This grand loop links the Pacific coast with the mountains of the Northwest and the Rockies. It starts in San Francisco, runs through the giant redwoods of Redwood and up along the breathtaking Oregon coast, past the volcanoes Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier to Seattle and Vancouver. From there it heads far east through Montana, past Glacier National Park, down to Yellowstone and finally to Salt Lake City.
The route
This is a long journey, you should give yourself a good three weeks. Some legs are long, especially from Vancouver through Montana to Yellowstone. In return, the landscape is an experience the whole way.
When to go
Summer to early autumn is the best time. That's when mountain roads like the Going-to-the-Sun Road are open, there's no snow in Yellowstone, and the coast is at its finest. Important: in the mountains it gets cold at night even in summer.
A journey of contrasts
This trip thrives on change: from the Pacific coast to volcanic landscape, from the city of Seattle to the vastness of Montana, from the geysers of Yellowstone to the desert around Salt Lake City. Allow enough time for the long, beautiful drives.
