Has anyone been to Forks, Washington?

[WonderingWhatsBest]

Hi

I’m thinking about a trip to Seattle and Forks next summer. My older daughter is a big Twilight fan and wants to see some of the filming locations. We’d also love to cross over into Oregon for a few days.

Has anyone done similar and if so do you have any advice/suggestions, e.g. about places to stay? I’m at the early stages of planning. I’ve seen there are some tours from Seattle to Forks but they’re not cheap and I’m assuming it would be doable to hire a car and explore ourselves instead.

It will just be me and my DDs 16 and 13. Any major things I need to know or think about in advance? Thank you!

A few years back I done a road trip from Seattle to LA (actually took the train from Seattle to Portland, then picked up a hire car on our last day in Portland).

Seattle:
Space needle
Kerry park
Amazon HQ tour
Pike place market
Original Starbucks
Waterfront
Stayed near Pioneer Square as wanted to be close to King St Station for the early morning train to Portland

Portland:
I visited Edward’s house from Twilight. You could see it from the bottom of the driveway, but I believe the owners have now installed gates further down the drive to stop people getting as close.
Also made a trip to Colombia River Gorge and on the way back, stopped at the Carver Cafe. It was closed but I took some pics through the window.
Powells bookstore
Voodoo donuts
Stayed near Pioneer Sq (again!).

From Portland I drove down the coast to Yachats. From here you can visit Thors Well & Heceta Lighthouse.
Oregon has the most stunning coast I have ever seen. It is truly spectacular. Years later I still go onto YouTube and watch Oregon travel vlogs!

Need to run as picking up a friend, but happy to answer any questions 😀

Ah thanks so much! Loads to look into here. Really appreciate this 🙂

@Vanillalime - what was the weather like when you were there ?

I've considered visiting the Pacific North West a few times, but have always been put off in the end by thr average temperature charts lol

I went in September and the weather was really nice. I’ve just looked back at my photos and I’m wearing T-shirts, short sleeves & dresses in all my pics. Except for 1 day in Oregon I’m wearing a light sweater.

We’re hoping to go July or August but I haven’t even thought about the weather yet!

Forks is a tiny town in the Olympic Peninsula. Very few scenes (maybe just the drive past the town sign) were actually filmed in Forks. The Olympic Peninsula is amazing, though, so a trip there wouldn't be wasted. When I have gone there with exchange students, we have started with a couple of days in Seattle, then a drive to Whidbey Island to take the ferry to Port Townsend. Be sure to make reservations for the ferry as you may have to wait hours for an open spot without a reservation. We enjoyed exploring Port Townsend, driving to Sequim to walk on the Dungenes Spit (the longest natural sand spit in the U.S.), drive alongside the beautiful Lake Crescent and stop for a hike to Marymere Falls on the way to Forks. While in Forks, visit the Quileute Indian Reservation to see First Beach, Second Beach and Rialto Beach. The Hoh Rain Forest is amazing and there are a couple of hikes available to really experience it - we have always done the Hall of Mosses trail. My favorite Olympic National Park beach is Ruby Beach and if you're there at low tide, the tide pools are full of starfish and sea anemones. After Ruby Beach, I've usually just headed to Portland with just a stop for dinner. But it's about a 6 hour drive, so you might want to break it up if you're not used to long days behind the wheel. In Portland, we love Powell's book store, the Saturday-Sunday market, VooDoo donuts, the Chinese and/or Japanese gardens, the rose garden and making a trip out to the Columbia River Gorge - which is stunning.