mpkp

Right now we are planning 15 nights in Oregon as follows:
2 nights Portland -- day trip to Mt St Helens
1 night Hood River -- gorge day
2 nights Bend -- lava chutes, Sisters visit etc
1 night Crater Lake -- rim drive and boat ride
3 nights Grants Pass -- location is the reason not Ashland or Jacksonville -- plan to stop at these on our way to Grants Pass. Don't plan to do a show. Jet Boat and Caves --
1 night Port Orford -- leave Grant's Pass and do a hike through the redwoods -- drive some of the coast and end at Port Orford. Thought about Gold Beach but the lodging is expensive. Thought about Brookings but wanted to be a little further up the coast and these seem to be the only places to stop
2 nights Yachats
2 nights Cannon Beach
1 night Portland

The questions are:

Should we do 3 nights Bend -- if so where to cut it?

Should we consider stopping at Coos Bay, Florence or Newport instead of Yachats?

Should we just not go all the way up to Cannon Beach -- instead stop at Florence and Depoe Bay and go back to Portland from there?

Or go to Brookings for a night and then up to Florence for 2 and Depoe Bay for 2 and then back to Portland?

I know the coast is beautiful but I need to balance driving with doing things.

I also know we could do the jet boats from Gold Beach or Grants Pass. I considered that but never found a place I wanted to stay that I could afford --trying to average less than 150 per night for the whole trip.

Thanks!

Andrew

You might cut your night in Hood River and stay in Bend instead. The Gorge is an easy day trip from Portland; you could spend several hours there on the way to Bend and just get in late.

Why 3 nights in Grants Pass? That sounds like a lot.

I wouldn't stop at Coos Bay overnight on purpose. It's sometimes a convenient place to stop overnight (I did last fall) but it's inland and a bit industrial and not particularly charming. Drive a few miles west from there to Charleston and then the scenery is great, though, but you can't stroll from your hotel out to the ocean in Coos Bay - it's miles away.

Whether you stop in Yachats vs Newport depends on whether you like bigger vs. smaller towns. Newport is a lot bigger than Yachats; Newport has all the commercialism some hate (McDonalds, Starbucks, even a Wal-Mart) right along 101, but there is neat stuff away from 101, such as the coast aquarium and nice beaches, and off 101, you wouldn't even know you are in a big town.

You don't seem to have much time in Portland itself. Three nights but no real full days (arrival, departure, and a long day of a day trip up to Mt. St. Helens). Not sure when you are coming (if you've posted before, I've forgotten - sorry), but if you are coming in the summer, you would have a lot to see - the gardens for example - plus Powell's and the usual stuff.

Fodorite018

I replied to your posts on TripAdvisor as well, but in case you didn't see that, here goes

Agree, 3 nights is too much for Grants Pass. One at the most, IMO. Gorge is an easy trip on the way to Bend as Andrew said.

More time for Bend, can easily be taken from the alloted time for Grants Pass.

Fodorite018

Sorry, I meant on your other threads here, not on TA.

Fodorite018

LOL, I guess I did reply on TA as well. Looks like you have lots of answers on both sites

mpkp

Thank you mms for all your replies. Since both of you seem to think it is no real problem to go all the way to Bend the day we do the gorge, I think we will do that and cut the stop at Hood River -- the only reason for the stop is that I was concerned it would be too far to go all the way to Bend and see the gorge leisurely. But we will get an early start -- I think around 8 or so -- because if we can get out ahead of the tours the waterfalls might be less crowded. We will spend 3 nights in Bend.

And we will do only two nights in Grants Pass and stay in Gold Beach for 2 nights -- need to find a place there still. We will do the jet boat from there and then go up the coast.

I guess we will keep yachats and cannon beach as the remaining places to stay.

happytrailstoyou

Hood River is a delightful town with a range of dining options and a good ice cream shop on the main drag. We like to stay at the Best Western, which is right on the river and in your price range.

Yachats is quaint, but there is a lot more going on in Newport, including a busy fishing harbor, a good aquarium and historic Nye Beach.