First of all Portland to SF south, assuming you'll spend some time on the Coast. You'll be driving on the beach side.
Food, wine and beer, mountains, ocean, hiking, theatre-what are your interests?

My interests are varied; hikes, lots of ocean, mountains, small towns, quaint, breathtaking sights, taking in local culture, special unique lodging, etc. To be clear, if we fly into SF we will do a loop and return to fly out of SF, same thing with flying into Portland. We will take in a variety of locations and then make our way back to Portland to fly out of. I just don't want to be on the road every day. I am thinking we would stay a couple of nights perhaps in a few spots.

I love the beach and being from new england and used to swimming in cold water, I have been warned to not plan on swim in northern CA or OR, that's its just too frigid. I do really love natural hot springs and have already looked into them in both CA and OR.

My suggested route: PDX via Astoria to Seaside or Cannon Beach if you want to spend 2 nights on the Oregon Coast. From Cannon Beach south to Reedsport. About 4 miles east of Reedsport on Rt. 42 you should see a herd of at least 30 Roosevelt Elk at the Deans Creek Viewing Area. Continue on to spend the night in the Eugene area. Head east on 126 out of Springfield to the Belknap Springs http://oregonhotsprings.immunenet.com/belknap.htm Either stay there or continue onward after your soak over the McKenzie Pass. Stop at the Dee Wright Observatory at the top of the Pass. Spend at least 1 night in the lovely town of Sisters before heading back to Portland.
If you had 1 more day, I would suggest seeing Crater Lake.

tomfuller; thank you for thinking the route through for me. Is there a particular reason you suggest going to Reedsport besides seeing the elk? I just researched Crater Lake a bit and the lodge there and it looks pretty spectacular and perhaps not be missed. Who knows if I will ever be in Oregon again. How would you change the route to fit in Crater Lake?

Will I have missed a lot if we don't get to Hood River/Mt. Hood/Columbia River Gorge area? to Bend?

Crater Lake is spectacular, as is alot of inland scenery, Rogue River for jet or river rafting trips, Lava Beds in Oregon from I-5 to Sisters is one of the most amazing sights we've ever seen. Sisters and Bend are great little towns with charm, breweries, hiking, and loads more. Then there is Ashland Oregon with its Shakespeare Festival, great restaurants and really cute downtown.
The dilemma is with the coast there isn't an easy or quick way to get there or back, figure a day driving from I5 to the coast at any point. Once in Calif I'd head straight to Napa Valley, even though we live in a great town off I-5 (Chico) with its own charm, if you like wine its a not to be missed place. Stay in Calistoga, tons of wineries to visit and enjoy. Have fun

Turn south on the east end of Elkton toward Roseburg then take 138 east from Roseburg about 87 miles to the north entrance of Crater Lake. If you can get a reservation at the Lodge it would be great. Otherwise, you can stay at the Diamond Lake Resort.
It is 90 miles from the north entrance of Crater Lake to Bend.
Take US 20 and OR 22 back toward Salem with a stop at Silver Falls State Park.
Try to find the time to go east on I-84 as far as the parking area for Multnomah Falls. There is a pedestrian underpass to get to the base of the falls, There are steps and a steep path up to the top of Oregon's highest waterfall.

As I recall - hiway 38/138 from Reedsport goes along the beautiful Umpqua River - past an Elk Preserve - and continues on over to 5 - where you head south a few miles to Southerlin - and then inland/east again on 138 to Crater Lake - for one of the most beautiful drives you will ever find. see: http://www.distancebetweencities.net/reedsport_or_and_crater-lake_or/route

From Crater Lake - you could head to Route 97 - and then north through Bend and beautiful scenery along the east side of the Cascades - and stay a night at my favorite - the Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood. From there back to the Portland Airport is about an hour and a half. http://www.timberlinelodge.com/

You could also head north from Timberline Lodge to Hood River and back to Portland along I 84 - and see the Gorge/Multnomah and other waterfalls that way.

