Chico

My husband and I will be traveling by motorcycle in September from Chico, CA to Olympia, WA. On the way we would like to spend a night or two on the Oregon Coast and on our return a night in Eugene. Any recommendation for a nice hotel, motel, etc. within walking distance to a nice restaurant?

allyboy

Just returned from 4 days on the coast and loved Webb's Scenic Surf in Cannon Beach. We had a balcony view of the beach with a private deck (room #14)that was great. The owner Jim Webb is a great host with lots of suggestions for restaurants and all within walking distance. We had dinner at the Bistro and enjoyed it.

jimshep

We also enjoyed a recent visit to Cannon Beach. We stayed at the Hallmark in a Queen room with a view of the ocean and had a very good meal at the nearby Wayfarer.

jimshep

I just realized you want to spend two nights on the Oregon coast. Bandon is another great place--about 200 miles south of Cannon Beach. We had a big room at the Best Western and liked it. On the way to Cannon Beach, it is worthwhile to visit Shore Acres State Park and the other two nearby parks. Don't miss the garden, which wasn't clearly marked when we visited because signs were apparently taken down because of construction.

beachgirl

I've stayed at both Webb's and the Hallmark and liked both equally well. Hallmark is right across from Haystack Rock and so if you are beachfront, you can get some great views. I thought Webb's rooms were nicer, however. The Hallmark is getting a little dingy and needs to be updated some, in my opinion. Regarding Eugene, there aren't many hotels to stay at. It seems like your best bet there is a B and B. The Valley River Inn is probably the nicest hotel in town if you want a hotel. It is not near the great restaurants, however. You need to go into downtown Eugene to do restaurants (I would suggest Zenon or Beppe and Gianni's - Beppe's does not do reservations, however). I would suggest the Campbell House B and B to stay at. It is a very nice place (I went to a bridal shower there and looked around - it is far nicer than any hotel in Eugene, including Valley River) and you are right near downtown. I don't think it's within walking distance to Zenon or Beppe's but it is way closer to town than the Valley River Inn. The Secret Garden B and B puts you closest to the nicer restaruants probably, but it is not half as nice as the Campbell House.

SaraLM

I second the recommendation to stay in Bandon on the south coast. It would be about right if you stayed further north the next night. Just so you know, hwy 101 goes inland until about Florence so you won't have very many views from the hwy until Florence but those from Florence to beyond Lincoln City will make up for it!

Eugene.... I live too close to know any place to stay. I'll have to investigate some time. Valley River Inn is well known and probably nice enough, it is on the river and close to 'stuff'.

panhandle

Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast in Bandon is very nice. Views of the Jetty and lighthouse. Breakfasts are very nice as well.They have a website with pictures do a search on google.Inn at Face Rock is also a good choice. You wont find too many accomodations in Eugene to be memorable.
Most places are your typical roadsides(Shilo, Red Lion,Holiday Inn) Valley River Inn would be a good choice...so would continuing up the coast or going up to Portland.

MileKing

You might try Priceline for Eugene hotels. Several times I have successfully received the Eugene Hilton on Priceline bids of less than $40. The hotel is very nice and right in the middle of Eugene.

Chico

First of all thank you all for your very helpful advice. It looks like we will be spending one night on the way to Olympia, WA in Newport. This most likely will be our second night. Any ideas for a one night stop-over half-way between Chico and Newport? (Coastal or non-coastal). Also, thank you for your ideas for Eugene regarding downtown hotels and B&Bs. Any more helpful ideas would be greatly appreciated.

panhandle

There are a couple stops that would be nice between Newport and Chico. One idea would be Brookings if you wanted to stick with the coastal root...Bandon is a couple hours north as well.
Ashland, Oregon might be a nice stop as well. They have a great downtown,theater, nice places to eat. If you do decide to skip the south coast and take I-5 up, Dont cut over to late. I would recommend cutting across to Florence then head up to Newport.
The drive between Florence and Newport is, in my opinion the best section of the coast.
Grants Pass has the Rogue Jetboat excursions which are fun...not sure how late into fall they run but it is pretty hot here until mid to late September.

SaraLM

Newport is a fun little town - my favorite (though I need to go to Cannon Beach again since people on here like it so much).

If you are hurrying up and going up I5 then Ashland or Jacksonville would be a good place to stop. Both have fun B&Bs. Ashland is a bigger town, much more popular, and also more expensive lodging wise, but has fun shops and restaurants. Jacksonville is a historic town that is kinda fun, much smaller than Ashland.

If you are on the coast then probably as mentioned Bandon is your best bet. Southern Oregon coast is just not as busy or populated. Though Chico to Bandon may be a bit too far.

I definately recommend the coastal route between Florence and Lincoln City - just beautiful. Eugene to Florence is probably one of the easiest/fastest/straightest routes from I5.

My favorite B&B website www.bbexplorer.com/oregon/

Enjoy! Sept is beautiful here. Cool, crisp mornings/evenings but lovely days.

