Can anyone help me with details on Portland Oregon Trip?

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Soul.in.Progress
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Can anyone help me with details on Portland Oregon Trip?

Post by Soul.in.Progress »

Hi all,

I’ve read some prior posts on Portland Oregon, but am racking my brain trying to plan a trip that will work for us. Other posts seemed to have different needs/goals. Would love any help!!

We’ve never been to Oregon, and although it seems like one needs way more than a week to enjoy western Oregon, that’s the approximate amount of time we have to work with given kids’ extracurricular schedules.

Here are the details:
- Family of five, with two middle aged adults, two teenagers, and a tween.
- Travelling summer 2018, for a total of 6 available days to explore (i.e. outside of travel time). It’s NOT during peak 4th of July
- All of us are pretty active. Not extreme athletes, by any stretch of the imagination, but we like to stay moderately active with hiking, biking, canoeing/kayaking, river rafting (rapid class would have to be on the milder side due to our youngest child), etc. Also, it would be fun to try some things like horse back riding since we’ve never been, or anything that is fun/good to do in this area.
- Goal is to have fun experiences and create memories. Don’t mind spending $$ but do not “need” anything too lavish.
- Want a moderate pace where we don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn, but enough so that we are enjoying experiences, sights, and food that are recommended “not to be missed”.
- Based on what I’ve read from prior posts, we won’t rent a car while in Portland, but will rent one when we leave Portland and then will return it to Portland at the end of Trip (when we fly back home).
- I heart wine, (as does hubby) but my three kiddos won’t be into wine tasting. Still, we want to include some of this in for sure, while trying not to bore them.


Given the six days, here is a rough sketch of what I’ve come up with so far, but I’m open to any and all feedback, or complete overhauls :wink:

Days 1 & 2: Stay in Portland, use public transportation to explore this city, food and all. What are not to be missed places to visit?

Day 3 morning, travel to Bend, stay 2 nights here. Use days 3 & 4 to do any “active pursuits” in this area, like hiking, river activities?, horse back riding? Are these the funnest things one can do here? Probably will do Columbia gorge on the way from Portland to Bend?

Day 5 morning, travel to Eugene or Newport or Salem (which is recommended for a lodging base?) area. Use days 5 & 6 to do some wine tasting (I love wine so I don’t want to miss this), and any coastal scenic driving. Seems Iike both the wine and the coastal driving is recommended?

What I can’t tell since I’ve never been there is:
1. Is this pace too hectic, or a decent moderate pace?
2. Would we have missed anything in this area that is a “not to be missed”? For example, it seems like Crater Lake is nice, but I thought perhaps it would invoke too much driving? (Kids can get antsy of we are in the car too much day after day). Therefore, I’ve excluded it for now, but will I regret that? :confused
3. Does the path/itinerary/cities seem reasonable given the things we want to see and do, or is there a better circuit?

Thanks so much for any feedback from those who live in the area or have done trips there and have suggestions!
Start by doing what is necessary; | then do what is possible; | and suddenly you are doing the impossible. | -- Francis of Assisi
TravelGeek
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Re: Can anyone help me with details on Portland Oregon Trip?

Post by TravelGeek »

Plan sounds reasonable to me and will give you a good variety of activities and scenery. Perhaps if you think you’ll have a chance to come back, I would cut out the coast and do that another time with more extensive wine country touring.

Regarding rafting, that easily takes up half a day at a minimum. E.g., if you were planning to do that “from” Bend, you’d sign up for a tour and they’d drive you somewhere (no rafting in town, though plenty of cayaking and river tubing activities right on the Deschutes river in Bend). Perhaps you could fit it somehow into your drive from Portland to Bend (e.g., in Maupin if you drive up the Gorge that day).

You’d have essentially one full day of activities in Bend/Central Oregon (day 4), which you could easily fill with a morning horseback ride and an afternoon water activity or a hike in the mountains. There are also lava caves, the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, the Cascades lakes, ...

Agree that a car in Portland wouldn’t be too helpful. Public transportation and walking is the way to go.

Can’t help you on the wine tasting. Still on my to-do list.
Last edited by TravelGeek on Sun Nov 19, 2017 1:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Watty
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Re: Can anyone help me with details on Portland Oregon Trip?

