Can someone offer me tips for what to see and do in the Portland area? We are wrapping a few days of vacation around a meeting in Portland in July. Will have 5 or 6 days free and would like some tips on what to do, where to stay (currently booked in the Hilton downtown) and what we shouldn't miss. We like almost everything from art museums to the beaches. Any tips would be appreciated!!

Check out the web site of the Portland, Oregon, visitor bureau at
www.pova.com
It has just about everything you might want, including hotel discounts (Portland's visitor bureau is one of the best, if not the best, in the country and has NEVER let me down).

Cannon Beach is only 1 1/2 hours away and very nice (kind of trendy). You didn't say whether you had kids or not with you. If not, you would enjoy driving up the gorge to Hood River (very scenic and ususally wind surfers on the Columbia). Mt Hood is only an hour away (lots of lakes & rivers to fish or relax at). Email me with any further questions!

In addition to all the great things you can do in Portland itself (and the POVA website is a good place to start, as is the portland.citysearch.com website), here are a couple of suggestions for day trips: Mt. St. Helens (easier to do from Portland than from Seattle), Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Hood, northern Oregon coast and/or Long Beach Peninsula in SW Washington, Willamette Valley wine country. I personally would probably spend a couple days in Portland, then head out to the beach and/or to the Gorge for a couple of nights, as I like the outdoor activities available in these places and like being outside of the cities when possible.

while in Portland I would check out
the Rose gardens in Washington Park-maybe a five minute drive from
the Hilton, vey beautiful gardens
and nice views of downtown. Next I
would go up the Columbia Gorge,
stopping at a few sites. Multnomah
falls being the first one. Second,
I would drive to Hood River and
eat lunch and watch all the wind
Surfers on the river. From there
I would take a very scenic ride
up to Timberline Lodge on Mt.
hood. This lodge was built in the
1930's and has great views. If
any other questions just e-mail me

I just returned from a wonderful week in the Portland area. I truly enjoyed the International Rose Test Gardens, the Japanese Gardens (these are in the same area as the zoo), the waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge (about an hour away)and the northern Oregon coast. I found Portland to be one of the cleanest cities I've ever visited and full of friendly, helpful people.

I took two days and drove from Portland north on Highway 30 to Astoria, then wandered down the coast to Newport. Be sure to see the Astoria Column and the view from it. Going south on #101, my favorites were Ecola State Park (views of Cannon Beach, Haystack Rock and Tillamook Rock lighthouse), Three Capes Scenic Drive (near Tillamook) and the enchanting town of Newport (picturesque harbor, two lighthouses).