BTW - if Crater Lake Lodge is full - the nearby Diamond Lake is also beautiful - has a resort - and also has good trout fishing. You are also close to Ashland if you want to zip down for the Shakespeare festival. http://www.diamondlake.net/

Interesting everyone. I will get on to google maps and start mapping out these different route options and see what makes sense with the time we have and see if we have to eliminate stops, what they should be. Not to sound unappreciative, but I am thinking I could cut out the waterfalls because I have seen some amazing falls in my travels. All of the post responses thus far have been for Oregon; no one seems to think doing the northern CA trip instead of OR would be better?

I forgot to ask (hope this doesn't sound foolish) are there any places where I can swim besides a pool? Summer to me is tough without getting in some water but I understand if all bodies of water in the NW are just too cold.

Having pretty much driven the whole Pacific Coast a few times, and most of the West for that matter - (over - ahemmm - a number of years - I think that the Oregon plan allows for seeing more natural beauty - in an easier fashion - than heading north from San Francisco. The Cal Coast is a little harder to traverse (and it's long) - and you really only get a flavor of the cinder coned mountains of the Cascades starting at beautiful Mt Shasta - north of Redding in very Northern Cal - (6 plus hours from San Francisco) - whereas in Oregon - you can see Mt. Hood right away when you land, be in the Gorge in 30 minutes, up on Mt. Hood in another hour, or going the other way - be over on the Oregon Coast drive in two hours.

In California - the Sierras start up toward Lake Tahoe (as jewel in itself) - and are beautiful - but that's about 4 hours from San Francisco - heading away from the Coast.

There are nice Redwoods in California - but they also have those in Oregon, especially around where I grew up in Klamath Falls, (Southern) Oregon - just south of Crater Lake and over the hill/east of the Rogue Valley - Ashland/Medford/Grants Pass.

And if you want to add a "wow" factor - take the jet boats at the mouth of the Rogue River - at Gold Beach. http://www.roguejets.com/

And if you are a golf fan - the links at Bandon Dunes - just north of Gold Beach - are world renowned. http://www.bandondunesgolf.com/

Actually - the Oregon Dunes park north of there (by Reedsport- where you can head over to Crater Lake) is also interesting, although since my youth - some of the huge dunes have been covered by trees. http://tinyurl.com/7jzeb8t

BTW - as for swimming - I have been in the Oregon and Northern Cal Oceans - but I am part Polar Bear.

However - near shore in the lakes it warms up in the summer - and people are swimming/canoing/fishing, etc - and a pristine little lake is near where I grew up - Lake of the Woods - http://www.lakeofthewoodsresort.com/ between Klamath Falls and Medford - south of Crater Lake. It also has a great view of 10,000 foot cinder cone - Mt. McLaughlin ( http://tinyurl.com/7dgaoy3 ) and pls excuse me for bragging - but my niece climbed it a few years ago during her girl scout days - up and down in one day.

Also - Diamond lake that I have previously mentioned is nice (near Crater Lake) - or there are some lakes by/toward Bend (along hiway 97) where you can also "take the plunge".

Hey - that reminds me - our Boy Scout camp was at Lake Crescent - http://tinyurl.com/75jsupo
and east of Bend are two very cute little lakes - with cabins - at Newberry Volcano: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newberry_Volcano

Actually - Oregon - like say Wisconsin/Minnesota - has a lot of very nice lakes.

BTW - this will give you a good idea of the beautiful - cinder coned/snow covered peaks along the Cascade Mountain Range - and Mt. Lassen used to be one before it blew - just as Mt. Mazama/Tehama used to be before it blew - and now you have Crater Lake there. And our 30 plus mile long Klamath Lake has an average depth of only about 8 feet - because it received a lot of the ash from that Mt. St. Helens (on steroids) type event - centuries ago.

http://tinyurl.com/7a734hq

Tomsd, You and I have so much in common. Last summer I won a fishing trip on Diamond Lake with 2 nights lodging included.
After we had been out on the boat for several hours my buddy jumped out of the boat to cool off. In 2006 (February) the 2 of us visited an island in the Columbia. He was in his wetsuit and I was in his old inflateable boat with a paddle.
I have a geocache hidden on the south shore of Crescent Lake.
Paulina and East Lakes also have warm springs on the shoreline and under the water.
If anyone wants to see the Cascade Lakes, turn north off the Crescent Cutoff Road onto Cascade Lakes Highway. The highway is 70 miles into Bend. Crescent Cutoff is the road I use to go from Crescent (US97) to Crescent Lake (off 58).
Have you looked up Belknap? I do know of several more hot springs in Oregon. At one of them, I encountered naked people. Oh wait, he was wearing a hat.

