1 week in Oregon - See the Coast or See Portland & Wine Country?
 

I'm new to this forum, hope someone hasn't already asked this question, I didn't see it. Anyway, a relative is getting married the first weekend in June in Cave Junction, OR. We have 6 days on either side of the wedding where we can travel around Oregon (hubs and I). We are very excited, having never been to Oregon. We'd like to drive up the Coast but are afraid that fog may ruin that experience. Coming from Colorado, I know that nobody can predict the weather and it could be foggy parts of some days and not others. However, we could also just drive over to Willamette Valley and do some wine tours and tour Portland and be just as happy. We love scenic drives & small rustic towns as much as experiencing new urban hubs. Any thoughts? Either way, it's a bunch of driving we know, but we're fine with that on this trip.

Since the wedding is in Cave Junction which is in the southern part of Oregon, You should consider flying into and out of Medford. Allegiant has cheap flights on Thursdays and Sundays from Las Vegas to Medford. You can decide from Medford whether to go North on I-5 to the wine country or N on I-5 to Grants Pass then on 199 through Cave Junction. After the wedding, you can continue on 199 to Crescent City California and see Redwood NP. Travel north on 101 through Brookings all the way up the coast to Newport and see the Oregon Coast Aquarium. You can drive from Newport to the wine country in the Willamette Valley and back south on I-5 to Medford. Save Portland for another trip.

Portland Oregon and Portland Maine are our two favorite cities! We love the size of the towns, the food scene, the crowds, the shops...on and on....I would try to get to Portland if i could. I realize it is far, but it is really a great city!

There are daily flights from Portland (and SFO)to Medford. Each of these airports have had delays due to fog within the past year. By all means, if you have the time visit Portland.

We have driven 101 down the coast many times, at various seasons, and I can't remember ever being affected by fog. Maybe I'm just lucky. As others have noted, however, you can encounter fog in either Medford or Portland (and Eugene, too).

Welcome back to Fodor's.

I'll jump in here to say, I am not in Oregon but have visited and loved the Willamette Valley. I like to imagine that it's what Napa and Sonoma were like before they mushroomed into what they are today. We enjoyed staying in a B&B and visiting the tasting rooms and restaurants in the area. Many of the wineries will be happy to give you a tour. We have also stayed on the coast and enjoyed exploring tide pools there. Either option would be a great way to see and enjoy Oregon.

Also, If you look at the upper right hand corner of this screen, you will find a Search the Forums box where you can enter the search terms for your destination and pull up lots of archived posts with great information!

Have a great trip! Saige

You can do both! You can spend a day exploring the wineries in the Rogue Valley and then make your way up I-5 towards the wineries in the mid-Willamette Valley. If you have time, take a quick trip into Portland. Visit Powells Books and the Pearl District. Then back on I-5 south, take highway 22 towards the coast. People say the gently rolling hills in this area remind them of France. Once you reach Lincoln City, travel south.. but drive slowly. There are waysides and parks and beaches every few miles and sometimes, every 1/2 mile. Each have their own unique features. Boiler Bay is, well... boiling at high tide. At low tide you can see sea anenomes in the tide pools. In early June the weather could be 70 and sunny, or 50 and foggy. But that will be true any time of the year, even during the hottest days of summer. Be prepared and dress for anything. If you are running short of time, make plans to head east on highway 42, just south of Coos Bay. That will bring you back to I-5 so you can travel to Cave Junction in time for the wedding. Otherwise, continue south because there is much more to see: Bandon, Port Orford, Brookings, the redwoods. Oh, and come back to Oregon again so you can visit Crater Lake.

Are you driving or flying from Colorado? Do you have a total of about 2 weeks, not 1?

We are flying in - we only have 1 week, so we can either vacation before the wedding or after it.

Lots of great suggestions here - thank you! True, I hadn't thought (very hard obviously) about getting fog in Portland. I was just thinking the coastal drive is a lot about the scenery, more so than the winery tour or visiting Portland, and worried we'd be disappointed if it was foggy the whole time. I like the idea of first visiting the wineries, then Portland, heading back down the coast, and then on to the wedding. Hopefully that isn't too much to try to do in 6 days.

We recently stayed at The Allison Inn & Spa in Newburg, Oregon. This is a beautiful property with a fantastic restaurant, Jory where we had appetizers, dinner and breakfast during our stay. You will be close to lots and lots of wonderful places to wine taste. Have fun! ***kim*** ((#))

Fog is not common here, not like other places. Your timing puts you here during the Portland Rose Festival. Lots of fun things going on, but the local joke is that we don't need to pay attention to weather reports since it usually rains that entire time;) Anyway, if you plan on staying in Portland, be sure to check your dates against the festival events. Hotel rooms fill up, etc so just plan ahead.

I would drive up to Portland, hitting some wineries on the way up. Possibly even stay overnight around McMinnville. Newberg is north of there by about 20 minutes. There are loads of places to stay between these 2 areas, and this is an area chuck full of wineries. My advise is to go with the smaller wineries as you will get a much better experience. If you need any help with this area, just ask as I live about 5 minutes from Newberg and a bunch of the wineries.

Your idea of driving down the coast is good. It makes it much easier for pulling over to check places out, and then getting back on the highway. Along the northern portion of the coast, that is high season and quite a few places will have 2 or even 3 night minimum stays. You can sometimes squeeze in between other peoples bookings, but that doesn't always work out.

Enjoy your time here:)