t? With or without the kids we try to break away to a new city or visit one of our old favs whenever possible, and we’ve partnered with Hampton by Hilton to share some of what we think are

Travel on the weekend is the best way to get some good relaxation in and to recharge for the rest of life. Hood River, Oregon is a great location to explore and relax. Go be a seekender! 2traveldads.com

A Seekender experience in Hood River, Oregon: relaxing with family time

There are days or weeks when we are just worn out; sometimes it’s from traveling a ton and sometimes it’s just because life can be a lot to deal with. That’s why we always try to relax on our weekends and get a good recharge. We’ve partnered up with Hampton

BNSF Train along Highway 14 Columbia River Gorge 1

West Coast road trip itinerary: exploring Washington & Oregon

There’s no doubt that the West Coast of the USA is an awesome place full of diverse people, sights and nature. The cities of the West Coast are really progressive and each gives a totally different experience. We’re going to share with you how you can get the full West

A weekend in Port Townsend, Washington: Victorian charm meets the outdoors

More often than not we find ourselves visiting places we’ve been 10,000 times. We don’t live far from Port Townsend, Washington and that’s where a lot of our family is so we are there quite often. We love Port Townsend, as most Pacific Northwest residents do, and it’s our duty

Colorful sky and Mt Baker at Dungeness Spit National Wildlife Refuge Sequim 1

Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge: PNW nature at its finest

We love our hikes. Winter, summer, whenever. We also love visiting beaches. Have you ever done beach hiking? Beach hiking is an awesome challenge because it is so different than hiking on a hard rock trail. The Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge is a perfect place to experience beach hiking as

Sunrise with Mt Baker over Straight of Juan de Fuca from Domaine Madeleine 1

Staying at Domaine Madeleine: a perfect Olympic Peninsula BNB

It’s been awhile since we’ve shared any details about accommodations while we travel. Well, we’ve stayed someplace now that we must share: Domaine Madeleine in Port Angeles, Washington is the most awesome and perfect bed and breakfast that we have visited. It’s the Olympic Peninsula BNB that puts others to shame.

Taylor Kids in Volunteer Park Conservatory Capitol Hill Seattle 7

Seattle’s Volunteer Park: a perfect break within the city

When you’ve lived in Seattle for a long time, you stop trying to find new things to do or you forget the fun things you used to do. When we were much younger, Chris and I lived very close to Volunteer Park in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. The Hill is

A Portland Weekend Getaway Plan: cool or hip or just fun

Once upon a time, Chris and I took a trip to Portland, Oregon and hated it. We left early even. Everything was closed, the city was dirty and we were bored. Well, my opinion has completely changed. Every year my BFF Jon and I take a boys trip and head

Every family has its own fall traditions, from travel to getting pumpkins. Fall travel is a big part of #HowWeFamily. 2traveldads.com

Fall traditions: travel and pumpkins

Since summer keeps us going going going we are always a tiny bit excited for fall. Fall is the perfect time to chill for a bit (for at least three weeks straight), prep for the next big trip (usually a warm couple weeks in Mexico) and do our pumpkin thing.

Taylor family at Port Townsend Marine Science Center 5

Local learning at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center

We’ll never get tired of sharing certain types of things with the world. We have our favorite destinations and activities and we’ll share lots of different ways to experience them. Port Townsend, Washington is one of those destinations and something we love there is Fort Worden. And at Fort Worden

The prettiest spots in Washington State

We recently put out an itinerary for doing a road trip loop around the Puget Sound here in Washington State. With that, we got a few emails and questions about where to find the prettiest spots in Washington. We thought “Um, that’s such an opinion piece and is going to

A friendly reminder about hiking safety and family travel tips

We always are traveling with friends or family, internationally and locally. Not everything we do is a group activity, but a lot of things are. Hiking as a group is always fun and usually is uneventful, but every now and then something happens and that’s when you have to think

Kenmore Air seaplanes in harbor at Orcas Island Rosario Resort 1

Destination Dining with the Pretty Fork: an Orcas Island food escape

Okay, new favorite thing to do on a Thursday afternoon: destination dining. Whaaaaa? Yep, it’s the coolest and most unusual, but most Pacific Northwest thing you can possibly do. The Pretty Fork, a local Seattle progressive dining tour operator, has got the concept of destination dining down. I heard

