Gia

Hi Fodors
I am so excited to be spending the month of August in Portland, OR with my family (mostly to visit family). I am familiar with the area and have a pretty good handle on what to do out there. But just wanted to see if you guys could offer any other pointers (especially kid-friendly) and maybe a couple of date night suggestions for when my husband meets me out there the last 10 days of our trip.

So far, absolute musts are the Oregon Zoo & Dino exhibit, the Steam train, Portland Farmer's Market, a couple of day trips to the coast (probably Cannon Beach), Oaks Amusement Park, thinking about the OMSI (but my kids are 4 and almost 2) not sure if they're too young? then we have some family engagements and bbqs etc. I'm trying to go to the farmer's market every Saturday we're there - it's one of my favorite places in the world. And I'm so excited that on this visit we will be renting a condo about a block away from where the Farmer's Market is held for the first 3 weeks, so I'll be able to shop for us and cook all the beautiful veggies and fruits that I find.

The last week, my husband and I will stay at the Allison Inn for 2 nights (the kids will be with the grandparents). I love Oregon Pinot Noirs so any recs on must-see or little-known wineries/tasting rooms we should visit would be appreciated. I want to spend maybe one afternoon wine-tasting as I plan on spending some time at the spa at the Allison Inn. Also a good date-night restaurant rec as well. I was thinking Farm to Fork or Joel Palmer House and I'm sure we'll try Jory's our first night since we'll be right there. We love food & wine and appreciate good service but have adventurous palates.

Then we're off to Portland for a few days. Wanted to take DH to see the Grotto (I'm excited to visit it as well), the Oregon Zoo again so that DH can see the Dino exhibit the Japanese garden, and a dinner at Portland City Grill.

I booked us at Hood River Inn (Best Western Plus) for 3 nights and that's the only part of the trip I'm unsure of. Was wondering if maybe 2 nights would suffice? We definitely want to do a white-water rafting outing (my parents are coming with us so they'll hang with the kids that afternoon while we're doing this), but wasn't sure what else to see or do? Please help. I know that the Adventure Park (Ski Bowl) is about an hour away from where we'll be staying - would it be worth it to go up there for a day or afternoon with the kids? Not sure if it's geared toward older kids?

Then our last 4 days are back in Portland and I really have no plan for it except to keep it loose. Anything I left off the must-see list please suggest for these last few days.

Many thanks if advance.

tomfuller

Exchange 1 of your nights in Hood River for a night at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood if you can. http://timberlinelodge6-px.trvlclick.com/visit/

The kids would love the Tillamook Cheese factory. Think ice cream and cheese curds.
With 3 "extra" days, you could make it to Crater Lake.
Rainy day? Spend a few hours in Powell's Books.

Fodorite018

OMSI has an area for younger children, so keep that on the agenda. Add in the Saturday Market, which is open on both Saturdays and Sundays.

On warm days head over to Jamison Square and let the kids romp through the water fountains.

In McMinnville there is a brand new indoor water park. It is part of the Evergeen Aviation and Space Museum, and involves a full size plane. Not sure about the little one on this, but you could check their website.

Cannon Beach is a great idea. Go to Haystack Rock around low tide. Seaside has a small aquarium, but the one in Newport is MUCH, MUCH better. No comparison at all.

The Allison spa is very nice. I am a frequent visitor to it and have been since they opened. Jory is good too, BTW. Have not stayed there since we live nearby. Farm to Fork is very good. Joel Palmer House is heavy on mushrooms, so keep that in mind, but it is right near an excellent boutique winery, Seufert. Another restaurant that is good for date night (we have celebrated several anniversaries here) is Red Hills Provincial Dining, in Dundee.

I much prefer the smaller wineries around here. Seufert is very good, but also Brick House and Arbor Brook. There are many more, but these 3 are ones that we always have on hand and where we take visitors. There are some wineries with beautiful facilities, but I personally hate paying for their overhead as I would much rather put that towards the wine itself.

I would skip Portland City Grill. The view is nice, so is fine for drinks, but their food is not that good and the meat market atmosphere is a turn off for me.

Unless you want to do some hiking, 2 night is probably plenty in Hood River. Nice town, but more for a base to go do outdoor sports.

Definitely stop at a few scenic places in the gorge. Get on the old scenic highway, not just I-84. Stop at the Woman's Forum (odd name, but amazing views), Crown Vista House, and Multnomah Falls. Those are the basics, but there are many more great places to stop along this route.

You could also head down towards Salem to Silver Falls State Park. Especially nice on a hot day. You can walk behind the big falls, as the paved path goes back there, and then you can cool off in the water down below.

Gia

Thank you Tom. I'll check out Timberline, and my sister had mentioned Tillamook so I think we may get there. What's not to love On google maps it shows Crater Lake being 5 hours away from Portland so I think a little too far for us, my daughter gets really car sick so I try to limit our drives to just a couple of hours with a few scenic stops along the way. And the last few days I'd like to stay a bit more local in Portland.

