janey47

Early/mid July we will be flying to Portland. During the trip we'll visit Lewis&Clark U, have a meal with a cousin, and hopefully meet up with a Seattle friend at Mt. St Helens if it's clear. Get a feel for Portland, beautiful scenery, at least one lighthouse, Crater Lake for sure, not difficult hikes the main agenda. Willing to forgo wineries, and mild whitewater rafting, but I love sand dunes. We're willing to stay in 3 locations. Was thinking Cannon Beach and Bend, but seems so far from Florence. Not sure logistically what routes to take, e.g. day trip to Columbia Gorge, waterfalls, Mt Hood and back to Portland? Want to be realistic and enjoy rather than worrying about getting to the next site. Thanks!

sunbum1944

If you love sand dunes you would be better off in the Florence area- or stay in Yachats which is a cute coastal town and a short drive to Florence. In the Florence area you can do dune buggy ride on the sand dunes which is very fun- or take a horse back ride over some dunes and onto the beach. Stables are just north of Florence.

In Florence there is also a sand board park the teens might enjoy. Honeyman state park is a great place to climb on the dunes.

Heceta Head has one of the most beautiful lighthouses- and the beach there is my favorite in the state. From the beach there is a trail up the lighthouse keepers house and the lighthouse- pretty easy trail with great views. Lighthouse is located just north of Florence.

In the Bend area there are lots of easy hikes- and if you decide on a raft trip - the Big Eddy - is a short but thrilling ride- have done it several times.

janey47

Thank you - very useful info! How would you recommend breaking up the trip - stay where when, should we stay a night or 2 in Cannon Beach first? Go to Bend from Florence and go to Crater Lake from-- Bend? Save Portland city and immed environs till end? I'm logistics challenged!

janey47

I read the Heceta Lighthouse is closed for repair. Best alternative? I also read Cannon Beach generally requires 2 night stay (that ok - recommendations? not shabby, but not the most expensive). I definitely want the sand dunes and Crater Lake. Does this preclude Bend, or is that still the way to go? Thanks again!

Tomsd

If you are going down to Bend/Crater lake via the old hiway 97 - perhaps from Portland out 26 and past Mt. Hood to hook up with 97- (you will get some great scenery this route) - you can get back to the Coast a couple of ways from Crater Lake. One is to go out 138 to Roseburg - and then over to the Coast and up - a beautiful drive along the mighty Umpquah river.
- and there is even an Elk preserve as you get closer to the Coast.


Or - at Roseburg - you can take I-5 an hour or so - up to Eugene - the cute U of O town - and then head over to Florence from there.

Eugene to Florence - an hour or so.

See if this page helps with mapping out some routes: http://www.oregontravels.com/_maps/d...01_oregon.html

Tomsd

BTW - our favorite resort is Timberline - on the south side of Mt. Hood - off 26 - an hour plus from Portland - and there are plenty of hiking trails along there, plus it's fun to watch the "kid" train on the glacier during the summer - skiing and snowboarding both.

http://www.timberlinelodge.com/

sunbum1944

Heceta Head lighthouse is closed to tours but the park is open, you can still walk the trail up to the lighthouse and inn keepers house and enjoy time at the beach there- I think you would be missing out if you skipped over it.

In Newport there are 2 lighthouses- one has tours of the innkeepers house along with a great ghost story.

I think one of the prettiest parts of the coast is between Florence and Lincoln City -

I usually stay in Yachats when I go to the coast - there are 3 motels in a row, the Adobe, the Fireside and the Overleaf- the Overleaf is the most expensive. I usually stay at the Adobe- some rooms have kitchens so with teens that might be a consideration. There is also a restaurant on site with great views.

Do you know that in Oregon you can build fires at the beach- my daughter and friends used to love to do that- maybe your teens will too

Agree with Tom about route from Crater Lake to coast- beautiful drive along on the Umqua or a little faster up the freeway to Eugene and then over to Florence.

Crater Lake may be difficult to find a place to stay- I have stayed at the Prospect Inn which is outside the Park- a restored stage coach stop. It is not fancy- part of the rooms are in the inn and decorated with antiques and the rest of the rooms are motel 6 like- so not fancy. I believe cost of room includes a fabulous breakfast.

I think with teens it would be a shame to miss Bend- so much to see and do in the area. There is a resort not far from Bend- Sun River -that is a great family place- great bike trails- rentals available, golf, horse back riding, canoeing , kayaking- there are several property management places to rent condos or houses from- and you can organize a raft trip from there.
There is also something called the Paulina Plunge in which you ride a mountain bike down the volcano and stop and play in waterfalls along the way.