Post by Watty »

You are trying to do too much in six days.

The weather in Portland and the Oregon coast in June can be "iffy" so July or August would be better. Often in Portland summer doesn't really start until around the Fourth of July.

The Columbia Gorge is not really on the way to Bend from Portland so it might be better for a day trip when you are in Portland. The Columbia Gorge pretty much ends right at the Portland Airport so one option would be spend your last night at someplace like Bridge of the Gods in the gorge and then go directly to the airport if you don't have a real early flight. There are limited hotels in the gorge so you should make your reservations well ahead of time. I'm not sure what the Columbia Gorge will be like by next summer but they had a huge forest fire there so I would suspect that many of the trails will be still be closed so you should research the current conditions. One of my favorite hikes is to the top of Beacon Rock.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_ ... ngton.html

Unless there is something that you specifically want to see there I would skip Salem and Eugene.

For six days I would just split the time between Portland and the Oregon coast with the wine tasting somewhere along the way. You could also do Portland and central Oregon if you wanted to skip the Oregon coast.
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midareff
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Re: Can anyone help me with details on Portland Oregon Trip?

Post by midareff »

Days 1 & 2: Stay in Portland, use public transportation to explore this city, food and all. What are not to be missed places to visit?

Underground Portland.. Google it.
TravelGeek
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Re: Can anyone help me with details on Portland Oregon Trip?

Post by TravelGeek »

Watty wrote: Sun Nov 19, 2017 1:25 pm The Columbia Gorge is not really on the way to Bend from Portland
It isn’t the shortest way, but it isn’t exactly a huge detour either, especially if you choose the route(s) based on preferred sightseeing opportunities (vs just going from A to B in the fastest time).

E.g., Portland - Bend shortest way (US-26, US-97) is 164 miles.

If you drive up the gorge to Hood River and then take Hwy 35 to 26, it’s 207 miles.

If you drive up the gorge to The Dalles then take 197/97 to Bend, it is 217 miles.

The actual travel time very much depends on how much sightseeing you do along the way and how many slow vehicles are on the road (e.g., there can be lots of RVs and campers on US 26 in the summer; 197 tends to be a very empty highway).

That said, US-26 goes right by Mount Hood and is very scenic, with opportunities for hikes, walks, and photo stops along the way.
Last edited by TravelGeek on Sun Nov 19, 2017 1:46 pm, edited 3 times in total.
stlutz
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Re: Can anyone help me with details on Portland Oregon Trip?

Post by stlutz »

Where are you from? If you're from a landlocked state, the ocean is more of an attraction than if you live in Florida. If you live in Florida, mountains are more sought after on vacation.

A few years back I did a 5 day Oregon trip which involved splitting time between the coast and the Crater Lake area. Unless driving is something you enjoy, you have too much IMO.
Pdxnative
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Re: Can anyone help me with details on Portland Oregon Trip?

Post by Pdxnative »

I’d choose between the coast and Bend. You could theoretically do the whole state in six days but I don’t think it’d be enjoyable. I’d spend a few days in Pdx, then drive over mt. hood to Bend. There are good hikes on mt hood you could do on the way (Tom, dick, and harry mt is a good one just off 26). The gorge is unlikely to be worth visiting by next summer. The fires were pretty devastating. Bend has all sorts of options and is a cool town. Then return from bend to Portland via sisters and Salem (highway 20/22). Don’t plan to stay in Salem unless necessary. If you really want to hit the coast you could do that from Salem, drive up the coast to cannon beach, and return to Pdx on 26. Or you could just head up i5 to Pdx, perhaps stopping at silver falls state park on the way for a waterfall hike.

Crater lake is fantastic, but you’d be adding a lot of driving instead of enjoying some of the great hiking in the bend area.

If you don’t rent a car for Pdx, consider zipcar. Mass transit is great but there might be places you want to go where a car would be easier.
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siamond
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Re: Can anyone help me with details on Portland Oregon Trip?

