Touring - Riding the Washington Coast

I am planning a tour that we plan on starting in Victoria and ending up in Calif. I have already done the Oregon coast and am interested in hearing from someone who has done the Washington coast stretch. I already have all the books about biking the west coast.

MBD

I can tell you about the coast from Aberdeen south to Raymond on hwy 105 The trip between Aberdeen and Westport is breathtaking lots of ocean scenery and the cranberry bogs are cool Traffic is not bad and for the most part you have good shoulder to ride on. when you get close to Westport There is a very wide shoulder for the duration of the trip. you will travel inland a bit until you get south of Grayland then its it just like the Oregon coast. Take a camera, I would plan this trip for late spring or summer. The weather can be prett dicey over ther efrom October until May. Lots of wind and rain. What route are you thinking of when you reach Washington I may have some insight for you on that also.

Thanks for the info. Our plan is to starting at Port Angeles and head on down 101 to Astoria. We loved the ride down the Oregon Coast. It took 9 days and at the end, I wasn't really ready for it to be over. So thats when I thought it would be cool to start at Victoria, (just so we could say we rode from Canada to Calif).

However I have heard alot say that the Wash. stretch is'nt worth the effort. Do you have any thoughts on that? We are planning the ride to be mid July and expect to ride the washington stretch in 3 days. Keep in mind that we do like to stop here and there if the moved to.

if you take 101 Down the west side or ocean side after the highway begins it journey south it will not give you much in ocean scenery until Aberdeen and I do not know anything about the road i.e. does it have a shoulder or not. It is very remote after you start south until you get to Aberdeen. you do need to watch for logging trucks. Around Aberdeen there is a trail you can take (I have been trying to find it on my map I will email a friend and post it soon I hope.) that will keep you off the hiway because there is not much of a shoulder through Aberdeen, after that it is pretty good but you will want to take hwy 105 instead of 101 for scenery. 101 doesn't go near the ocean at that point not until you pick it up again in Raymond. If you go down the Hoods canal side it will give you scenery until Mason County then it does have a shoulder but it is heavily traveled until it turns west then I find it scenic but no ocean until you pick up hwy 105 at Aberdeen. I did a ride last year from Westport to Raymond and back With a side trip to Tokeland for breakfast it was spectacular to sit at the end of the Penisula and watch the Pacific no better way to spend a Sunday morning.

While the scenery on the Olympic Peninsula would have been to die for from a car or motorcycle, I found the riding to be too stressful. Ngateguy is entirely right about coal trucks and one should keep in mind that, when on the peninsula, 101 is the main artery for every local, tourist, or industry. The shoulder is decent but filled with cracked up bottles, trash, and at times is nonexistent. Now, I've only done the Hood Canal side, so I can't say much for the ocean side, but I don't see how it could be much different. What I would recomend is traveling through the islands of Puget Sound. Whidby has some of the best biking I've seen anywhere and Vashon is one of the more pleasent places on Earth to me. Granted it might take a little longer and there is the added cost of traveling the ferries (which, to me, is a pleasure in itself) but I think you'd find the experience well worth it. Also, the only time to do this is in July/August- doing it any other time is short-changing yourself.

JLahr thanks for the reply, how would you compare the peninsula to the conditions of riding 101 on the Oregon Coast. They have logging trucks ect and I thought that would bother me, but has it turned out I did'nt find it stressfull other than tunnels. Would you say it the Peninsula would be different than 101 in Ore. Have you tried the Ore Coast? I did'nt find that the ore stretch had problems with litter on the shoulder. And though there can be alot of traffic they don't get up a great deal of speed.

MBD

PS thought of doing the islands, but I don't think we have time.

I can't really say about the Ore coast because I've never been down there. If you've been on busy two-lane highways like 101 and can deal with the continuous stream of cars and trucks than you might find that the Peninsula is no problem at all. I personally find cars to be the most stressful part of my trips so I avoid them at all costs and opt for more rural routes.

I know what you mean. I think what make it work in Oregon is the tho there is a steady stream of traffic they have a hard time getting up much speed.

When I first saw what it was like, I imagined that I would have a nervous feeling all the time. But I did'nt feel that way at all. It was one of the funnest things I have ever done in my life. And I am really stoked that my son wants to go again.

MBD