"There are nice Redwoods in California - but they also have those in Oregon, especially around where I grew up in Klamath Falls, (Southern) Oregon"

I have never heard of any redwoods growing naturally around Klamath Falls. The sequoia sempervirens are coastal trees and found primarily in California. There are a couple of small groves in SW Oregon. You can see their range on this map:

http://www.redwoodhikes.com/

Redwood National Park is almost equidistant between San Francisco and Portland. If you decide to visit the area from Portland, you could do so easily as a loop that would include the coastal drive and a route through the Cascades via Grant's Pass and Medford, Crater Lake, Bend, etc.

Or, you could drive to the redwoods by Hwy 1 and 101 north of San Francisco and then loop over to Mt. Shasta and Lassen Volcanic National Park and maybe Lake Tahoe if you have time. Early September is a great time to travel in California.

"I am thinking I could cut out the waterfalls because I have seen some amazing falls in my travels"

I don't see how anyone can see too many waterfalls. The Columbia Gorge is stunning and should not be missed if visiting the Portland area. There's also some interesting locks on the Columbia that you can tour.

"At one of them, I encountered naked people."

Oregon is a very liberal state. There are a number of places you can swim or soak in a hot spring "au natural".

Even though I am native Californian and live in northern Cal., I vote for concentrating on Oregon. You will see more for the miles and time involved.
Be aware the Labor Day weekend (where ever you are) needs to be booked NOW...Especially coastal --I bet Cannon Beach is already "full" .Also "driving time" estimates can be misleading on coast. mostly 2 lane roads, lots of little towns..35-45 MPH is average.
Crater Lake is awesome, Columbia River Gorge --you have some tough choices...
Happy Trails

ODoT has some big plans for Route 58 for 2012 and 2013. http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/REGION2/OR58_salt_creek_tunnel.shtml
The hot spring I mentioned is next to Salt Creek about halfway between the tunnel and Oakridge.
Salt Creek Falls is just off Rt. 58 east of the tunnel.
You can walk right up to the top of Salt Creek Falls which is Oregon's second highest waterfall.
When I go to California looking for scenic beauty, I head for Yosemite if I want to see Giant Sequoias. I head for Redwood NP to see big Coast Redwoods.
I'll take Crater Lake over Lassen any day.

Otis - you better drift a bit more through your history. In the early 60's - the Native Americans around Klamath Falls (Klamath Tribe for sure) - received $43,000 EACH - for the timber rights to the Redwoods on their reservation up by Chilouqin - about 30 miles north of Klamath Falls. Then a few years later - the Weyerhaeusers of this world determined that the prime Redwood lumber had been undervalued - so they received another $30,000 something - EACH.

They aren't quite as big as their bigger cousins - the Coastal Redwoods - that get more moisture from the Marine layer/fog - but the ones around Klamath Falls are still very robust trees, and I have paused under then when hunting - and there was a rain shower passing over.

see: http://www.propertyrightsresearch.org/articles6/klamath_tribes.htm

and http://www.klamathcc.org/

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_all_the_different_types_of_trees_that_grow_in_Klamath_Falls_Oregon

And Amen Tom. Good for ye getting that great trip to Diamond Lake. I caught 4 very decent size Rainbows there - the shortest being about 20 inches and the biggest being about 24" - and well over three pounds. Of course, a big fat Six to Seven pounder got away. True story - really.

Here is some more on Oregon Redwoods. The biggest are over by the Coast - Brookings - a little south of Gold Beach where the Rogue River jetboats embark: But we have some about 2/3 that size growing north of Klamath - up by Chiloquin - along route 97.

