apseals

A group of eight adults in our mid 50's are spending 7 nights in Oregon. We are renting two cars and have a home rented in Pacific City for the first five nights. I went last year and loved it so much that I am returning with friends who have never been to Oregon before. After those five nights, we have one night open before having to spend the last night near the PDX airport for a very early morning flight home. We would love to see the Gorge area east of Portland. Is it doable to drive from Pacific city on a Thursday morning to the Gorge area and then drive back into Portand the following afternoon? if so, where would you stay the night that Thursday night and what route would you take from Pacific City to the Gorge ARea? Any suggestions would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Gardyloo

The Gorge basically starts a few miles east of PDX airport, so if you're staying near the airport before leaving, just go in a little earlier and spend the afternoon touring the Gorge. You can take the old historic highway, stop at a waterfall or two, and see the sights, all in a couple-three hours.

tomfuller

It's 3 hours from Pacific City via Salem and Oregon City to Government Camp on Rt. 26 the south side of Mt. Hood. Either stay at Government Camp or drive north on Route 35 on the east side of Mt. Hood to the town of Mount Hood for your nights stay.
One hour from Govt. Camp to Hood River and one hour drive time to the airport but spend the 2 to 3 hours to see Multnomah Falls and some of the other waterfalls west of Hood River on the old highway 30. The trip around Mt. Hood is well worth your time. Have a great time.

apseals

Thank you both so much for the information. Are there any wineries of note along that route, either getting to government Camp or on the way back to Portland?

islandaze

If you take hwy 22 from Pacific City to the junction with hwy 18, then continue NE on hwy 18 towards Portland, you'll travel through the heart of wine country. You'll start seeing winery signs near McMinnville, and from there all the way through Newberg.

happytrailstoyou

As others have said, this is very doable.

When we show visitors the Columbia River Gorge, we take I-84 to Corbett to access the Historic Columbia River Highway and drive that road as far as Moltnomah Falls (there are great views and several waterfalls along the way).

We return to I-84 and drive as far as the delightful town of Hood River. Our favorite place to stay in Hood River is the Best Western in a room with a balcony on the river, breakfast included.

From Hood River we like to drive on I-84 to Biggs Junction and cross the Columbia River to Maryhill where we visit Maryhill Museum and Maryhill Winery.

We drive back to Hood River on WA-14 for spectacular views of the gorge and Mt. Hood.

HTTY

apseals

Thank you all for your help. One option would be to drive through the wine area on that Thursday and stay in Portland that evening, using the route from Portland on Friday to the Gorge area. The other option is to take the route through Salem and spend the night in a more quaint area. Now we just have to decide. Any more advice?!

apseals

Thanks for all the help. We are going to drive from Pacific City through McMinnville and then over to Government Camp and to Hood River for the night at the Best Western. The next morning we will take the drive east to Biggs Junction, cross the river and head back toward Portland via the Historic Highway.

Any advice for eating in the Hood River area? A visit to Full Sail Brewery?

islandaze

It's not clear from your post ("drive east to Biggs Junction, cross the river"), so just to make sure you know, the Historic Highway is on the OR side.

Full Sail is great, but for more of the local flavor, I prefer Double Mountain Brewery.

apseals

We are back and had a wonderful time. Thank you so much for your comments and suggestions here. I will post a trip report on a seperate link. We did basically what I wrote above and drove from Pacific City to Hood River. The scenery was just fantastic and did not take as long as I thought it would. The Best Western was a good choice and their "free" breakfast was very good. We drove east but did not go as far as Biggs Junction because of time, crossed the river into Washington at The Dalles and drove back to Stephenson. Crossed back into Oregon and took the Historic Highway back towards Portland. Posting full trip report later this afternoon.

butterflybush

I can't wait for your trip report, we will be in Hood River, staying at the BW, then on the coast next month.

karens

My favorite easily accessible waterfalls in the Gorge are Latourell, and the big one: Multnomah. There's a nice scenic overlook at the Womens' Forum SP.

We loved the Three Capes Loop near Pacific City. I hope you had a good trip!

apseals

trip report is posted!

apseals

Sorry, forgot to include the link! http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...rip-report.cfm