Chico

Thank you all again for your helpful advice. On the way to Olympia we will be staying our first night at The Steamboat Inn along the Umpqua River and from there cut across to the coast either at Eugene or south of Eugene and spend the second night in Newport. On our return I took Beachgirl's advice and booked a room at the Campbell House B&B in Eugene. (Any advice for a nice restaurant within walking distance?) From Eugene we will head back to Chico. Does anyone recommend any interesting back roads or a place to stay halfway between Eugene and Chico? We are thinking of cutting across to Bend and then home.

April

Three years ago we booked into the Valley River Inn in Eugene. I liked the riverside path outside but the building seemed like a cheap, wooden convention hotel. After being kept awake by noise half the night, we moved over to the Campbell House Inn. It was fantastic, one of my all-time favourite places to stay. Even though we arrived unannounced, the staff raced around frantically making beds so they could show us each of the different rooms looking nice and then, since they weren't busy, we got to have our choice.

Breakfast was good and several tables were set up in the room. The only thing that might bother you is the noise from the nearby train station, although it didn't bother me. So, if things haven't changed in three years, you're in for a treat.

I don't know where the closest restaurant would be, but we thought it was fun to eat in the railroad dining car at the Oregon Electric Station.

panhandle

Possible side trips from Eugene to Chico could be...taking Hwy 199 through Grants Pass out to Oregon Caves National Monument. 199 Eventually will take you to Crescent City, CA the Redwoods along the coast in CA would be a nice place to stay before heading home.
You could also cut across Crater Lake Hwy out of Medford, OR. and do a stop at Crater Lake before heading home.
When you cut across I-5 a good place to do that would be Roseburgh (I believe it is HWY 38) it runs along the Umpqua River and is very scenic...although it does end up in Reedsport on the coast and the hour drive from Reedsport to Florence isnt too scenic.
Have fun!!!

hipvirgochick

Excellent choice for the Cambpell House. Growing up in Eugene was great, but hotels and downtown are lacking. You can walk to the 5th Street Market from CH where you will find shops varying from hippie to yuppie (pardon) and a few blocks further west on 5th is the Oregon Electric Station (mentioned above). The Zenon has wonderful food with a busy close-in atmosphere. Both excellent choices and within walking distance. Also the Mona Lisa downtown, not too far from the CH, is a wonderful place for Italian.

beachgirl

You should be able to walk to Cafe Zenon from the Campbell House. The Zenon is a cafe-style restaurant that serves fabulous gourmet food and stupendous desserts. When my husband and I lived in Eugene, we ate there on many a special occasion. The nice thing about Eugene is that it is so laid back, there are people in jeans even there - at one of the town's nicest restaurants! Anyway, I highly recommend it. Every year, they win tons of local awards - in practically every category. It is on 898 Pearl St. - you should be able to walk straight there, given that the Campbell House is also on Pearl, but I'm sure someone at the hotel can point you in the right direction. Beppe and Gianni's is a fabulous Italian restaurant that is near campus on 1646 E. 19th St. You would probably want to drive there, but you would get to go through the U of O campus, which is one of the most beautiful college campuses in the country. A word of warning: they don't take reservations at Beppe's and they are ALWAYS PACKED - especially between 5:30 and 7:30. Try going after 7:30 if you decide to go there. In 5th St. Market, I would suggest LocoMotive, 291 E. 5th Ave. Get reservations here -it is a tiny place and they also fill up very quickly. It is a gourmet vegetarian restaurant. I went there with three non-vegetarians and we all thought the food was superb. The service is also outstanding there. In 5th Street Market, I would suggest Marche, 296 E. 5th, for outstanding French cuisine. Marche also has great service. I wouldn't go here if you want a romantic dinner, however, because it can get extremely loud - it is cafe style with the kitchen located against a wall, but in the middle of the restaurant. I've had great times here, but when I'm catching up with someone or really want to talk, it can be difficult because this place also gets very busy. I like Mona Lisa, but, in my opinion, Beppe's is superior as far as Italian goes. Mona Lisa is more casual. We used to eat there a lot and they serve pizzas and pastas and things like that. It's good, but not the place I went when I was looking for gourmet food. We also found there dishes to be a bit greasy at times. I don't want to knock it because we did eat there a lot - obviously it was good, but it's not the place we took visitors. It is also much further into downtown. I wouldn't recommend the Oregon Electric Station, though. I always thought it was overrated and overpriced. That's just me, of course, and food is a very subjective thing. I only went there once voluntarily. The rest of the times were for big group dinners and things like that - companies like to have meetings there and people have wedding receptions there because they do a good job catering to groups.

Chico

We arrived home last night from our great motorcycle trip from Chico to Chehlis, WA. We especially enjoyed the Steamboat Inn along the Umpqua River - the highway between Roseburg and Crater Lake along the river was gorgeous. We enjoyed the Steamboat Inn so much we returned on the way home. In Eugene the Campbell House was absolutely perfect, such excellent service and the rooms and beds are beautiful. Eugene and Astoria were two of my very favorite stops. We had beautiful weather the whole trip! Again, thanks to all of you for your help with our trip.