Crater Lake and Coast
 

Hi,

We are in the early stages of planning our 2nd trip to OR (we fell in love). This past July we went to Cannon Beach and Portland and next year we want to go to Crater Lake and another coastal location. We were thinking either Yachats but open to suggestions. We will be traveling with a 6 and 3 year old, that love beach combing and tidal pools and hiking. We also want to be near the aquarium and Sea Lion caves.

Also not sure which city would be best to fly into... I am thinking Eugene?

And should we go to coast first then Crater Lake or vise versa?

Thanks for your help...

If you click on my name you will see my trip report, What's not to love about Oregon. Our trip was childless, but you may find some helpful information. We started in Portland, went to Yachats and then to Crater Lake, Bend and back to Protland. Yachats is a good location for the Sea Lions Cave and the aquarium. Heceta Lighthouse is not too far -- and you may enjoy that
http://www.hecetalighthouse.com/.
There is a short hike from the parking lot or if your kids like longer hikes you can take the one from the trail head, up the road a piece from the lighthouse. Yachats is small with much less to do then Cannon Beach outside of what nature offers you and the caves and aquarium. I love it and think its one of the nicest parts of the coast.

I think flying into Eugene is convenient. I don't think it matters which you go to first.

I agree that Yachats would be a good spot, but not just because of proximity to Sea Lion Caves and the Aquarium. The beachscape around Yachats is simply spectacular, especially at Overleaf Lodge. And I wouldn't put Sea Lion Caves high on my list. I think your kids would probably more enjoy seeing the sea lions on the docks along Newport's waterfront.

Crater Lake is one of Oregon's "must sees", but offers little to entertain a 6 and 3 year-old. There's a boat that tours the lake, but the hike from the rim down to water's edge and back up is arduous for many adults, let alone little ones. So, if you're thinking overnights, I'd limit it to one, enough time to watch a sunset from the deck of the Lodge, and sunrise the next morning. If you're hoping to stay in the Lodge, try to make reservations NOW.

I also agree that it doesn't matter where you fly in and out of, so choose the city where you'll get the best fare; PDX would be my guess. It's only two hours from Eugene. Medford might be a possibility, but I'd consider that only if you're planning a loop to include Crater Lake and the central and southern coast. Ever seen the giant redwoods?

How much time are you planning? And when?

Thanks for the replys... Yestravel I will pull up your trip report.

We are planning for next July... We have already booked 3 nights at Crater Lake, so maybe I need to rethink that... overall we will have about 2 weeks for the whole trip... If we fly into PDX we would stay there a few days and then 7 days in Yachats and 3 nights at Crater lake. Not sure what we would do if we flew into Eugene. And yes there is quite a big difference in fares to Eugene vs. PDX and most flights go into PDX first and then on to Eugene (we are coming from Phx, AZ).

But no we have not ever seen the Giant Redwoods... Beachbum I would love to hear your suggestions to include this?

I tend to agree with Beachbum about the length of stay at Crater lake. We were there only 1 night and that worked fine. However, there were Ranger Rick talks etc for kids. Not sure how young the talks are geared at, but I saw kids around 6 at them. Also since it's a bit of a drive from the Coast or from Portland to Crater lake, I think with children you would want to stay 2 nights. There are lots of hikes that you could do and the boat ride is a possibility depending upon your kids abilities in terms of the hike to get there.

In terms of the Sea Lions cave, I've not been, but have a good friend with a child and they love it. Go with ther child each time she is in Yachats.

Ahhh.... It's good to see you're allowing yourselves enough time to really enjoy the places you'll be stopping, EBZ. Much better than the roadtrip we did two years ago from our Portland area home. Our one-week itinerary was Portland - Yachats - Gold Beach - via US 101 and 199 through Jed Smith redwood grove in northern CA to - Ashland - Crater Lake - Portland.

You could do something similar; just cut out Ashland and time in other places to give yourselves two nights in Gold Beach. Port Orford to Brookings has arguably the best scenery of the entire Oregon coast, and the kids would probably enjoy a jetboat trip up the Rogue River. Time permitting, they'd almost certainly also enjoy a walk through Prehistoric Gardens, which was cheesey even when I was a kid. But I read recently that it's still very popular.

