Hi.
We are 2 adults, 1 grandmother, plus 5-year old daughter traveling the first week in June '09. We want to hike, but nothing too strenuous. We want to see the views and wildlife - hoping for cooperative weather. I know that we are trying to cover a lot of miles, but hope to do it in small increments to keep the young one from getting too antsy.

The first part of our trip will be along the coast from Portland to Newport (2 nights) to Bandon (1 night). I expect to visit the Aquarium and lighthouse and look for wildlife along the drive.

From there we'll go to the Caves (1 night) by way of Crescent City. My thought is to go to Jedediah Smith S.P. to get a sneak peek at the Redwoods, but not extend our drive too much. Can we get the full effect? Any favorite hikes? Then on to Crater Lake (2 nights). I understand the Rim Road will likely be closed due to snow. My husband has an interest in the historic lodges, so we're still planning to go. Will there be enough to do? Favorite family hikes here?

The last day, we have a full day to drive from Crater Lake back to Portland. Any suggestions on which way to go and things to do/see?
Thanks for all your suggestions!

Other things you might consider along that route... The "mail boats" or other boat trips up the Rogue River from Gold Beach can be a lot of fun; a very scenic day trip. The lodge at Oregon Caves is definitely kinda neat, though showing its age.

I'm not sure how much of Rim Drive is likely to be open at Crater Lake in early June; if it's just the section at the visitor center and lodge, it definitely limits your options for hiking.

You might consider heading from Crater Lake to Portland via the east-central side, up highway 97. The High Desert Museum south of Bend is definitely a worthwhile stop on this route. You could cross back across the mountains to Portland via Mt Hood highway and stop at Timberline Lodge.

http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.../LIFE/70414071

curmudgeon - I should have mentioned - last summer we did Mt. Rainier, Mt. Hood (including Timberline Lodge) and Columbia River Gorge. It was a fantastic trip, but we probably won't cover that ground again this time.

bbqboy - thanks for the article. The Boy Scout Tree might be just right for us.

If you are heading over to the coast from Portland, I would head over on hwy 26 towards Cannon Beach and then south. Ecola State Park on the north end of CB is nice and has some easy hiking trails. Haystack Rock in CB is nice, best at low tide though. Continue south and take the Three Capes Scenic route down. Lots of great places to stop along that route.

As for Crater Lake, yes you will be quite limited. Most likely the rim drive will not be open, and if that is the case then seeing the lodge is about your only thing to do. Continuing to Bend will depend on whether the north entrance is open or not, otherwise you will need to backtrack.

If the north entrance is open, it is just over 90 minutes from CL to Bend. As mentioned, the High Desert Museum is excellent. Across the road from there is Lava Butte which is great as well.

From Bend back to Portland, you could head all the way up towards Mt. Hood, stopping at Timberline Lodge, then over to Portland. Or from Bend head over to Sisters and then via Santiam Pass over towards Salem. East of Salem is Silver Creek Falls which is a place I love. There is a 7 mile hike that encompasses 10 waterfalls, but you can also drive to several of the falls so you don't have to hike to see all of it. The south falls are the most impressive and there is a parking lot closeby. There is a lodge with a massive fireplace as well, which is a great place to warm up. You could take in the Oregon Garden as well after Silver Falls, and come up that route towards Woodburn, then cut over onto I-5 for the last stretch into Portland.

I would Subtract one of your Crater Lake days and stay in Ashland instead. Delightful for kids and grandparents.
Next morning, an easy cruise either up Dead Indian Rd., or hwy 62 which parallels the Rogue.
1 night at CL is enough, in my opinion.
We haven't had that much snow this year, so rim road could be open by then.

We are impatiently awaiting our trip. We leave on May 30th. Any updates from those of you who live in Oregon? Are we likely to see whales on our trip down the coast? Has there been a lot of snow at Crater Lake? We live in Florida and our 5 year old is looking forward to building a snowman!

thanks!

I hope you get no snow at Crater Lake. The Rim Road is amazing. 1 day is enough. Try to take a boat ride on the Rogue River out of Grants Pass, Oregon.

There are several nice waterfall hikes close to Crater Lake along hwy 138 - one of them is Tokatee Falls but there are several others- Tokatee requires walking up a series of stairs so not sure if grandmother could do that

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/39389284AVIhEx

As MMS sugested- Silver Falls State Park is fabulous - there are I think 10 waterfalls in the Park - trail a bit steep in places - but one of my favorite hikes

Around Bend there are a lot of great hikes through old Volcanic areas - the Lave Cave is interesting and Newberry Crater also

Enjoy

As I was reading your comments, I thought I was reading about our trip. We too are leaving for Portland on May 29 and planning on driving the northern coast on the weekend and then during the week to Crater Lake and Mt. Hood. Hope you have a good time. Our son lives in Portland so this is not our first time there.

