Oregon Recs?

[UnivTex34 1,763]

9 minutes ago, texasdago said:

Bump... have this general itinerary in place...

Fly into Portland - stay two nights.

Drive to the Colombia River Gorge... see the falls, etc and then drive around Mt. Hood to Timberline Lodge.  Stay in Welches or whatever its called for one night.

Drive down to Bend.  Stay two nights.

Drive down to Crater Lake... then stay in Prospect Oregon for one night

Drive down to Crescent City, CA for two nights to hit Redwood NP and whatever there is to do there.

Drive back up to Portland, stay one night

Peace out next day

 

So... any good ideas?  Clearly we're in it for the outdoors and natural beauty stuff and probably lots of good craft beer, kitschy bigfoot crap, etc.

We did your route backwards, see my post above. Is your plan to drive back to Portland up the coast or take the interstate? I highly recommend up the coast, and you may want more than a day to do it. The views were just out of this world. Otherwise, a good itinerary. 

[texasdago 7,573]

9 minutes ago, UnivTex34 said:

We did your route backwards, see my post above. Is your plan to drive back to Portland up the coast or take the interstate? I highly recommend up the coast, and you may want more than a day to do it. The views were just out of this world. Otherwise, a good itinerary. 

You know... I was thinking of hightailing it back but maybe we drive up the coast to about Winchester Bay and then cut across to Eugene... looks like it adds an hour but might be worth it.  We wanted to go to Cannon on this trip but logistically it would not work out for us.

[texasdago 7,573]

Was looking at your itinerary.  Good stuff.  I'm excited to "fill in the details" for each stop.  I have a buddy who lives in Bend who offered to loan me some tubes to go tubing on the Deschutes as that's a big thing in the summer.  Also, we did go to Cannon Beach and CRG back in the early 2000s.  Stayed south of Cannon then the next day drove down to Manzanita, Tillamook and eventually over through the mountains where, in the pre GPS world, we got lost on a logging road . Good times.  Wineries in the Willamette were great, though.

[UnivTex34 1,763]

21 minutes ago, texasdago said:

You know... I was thinking of hightailing it back but maybe we drive up the coast to about Winchester Bay and then cut across to Eugene... looks like it adds an hour but might be worth it.  We wanted to go to Cannon on this trip but logistically it would not work out for us.

All of my "along the coast" pics above were in that stretch. So yes, do it. Samuel Bradman State park was basically like 60 miles of pull offs along the highway.

[NWBuck 8,570]

If you're open to a bit more "life", you should check out the McMenamins hotels/pubs all throughout Oregon (but particularly Portland).

Old buildings (libraries, old schools, banks, etc.) renovated into bars, restaurants, performance spaces, and hotels. The ones I've stayed at in Portland often have two or three live music venues. And McMenamins all have breweries with really good offerings.

Some of the spaces on the coast or out beyond the city are more subdued- If I'm not getting a VRBO, we're staying in one of their properties.

[South Austin 52,515]

6 hours ago, NWBuck said:

If you're open to a bit more "life", you should check out the McMenamins hotels/pubs all throughout Oregon (but particularly Portland).

Old buildings (libraries, old schools, banks, etc.) renovated into bars, restaurants, performance spaces, and hotels. The ones I've stayed at in Portland often have two or three live music venues. And McMenamins all have breweries with really good offerings.

Some of the spaces on the coast or out beyond the city are more subdued- If I'm not getting a VRBO, we're staying in one of their properties.

I stayed at the Hotel Oregon in McMinnville waaaay back in 2008 (I can't remember if that's what it was called back then, but just looked at the photos on Yelp and that's the hotel).  It did have a cool vibe, but it's on the frumpier side in terms of furnishings, so if you want a higher-end lodging experience, it's not for you.  It worked fine for us, as we just needed a place to set up camp as we spent a few days visiting wineries in the Willamette Valley area.

[Macanudo 12,979]

7 hours ago, NWBuck said:

If you're open to a bit more "life", you should check out the McMenamins hotels/pubs all throughout Oregon (but particularly Portland).

Old buildings (libraries, old schools, banks, etc.) renovated into bars, restaurants, performance spaces, and hotels. The ones I've stayed at in Portland often have two or three live music venues. And McMenamins all have breweries with really good offerings.

Some of the spaces on the coast or out beyond the city are more subdued- If I'm not getting a VRBO, we're staying in one of their properties.

I 2nd the McMenamins hotels/pubs.  

[Firemans4Horn 18,052]

You’re not headed to central Oregon, but my favorite family vacation was staying a week at a house we rented in Black Butte Ranch (near Sisters). Can’t want to get back. 

[DDD Dad 14,339]

On 1/17/2023 at 1:15 PM, texasdago said:

Bump... have this general itinerary in place...

Fly into Portland - stay two nights.

Drive to the Colombia River Gorge... see the falls, etc and then drive around Mt. Hood to Timberline Lodge.  Stay in Welches or whatever its called for one night.