Taylor Family at Lake Cushman family reunion HowWeFamily 1

Our Annual Family Reunion Trip – #HowWeFamily

Every year we get together with our family for a big family reunion trip. Hold up, that’s a vague statement because our family is enormous. We get together annually with our immediate family for a week at Lake Cushman on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. We love it there;

Lake Cushman on the Olympic Peninsula: Tahoe of the North

Until I moved to San Francisco in my early 20s I’d always heard of Tahoe and people going to Tahoe for the summer or staying in a lodge for skiing at Tahoe for the winter and I never got it. It seemed so common and yet so exclusive. Well, it

Seattle is a great starting point for a Puget Sound loop roadtrip showing you the best of the PNW! 2traveldads.com

A family travel adventure: Puget Sound itinerary

We get a lot of questions about visiting the Pacific Northwest with kids. People want to know the obvious like “what are the can’t-miss sights?” or “should we really pack for cold weather in July?” We’ll answer that second question first: yes, it rains. For the other questions though, here

Clear water and colorful rocks and rainbow at Silver Falls Mt Rainier National Park 1

Silver Falls, Mt Rainier Nat’l Park: not to be missed

We’re going to do a stereotypical and highly ridiculous thing. A lot of writers will tell you about the “only sight you need to see in…” or the “absolute most perfect…” and we try not to do that. Ever. Tell you what though, we are going to tell you about

Old Houses in Roslyn Washington 1 header

A not-so Northern Exposure weekend in Roslyn, Washington

It’s probably been a long while since you have sat down and watched Northern Exposure, right? Yeah, I can’t say that I’ve seen an episode in the last 20 years, but we went a had an awesome family weekend in Roslyn, Washington where they filmed it and the town is

A beautiful day at Deception Pass, Whidbey Island

I’m sure we all have memories, either recent or from childhood, that are grossly inaccurate. A great example is when you can recall a great hike and it’s been years and you think taking your kids on it will be a blast… and then you realize that it’s a hike

Sunset with beach grass at Washington Park Anacortes 1

A weekend at Washington Park in Anacortes

Apparently our new hangout is Anacortes. We’ve now had several trips up, all for different reasons and love it. We just returned from another awesome trip, this time specifically camping and spending the weekend at Washington Park in Anacortes. We’d visiting the Park once before and it was fun, but

Rob Taylor and TinyMan Family Friendly wine tasting at AniChe Cellars Underwood Columbia River Gorge 2

Family Friendly Wine Tasting AniChe Cellars

Family travel usually keeps us doing things like hiking and animal related activities, which we completely love, but what if we said that a new thing happening in Washington State adds a fun new aspect to family travel: wine tasting. That’s right, family friendly wine tasting is happening in the

LittleMan at bunkers at Fort Casey Whidbey Island 2

A visit to Fort Casey: more beaches and bunkers

The Pacific Northwest has countless spots where you can look around and say “Wow, I love it here!” Seriously, every view is different and beautiful. It’s also a place where kids can run wild and play on the beach (almost year round). Fort Casey on Whidbey Island is such a

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An ideal PNW hotel: the Majestic Inn of Anacortes

So, if you read our article about Anacortes, you know that the town totally surprised us. We always thought of it as a town that we just had to drive through to get to the ferry for the San Juan Islands, but we discovered it’s much more than that. While

West Coast National Park Road Trip coast header

West Coast Road Trip Itinerary: lighthouses and National Parks

Growing up in Washington with family in both northern and southern California, the West Coast road trip was guaranteed at least once per year… if not three times. This meant though that we got to experience everything: lighthouses and coastlines, hiking in the mountains or rides in Disneyland. Such an

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West Coast National Park road trip: the mountains

So many ways to approach a West Coast road trip. Seriously. You can do the Pacific Coast Highway from the Olympic Peninsula of Washington all of the way to Tijuana, Mexico. Or you can shoot down the i-5 corridor, making intentional stops within an hour or two off the freeway.

Category: Pacific Northwest