Pacific Northwest

The Pacific coastal region of Washington and Oregon in the US and southwestern British Columbia in Canada, with temperate rainforest, snow-capped volcanoes and the three linked cities of Seattle, Vancouver and Portland.

The Pacific Northwest (PNW) broadly refers to the northwest Pacific coast of North America. Its core is Washington and Oregon in the US and southwestern British Columbia in Canada, often called "Cascadia," spanning two countries and three states and provinces. The cities are Seattle (Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, the original Starbucks), Vancouver (Stanley Park, Granville Island), Victoria (the Inner Harbour, Butchart Gardens) and Portland (the Rose Garden, craft beer and food trucks). The natural highlights are Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, the Hoh Rain Forest and wild coast of Olympic National Park, Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge, Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast, and whale watching in the San Juan Islands. The classic plan is a 5–7 day "two cities and an island" trip covering Seattle, Vancouver and Victoria (between the two cities you can take the Amtrak Cascades train or a bus, about 4 hours; to Victoria, a ferry or floatplane), or a 7–10 day self-drive loop of Seattle, the Olympic Peninsula, Portland and the Oregon coast. For overland border crossings, carry valid visas/eTA for both countries. In summer, popular park sections such as Mount Rainier require advance timed-entry reservations, and mountain roads are often closed in winter.

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