buckminster

Still working on my itinerary for 9 nights in Oregon next September.

Here's the tentative plan:

Friday: Arrive Portland in afternoon. Stay at Hotel Monaco.

Saturday: Hang out in Portland. Stay at Monaco.

Sunday: Spend day in Columbia Gorge. Stay at Monaco.

Monday: Drive to Cannon Beach. Stay at Ocean Lodge, Stephanie Inn, or Surfsand.

Tues: Cannon Beach

Wednesday: Drive down the coast with many stops. Stay in Yachats at Overleaf Lodge.

Thursday: Yachats at Overleaf.

Friday: drive inland back towards Portland. Stay in Dundee at Black Walnut Inn.

Saturday: Black Walnut Inn

Sunday: Drive to Portland by noon for 2 pm flight back to Chicago.


A few questions:

This is our first vacation without kids (youngest will have left for college). We don't expect there will be many kids traveling in September, but in choosing a hotel for Cannon Beach, we're not sure which is right for us. Surfsand sounds popular here,
but maybe quite large and family oriented? The Ocean Lodge sounds like it might suit us better (we like quiet, smaller hotels), but how much farther from town is it? We like walking and it is nice to be able to walk to restaurants. I understand the Stephanie Inn is right next door to Ocean Lodge and they accept 2 night stays, but I think it might be pricier. We're lovers of luxury but in a laid back atmosphere if that makes sense.

I also just found out Ocean Lodge has a 3 night minimum stay, so if we go there, we would have to cut a night off at the end in the Willamette wine country. That might be ok because we are big ocean lovers and don't get to see it much living in Chicago. Also, we like wineries but would choose hiking and the beach over touring wineries.

Last question:

How is the drive inland from Yachats? We would have to cross the coastal ranges to get to Highway 5. Is that difficult? Not sure how long it would take us to get from Yachats to Dundee. If it isn't too long, one night in Dundee might be enough.

Thanks for your help. I also wrote down many of the restaurant suggestions you've provided on the other post.

Andrew

Believe it or not, the fastest way from Yachats back to Dundee is back up 101 and then over from Lincoln City on Highway 18 and Highway 99W to Dundee, without I-5. Google Maps claims that's about 2.5 hours which sounds about right to me - I've driven part of that (Newport to Dundee and on to Portland) many times and 101 to 18 is usually the fastest way.

You could drive another route inland from the coast without backtracking on 101, but there are no roads from there I think are all that amazing. I'd probably just go back up 101, honestly. You'd get one last look at the beautiful coast, perhaps at a different time of day, and have a last chance to visit anything you think you missed on the way down.

Dundee back to Portland on a good day would probably be 1.5 hours, but traffic on Highway 99W can really back up; Sunday morning probably wouldn't be bad but you never know. Still, I probably wouldn't recommend staying in Dundee the final night. If it were me, I'd drive back to Portland, dump the rental car, and stay one last night at the Monaco, with a relaxing evening in Portland to revisit a favorite restaurant you've been raving about all week from your first visit, then take the MAX train back to the airport the next morning.

Bobmrg

Don't think of the Coast Range in the same way that you might think of the Rockies or Cascades. The route is more hilly than mountainous. Drive up to where highway 18 intersects 101 (north of Lincoln City) and you will be on your way to Dundee.

Scarlett

I like your itinerary a lot.
The Stephanie Inn is pricey and doesn't allow small children so you might appreciate it more there..

I , too, would skip the 2nd night at the Black Walnut and go back to town.

Have a wonderful time!

buckminster

Thanks, everyone. Now I'm wondering if we should skip wine country altogether. I originally picked it because I was thinking it would be a convenient place to stay our last night (and because the Black Walnut Inn looked so nice), but if it's safer time wise to go back to Portland, maybe we should spend more time at the coast or even add an overnight in the Columbia River Gorge area at the front end of the trip. Any thoughts on that?

Also, regarding Cannon Beach, how far out of town are the Lodge at CB and the Stephanie Inn? Is it walkable? And if anyone has stayed at Surfside as well as these other properties, how do they compare? Is Surfside much larger/noisier?

Thanks again!

Beth

buckminster

After further reading on the forum and replies to my earlier post, I think we will skip the wine country/Dundee area. Although we could see Columbia River Gorge as a day trip, we are now thinking of adding a night there for a more leisurely visit and time to visit Mt Hood if we want.

Revised itinerary:

Fri: Arrive Portland. Hotel Monaco

Sat: Hang out in Portland

Sun: Drive to Gorge, stop overnight somewhere (Hood River?)

Mon: Drive to Cannon Beach in afternoon. Stay in Cannon Beach

Tues: Cannon Beach

Wed: Cannon Beach

Thurs: Yachats Overleaf Lodge

Friday: Yachats " "

Saturday: Drive to Portland. Hotel Monaco

Sunday: Fly home

Kathysa

We stayed at the Inn at Cannon Beach (www.atcannonbeach.com) last April and were very pleased with it. You can easily walk to the beach, but it was rather a long walk into the center of town. Cannon Beach was beautiful.

Andrew

I think an extra night on the coast isn't a bad idea, but I would probably not spend three nights in Cannon Beach. Maybe do 2, stop a night in Newport, and then the next two in Yachats. While Cannon Beach is a terrific (but tiny) town with a nice beach, you might find yourself antsy there after three nights. Another option would be to stay the first night on the coast in Astoria (which is a neat town and worth seeing anyway) then a quick 30 minute drive the next day to Cannon Beach.