Here are some pics of Oregon Redwood forests - and there is a town over the hill from Klamath Falls, west of Grants Pass - called appropriately enough: REDWOOD. Here is one location of Redwoods - http://tinyurl.com/76zqqda and this shows some pics of Oregon Redwoods, among others:

http://tinyurl.com/7hc2poj

And here is even an article talking about Oregon and California Redwoods: http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110819/LIFE/108190304/-1/OREGONOUTDOORS01

http://www.oregonwild.org/about/hikes_events/explore-wild-oregon/hikes-on-the-oregon-coast/oregon-wild-hike-oregon-redwoods

http://www.city-data.com/city/Redwood-Oregon.html

And here's a nice pic of an Oregon Redwood:

http://saunteringoregon.com/blog/?p=3387

And here is the Redwood Motel - by Grants Pass Oregon, just over the hill from Klamath Falls.

http://www.redwoodmotel.com/

"but the ones around Klamath Falls are still very robust trees, and I have paused under then when hunting - and there was a rain shower passing over."

Tomsd - these were probably cedars.

None of the links you provided show any redwoods near Klamath Falls. The link about the former county of Klamath was interesting but that Klamath County was totally within California and it's county seat was at first Trinidad and later, Crescent City which is where the coastal redwoods are. There's a different Klamath County in Oregon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klamath_County,_California

All coastal redwoods live within 60 miles of the Pacific. The most northerly grove is just north of the California border near Brookings, OR.

http://www.visitoregonsouthcoast.com/Brookings_Harbor_Redwoods

Here's the map put out by the US National Park Service that shows the range of natural groves of coastal redwood trees:

http://www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/upload/REDWmap3Persp.pdf

There are none east of the Cascades.

Just because there's a motel named Redwood does not mean there are native redwoods nearby. It's probably named for the Redwood Highway which begins in Grant's Pass, OR.

I am very grateful to all of you for taking the time to be so helpful and specific with your suggestions for routes, sites and tips. As a result we are convinced that we will see a lot more in the time we have by doing the Oregon trip; thank you traveler24. I have a lot of research to do which will be very wonderful. I will likely come back with some more questions.

My husband seems to be interested in Gold Beach. It seems very out of the way given all we want to do. Does anyone agree it is worth the extra traveling? To see the Rogue, maybe get on the river.

Quoting from my "Textbook of Dendrology" p. 197 Redwood is native to the California "fog belt" a narrow strip of coast about 450 miles in length and from 20 to 35 miles in width, extending from southern Oregon near the California border to the Santa Lucia Mountains south of San Francisco Bay.
On page 200 (plate 21) the natural ranges of the Coast Redwoods and the Giant Sequoias are shown. The Klamath river flows into the ocean in Del Norte county CA near the town of Klamath.
If you want to see some great Coast Redwoods, visit the "Trees of Mystery" along US 101.
There is a Redwood Motel along US 97 near the turnoff to go to Crater Lake. There is not a Redwood of any type within 60 miles of it.

tomfuller, if you know of other hot springs, even if they are off the beaten track I would love to hear about them. thanks

Here's a basic route my friends have taken many times...
Portland to Astoria or Cannon Beach . Cannon Beach to Yachats. Yachats to Bandon or Gold Beach. From there down to view the Redwoods at Jed Smith State Park in Ca.
On to Ashland. Up to Crater Lake, then to Bend.
Up to Hood River.Down the Gorge.
Back to Portland.
Hits the cool towns and the scenic wonders.

bbqboy; do you think this is reasonable in 8-9 days?

Otis - how many times do I have to say they were Redwood. Repeat Redwood.

Not their bigger cousins over on the Coast - but they were still big - and were the prescious Redwood. Why do you think the timber companies paid so much for the rights?

If you read the article - you would have seen how many thousands of acres of Redwoods there are in Oregon.

