Thel

Hi Travelers,

I will be visiting Oregon for 9 days at the end of June and have heard of Oregon's beauty. I am flying in and out of Portland. My sketchy plan includes: Mt. St. Helens for 1 day, then on to Mt Hood. I have 2 days time to spend on my way to Crater Lake, then three days driving up the coast back to Portland. Does anyone know of sights/hikes/rafting etc. that is not to be missed in the area between Mt. Hood and Crater Lake, and also along the coast. I'd also love lodging suggestions.

Thanks,

Thel

Tomsd

I think a great place to stay is outside of Bend at Paulina and Shastina? lakes - which have a number of hiking/water opportunities. http://www.paulinalakelodge.com/

For river rafting - the Rogue is terrific, and you might also consider taking a jet boat up the Rogue - starting from the Coast at Gold Beach. Here is one company and there are others: http://www.roguejets.com/

Also = check out the many posts in here under Oregon.

And one of my favorite places up the Coast - overlooking Depoe Bay - is the Surfrider Resort. http://www.surfriderresort.com/

sunbum1944

In the Bend area check out Sun Country tours- they have a variety of rafting trips. You also might check into a kayak trip. There are some beautiful mountain lakes in Central Oregon with easy flat water kayaking.
At Elk Lake you can rent kayaks at the marina. My favorite kayak lakes are Hosmer and Sparks Lake.

There are a lot of nice hikes in Oregon of course-
Deschutes River Trail- located close to Bend Oregon. Its pretty flat, goes along the Deschutes River.

Along Hwy 138 between Roseburg and Crater Lake there are a lot of waterfalls. Most of them are just short walks in to the falls. Last summer I went with a group and we did maybe 6 of them - took most of the day but we saw some spectacular scenery.

There is also a trail on the opposite side of the river- the N Umqua trail which has some beautiful scenery- we did a one way hike using a shuttle to pick us up- there is a lot of poison oak along the trail but none of us got any on us.


A hike I like at the coast starts at Heceta Head lighthouse- just north of Florence. There is a nice trail up to the lighthouse with great views-from there the trail continues on down to a secluded beach- beautiful hike -

You can stop at the Cape Perpetua Visitors center and get a trail map for that area- Although you can drive to the top of the mountain to a lookout of the area, you can also hike from the Visitors Center.

William Sullivan is the hiking guru of this area and has written many books. If you can get one of his books you will have info for many more hikes

tomfuller

The lake east of Paulina Lake is - East Lake. Shastina is in California.
Rather than driving 16 miles each way to Paulina, you should stay in Sunriver which has many miles of hiking and bike trails.
If you want a hike away from a town, drive over to the Benham Falls trailhead which is the same turnoff as the Lavalands visitor center just south of Lava Butte off US 97.
If you are visiting Crater Lake NP, you have a great hike down (and up) the Cleetwood Trail down to the the tour boat that will take you to Wizard Island.

Tomsd

Thanks Tom. Love both of those little lakes east of Bend - and also driving up to the top of nearby Newberry Crater is it - for a great view.

Sunriver is also a beautiful place to stay - and do you know if the round - Trout house on the Deschutes river is still open? Loved that placer.

And the High Desert Museum - between Bend and Sunriver - is also worth a visit.

Fodorite018

Sumbum gave many of the same suggestions as I would have. Sunriver is where we always stay and it has so much to offer, both the resort as well as the general area.

SunCountry Tours is who we always use as well, and their Big Eddy trip is a great into and a lot of fun.

Across from Lava Butte is the Lava Cave/Tube that is a great place to explore as well.

I agree, the boat tour at Crater Lake is wonderful! It really gives you a different perspective of the lake. Tickets sell out though, so buy online if you can, and if not be sure to go first thing when they open so you are not disappointed. There is also a trolley that does the rim drive.

You do not mention the Columbia River Gorge, which starts about 20 minutes east of Portland. It is beautiful and has so much to offer in sights as well as hiking, etc. You could do that after Mt St Helens on your way down to Bend. Head east on I-84, then get off at either exit 17 or 22 and take the old scenic highway stopping at places such as Portland Woman's Forum (odd name, great views), Crown Point Vista House, and Multnomah Falls among others, then into Hood River, then down hwy 35 to 26 on down to Bend.

Another thought though. You mention the coast. Most locals recommend driving north to south, as that way you can easily pull over to the viewpoints/beaches and it is easier for you to see even while driving. If you can swap your itinerary to do this, I would.

Tomsd--No, it closed a while ago. It had gone downhill significantly even 10 years ago, so not surprising. It is a Mexican place now, if I remember correctly.