Pacific Northwest with a Toddler & Baby- Itinerary

We just got back from an amazing family getaway to the Washington and Oregon coasts! Traveling the Pacific Northwest with a toddler and baby is exciting but can be challenging! We were gone for 10 days with our two kids, who turned 3 and 1 on our trip. My mama came with us and we were so grateful for the extra help with kids at the airport, the beach, restaurants, etc. It was also so fun for the kids to have so much time with Grandma!

There was so much to do and see, it’s hard to know what to share about! Instead of going into detail about every single day, I thought I’d share some of our favorites from the trip that made traveling with little ones so magical.

P’s 3-year-old Favorites

Tide pools, especially the sea anemones! We found good tide pools at Rialto Beach (WA), Cannon Beach (OR)- although very crowded, and Hug Point (OR)- remember to check and go at low tide!

L’s 1-year-old Favorite

Eating sand. Take it or leave it, but this was definitely her favorite aspect of the trip. Every beach we went to, eating sand was a must. Anyone on tips for teaching babies NOT to do this, I’m open to all the suggestions!

Best PNW Splurge with Kids

For P’s birthday we decided to go on the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad ride. It’s $25 for a round trip ticket between Garibaldi and Rockaway Beach in Oregon (2 and under are free- so this is a great activity to do while the kids are still little!). We took the first train from Garibaldi at 10 a.m., hung out most of the day at Rockaway Beach, then took the train back at 3 p.m. It was such a memorable birthday experience for P, I’m so glad we decided to do it!

Best NW Washington Hikes

We did some amazing hikes in Washington! We stayed near Forks and focused on that northwest area of Washington. All the hikes were amazing.

Before you go: check out an Olympic National Park visitors center to get the junior ranger book or the ocean shores booklet! We didn’t get one until the last day in Washington, but it is full of some really fun stuff for the kids!

Cape Flattery – great toddler-friendly hike. P did the whole thing. Fun boardwalks and massive trees. Amazing views.

Shi Shi Beach – super muddy, but beautiful. Next time we need to leave more time to get to the Point of Arches along the beach.

(Both Cape Flattery and Shi Shi are in the Makah Indian Reservation, at the Northwest tip of Washington. A longer drive, but so worth it)

Rialto Beach Hole in the Rock – Laid back hike along the beautiful forested, driftwood beach. Again, P walked the whole way and loved exploring tide pools and finding starfish.

Hoh Rainforest Hikes – this place is amazing! The two most popular hikes (Hall of Mosses and Spruce Trail) are both quite short and toddler friendly. I have fond memories of exploring this rainforest as a kid when my family came camping here. The massive trees, moss, and fungi are so cool for kids to observe.

Best Northern Oregon Beach Hike

Crescent Beach (Ecola State Park)

This hike was so cool! Just over a mile to the beach, you hike through an amazing forest, there are some steep parts and steep wooden stairs to navigate, but this makes it so fun for kids. P loved this hike. We made it to the beach in the morning (started hiking before 9) and were the ONLY ONES there for a while! Later on, several other groups came, but it was so cool to have the beautiful beach to ourselves. If you go as the tide is going out, Crescent Beach has some really cool caves to explore. So cool! There is also a small waterfall, and I believe tide pools if you travel south (we didn’t make it that way). We loved having this beach to ourselves.

Coolest Place for Kids to Explore

Crescent Beach and Hug Point (both near Cannon Beach) were two favorite places to explore. They are similar, both have a waterfall and sea caves, as well as tide pools to explore during low tide. These provide a wonderful break from the crowds at Cannon beach.

Best Pre-trip Purchase

We bought a little pair of binoculars to gift P for his birthday. He was ecstatic as he opened this right before hopping on the birthday train. Binoculars were the perfect thing to encourage his curiosity with all the life and scenery around him.

Best off-the Beaten Path

Off a random, unmarked road heading South of Forks on highway 101, you can see the world’s largest western red cedar tree. I was so grateful we discovered information about this at the Forks Visitors Bureau. The diameter of this tree is 19 feet. AMAZING. I do recommend bringing bug spray, because we were EATEN ALIVE in the short walk up to the tree.

Favorite Eats

We stopped at several really fun places!

Bowpicker Fish n’ Chips in Astoria is so fun and tasty- order out of an old fishing boat!

The Original Pronto Pup in Rockaway Beach is home to the original corn dog. Best corn dogs I’ve ever tasted (I’m not a huge corn dog fan, Carter loves them though!), ride the pronto pup, the fries are also really good!

Mo’s at Cannon Beach – my family had the tradition of always eating here after a day at Cannon Beach. The view of Haystack Rock out the window is amazing.

Tillamook Ice Cream – Isn’t this a must when you’re in Oregon? It’s fun to go to the factory in Tillamook, but we also discovered an ice cream shop in Seaside with cones for just $2 a scoop! They had Tillamook flavors and way more flavors than the actual Tillamook factory, It’s worth a step inside if you need ice cream while in Seaside.

Coolest Discovery

We had noticed that there were sand dollar fragments at most beaches we visited. At Crescent Beach we discovered some small intact ones, but nothing bigger than about an inch. Doing some research, I learned that the stretch of beach between Gearhart and Seaside is known for finding sand dollars. Sure enough, the newly emerged sand bars, as the tide was going out, were full of full sand dollars! Watch out for those that are still alive (dark with velvety little hairs on the bottom). Leave the living ones, there are plenty of dead ones to collect! This was the coolest activity! Collecting in Gearhart as also way better than beachcombing down the beach in Seaside with all the crowds.

Best around Portland

We really didn’t stick around Portland besides flying in and out. On the way back to Portland on our last day, however, we stopped at a U-pick berry farm and got marionberries and strawberries. The marionberries were amazing! The one thing I would change is going at the START of the trip so we could eat fresh picked berries for the whole time.

Best Tip

Dress in layers, every day. We had beautiful weather on our trip, but it can jump from windy, to rain, to sunny, to heavier rain in a short amount of time. We never left without our raincoats!

Also, plan for some driving time in the middle of the day, if possible, to allow kids to nap between destinations. (If you’re crazy like us and go from morning until bedtime with little ones). Another thing that worked great for us was bringing jammies with us, so before heading home for the night we could get kids all ready for bed. Most days they fell asleep on the drive home (30 – 60 minutes most days) and it was so much easier to quickly transfer them to their beds so they didn’t wake up all over again.