Yes, we also had Cedar - and I even worked one college summer at a Cedar Mill - Paint, Rock and Cedar - and they can produce some good lumber - but it's a lesser valued wood - sometimes even shipped to Japan for making pencils.

And Tom Fuller: Beg to differ: If you come down 97 a few miles from the Crater Lake turnoff - to north of Chiloquin - please head into the forst and tell me if you can't find some Redwoods. Well, that's assuming they weren't all logged out way back in the 60's and 70's.

And Otis: I also know about the Klamath County in California. Pleez - I grew up in Klamath Falls, in the middle of very big Klamath County, Oregon. You know - where Crater Lake is located? http://www.klamathcounty.org/

We had many lumberjacks/lumber truck drivers working in and around K. Falls, Oregon - and also down in California - their Klamath County - with Happy Camp being one of their southern destinations, among others. There were also a number of sawmills down by Redding, and guys/their families moved back and forth all the time.

fyi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Camp,_California

And Klamath Falls/Klamath County is located in the Cascades - except for the eastern part which is more high desert.

Here is pic of the other big mountain we could see from town - Mt. McLoughlin. http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/img_mcloughlin.html

And from our back porch - we had an clear view of Mt. Shasta - some 70 miles to the South, but it looked like you could just drive to it in a few minutes. As you know - it's over 14,000 feet high. http://tinyurl.com/7ycp7g6

If you want to visit South eastern Oregon, You can visit 3 hot springs and Oregon's only geyser. http://oregonhotsprings.immunenet.com/crump.htm
Last year I was at the parking lot for Bagby Hot Springs but decided I didn't have the time to get there and back before dark.
Redwood is an often misused term. I will check to see if there are any Sequoia Gigantea in Klamath County Oregon.
The species that I call Redwood is Sequoia Semipervens.
The species found in Mariposa Grove I call Sequoia.

Juldie: If I may add: Reasonable means different things to different people, but from Portland over to Astoria is about 2 hours and then you could drive all the way south to Gold Beach (only about 400 miles) in one day if necessary. (Well - summer weekends would take that into past sunset.

And while I also love Yachats (more scenic than Cannon Beach) if you wanted to go partway south your first day - south of Lincoln City is very pretty - and here is one highly acclaimed resort. http://www.salishan.com/

You could also spend some time in Tillamook - where they not only have great cheese but a big Air Force museum/hangar if that is of interest to you. http://www.tillamookair.com/

And - IMO - there is nothing prettier than driving the Oregon Coast. Hey - if you need a little break - find a good little restaurant that is serviing fresh seafood - and perhaps pair that with a delightufl Oregon Pinot Grigos: http://www.northwest-wine.com/Oregon-Pinot-gris.html

During grad school at U of O in Eugene - waaaay back in the late 60's, for an inexpensive Saturday night out - we would drive over to Florence ( http://www.florencechamber.com/ where they reportedly filmed some scenes of Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's nest - Jack Nicholson's breakout role http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073486/ ) - when gas was cheap.

We would buy a couple of Oregon Dungeness crabs http://tinyurl.com/72937pl http://www.oregondungeness.org/fishery.shtml , some loaves of sourdough bread - a six pack or two (all for under $10 total) - and then build a fire on the beach.

Heck - I would pay much more to do that nowadays.

Tomf: Did you read the article - an Oregon State timber study - that notes the thousands of Redwood acres/forests in Oregon?

It was neve a "misused" term to me - but to some - it means only the giant Coastal Redwoods.

And here is a hot springs by Klamath Falls. Hey - I love soaking in hot springs now - but growing up - it wasn't a big thing. We would rather just go swim at Lake of the Woods.

http://www.oregontravels.com/paisley/summerlake/index.html

And if the Salishan resort south of Lincoln City is a bit too upscale for what you are planning, this place - the Surfrider is great (you can go down the steps to the long beach) - with a good restaurant with an incredible view - and it's next to a park where you can go hiking, etc.

http://surfriderresort.com/

Here is the Youtube video of the Trees of Mystery in Del Norte County California. Whoever shot it didn't know what county they were in. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaB7NQ5LVOk
I have stayed at the Raven Motel in the town of Klamath.

tomsd; the reason I ask about hot springs instead of reading the info on them on line is that in the past when I travelled in BC some listed I found to be run down, over crowded and just not so appealing. The ones I went to that someone actually had been to and referred me were great. I have been spoiled by springs in the Santa Fe, NM area and in BC. It just may be this trip i am planning won't be about hot springs which is no problem.

