babylon

My husband are visiting Crater Lake and staying in Klamath Falls. We've booked 2 nights, but now I think we should continue north towards Portland (have to be there the next day.) My question is, what would be a good stopping point so that we'd have a scenic trip the next day? I thought of Bend, but I'm open to any suggestions.

We'll be in Columbia Gorge area and later Glacier National Park, so I'm thinking more of an interesting town than a hike.

Thanks for anything you can suggest.

boom_boom

Bend isn't a bad choice, but I'd opt for taking Oregon Route 58 over to Eugene. Good restaurants, wine tasting near by, etc. Or maybe Route 138 over to Roseberg, also wine tasting, some historic covered bridges nearby.

mercy

Are you going back to K Falls after visiting CL? I would stay in KF one night, go on to CL and then go on toward Portland. We live in Roseburg and Rt. 138 is very beautiful, along the N. Umpqua River. Roseburg has a number of wineries as mentioned above. It is about 3 hrs. to PDX from R. The Bend option would be a good one too, cutting over to Eugene. Hope you will enjoy your Oregon visit. Ciao. mhm

beachbum

Bend is only a couple hours from Crater Lake. Lots of people (including me) love it, but I don't think it particularly interesting. I like it more for its wide range of outdoor activities. More interesting to me is the town of Sisters, 20 miles northwest of there.

If you're ambitious, you could take OR 138 west to I-5 at Roseburg, continuing on 138/38 to Reedsport at the coast, then north. But that would involve a lot more driving; worth it if you haven't seen the coast though.

babylon

Thanks so much for the advice. I'll check out Sisters. We have been to the coast before.

I love this board.

babylon

forgot to add --- We're planning on doing Eugene on the way down.

Fodorite018

Bend is a perfect spot to stay over. Lots to do there! We head over several times a year. High Desert Museum, Lava tube, Lava Butte, Old Mill District, Drake Park...those are just a few of the great things Bend has to offer. As for a scenic drive to Portland, there are 2 easy options. First, take hwy 97 up to hwy 26, past Mt. Hood, stopping at Timberline Lodge, then continue onto Portland. Second, start out on hwy 97, then get on hwy 20 going through Sisters (good town to stop in for a bit), then continue on hwy 22 past Detroit Lake then onto I-5 (at Salem) to Portland. If you are up for it, before you hit Salem you can cut over and head to Silver Falls State Park. Very nice place, and lots of falls.

sunbum1944

I think there is a lot more to do and see in Bend than there is in Eugene- and I live in Eugene.

Sisters is a good choice- a little touristy but nice

Black Butte resort is not far from Sisters and would be a nice place to stop for lunch - nice view of the Three Sisters from there

Julie49

Here's another vote for Bend, especially the High Desert Museum. This facility is cultural, historical, and has animals. It is always a "must" do when in Bend, if only for an hour.

Julie

MrOregonGuy

Crater Lake is awesome! We just made the trip from Salem. Here's what we saw:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8lRv-jXgXA

tomfuller

Nice video MrOregonGuy. I'm fortunate enough to live about an hour north of Crater Lake and an hour south of Bend.
Depending on when you leave the north entrance of CR, either Bend or Sisters is a good choice. Bend has over 300 restaurants.
My favorite in Sisters is Bronco Billy's.
Leaving Sisters you have 3 choices-all scenic. #1 McKenzie Pass. Stop at the top to see the Dee Wright Observatory. This highway will take you to Eugene. #2 Santaim Pass bearing right onto Rt. 22 past some nice lakes on the way to Salem. #3 Santiam Pass bearing left staying on US 20 over the Tombstone Pass coming out in Lebanon/Albany.
Choice #4 would be staying on US 97 spitting off on US 26 in Madras and going through the Warm Springs Indian Reservation to Government Camp on the slopes of Mt. Hood.
If you could swing a night at the Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood, by all means do it.

islandaze

This is a two year-old thread, tomfuller.

MrOregonGuy, when was that video shot? Quite different views from what webcams today show: http://www.nps.gov/crla/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm.