lou1

My husband and I are planning a trip this September to Oregon/Washington. We only have 1 week. We are flying into Portland,OR, and flying out of Seattle, WA. Here is our proposed itinerary: Day 1, arrive in Portland, hang out in the city. Spend the night in Vancouver, WA. Day 2, Drive the Columbia River Gorge/Mt. Hood loop. Stay the night in Vancouver, WA. Day 3, Drive to the coast. Drive down as far as Newport, OR, then drive back up the coast spending the night at Seaside. Day 4, Here's where we really start to question ourselves. We are thinking of driving from Seaside, OR, all the way to Port Angeles, WA on Hwy 101, with a stop at Hoh rainforest. Is this possible in one day? Day 5 Drive to Hurricane Ridge then on to Seattle. Day 6 and 7, Sightsee in Seattle. Day 8, Fly home.
Does anyone have any suggestions that could make our itinerary better, or are there any must see's that we are overlooking? Are there any parts we should omit?
We're in our late 30's with no children. We're not much into seafood, but we enjoy good (not fancy) resturants. We enjoy short nature hikes, as well as some city activities.
Any responses would be appreciated. Thank you.

christy1

What you have planned sounds fairly reasonable given the amount of time you have, but it's a shame to see Hood instead of Rainier. Mt. Rainier really is much more spectacular. I'd lean toward doing the Oregon Coast, Portland and the Gorge in OR, and Seattle and Rainier in WA. That's an awful long way to drive to stop at the rainforest for a brief visit, and there are some beautiful (okay, not quite as mossy and lush) old growth forests in Mt. Rainier NP.

I'd stay in Portland, so you get to really experience the city (there are some great neighborhoods, restaurants and parks there), rather than missing out by staying in Vancouver, which is a very blah suburb.

Andrew

I agree with Christy - I'm guessing there's some reason you are staying in Vancouver for two nights instead of Portland? Family/friends up there? Most tourists won't get much out of Vancouver, although there are a few nice areas (Fort Vancouver Historic Reserve/Officer's Row for example). I'd either stay both nights in downtown Portland or spend one night at the Edgefield in Troutdale (east of Portland), a terrific mini-resort (it's not huge) run by the McMenamins, who operate a chain of popular pubs and "alternative" hotels here in old buildings. The Edgefield used to be a "poor farm" - now it has restaurants, bars, a hotel, and a golf course plus rooms. Neat place. Troutdale also makes a great gateway to the Columbia River Gorge.

As for the Oregon Coast: The scenery from Newport to Lincoln City is terrific. But from Lincoln City to Tillamook you are mostly inland (unless you detour off 101). There is some nice scenery between Tillamook and Seaside but it's nicer in my opinion south of Lincoln City (although Cannon Beach/Ecola State Park are fantastic). I usually suggest people get an Oregon Coast Tour Map from AAA - has lots of info and highlights of the coast.

I'd recommend staying in Cannon Beach or even Astoria (a neat town at the mouth of the Columbia River - not really a beach town) and not Seaside if you don't have kids. Seaside is more fun for families, not so much for adults.

Andrew

miamatusow

I agree. Why Vancouver?? Also, the Columbia River Gorge is worth a day all on its own, so you may want to do some waterfall walks, etc., and have a relaxing dinner at, say, Skamania Lodge (on the WA side of the Gorge, just east of the Bridge of the Gods), where you can kick back with some good food and beer outside and enjoy the view.

Also, is there any particular reason that you picked Seaside? THere's lots to do there, but it's kind of a "fudge town," with a beach that's not all that interesting. Staying a bit further south Manzanita (or even Cannon Beach) would be my vote, especially if no kids are involved.

The drive up the coast should be no problem. Again, there's plenty to see without the rainforest stop - you'll get plenty of that in the Gorge (and on Ranier, if you opt for that).

If you enjoy good food, I highly recommend a trip to Papa Haydn for dessert in Portland. Those desserts are works of art. You can get them to go, too, although lunch and dinner are lovely there. The original Papa Haydn is on SE Milwaukie, near the Sellwood neighborhood. There's also one on NW 23rd, which is probably closer in terms of tourist destinations.

Also, one of my favorite things to do is spend an hour or two at Powell's (10th & W. Burnside), the best bookstore in the country, followed by some dee-licious gelato at Mio Gelato, right behind Powell's on 11th.

I'm noticing that my posting is heavy on desserts, which properly reflects my priorities, but if you're looking for other good food, wander around the Pearl District. It's tough to find bad food there.