I just got off the phone from my sister and I told her the trip I am planning, she highly recommended that I give real consideration to Mt. Shasta. That seems to throw a monkey wrench into the rest of what we have in mind for OR time wise.

Why Mt. Shasta? It is within range of
Ashland-folks from there shop here in the Rogue Valley, but 8-9 days there?
Hmmm. Here is my feeling-there are several unique towns in Oregon, Klamath Falls, Tillamook, and Lincoln City aren't among them. Eugene is too big and flat.
Yes, the route I described is within reason. Several friends and relatives have done just that route over the years,but you could break it up into parts too. September is the best month of the year round these parts.

bbqboy; thanks again. Been on the computer mapping it all out. Is there a reason to consider your route in reverse, inland first and then to the coast? I am thinking of adding a stop in Detroit at Breitenbush Hot Springs. Also a stop in Sisters. Next, I will look at where we want to spend overnight(s) and where we will just drive, stop, visit, etc. Everyone has really jump started the trip for us!

From Fodors guidelines: . . .>>#6 Don't monopolize the boards. Fodor's is a place for conversations and dialog . . . The forums are not to be used as a personal blog . . . monopolizing a forum or thread will not be tolerated.<<

Just sayin' . . .

Juldie: Mt Shasta is a fine place but I wouldn't try to squeeze it into your itinerary. Unless maybe you wanted to to visit McArthur Burney Falls or something like that. Lots to see in the area but it would be spreading things too thin IMO.

Belknap Hot Springs is a great place on the McKenzie HY between Eugene and Sisters. It is a resort, camp grounds as well but has a nice clean pool right beside the river. You can use the pool for a fee even though you are not staying there, They have beautiful grounds and walking paths- we often stop there for a soak after a day of skiing or snow shoeing

What is that hall monitor Janis doing out on the loose again? Geesh.

Mt Shasta is great for renting a houseboat and floating around for a few days - and things like that - but other than that - I don't know of any special reason to go there.

Mt. Shasta is quite a bit away from Shasta Lake .

Whoops, hit post too soon. Of course you can do the route in reverse,Juldie.It's your vacation.

bbqboy; sure I know, just wondered if there are advantages going north up the coast vs. going south in terms of the views.

"Mt Shasta is great for renting a houseboat and floating around for a few days - and things like that - but other than that - I don't know of any special reason to go there."

Guess you haven't spent much time there. No Houseboats in Mt Shasta -- pontoon patio boats for an afternoon on Lake Siskiyou are about all.

Juldie: No real advantage northward or southward. Places down south like Big Sur it can make a bit of a difference but where you are going not much in it. Some prefer going south so they are on the ocean side . . . but IMO not that much difference. 6 of 1/half dozen of the other.

Janis: You continued non-distinctions are really weak. Please try to contribute something on your own other than just attempts at proof-reading.

And as far as houseboats on Lake Shasta - you are FLAT OUT wrong, which happens too frequently:

http://www.sevencrown.com/houseboats/grand_sierra_ex.htm

I know people who have rented houseboats there for a week at a time.

Here's another one if you don't like that the previous page:

http://www.houseboating.org/shasta/overview.cfm

Here's another one: http://www.shastalake.com/boatrentals/

http://www.shastalake.com/resorts/index.html

And if your sister really meant Mt. Shasta - as opposed to Shasta Lake - which most locals think of when they hear Shasta - then I would agree - there is not much in Mt. Shasta - unless you really like trout fishing in the nearby McLoud River, etc.

Well - there is a small ski area there in the winter - and people do climb Mt. Shasta - but you have to really know what you are doing if you attempt that. People have died trying that.

