I am interested in your ideas to plan a 10 day vacation starting the end of July, arriving and departing from Portland. We are two adult couples interested in scenic beauty, hiking and culture. Please help!

We made our first 10 day trip to the Portland area last year and it was one of the most scenic and wonderful vacations ever! Portland is a wonderful, small city. We spent two days there and they have great hiking and parks to explore. Just 20 minutes out of town the Columbia Gorge begins. The hikes were magnificent and the best we'd even taken. We spent three days hiking and stayed at the Skamania Lodge. We also visited Bonneville dam and fishery, the Columbia River Interpretive Center (both highly recommended) and other sights. Then we returned to Portland and drove about 90 minutes to Cannon Beach. The coastline is breathtaking and Cannon Beach was charming. For not much money, we stayed right on the beach. Cannon Beach is next to gorgeous parks. We drove down the coast quite a way but we thought that Cannon Beach was the highlight. I'd recommend staying in Cannon Beach and exploring only as far south as Oswald West State Park (superb)and just north to Ecola State Beach. If you have more time, you can do more but these highlights are worth the time. You'll need to buy a book on Portland and a specific book on hiking and the sights of the Columbia Gorge to really make the right hiking choices.

How far down the coast did you travel? Is it possible to include Ashland and Crater Lake in this same 10 day time frame?

We traveled as far as Cape Lookout so we hardly touched the coast. There's no way you can do the southern part in the same trip. I'm just now planning a trip to southern Oregon for this month. With hiking, wildlife refuges, coastal sightseeing and a few interesting tours, we don't have time for Crater Lake or river rafting even though my husband and I are up at 5AM and we don't dilly dally. There's just so much to see and do that you'd be shortchanging yourself to try to fit more in. Also, if you're traveling with others, you'll have less time because you'll want to eat meals together rather than grabbing a sandwich to go and you'll be travelling slower in a group. You're going to love Oregon. You'll just have to come back again!

Ten days is a good amount of time to loop from the high desert of eastern Oregon, though Ashland and Crater Lake and up the coastal rainforests and back to Portland. My suggestion:
Day 1: Hike and photograph the Columbia River Gorge, which is just east of Portland. Take the scenic Hwy. First visit Vista House. Then find Latourell Falls and take the short hike to it. Stop at the obligatory and crowded Multnomah Falls. Then picnic at Lower Horsetail Falls, taking that trail from that site. The trail goes through a sort of cave behind Upper Horsetail Falls, so the falls thunder down in front of you. The trail is a loop, basically. You can return to Portland to enjoy seeing some of the city.
Day 2. Head over Mt. Hood to Fossil. Visit Timberline Lodge on the Way. This is suggested in a book by Richard Harris called "22 Days in the Pacific NW." I've never been. Visit Shaniko, a ghost town. Go to the John Day Fossil Beds, Clarno Unit. Walk the trails there. Visit the Fossil Museum. (I've never been there)
Day 3. See John Day Fossil Beds Nat. Monument; Blue Basin Unit, Painted Hills Unit. Drive to Bend. Drive up the Lava Butte.
Day 4. Visit Newberry Crater Natinoal Monument, lava lands, visit the lava tube (1 1/4 mile walk through the longest known uncollapsed lava tube in Oregon. Rent a lantern at cave entrance. Go to Crater Lake.
Day 5. See Crater Lake. Go to Ashland.
See a play.
Day 6. Ashland in the morning. Drive to the Oregon Caves, the largest marble caves, I believe. Tour them that evening or in the morning. Stay overnight. (Make reservations in advance at the Oregon Caves Chateau at the Monument.) You are beginning in the wetter areas. Drive to OR Coast.
Day 7. OR coast is 350 miles of almost continuous park. Gold Beach. Tour the Rogue River. Go to the OR Dunes Nat. Rec Area. Stay in Florence
Day 8. See the Sea Lion Caves, Heceta Head, Cape Perpetua. Pull out at the Strawberry Hills turn out and see if the seals are still on the rocks.
Stay in Yachats.
Day 9. Up the coast. Drive to Cape Lookout State Pk. Hike out on the point, for a rainforest hike. Stay in Canon Beach.
Day 10. Visit Ecola State Pk, north of Canon Beach. Then back to Portland.
You can lengthen or shorten any of this, if you prefer the coast to the inside. You can even just take I-5 down to Ashland and start there, going west up the coast. So many ways to do it, but you have the time, for sure.

PS. Asland is about five hours from Portland via I-5. I just read the email above saying there isn't time. It depends on what you want to do. You can slice it any way, but you can definitely fit in Asland and drive up the coast in ten days.
If you want to see the high desert, you could go east over Mt. Hood (via Timberline Lodge) to Bend in one day.
Day 2. Visit the lava fields around Bend and arrive at Crater Lake.
Day 3. Crater Lake to Ashland.
Day 4. Ashland.
Day 5. To the coast. Five days coming up the coast, via the dunes, Cape Perpetua, Lookout Point, to Canon Beach is good! Even four is workable.
Play with your itinerary. You can do it without killing yourself.

Hi,

I can't remember the duration of our vacation. We did a loop from Portland Oregon. We drove to Columbia Gorge and did some hiking.

We drove to Mt. Rainier, spent one day hiking and enjoyed the alpine flowers and great views. We spent the night in the lodging at the park.

We drove to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park (really spectacular views) and went hiking. I can't remember if we stayed anywhere in between.

We stayed two nights in the Port Angels area (B&B). We took the ferry to Victoria on one of the days to visit the Buchart Gardens.