Drive down to Bend.  Stay two nights.

Drive down to Crater Lake... then stay in Prospect Oregon for one night

Drive down to Crescent City, CA for two nights to hit Redwood NP and whatever there is to do there.

Drive back up to Portland, stay one night

Peace out next day

 

So... any good ideas?  Clearly we're in it for the outdoors and natural beauty stuff and probably lots of good craft beer, kitschy bigfoot crap, etc.

Take the coast highway back north through Bandon (play if you can get on) and Yahachts. 

[Degenerate Gardner 4,085]

On 1/17/2023 at 11:15 AM, texasdago said:

Bump... have this general itinerary in place...

Fly into Portland - stay two nights.

Drive to the Colombia River Gorge... see the falls, etc and then drive around Mt. Hood to Timberline Lodge.  Stay in Welches or whatever its called for one night.

Drive down to Bend.  Stay two nights.

Drive down to Crater Lake... then stay in Prospect Oregon for one night

Drive down to Crescent City, CA for two nights to hit Redwood NP and whatever there is to do there.

Drive back up to Portland, stay one night

Peace out next day

 

So... any good ideas?  Clearly we're in it for the outdoors and natural beauty stuff and probably lots of good craft beer, kitschy bigfoot crap, etc.

The one place I’d consider adding is Silver Falls state park outside Portland. So many waterfalls. You’ve seen it before in commercials without knowing it. As I understand, it was considered for a National Park back in the day but the adjacent clear cutting was objectionable to the aesthetic. Guess what? It’s been a century or so, and the foliage has largely grown back.

Edited January 20, 2023 by Degenerate Gardner

[Macanudo 12,979]

17 minutes ago, Degenerate Gardner said:

The one place I’d consider adding is Silver Falls state park outside Portland. So many waterfalls. You’ve seen it before in commercials without knowing it. As I understand, it was considered for a National Park back in the day but the adjacent clear cutting was objectionable to the aesthetic. Guess what? It’s been a century or so, and the foliage has largely grown back.

Silver Falls is actually outside Salem, around 45-50 miles south of Portland.  Not hard to get to at all and the falls are pretty cool.   We used to camp out out there when I was a kid and swimming in the Santiam River was a always fun, albeit chilly.  

[Degenerate Gardner 4,085]

Good call. I drive by Silver Falls on my way to Portland via Salem when traveling from the east.

[shnsajax 3,591]

I 2nd the McMenamins hotels/pubs.  

100%. The McMenamins in Bend is fantastic!

[Reese Bennett 3,614]

My takes:

Bandon is the best beach, though there are many that are pretty awesome. Shore Acres and Cape Arago state parks, just north of Bandon, are well worth your time.

There are some cool hikes with great views around Humbug Mtn State Park and the Port Orford Headlands.

Newport is a cool little town with a riverfront area worth exploring. It's also has a great aquarium and is home to the NOAA Pacific Fleet, so you may see some science ships docked there. 

Crater Lake is definitely worth a trip. I haven't seen a photo that does it justice. The first time you walk up and look over the age will be memorable. Eat at Beckie's Pies and take the short hike around the Rogue River Gorge.

Silver Falls is awesome. The hiking trail goes behind some of the falls.

Astoria is a fun town. Make sure to take the bridge across the Columbia and see Cape Disappointment on the WA side.

In Tillamook, you can visit the Tillamook Creamery, makers of cheese and ice cream..

In Portland, definitely Powell's. The Zoo and Japanese Garden are awesome and there are plenty of hiking trails in Forest Park. The best Vietnamese place is Luc Lac on the corner of SW 2nd and SW Taylor. Be prepared to wait a bit during the weekday lunch rush. The Waterfront Park is good for a stroll and people watching.

Multnomah Falls is iconic and a must see. Get off the freeway though, and take the Old Columbia Highway and stop at all the falls and Vista House. I think the highway is mostly open now (it was closed in sections after the 2017 fire). 

Hood River is cool. As others have said, it's on the river and has a nice downtown with shops, restaurants, and breweries. 

Take a drive up the Hood River Valley to Mt Hood and eat at Timberline Lodge, which is a great example of New Deal construction. On a clear day, the views are magnificent. It was also used in The Shining as the exterior of the hotel.

Central Oregon doesn't get the publicity, but both Redmond and Bend are cool towns, with Bend being a retirement haven and the snottier of the two. They give you a view of the eastern slope of the Cascades and Mt. Jefferson and The Sisters are what you expect big Cascade volcanoes to look like. You can walk through lava tubes at Newberry National Volcanic Monument and the hiking at Smith Rock State Park is great (many commercials are filmed there).