Enjoy the Pacific NW!

mooselywild

Hmm- a lot I could say, but christy1 and Andrew have hit most of the basics. Oregon- Don't miss Cannon Beach or Astoria,the rest (especially Seaside and Vancouver,) are drive through and see every thing type towns.Newport- nothing really worth driving that far south for- better aquarium in Seattle. Hood is neat but you can see it from Portland. Cristy1 is right about H vs R. Since you like cool nature, and good food- Multonomah Falls?

Maybe skip the Gorge.Lots of driving.
Saside to PA is possible, but you'll feel like hell, unless driving is actually fun to you. In Washington- Port Townsend, Mt R, and Seattle are definitely no-miss. How much do you know about Hwy 101? It's a windy, 2 lane road in WA and OR, and kind of intimidating to some. Day 6&7 sound good.

Food- JP's in Cannon Beach. Wet Dog Cafe in Astoria. Too many places to mention in Portland and Seattle. Like coffee? Portland's Coffee People. Like books at ALL? Powell's in Portland.

Seriously, since you only have week- If I were you, I'd pick either Portland OR Seattle. There's so much to do both in or around of both cities. Like the coast and great food but not fancy? Portland. Prefer nature hikes and a city with attitude (and great snacks), surrounded by water? Seattle. You can't go wrong either way- and remember, vacation is about RELAXING.

Note- ooooh, just thought of more no-misses. If you make it to Hood River, try windsuring. If you have time in Seattle- get out on the water- take a whale watching cruise from the piers, or drive to Anacortes and take the ferries out to the islands.

Have fun!!

lou1

Thanks everyone for your advice. You are right, there is a reason we are staying in Vancouver. We have already reserved a room at Heathman Lodge for our first 2 nights. We saw the lodge on expedia and thought it looked really nice and it got alot of good reviews. We do plan to sightsee in Portland some too.
It sounds like we need to reconsider our stay in Seaside. Do you guys have any suggestions for a good Cannon Beach or Manzanita hotel?
Is it a scenic drive from Cannon Beach on Hwy 101 north to Port Angeles, or is it pretty blah? I guess we are asking if the Olympic Peninsula is worth the time and effort as opposed to spending more time at some of the other areas.
Thanks for your help.

mooselywild

Tolavanna Inn! (Cannon Beach)- friendly, great pool/hot tub, great beach access.

Surf and Sand or Hallmark are also supposed to be really good (haven't stayed there since they remodeled)

Stephanie Inn- more "luxury", across from beach.

mooselywild

Oh, and Olympic Peninsula, and the 101 drive are DEFINITELY worth the time and effort. (Unless you want to spend more time in the Seattle area)

mooselywild

Ah, sorry for another post. Just wanted to say- Manzanita isn't yet really a "destination" - no resorts. Great for camping (Nehalem is beauiful) and there may be a few small B&Bs there.

christy1

ONP is definitely worth the time in general, but it's much nicer coming from Seattle. The northern half of the park is where all the best sights are, but driving from the south the way you would be isn't that exciting. Plus, you don't sound like to really have time to do the park justice-that's a lot of driving to just to make a couple stops. I guess it just depends on if you are more interested in seeing things through your windshield or if you'd rather cover less ground but spend more time in each place.

Andrew

My aunt and uncle stayed at the Heathman Lodge a couple of years ago, and I met them there and saw their room. The place is nice, no doubt, but in my opinion it really doesn't compare to the Edgefield, which is truly a unique Oregon experience in a nice, natural setting. The Heathman is near chain restaurants, the Vancouver Mall, etc. and not near much you wouldn't find in any other generic suburb. The Edgefield is on the other hand really close to the Gorge - you could take a hike and come back to your hotel for a nap in the afternoon before heading out, whereas the Heathman would be a detour.

I disagree with the opinion above that Newport isn't worth the drive. For one thing, the scenery GETTING THERE is fantastic between Lincoln City and Newport. But Newport itself is a favorite place of mine on the coast. I love bridges, and the Yaquina Bay Bridge is stunning in my opinion. There's also a nice beach, a bayfront (admittedly with some cheesy attractions but still fun), and two lighthouses, the most notable being the Yaquina Head Lighthouse (restoration in progress - not sure if it's done yet or not). Yaquina Head itself is a beautiful natural area with dramatic views of rocky shores and neat birds. Nye Beach is also a nice beach and there's a bluff above it that offers a nice view down.

I haven't spent much time in Washington along the coast but I don't recall 101 being that scenic along the Washington coast.