As much as I love Sunriver- staying in Bend is great too- Check out the Old St Francis School - which is an old catholic school turned into a hotel- there is a restaurant and movie theatre on site and easy walk to downtown Bend.

Lots to see and do and finally we have some sunshine here. Enjoy

janey47

No wonder I love these forums! You are soooo helpful. Wasn't planning on staying at Crater Lake. The route to the coast from there sounds great. I hope we're not too tired after a day at Crater Lake to enjoy it. So how does this sound - rent a car when we arrive at Portland and drive to Bend via Mt.Hood. I hate shortchanging time stopping at various waterfalls along the gorge though. Stay 2 nights in Bend, leave for Crater Lake and spend the night in Yachats.Go to the dunes, and drive up the coast to Cannon Beach for 2-3 nights. Then 3 nights in Portland to daytrip to Mt. St. Helens, visit Lewis&Clark, walk around Portland and maybe hit a nearby winery. Recommenmd Portland accommodation? In all locations we're not looking for overly upscale, but of course clean, near restaurants, and big enough for 4.

tomfuller

If you are coming from the coast via Roseburg and Rt. 138 to the Crater Lake area, you should find lodging at Diamond Lake Resort. They do have small cabins and motel type rooms.
If you are coming through Shady Cove (Rt. 62) the Prospect Inn is nice.
North of Newport is the Yaquina Head Lighthouse and just south of Newport is the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Both are worth a visit.
If you come through Tillamook, stop at the Tillamook Cheese factory. They make great ice cream too.

sunbum1944

Sounds good- HWY 138 along the Umqua has some nice waterfalls too - Tokatee Falls is a very pretty one- and there are several others. Will not be as crowded as the Gorge-

Stop at Steamboat resort for lunch along the Umqua- nice resort- good food- you must try a Marionberry cobbler-

Sounds like you will be very very busy-

Check out the Travel Portland website- they have specials on hotels which usually include parking, continental breakfast and a coupon book good for shopping and some restaurants.
Do you want to stay in downtown Portland or outskirts OK?

There is a great place called the Edgefield in Troutdale at the beginning of the Gorge- but short drive into Portland- it is owned by the same people who own the St Francis School in Bend. Edgefield has a brewpub, winery, a couple of restaurants, a theatre and frequently live music.

Last time I was there, they were cooking salmon on BBQ in back yard during the day- it used to be a poor house.

janey47

I'm writing this while very tired which is good,since tiredness is my concern If afteractive time in Bend folowing an active day of hikes and drives getting there and spending time at Crater Lake will we have enough daylight time to enjoy the beautiful drive to the coast? My guys are runners and would be interested seeing the U of O track, but I don't want to divert for that. I'm guessing we should get food in Bend to eat after Crtaer Lake since I have no sense of time - wouldn't mind cobbler no matter time of day though!

I do want to stay in downtownPortland. I'll look into deals.

I'm hesitant to add yet another overnight stop because although I try to pack light, there's still 4 people over 10 days doing physical activity so lots of shirts and socks alone, and don't want to lug luggage in and out and sort thru.
I generally do laundry twice on these kinds of trips but don't want to plan on that this time.

janey47

Finally got our dates down and flights booked. However, no lodging yet. Will arrive Portland around 10:45 AM, rent car, and head to Bend via some stops along the Gorge, and down around Mt. Hood. We'll probably get to Bend early evening and want to stay 2 nights. The Ameritel and Phoenix were recommended, but neither is avaliable. Just require a clean, comfortable place rather than fancy. Want to a little kyacking, meander Old Mill and Downtown on our one full day, maybe small hikes. Day 3 of trip drive to Crater lake, spend a few hours, and take 138, leisurely to and spend a night in Roseburg. Then onto Florence for dunes and up the coast at least to Newport, maybe to Depoe Bay. Kids may try sanboarding, I want buggy ride. Should we try to stay in Florence or in Yachats 1 night, and 1 night in Newport before returning to Portland? We then have 4 nights in Portland to do our city time and daytrips. A hotel pool would be nice , and I got a suggestion to stay nearer to the airport since the rail is so good, and we will have a car until our 5:30 PM flight home on the 10th day. Anyone familiar with the Hyatt? Suggestions appreciated for all locations. Thanks

jgg

I would not recommend staying by the airport. While the train (MAX) is great it will take you 35-40 minutes to get downtown on MAX and there really isn't anything out by the airport but IKEA and some chain restaurants. Staying downtown is great, but you could also look at Lloyd Center - not right downtown, but much closer and easy to get on the MAX from there.