We did a day hike in the Hoh Rain Forest (Olympic National Park). I highly recommend this.

We continued on to the Mora-Lapush area (Olympic National Park) for some hikes in the beach area. Sunset is a great time at the beach. We went on a range-guided tour of the tidal pools.

We stopped off at Ecola state park and took some really nice photos.

Bandon beach is also something which you shouldn't miss if you are driving dow the Oregon coast.

We drove down the west coast of Washington and into Oregon. We went on a tour of the Hecata Head lighthouse.

We stopped off at Arcadia Beach Recreational Site and Bandon State Natural Area.

For some variety, we stopped by the Tillamook to see how they make cheese: http://www.tillamookcheese.com/visit/visithome.html

There were so many hiking trailheads close to the highway.

We drove back to Portland and enjoyed the Japanese Garden. It is supposed to be one of the best in the US. We also enjoyed the International Test Rose Garden. We went to Nob Hill and did some window shopping.

Hopefully this would give you some ideas.

Most of our time was spent on day hikes.

Thank you everyone for your responses. We have decided on the following:
Day 1- Portland
Day 2- Explore the Gorge and spend the evening in Hood Rive
Day 3&4- Drive to Cannon Beach and spend 2 nites exploring areas North and a bit South
Day 5&6- Drive down to Newport stopping along the way and staying in Newport for the next 2 nights.
Day 7&8- Driving to Ashland--experiencing several cultural events over the next 2 nights
Day 9- Driving to Crater Lake, hiking and spending the night north of the lake
Day 10- Driving back to Portland either through Bend or through Roseburgh and I-5
Any additional comments would be appreciated.

It's all subjective, of course, but I'd frankly spend one less day on the coast overall, and use that time in the area of the eastern Columbia Gorge instead, PROVIDED you don't mind hot weather. On that subject BTW, you'll get plenty of hot weather in the Medford-Ashland area. Really. Hot.

The eastern fringe of the Gorge is a pretty fascinating area. You might enjoy having a look at the Maryhill Museum on the Washington side of the river at Goldendale (US 97) - an unexpected, eclectic place, full of Rodin sculpture, several interesting collections (one of Native American artifacts which while small is superb), all set in a converted mansion overlooking the river, with peacocks calling out and the wind blowing - quite atmospheric. Down the road is a replica of Stonehenge for an added curiosity factor. Nearby, the observatory at Goldendale offers star gazing at night; you can easily get into some amazing walks on the flanks of Mt. Adams, or you can explore the little-known but easily seen Klickitat River Canyon, an awesome ravine with Class 5 rapids at the bottom. Really beautiful "old west" country all around this area.

You might consider reversing your route if it's not too late. Start by going out the Gorge and spend whatever time you have there, then take either US 97 or the Mt. Hood Hwy (US 26) down to Bend, then past Crater Lake to Medford/Ashland. From there, go north a little past Roseburg and cut over to the coast on SR 38, which parallels the Umpqua River and is easily the most scenic route through the coast mountains. From there, my recommendation would be to stay a night at Bandon - the southern Oregon coast IMO is wilder and more scenic than farther north. Then head up the coast, stopping at Newport or Cannon Beach (but not necessarily both) before heading back to Portland.

I suspect the cool coast will come as a relief to the hot interior and Rogue Valley, so that you'll end the trip more comfortable and relaxed than going the other way.

One final note - if your tastes run to the moderately funky, consider staying at McMenamin's Edgefield one night - it's on the western edge of the Columbia Gorge, and will serve as a fine and quite comfortable introduction to quirky Oregonian culture. www.mcmenamins.com

I think your trip is good.
You just can't see it all in ten days. Canon Beach is wonderful - lots of galleries, places to eat. Be sure to go picnicing and hiking at Ecola State Park, just north of town. (from Indian Beach) Also, rent funcycles, the 3 wheeled bikes on Canon Beach.
On the way south, the 3 Capes Loop at Tillamook is not to be missed, including a hike at Cape Lookout State Park.

I agree with Gardyloo, though, that you may want to stay south of Newport in Yachats. It's very pretty, with the sea lion caves nearby. Cape Perpetua is lovely - the photo of the view of the lighthouse from the Sea Lion caves is on a lot of calenders. There's a pullout just north of Yachats called Strawberry Hill where seals used to hang out on the rocks (don't know if they still do).

Personally, I'd skip spending a lot of time at Crater Lake. There's plenty of lovely hiking at the coast.

Bring shoes for muck in case the coast trails are wet (although everything seems to be dry this year).

Have a great time! I'm jealous!!! And come back some day for the area east of the Cascades. The high desert smells like sage; there's great rafting under deep blue skies, with red cliffs rising above the Deschutes; and the volcanic sights are fascinating.
I love the NW!

Hello... I am from the oregon coast and I think your Itinerary looks good! Another idea would be to skip Newport(you can walk the waterfront on the way south and maybe stay about 3 hours south in Bandon. There are some real nice spots in that area. (also a nice bed and breakfast overlooking the lighthouse)You could head back across on Hwy 42 and go South to Ashland(You wont regret going there!Depending on the time of year shakespeare festival and the Britt festival in Gold Hill are must dos! The back road from bend can be pretty long but is pretty scenic. You might consider just taking I-5 back to Portland

I just returned from 10 glorious days in Oregon! It was a sensational trip and I want to thank everyone who gave me suggestions. Oregon is a beautiful state and we pretty much stuck to our itinerary. We plan to revisit soon.

Thanks for letting everyone know how your trip was - not everyone tells the group after their trip if the advice they got was good or bad, so it's nice to know it worked out for you.