Ultimate Northwest

Three weeks looping out of Seattle through the Pacific Northwest, Idaho and Montana, and the only trip in their range that pairs the coastal rain forests with Yellowstone and Glacier. Flights, car and hotels are arranged together from the UK.

The first week is Washington and Oregon: two nights in Seattle, two in Olympic National Park, which the operator fairly describes as one of the wettest places you are likely to visit, two at Mount Rainier and two in Portland. Then it turns hard inland, which is what makes this different from their coast routes.

Walla Walla and Boise lead to Sun Valley by the Sawtooth Scenic Byway, then the lava fields of Craters of the Moon on the way to two nights in Grand Teton and two in Yellowstone. Helena follows, and then Glacier National Park for two nights, where the Going-to-the-Sun Road crosses the Continental Divide. The operator is clear that it is drivable from late June through September, which is the most useful seasonal line on their entire site. Coeur d’Alene and the North Cascades close the loop.

Around 2,660 miles over twenty-one nights, with seven stops of two nights. One thing to settle: the North Cascades Highway that closes the loop is itself shut by snow from roughly November to May, so the whole route is effectively a summer one. Several park overnights are given as the park rather than a town, so ask where you are sleeping. It suits anyone who wants the northern Rockies and the Pacific coast in one journey.