If you get down to far SW Oregon, float or jet boat the Rogue. Oregon Caves is cool and the drive along the Smith River into California and RWNP is awesome--the mineral content of the area makes the river a cool looking light blue. In CA, Stout Grove is my favorite redwood grove and if you're feeling adventurous with a high clearance vehicle, just down the road is a great hike through Fern Canyon at Prairie Woods State Park.

[texasdago 7,573]

Good call on "Newberry National Volcanic Monument" - definitely want to check out the lava tubes.

This garbage weather in Texas is making me look forward to a cool break from the heat.

[CooterBrown 18,014]

On the way to Multnomah Falls, there's a fish hatchery that's a quick, fun stop if you have kids in tow.  Multiple ponds with thousands salmon,  5 foot long sturgeons in a viewing tank, etc.  

[texasdago 7,573]

3 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

On the way to Multnomah Falls, there's a fish hatchery that's a quick, fun stop if you have kids in tow.  Multiple ponds with thousands salmon,  5 foot long sturgeons in a viewing tank, etc.  

Esto?

 

https://myodfw.com/bonneville-hatchery-visitors-guide

[CooterBrown 18,014]

4 minutes ago, texasdago said:

Esto?

 

https://myodfw.com/bonneville-hatchery-visitors-guide

That looks like it. It was an unplanned stop while driving out to Multnomah Falls.  There are also multiple other waterfalls on the way that you can stop at. While not as grand as Multnomah, they were fun little hikes to the top.  All of them have parking and maintained trails.

[texasdago 7,573]

We did the waterfalls probably back in the early 2000s, pre-kids.  We'll probably hit up 2-3 of them.  I know Multnomah gets super busy.  Just have to figure out timing... there is soooo much to do.

[texasdago 7,573]

Quick update:

Mt. Hood - Timberline was awesome and I would love to do some laps on that mountain one day, especially higher up when you're not dealing with possibly raining conditions but realize that's mostly a summer spot.  Did some of the coaster/bungee stuff at Skibowl.  Man, that is one rundown operation and quite possibly the worst double chairlift I've ever seen in my life.  Might be fun for some night skiing but sheesh.  Found a good Mexican restaurant in Welches... I know I know.  We were tired, it was open, it was good.  Go figure.  

Bend was awesome - loved the vibe, all the outdoor activities and was blown away by Mt. Bachelor being a giant black lava rock mountain.  Big Eddy was fun albeit short on the Deschutes.

Swimming in Crater Lake was amazing.  Prospect, further down south is a teeny town with some very cool hidden waterfalls.

RWNP was fantastic.  Crescent City sucked mostly but it was the best "large" option although our motel was an awesome step back in time and the tidal pools were cool.  Don't go swimming unless you want to possibly die.  AND I have never ever ever seen fireworks chaos and non-stop mayhem like I did on July 4th in that town.  It was unreal. 

[texasdago 7,573]

Also, there are some nice wineries in far southern Oregon.  We hit up two in the Rogue Valley AVA and one in the Elkton AVA which is a tiny AVA in the Umpqua Valley.

Also, here is my youngest going back into Crater Lake...

[CleverNickname 1,311]

Here is a pup abandoned by its mother because of fireworks on the beach, Lincoln City.

Did mom ever come back? I don't know. I hear this pup was seen last week turning tricks for bits of Mo's fish & chips in Newport. 

Edited July 13, 2023 by CleverNickname

[Macanudo 12,979]

Mo's is an institution.   Lot lizards be damned.

[CHIEF 5,091]

Well, CHIEF Jr.'s best friend is getting married in Ashland on Labor Day Weekend, he is the Best Man. We found a deal to fly into Medford for only $20 more/head than into Eugene. His buddy is the associate golf course superintendent at Bandon Dunes.We are debating going for 4-6 days. CHIEF Jr. and I both want to see Grove of the Titans down by Cresent City, then head to Bandon for a couple of days to eat, golf, and hang out with the wedding party. If we are there for six days gonna hit up Crater Lake. We will probably have some of the groomsmen with us, any "can't miss" breweries in the area? Mrs. CHIEF and I will probably hit a couple of wineries as well.

CHIEF

[shnsajax 3,591]

Ashland is great, and would recommend the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for you and Mrs. Chief. No can't miss breweries in the area, much bigger wine country! Caldera Brewery is ok, but pleanty of craft beer spots like Growler Guys that have a shit ton of taps and food too. Eugene is where you start to get a bunch of great breweries up into Portland. Oregon coast is really specatular, but I don't know it that far south. More Lincoln/Newport City area. 

[HenryJames 66,077]

Skout Taphouse and Provisions in Ashland is good. Last time I was there they had stuff from The Alchemist in the fridge.

The wine country is to the west in the Applegate Valley. Two wineries I recommend are Quady North and Troon. 

HENRYJAMES

[Incredulity 11,675]

If you are even a casual golfer play some rounds at Bandon Dunes.  Just an awesome place.  

The beach on the south side of the city of Bandon is really cool with rock formations going from shore to sea but totally engulfed in sand.