7 days in Oregon Northwest or Southwest
 

My husband and I are planning a trip to Oregon for our 25th anniversary, 7-25-07 to 8-1-07. We want to hike, visit some of the wineries and the coast. Since we're flying into Portland I was thinking about the following northwest trip based on my research.

2 days - Columbia River Gorge, Mt Hood
2 days - Bend
1 day - Willamette wineries
2 days - Coast, Cannon Beach + another spot

It seems like there are really great places in the southwestern part of the state that we're missing out on such as Crater Lake, Rogue River, Southern Coast (and the sand dunes).

I know we can't do everything so my question is should we do the norhtwest or the southwest?

My suggestion would be to stick with the itinerary you have laid out, since it comports with your expressed interests, and save SW for another trip.

I would exchange the 2 days in Bend for one more in the Gorge and one more on the coast.

Reason being, you can take the extra Gorge day and spend some time in the dry zone - out to The Dalles/Maryhill, or up to Mt. St Helens, rather than the longish road trip to Bend just to turn around and head back; then take the extra coast day and head down to Newport/Yachats/Florence instead of limiting yourself to the north coast.

Bend is not that close to the other locations, and the climate variety that Bend implies is available much closer to Portland.

You don't really have time to get to Crater Lake or the southern coast.

I wouldn't stretch to hit Crater Lake or the Rogue River, as alluring as they are. Unless you want to swap Bend for the southern coast, I'd stick with what you've already planned.

I'm wondering what you plan to do in Bend, and why two days for the gorge and Mt. Hood?

Alternatively, I'd recommend splitting your time between Portland and the coast. Do the gorge, Mt. Hood, and wineries as day trips from Portland (all easy), and pick one coastal town as your base for whatever you want to do there. Were I in your shoes, I'd pick Cannon Beach, and Stephanie Inn or Ocean Lodge. If you decide to keep central Oregon in, I think you'd prefer http://www.metoliusriverresort.com/ or http://www.thelodgeatsuttlelake.com/ to any place in Bend.

Or,

Consider a loop, starting in Portland, passing through wine country on the way to the coast. Then, down the coast to the redwoods in northern CA, and back through central Oregon to Portland, stopping at Crater Lake along the way.

Regardless of what you decide, you should be making reservations today, especially for anything outside of Portland. Once you settle on an itinerary, we can help fill in the blanks.

Re: why 2 days in Bend? I guess originally I thought it would be a good place to stay on the way to Crater Lake. But then I realized I probably wouldn't have enough time for Crater Lake so I made Bend a destination. However, at this point based on the responses I am not going to do Bend. My husband and I will probably add a day to the gorge. I will post my revised itinerary for your comments after my husband and I do a little research. Thanks to everyone for their help so far.

Heres my revised itinerary. (Do you think the route and the way I've allocated the time makes sense.):

7-25 Arrive 10:30 am, 1/2 day Portland (Portland)
7-26 Mt St Helens (Portland)
7-27 Gorge (Hood River Inn)
7-28 Mt Hood (Timberline Lodge)
7-29 Wineries (?)
7-30 Coast/Cannon Beach (Stephanie Inn)
7/31 Cannon Beach (Stepanie Inn)
8/1 Depart 12:45 pm

That looks like it would work fine, roseclare. Plan on about two hours from Cannon Beach to PDX on 8/1. If you want to stay in wine country, have a look at http://www.blackwalnut-inn.com/ or http://www.youngberghill.com/.

mark