Andrew

Andrew

(The Olympic Peninsula is stunning - I wasn't talking about that in regards to the scenery along the Washington Coast...)

Andrew

Gardyloo

The drive from Portland to the coast to Hoh to PA (or Lake Crescent) is easily doable in a day. You won't have a lot of time in any one place, but enough to see the area around the visitor center at Hoh, and enough time to see one or two of the beaches along the Olympic NP coastal strip.

The best beach/rock scenery along the WA coast is not as well known as that along the OR coast because it's not always quite so easy to get to. But places like Rialto or Ruby Beaches (IMO) frankly knock the socks off the Cannon Beaches in terms of wild beauty.

Take WA SR 4 (quite a scenic route through historic country) along the north shore of the Columbia out to 101. You can make good time on 101 up past Hoquiam/Aberdeen, then hit Quinault Lodge for lunch (old NPS-style lodge on beautiful lake) then a little ways north of Kalaloch take the short walk to Ruby Beach. Back in the car for another 20 min. to the Hoh valley turnoff. Watch out for big elk around the visitor center. From there it's an hour and a half or so to PA. Great day.

Fodorite018

We were just back at the Surfsand Resort in Cannon Beach this week. We have stayed there many times, so obviously we like it, lol! The oceanfront building has been gutted and remodeled. The hotel looks right out to Haystack Rock and is within easy walking distance of downtown.

Friends that were with us this week stayed at the Hallmark in December. I have not stayed there, so can't comment on it, so will just relay what our friends thought. Nice hotel, good location, but she thought the service at Surfsand beat out Hallmark by a logshot.

happytrailstoyou

When you return from Hood River, drive on WA 14--the views are spectacular.

I'm concerned about Day 3. I think you will regret if you spend only one night on the Oregon Coast, and driving to Newport and then back to Seaside in the same day strikes me as the wrong thing to do.

mooselywild

Yeah, Andrew- forgot about Yaquina Head LH! That is awesome. I'm not really Newport fan otherwise- but Lou1, Andrew's right, if only for the drive and the lighthouse, Newport's a shouldn't miss. My line of thinking was that there's sooo much else to see! (and so little time) And if you like nautical stuff- Astoria's Maritime Museum is FANTASTIC. Has Terrible Tilly's lens, plus a bunch of other great displays! Definitely a can't miss....for lighthouse/maritime buffs.

ggreen

A few years ago, my BF and I did a Seattle-Olympic Peninsula-Portland-Hood River-Mt. St. Helens-Seattle loop in about a week. (10 days which included a wedding at Maryhill Museum and associated festivities.) The scenery was terrific and I loved all the places we saw on our trip.

My one regret was that we didn't get to do as much hiking/wandering outdoors as we would have liked. We took our time and stopped numerous places, but for no more than an hour or two at most in any given place.

We went to the small but interesting native American museum at the tip of the peninsula, and loved Ruby Beach. We drove up to Hoh but didn't have time to get any farther than the visitor's center.

I really liked the historic Columbia River Highway (route 100 I think?) out to Hood River. The roadway was designed with beautiful views of the river and an easy driving grade. We stayed in Hood River, then returned via the WA side, watched the windsurfers for a bit, then drove up to Mt. St. Helens, which was pretty amazing but a lot less active than it is these days. (As a 30-something myself, it was neat to see this part of my cultural history "up close and personal" - I can still remember the news headlines when it erupted...) From there, though, the drive back to Seattle was definitely less interesting!

I hope this gives you a sense of what you can accomplish in the time you have. I loved the Pac NW in autumn - have a great trip!

lou1

Thanks for all the responses. We are now thinking about going to Mt. Rainier after Cannon Beach and sightsee and spend the night there (any good hotel suggestions around Mt. Rainier?). Then head to Seattle, do some sightseeing and spend the night (again any favorite hotels in Seattle within walking distance of alot of the sights?). Then make a day trip to Port Townsend, Hurricane Ridge and maybe Lake Crescent and back to Seattle for the night. Then sightsee in Seattle the last day and fly out the next morning (any good hotels at SeaTac for the last night?). Does this sound like a better itinerary?
Thanks for your help.

mooselywild

Much better! Hotel wise- I just pick the best deal, chain hotel nearest to Pike's place market/downtown (but I don't spend much time at the hotel). Can't go wrong. Have a great time!

thehumps

Stop in Otis Diner in Otis Oregon. Say hi ti Jeff for me. A great guy with great food