Gia

mms - thank you!
I am going to put all of your recs on my list because I know you always give such good advice! And I agree with you, I prefer to pay for the wine than the fancy facility. I had come across a reference for Red Hills Dining (probably from one of your older posts and had put it somewhere and then lost it so I'm so happy you mentioned it here. The food on their website looks soo good. Also, have you ever tried a vichy treatment at Allison Spa? I've been wanting to try it but don't know if I'll enjoy it as much as a traditional massage. What do you think?

Maybe I'll just take DH to Portland City Grill for a drink after dinner. I've always wanted to check it out, so I think we'll do that.

And I definitely plan to take the scenic route to Hood River and stop by some of the falls.

When my family first moved to Oregon they were in Salem (most of them are now in Portland) but I remember going to Silver Falls. It was so great. I'll have to remind my mom about that.

Thanks again!

kimamom

You will love The Allison! You will love Jory, also! Joel Palmer House is also very nice. Portland City Grill has wonderful food, we recently spent 8 nights in Portland and dined at many great places, let me know if you want recs! ***kim***

Gia

Kim, I'd love some more restaurant recs for Portland. We're going to be there for a while and there are soo many restaurants to choose from. Thanks!

Fodorite018

Gia--Yes, I have had that treatment there. It is very good, as is the warm stone massage which is my usual. Definitely allow plenty of time at the spa. They have a eucalyptus steam room which is heaven! Go early and get a glass of wine for in the relaxation room. The only thing I don't like about the Allison is the location. It truly is in the pit of Newberg. You might also check and see if there are any concerts at the Edgefield for your dates here. Even if no concerts, definitely go out there for the experience of it. Also check for concerts at the zoo. Pink Martini is a location group that usually plays there in the summer, and they are very good and put on a great show. Yes, just drinks at PCG, definitely not worthy of a meal.

Gia

mms - Yay! I'm so excited for the spa - especially after three weeks of being away from home, it'll be a perfect time for a massage. I think I'll go for the vichy treatment since I've been curious about it, if I do I'll let you know. Thank you again for your suggestions! I've read that the town of Newberg isn't such a great location; I originally tried to book at the Black Walnut Inn but they were fully booked except for one small room, so maybe next time. And in the end I think for this trip the Allison will work better for us. We'll just make use of the car, I don't mind at all.

I do hope Pink Martini is playing, that'll be a fun thing to do with my sisters! I'll check the Edgefield too. THX!

Fodorite018

Gia--The spa is wonderful, and they give you a little chocolate truffle that is made inhouse when you are done. Newberg is interesting. I live in the town just north of it, so can get to the spa in about 10 minutes. Anyway, the area where the Allison is is not attractive by any means. You go through an older residential area, then the hotel is in the industrial area of town. If you go to the south end of town, where the hwy is divided, there are some nice shops to wander, and some tasting rooms, etc. There is an excellent chocolate shop there, Honest Chocolates, on the northbound side, a block before the bike shop. There is one thing that Newberg has that is pretty cool though, a drive in movie theater. It is a big draw for people from miles around. They show current movies and it is a lot of fun. I know they have a website, but don't know it off the top of my head. Google Hwy 99 drive in Newberg and it should come up. They do a lot of family friendly movies, so you might want to do that with the kids. Not for the kids really, but f you want to take a drive and have some amazing views, head up Bell Rd, up to Chehalem Mountain. Course there is Bald Peak Park up there, so you could do that as a family activity.

pdx

Definitely Multnomah Falls, it'll be nice and cool, and there is a little creek where the kids can see fish and throw rocks into the water. Great photo ops.
There's the Children's Museum. Check around for the local parks that have water features. We have great parks with lots of play structures.
There is a Carlton Winemaker's Studio that represents several vineyards out in the Yamhill area. I haven't been but have had wines from there that were very nice.

Gia

Thank you guys.
mms - chocolate! Yes! We probably won't have time for the drive-in, but I'll keep it in mind.
pdx - The last time I was at Multnomah Falls was before we had our babies so I can't wait to take them there, I know they'll love it, they're both nature babies.. And walking around exploring new parks, that's just about a perfect day. Thanks for the yamhill rec, too.

Fodorite018

Another vote for Carlton. The downtown is only about 2 blocks long, but chuck full of tasting rooms. The Honest Chocolate place I told you about, well the owner has one in Carlton too, which shares space with her husbands tasting room, Seven of Hearts (which I really like). They pair their wines with chocolates, mmm!!!

Gia

That sounds perfect!

alwaysafrica

Hey Gia!

Your trip sounds fantastic... I've just posted our "final" itinerary -- if you think that any of our dates would match up, let me know and maybe we can get that coffee (well, I'm not a coffee drinker, but DH is and I'll just have a yummy juice ).

Jenn

Gia

Sounds great, I'll check it out!

soogies

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