Post by siamond »

If you're into fishing, there are some amazing opportunities around Portland. Either salmon fishing or sturgeon fishing (catch and release only), the latter being much more impressive imho. A quick Web search will give you the name of numerous fishing guides.
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Soul.in.Progress
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Re: Can anyone help me with details on Portland Oregon Trip?

Post by Soul.in.Progress »

OP here. Thank you all for the feedback!! They are exactly the insights I was seeking :)

We will take these suggestions into account for sure, and will adjust accordingly. And I continue to welcome additional comments.

stlutz, we are not from a landlocked state; we have both the coast and mountains in our state. Good points.
Start by doing what is necessary; | then do what is possible; | and suddenly you are doing the impossible. | -- Francis of Assisi
Isabelle77
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Re: Can anyone help me with details on Portland Oregon Trip?

Post by Isabelle77 »

I live in the Portland area (on the Washington side) a few thoughts.

Skip Eugene, Salem, and the coast. While the coast is beautiful, there's not that much to do there, it's cold and you live near the ocean anyway. I've lived here for nearly a decade and I've never been to Crater Lake...because it's really far away! As you probably know it is also only open very briefly in the summer.

Add an extra day to Bend, consider staying in Sunriver instead of Bend proper. Its a resort area on the Deschutes with lots to do, rafting, hiking, biking, etc. it's only about 15 miles outside of Bend. We go often and rent a house through Bennington Properties but there's a big hotel there as well and VRBO of course.

I think driving through the gorge to Bend is the way to go, plan on it taking the whole day and stop in Hood River for wine tasting. Although the Willamette Valley wines are arguably better, the Hood River wineries are (in my humble opinion) more beautiful, less crowded, less expensive, and have improved greatly in the last few years. Many of the wineries also have orchards and we've brought our children with us before. Hood River has fabulous kite boarders that are very entertaining to watch, I'm not sure of the seasonality of when they're out. We always stop for burgers at Full Sail Brewery in Hood River for lunch.

Hope that helps, enjoy your trip, I hope the weather cooperates!
letsgobobby
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Re: Can anyone help me with details on Portland Oregon Trip?

Post by letsgobobby »

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SrGrumpy
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Re: Can anyone help me with details on Portland Oregon Trip?

Post by SrGrumpy »

Soul.in.Progress wrote: Sun Nov 19, 2017 12:56 pm
- I heart wine, (as does hubby) but my three kiddos won’t be into wine tasting.
Not a winery per se, but still -- Spiritopia! OMG - amazing! Near Corvallis. It's a very small distillery, open on Saturdays for tastings (and purchases). I'm jonesing for their pomegranate liqueur as I write this.
Soul.in.Progress wrote: Sun Nov 19, 2017 12:56 pm it seems like Crater Lake is nice, but I thought perhaps it would invoke too much driving?
Crater Lake was the highlight of my recent trip in the area. The plunge was a total thrill (and the water was not cold).

I also appreciated the museum and very sad memorial at the Salem State Hospital, location for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

I imagine your children wouldn't be averse to seeing the Spruce Goose at the aviation museum near Salem?
denovo
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Re: Can anyone help me with details on Portland Oregon Trip?

Post by denovo »

Isabelle77 wrote: Sun Nov 19, 2017 5:29 pm

Skip Eugene, Salem, and the coast. While the coast is beautiful, there's not that much to do there, it's cold and you live near the ocean anyway.
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Nate79
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Re: Can anyone help me with details on Portland Oregon Trip?

Post by Nate79 »

As someone who lives outside Portland i wouldnt spend a minute in Portland on vacation if I didn't have to. Oregon has so much to offer and the only thing Portland city itself has to offer is homeless and traffic.
RudyS
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Re: Can anyone help me with details on Portland Oregon Trip?

Post by RudyS »

Crater Lake will be too much driving and time. We were on the Coast twice in recent years, stayed at Cannon Beach. Also have done the Gorge, etc. And have been to Crater Lake. Lots to see and do on the coast. Bend and area is also well worth it. Be careful not to crowd too much into too few days. Changing motels each night also kills a lot of time. I'd sit down with google maps and look at driving distances and times, then outline the days you have, and go from there. There were many good suggestions offered above, your challenge is to select.
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