Northwest (1)

After two days in the big city, we drive into the wilderness of the Olympic National Park with its completely different regions. From the park’s main town, Port Angeles, a steep spur road leads to Hurricane Ridge, a beautiful wildlife and hiking paradise. At Rialto Beach, thousands of logs pile up behind the surf of the Pacific Ocean, and at Hoh Rain Forest, you feel like you’re standing on the Amazon.

We follow US 101 south and take a detour to Cape Disappointment State Park with its small lighthouse. At Astoria we reach the state of Oregon again. From the Astoria Column high above the city you have a great view over the delta of the Columbia River, which flows into the Pacific here. 

After visiting Lewis & Clark’s winter camp in Fort Clatsop, we continue to Seaside, one of the most popular seaside resorts on the coast. Next is Ecola State Park (with a small lighthouse, of course), Cannon Beach with the striking Haystack Rock and Tillamook cheese factory, where guided tours of the production facility are offered. After a stop at Cape Meares State Park, we finally reach Newport on Yaquina Bay.

After so much coastline, we move inland once again, to Bend in central Oregon. From the city’s local mountain, Pilot Butte State Park, you have an excellent view of the surrounding volcanoes and the mountains of the Cascades Range. After a visit to Newberry National Volcanic Monument Park (again with a summit and magnificent panoramic views) we spend the rest of the day on the shores of deep blue Crater Lake. Even if it’s a big detour – Crater Lake National Park just has to be.

The last section back to the coast takes us to the giants of the forests in the state of California. In Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park there are redwoods that are almost 2000 years old – unbelievable. The Avenue of the Giants starts next to Eureka and runs through the Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Once again, we can admire the giant trees, and there is even a “Drive Through Tree” which forms a kind of gate so you can drive through it by car. Even more incredible!

Our first tour through America ends at the most famous bridge in the world, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.