Tomsd

I would stay in Florence or Yachats or Depoe Bay for a night or two, and then head back to Portland from Lincoln City as you will have seen the prettiest part of the Oregon Coast drive.

Actually - if your boys wanted to see the legendary Hayard Track/Field at the U of O - from Roseburg - it's only another hour or so to Eugene - where you could overnight and the lads could get a good look at where they just held the Olympic Trials.

From Eugene to Florence is a pretty drive - and it's only about an hour, unless you stop along the McKenzie River, etc.

And if you can't find lodging in Bend, as suggested - try Sun River - a half hour south of Bend - or cute cabins at Lake Pauline or it's sister lake, by the very interesting Newberry Crater. http://www.paulinalakelodge.com/

Tomsd

Here is a map for driving from Eugene to Florence - and also - some things to see/do along the way: http://tinyurl.com/7toebx9
and: http://www.everytrail.com/guide/flor...nd-coast-range

bbqboy

long drive from CL clear to the coast.
I second Eugene, and then on to Yachats the next day

tomfuller

For a cheap clean motel in Bend DW and I stay at the Sonoma.
http://www.sonomalodge.com/Sonoma%20Main.htm
The others in that price range are not as nice. If you can get a downstairs room at the Dunes motel across the street from the Black Bear Diner, that works too. Also on 3rd St.
The north entrance to Crater Lake is now open (6/30). There may be snow still on the east crater rim drive.
Count on 2 hours from Bend to the north gate of Crater Lake (91 miles).

janey47

Hope everyone's enjoying this 4th of July.

The day after my last post I kept looking for cancellations in hotels I'd heard of, and no luck. So, I booked 2 nights at the Fairfield Inn in Bend. tomsd, Paulina Lake Lodge looks nice, and I hope Fairfield is as ok as tomfuller's options Then I got 2 nights at the Adobe in Yachats - thanks sunbum 1944- there was little mention of it in reviews and you have to call to book. Restaurant looks pricey, but we'll have 1 nice dinner there.( Also thanks about the sandboard info, lots of interest) We'll take 138 to Roseburg with your recommended stops - tomsd that map is very useful. I booked a night at the Windmill Inn, and I'll let the family decide if they want to go through Eugene to get to Florence the next day - we recorded and watched the Olympic trials. I'll try to book a buggy ride that same day when I have a better idea of when we'll get to Florence. Then we'll see what we can depending on the time, as we head to Yachats. After the 2nd night there we'll drive to Newport and either go up to Depoe Bay and Lincoln City and return to Portland - not sure which route yet.
I booked the Mark Spencer in Portland for 4 nights and got a better deal working with the hotel directly. I really didn't want to stay near the airport.
Thanks again for your advice. I'll really make the effort to write a trip report that will be valuable to others.

bbqboy

Hi,Janey.
Just a thought.You might consider going past Florence to get to Yachats
and explore it. Next day,head back south to explore that stretch to Florence.
Next day, leave and head north and explore Newport.
Garabaldi or better yet, Netarts bay are neat places to end up heading North.
http://www.netartsbaytoday.org/

Tomsd

Hope you have a blast and looking forward to your trip report. BTW - if you and/or the lads want to catch some beautiful trout - I went out with a guide on Diamond Lake (close to Crater Lake) - a couple of years ago. I guess I caught him at the right time (he was also taking his girl friend out for her birthday) - as he was very reasonable - only $50 - and he really knew where to go and I (we really - as she did too) - caught a limit of 5 very nice rainbow trout - all between 18" and 24" (up to 3 lbs) but you should have seen the one that got away.

I was pulling it to the boat and he warned me it would probably make a another run once it saw the boat - and it did - and it turned and broke the 4 lb line - (flashed beautiful red - and he said it was a six and a half to 7 lb trout) - so I changed to 6 lb test - but alas - no big boys after that.

I cleaned them and put them on ice in a cooler - on the back seat - and took them up to Sun Valley Idaho - and cooked a couple with my hosts - (it was a short trip - looking at a property) - and then drove pretty much straight back to SD and we still enjoyed BBQing the fresh fish here - as they had only come out of the water 4 days before.