I should probably fess up as to why I shy from recommending Sea Lion Caves. Besides the cost ($8 I think) and the aroma of the caves, I think the building is a blight on the coast. Have a look south from Haceta Head Lighthouse, and I bet you'll agree. Plus, the sea lions on the docks in Newport provide a more up-close-and-personal experience in my opinion.

I would go to Crater Lake first and then to the coast, staying in the vicinity of Cape Perpetua.

Considering you are traveling with young children, you should be warned that it the drive to and from Crater Lake is long and, I'm sorry to say, pretty boring even for adults.

IMHO a better trip for your family would be the Oregon Coast and the Redwoods in Northern California.

Also, Overleaf lodge is a nice place, but, if I recall correctly, it does not have a swimming pool.

With children, I would be inclined to book one of the deluxe rooms with a small kitchen on the top floor of the Hallmark in Newport. The Hallmark also has easy access to a very expansive beach.

I think the Sea Lion Caves are worth a visit at least once - and the sealions in Newport are not always there in the summer - I was there with family once in Jul and there was not a one to be seen.

I think your kids might like the dunebuggy rides around Florence - very fun in my opinion and also Honeyman State Park where they can play on the dunes.

Strawberry Hill is a nice place to go tidepooling and frequently there are seals laying out on the rocks sunning themselves - not far from Yachats.

There are some nice hikes along the Umqua River with waterfalls that your kids might enjoy and not too difficult- Tokatee Falls is a nice one

Close to Crater Lake is Diamond Lake - there is a nice walking/bike path around the lake and you can rent bikes at the store. There is also a swim area and you can rent paddle boats.



Eugene is more expensive to fly into but it sure is easy - I think there are only 4 gates.

have a fun trip

The sea lions in the Sea Lion Caves are every bit as interesting as the ones lounging on rocks in the Strait of Magellan (and a lot more conveniently located)!

If you ask the person selling tickets, he or she will tell you how many seals are in residence and how many are in the cave.

There is so much to do on the Oregon Coast--the aforementioned dunebuggy rides, jet boat ride on the Rogue River, sea lions, acquarium, tidal pools....

Whale watching....

This summer we did an 8-day roadtrip from our home in Portland to the Redwoods and back up the coast with stops in Bandon and Yachats. We did this trip with kids ages 7 and 3 who also love beach combing, tide pooling, and hiking.

I'd DEFINITELY recommend Yachats - stayed at the Overleaf Lodge and loved its proximity to the crashing waves. Each sunset we headed out onto the outcroppings to watch the light disappear and attempt to stay dry...lots of fun. Yachats has some great little pocket beaches. One afternoon, we were planning to walk north from the hotel to a big sand beach that we could see, but we found a tiny little sand beach just down the path and had it to ourselves all afternoon. Just lovely. And Cape Perpetua had fabulous tide pools.

Bandon beaches also were great in a different way - very dramatic rock formations that the kids loved crawling on. And we found good agates, green jasper, etc.

The aquarium is wonderful and definitely worth a stop, but I do agree with some other posters about the Sea Lion Caves. It has high kitsch value, and the fact that it's been there for 70-some years is pretty cool...but there are better sea lions to see elsewhere - for free.

I'd be happy to share any other findings - sounds like our kids have some similar interests, so I might (or might not!) be of some help. You can email [email protected].

Forgot to mention that we tried to do a dunebuggy ride but were told that the kids were too young or short (can't remember which). Bummer.

About five miles south of Yachats is a turnout from the highway called Strawberry Hills. It has some rocks going out in the water and there are often seals on them. You can get closer than at the Sea Lion Caves. It's an easy spot and quite scenic.

<i>About five miles south of Yachats is a turnout from the highway called Strawberry Hills. It has some rocks going out in the water and there are often seals on them. You can get closer than at the Sea Lion Caves. It's an easy spot and quite scenic.</i>

Thanks, Orcas. HTTY

Thank you everyone for all of your insightful tips... We have a lot to think about.

It's been a long, long time since I visited Crater Lake, but the one thing I can add is TAKE WARM CLOTHES! Even in summer it can get chilly.

flsd--That is true. The weather there changes in an instant. Of course the last time we were there it was a freak heat wave...100 degrees down at the lake itself. We were all stripping as much as we could. Then get up to the lodge and are freezing. You just never know, lol! So yes...layers are definitely needed here.