artpat

going in may for 14 days. will arrive in portland and will leave from portland,please give me an itinerary. i want to see; mt hood, columbia gorge, mt ranier, north cascade, olympic nat park, coast of oregon, wine country, crater lake etc. if i should omit or put in places, please tell me.. thank you. p.s. minmal hiking we are seniors

spirobulldog

We spent 12 days in Oregon alone this past July. We spent 2 or 3 of those days hiking pretty hard, though.

Going in May- a lot of things will still be closed. You can pretty much forget about Crater Lake- road opens a lot of time July 1. Hood would probably still be in full swing for skiing, but not hiking. Might be early for St Helens. Rainier will still have a lot of snow and I would guess a lot of the trails and roads might be closed. I don't know when Hurricane Ridge road opens in Olympic.

Is this the only time you can go? I really think a late June or July trip would be far better, and since you say you are seniors I am assuming that your times might be flexible. You could still go in May, just might miss a few things.

We also enjoyed Oregon Caves and the Chateau there. Also you might consider driving the entire Oregon Coast and since you are that close to the Redwoods seeing them(if you haven't before). The Stout Grove is very close to Oregon border and is a very good drive through the trees. We did a Jet Boat that had a lot of seniors on it. We did ours in Grants Pass, but they are available on the coast as well.

sunbum1944

I believe you can get into Crater Lake in a if you go through the south entrance and it is beautiful in the winter if you get a nice day. I belong to a group that does an annual cross country/snow shoe trip there - one year I went and there was a total white out and you could not see the lake and one year it was absolutely gorgeous.
If you are physically active, the park rangers will take you on a snowshoe walk of the area (they provide the snowshoes) which is fun, informative- not terribly strenuous - its a wonderland in the winter.

May still might be a little chlly here so be prepared for that.
Do you have reservations for Portland yet? Need suggestions? You can use Portland as a base for the Gorge and wine country.

The prettiest part of the coast that I am familiar with is between Lincoln City to just south of Florence- there are lots of beautiful places to explore and I would recommend a couple of nights in that area.

spirobulldog

Crater Lake is open year round, but I don't really think it would be a best experience it for your first time in the snow. The drive around the rim is really nice, staying in the lodge is great, and taking the boat ride to wizard island is great. I even jumped in the lake.

artpat

if someone could give me a daily itinerary from portland that would be appreciated

happytrailstoyou

If you eliminate Crater Lake from your wish list, I would give it a try.

HTTY

PaulRabe

I did the two week vacation you're planning this last summer. Like HappyTrails, I won't (can't?) give a good two week itinerary unless you eliminate Crater Lake. It's just too far out of the way.

Also, how far can you drive in a day? I left Florida late morning one day and was back in Philly by 3:30 pm the next day -- AFTER visiting Warm Springs State Park. Definitely NOT recommended, but some people can drive for longer time periods than others.

spirobulldog

I think this is way to much for a 2 week trip. Your going to have to cut out something. Either something on the North or something on the south.

I say do Oregon or Washington, not both. For instance, if you are doing Washington, surely you would want to see San Juan Islands- this is a 2-3 day deal. There is just a lot to see at most of these places you mention. I don't think you have enough time for everything. Not sure when in May you were planning on going, but it is too early for a lot of the main features for all of the National Parks that you mention.

I'll give you a couple of idea's though

Arrive Portland

3 Days
See Rose Garden and Chinese Garden, Powell's Bookstore, Stumptown Roasters. We really like Toro Bravo, Papa Hadyns, Kenny and Zukes, and Voodoo Doughnuts for dining while there.
Take a day trip and drive to Mount St.Helens- be sure and watch the Movie at the visitor center(this is something I wouldn't recommend at most nps sites, but this one is good).

2 days
Drive to Columbia River Gorge, maybe eat at the Restaurant next to Multnomah falls, Drive "Fruit Loop" on to Mount Hood
Overnight Mount Hood Timberline Lodge

2 days
Drive to Crater Lake
Overnight in Crate Lake Lodge
Take Boat Tour of Lake

2 days
From Crater Lake drive to Grants Pass
Do Hellgate's Jet Boat Tour there
overnight @ Oregon Cave's Chateau

1 day
From there drive to Redwoods National Park
Drive Stout Grove dirt road for 12 miles
see Stout Tree

2-4 days
Continue up Oregon Coast
There is a ton to be seen here
after Cannon Beach or Astoria- back into Portland
could work a day in for 1 country coming back from coast


PLAN 2

4-5 days
Portland and Columbia as similar to plan 1

1 day Mount Rainier

2 days Northern Cascades

2-3 days Olympic

2 days San Juan Islands

artpat

thanks for the advise. ithourht portland to mt hood & colubia gorge day 2, portland to st helen and mt ranier day3,4, north cascade day 5, olympic day 6, 7,oregon coast days 8,9, 10 crater lake day 11, wine country day 12. portland day13,14 i will arrive in portland on may 14. we will not do alot of hiking,mostly motoring and stopping thank you all for your input. i hope i receive more advise.

Orcas

artpat, I am struggling with this. Where are you from? Is there a reason you are not interested in seeing Seattle, Vancouver BC, or Victoria?

It is a long way to go to Crater Lake. I am not sure you will be able to see it:

From the National Park Service website: "Plowing of the Rim Drives, North Entrance Road and the Pinnacles Road typically starts in mid to late April. West Rim Drive and North Entrance Road can open to vehicles as early as mid June. East Rim Drive and the Pinnacles Road do not normally open to vehicles until July."

Here is a map:

http://www.nps.gov/PWR/customcf/apps...ational%20Park

Gardylou, where are you? I'm thinking your trip is very mountain heavy in a time of very iffy weather. It might be nice to get east of the Cascades for some sunshine in the high desert. It's a good contrast.

Orcas

PS. the boat on Crater Lake is not running at this time. This is not a possibility.

happytrailstoyou

I like 3,000-, 4,000-, and 5,000-mile road trips, but your itinerary is way too ambitious in fourteen days.

Crater Lake is more off the beaten path than it appears on a map because driving is slow going and not as scenic as one might hope. In addition, in 2009, the north entrance to the park didn't open until June 2 and the Rim Drive did not open until late June.

I also cannot conceive of driving through Seattle and not stopping.

My choice of itinerary would be: (1) Portland. (2) Columbia River Gorge, staying at Hood River and visiting Mt. Hood from there. (3) Mt. Rainier, staying in Seattle for two nights . (4) The Cascade Loop, staying in Winthrop. (5) Whidbey Island, staying in Coupeville. (6) Ferry to Port Townsend and the Olympic National Park, staying at Lake Crescent Lodge and Lake Quinault Lodge. (7) The Oregon Coast, staying at Cannon Beach, Newport or Yachats. (8) Oregon Wine Country. (9) Portland.

HTTY

spirobulldog

Let me just say that even the ideas that I gave and what others have given is no the way I would to the trip at all. Again, May is to early for most of it, and there is still way way to much even if you do omit Crater Lake. Most every place you mention you need a few days, not a few hours.

This really makes no sense to me at all.

happytrailstoyou

I think the trip is very doable if Crater Lake and North Cascade Loop are eliminated and if the trip to Oregon Wine Country does not include an over night stay (although I would also skip the Wine Country because of traffic congestion getting in and out of it).

I once gave a fifteen-year-old girl a 45-minute tour of The Metropolitan Art Museum that completely satisfied her. Perhaps artpat, like that girl, enjoys being on the move in appealing surroundings.

HTTY