"And as far as houseboats on Lake Shasta - you are FLAT OUT wrong, which happens too frequently:"

idjit. It is Mount Shasta juldie asked about. Lake Shasta is 50 miles from Mt. Shasta. Which is what bbqboy was trying to tell you . . .

And for Juldie: IMO - it's cutting fine hairs if someone says there is a big advantage driving north to south - or south or north on the Oregon Coast. Have done it both ways a number of times, and I don't think it really matters.

Now in Big Sur - I think going North to South offers you some advantages (easier to pull off - can look down the steeper cliffs easier, etc - but again, for the Oregon Coast - it's not as steep and the road is easier to drive.

What might matter is if you want to start out going down the middle of the state to say Crater Lake and then over to the Coast - or vice versa. One advantage of starting out on the north coast is that you can get there in a couple of hours from Portland - v. taking longer to get down to Crater Lake.

Another advantage is that if you need to get back to Portland on your last day - going up I-5 or even 97 is quicker than going up the Coast hiway.

There goes Janis again.

I think you'd love Breitenbush. I have never been, but friends who go rave about it. We also have Jackson Hot Springs in Ashland, which is a pool with spring water,and
I suspect you'd like the vibe.

Quick Q for BBQboy: You said your friends have driven the Coast hiway many times - and I assume that mean you have too?

Just to quickly review - if your sister did indeed mean driving to Mt. Shasta - a beautiful mountain - you could still easily visit that from Southern Oregon. It's only about 70 miles from miles Ashland - a straight shot down Freeway I-5 - and about the same distance on Route 97 south from Klamath Falls - which is also a good hiway. http://www.distancebetweencities.net/mount-shasta_ca_and_ashland_or/route

Mt. Shasta is actually closer to the Oregon border than Shasta Lake - which is another hour or so south.

Here again though is a page for the other beautiful cinder coned peaks in the Cascades, and if you didn't see Mt. Shasta up close and personal this trip - you can still see some of these other beautiful works of nature. http://tinyurl.com/7a734hq

Now - if you are having second thoughts about starting in Oregon - and are again considering starting in California - (or perhaps flying back out of SF) - you can also drive between Mt. Shasta (via freeway I-5) from the San Francisco airport in about 5 hours - if you are planning around rush hour traffic. http://www.travelmath.com/driving-time/from/Mount+Shasta,+CA/to/San+Francisco,+CA

If you wanted to do this via the California Coast roads - it would of course, take longer.

Another commercial hot spring you can visit a few miles north of Detroit off Rt. 22. Breitenbush Hot Springhttp://www.breitenbush.com/
You have to drive about 2 miles on dirt road to get to the gate.

Didn't read many of the responses:


I would opt for Portland-to-the-south... in part because you're much more likely to get back to California in the future, and because the weather will likely be a tad more comfortable in Oregon than in some of California.

(TWO STATES (of 50) had colder-than-average 2011's - Washington and Oregon)


Lots of what California can show you is filled with people and more distance (than the alternative). Oregon has green surroundings, impressive coastline, mountains and rivers all within the expectations of your best potential paths.


Within just a small handful of miles from Portland you have Mount Hood, Volcanic Mt. St. Helens, the Columbia Gorge, and the coast. Go a small handful of miles from San Fran, and you're most likely going to be in TRAFFIC.

... and if you go very far east from San Fran, it could be 100 degrees in various spots.


For California, you can surely see it all (and perhaps more) but you need A LOT MORE TIME and/or several visits.

Laugh - heck, from Portland, you can even drive 35 miles and find the original home of Bella Swan from the "Twilight Series".

... and your 8-9 days is plenty of time to mix it up, in Oregon, covering The Columbia Gorge, Mt. Hood, MAYBE Mount St. Helens, the Oregon Coast, and perhaps even down to Crater Lake if you wanted to.

(hopefully by now others have already convinced you to opt for Portland this time)

NorthwestMale, thank you; your perspective is well taken. I have ruled out the California trip for the very reasons you mention.

BTW Juldie: If I may ask - what does your husband think of the various options?