The Gorge is a really easy day trip from Portland, and I personally wouldn't bother staying in Hood River unless you find a unique B&B or something (which I don't know of but someone might). I'd probably just stay another night in Portland. The only unique place I can suggest in the area is the McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale, on the very western edge of the Gorge (still only 25 miles from downtown Portland). McMenamins operate a chain of local pubs and unique theme hotels/mini-resorts. The Edgefield is in a former "poor farm" that has been converted into a complex of restaurants, bars, golf course, etc. It's a neat place worth a stop even if you don't stay overnight. McMenamins is a uniquely Oregon experience if you are hoping to experience local culture.

Since there are so many interesting things to explore in Portland, I'd probably then do the Gorge on that last full day and be able to eat dinner in Portland before heading to the Coast the next day.

Scarlett

http://blog.oregonlive.com/terryrich...ecannon_beach/

Read this blog...scroll down and you will see photos of the Stephanie Inn , beach etc..give you an idea of how it all looks.
It is right there in town, everything is walkable .. same with SurfSand.

If I were doing your trip..this is what I would do ( based on living in Portland and taking short trips to the Coast and wineries etc)

Stay in Portland at the Monaco..
Do the wineries as a day trip...really that is all it is worth..
Do the Gorge as a day trip..
The Coast can be done as a day trip also but there, I would book a hotel, right in the middle of town and stay a couple/3 nights..you can drive up and down 101, see Manzanita, the state parks, appreciate the coastline and get a small taste of that amazing coastline..
Then go back to Portland and spend your last night in town, grab a cab in the am to the airport..

I hate packing and unpacking on trips so I really like to cut down how many hotel stays are in one trip. For 9 nights, this idea works for me

Hope I helped and didn't just make things worse lol

CaptCanuck

Love Love Love Cannon Beach and the Stephanie Inn...my wife and I have enjoyed getaways there the last 4 springs. They have some great off season/mid week rates...how can you go wrong with a place that has a wine hour and a nightcap hour?
5 minute drive to town...20 minute walk along the beach to get there..but never is a problem.
In Cannon Beach, we have enjoyed eating at Newman's and Bistro (not Gower St. Bistro)..great takeout pizza at Pizza a Fetta...and the pub just down the road from the Steph. Inn was also great for a casual bite.
By the way, this year we also stayed at the Monaco in Portland and enjoyed our stay there.
cheers,
CC

buckminster

Thanks Andrew and Scarlett!! I'm starting to go cross-eyed so I think I better go have a glass of wine. (It's after 5 here )

You both have confused me further, but I love it! If we do stay 3 nights in Cannon Beach, Andrew, it will really only be two full days, because we would arrive late in the day after going to Mt Hood and then head south down the coast the morning after our third night. I think the hubster really wants to go to Mt Hood. But I'll read up on the Newport area.

I was looking at the website for the Columbia Gorge Hotel and it looks really nice. The reviews on trpadvisor weren't so great, but I read they are updating the whole place, so I'll have to find out more about the timing on that. The website says the hotel is an hour from Portland airport, so we might stay there one night and then continue to Mt Hood the next morning. I'm guessing it would be maybe three hours drive to Cannon Beach the following day from Mt Hood?

I know what you mean about the packing/unpacking. We took our 3 kids to Seattle a few summers ago, and I definitely did not want to keep changing hotels so we stayed the whole week in one spot. We were plenty busy but wished we had moved a bit because some of the trips we took outside of Seattle were very long days and we ended up skipping some stuff (like Mt Hood!) But Portland sounds like it would be easier to do day trips outside the city than Seattle was.

johnthedorf

I have stayed st the Columbia Gorge Hotel and liked it very much. The "Breakfast" deal can be passed on unless you are a glutton. The grounds are terrific.

beachbum

Yes, about three hours +/- from Mt. Hood to Cannon Beach, depending on traffic. And I think CaptCanuck walks a little faster than most. Stephanie Inn (and Ocean Lodge) is about 1.5 miles from the center of town, but when you're walking along the beach, you'll want to dawdle a bit, especially around Haystack Rock.

I'm not sure why the recommendation to spend a night in Newport before moving on to Yachats. They're only 25 miles apart.

1JAR

We did this trip 2 summers ago.. 2 thngs I would add, you can drive thru part of "Wine Country" on the day you go back to Portland..we did and stopped at a few of the wineries we were intersted in. Keep in mind the wineries are not like Napa..rather distances apart and most close by 5 pm.

Also I would stay at Stephanie Inn..a first class Inn ..just be sure you get a second Floor Ocean front room...they have a van and will take you to town..you can walk around and then call and they will p/u.

Andrew

beachbum: I'm not sure why the recommendation to spend a night in Newport before moving on to Yachats. They're only 25 miles apart.

My recommendation was to break up the time and not spend 3 nights in Cannon Beach. I suggested Astoria (before Cannon Beach) or Newport after. Having an extra night in a different town gives you one more beach to explore at dusk, one more place to explore the restaurants and the town, etc. without needing to drive to and from them. Most of the Oregon Coast towns aren't very big. Unless you really want just to relax and do little, you'll get the gist of the areas very quickly.

Sure, you could drive into Newport from Yachats or to Astoria from Cannon Beach, but will you have the same experience? Doubt it.

phyllisj

If you would like to stay in the Gorge, a lovely place is the Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, WA, which is just a hop over the river at Cascade Locks. It is a quick trip from there back to Portland.

http://www.skamania.com/

Enjoy your time here!