If there is still snow at Crater Lake you might go snowshoeing instead of hiking.
The park rangers do guided trips and provide the snowshoes- very fun and informative-have done that several times.
Is husband interested in historic inns as well as Lodges? If so, the Prospect Hotel in the nearby community of Prospect is an old historic place - Have stayed there several times -

At the coast, between Florence and Newport is my favorite beach - Heceta Head ( also called Devils Elbow State Park) There is a fairly easy hike up to the lighthouse ( which is one of the most photographed in the world)
The beach is on a nice cove and I would think a 5 year old would love a day of play there - there are a couple of caves to play in, rocks to climb on, places to explore- a very fun place. And I did see a whale once when I was there- so bring binoculars.

In Florence, my favorite place to dine is Travelers Cove- it has a variety of Mex, burgers etc and it has an outside deck overlooking the river- a great place on a sunny day.

Your grand daughter will love Honeyman State Park south of Florence- huge sand dunes to climb on. My daughter always loved it there.

So there is a couple of ideas.

I forgot to recommend going on a sand dune buggy tour near Florence.

My 25 yr old daughter and I are going to Oregon from June 4th to the 10th, and this information is wonderful as I had mapped out this same itinerary. My big question is weather. We're from Florida and would like to know how cold it could get then. We were planning on bringing jeans, t-shirts, a fleece and rain jacket. Will that be sufficient?

dchal, the coast in June can be hot and sunny, once in a while, or chilly and damp.
Our first visit in Aug from Fl to Or , we went to the Coast on a hot sunny Portland day and had to buy sweatshirts when we arrived in Cannon Beach.
I think the jeans, fleece jacket will be good for the beach if it is not a warm sunny day.

After July 4th is usually when things warm up ..

you never know about Oregon weather- I have been at the coast in July and you needed a parka it was so cold- and inland it was 105 - but that is unusual.

I also highly recommend the dune buggy rides - just south of Florence- you have a driver and the ride on the smaller buggy that only holds 5 is the most fun- you just go flying over the dunes- I always take guests there

Thanks for the great information - bookmarking.

hi I registered because of this posting!!!!

I had the similar question and glad to see so many ppl are planning to go in June.

we have two grand parents, us and the kid leaving on June 4 from california to seattle and come back along oregon coast.

1. current plan:
day1 sfc to castella (1 hr north of redding)

day 2, castella, medford, route 62 to crater lake, driving 3.5 hrs; then from crater lake driving route 62, scenic 138 to roseburg for another 3.5 hrs.

day 3, winston safari 1.5hr, then drive all the way to seattle.

my question is: any recommendation for castella lodging please?
how feasible is my plan? Thanks!!


on returning, we plan to drive all the way from seattle-astoria-cannon beach-tillamook cheese-cape kiwanda, overnight pacific city

day2 new port aquariam, (maybe lincoln city outlet), florence sea lion cave, san dune, several light houses,shore acres garden/park, overnight at gold beach

day3 some redwoods and all the way back to sfc.

again is this plan feasible? did i miss any nice places along the coast?

THanks for your great input! we are only a few days to departure and really excited about the trip!

I suggest you start your own thread, angelradia, but here's some comments to get you started.

Where's "sfc"? San Francisco? If so, why such a short driving day? Castella isn't much of a town (in fact, I'm not even sure it is one). How did you choose to stay there?

From previous posts, I assume you know that Crater Lake's rim road may not be open, though from weather we're having now, there's a good chance it will be. If it is, you'll want to exit the park at the north. And, if any of you are squeamish about heights, you'll want to drive the rim road in a clockwise direction.

Seattle to Astoria is about 3.5+ hours, which when added to all the sightseeing between there and Pacific City, will make for a long day. Must sees along that route for me would be Cape Disappointment State Park (outside of Ilwaco, WA) for North Head Lighthouse and the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, Astor Column in Astoria, Ecola State Park just north of Cannon Beach, tidepools at the base of Haystack Rock on Cannon Beach, and Cape Meares State Park outside of Tillamook. If you're running short of time, pass on the cheese! ;-)

Pass on Sea Lion Caves, too, instead seeing them on the docks in Newport (sorta like at Pier 39 in San Francisco). And I'd include Cape Perpetua this day, including the drive to the top. Shore Acres is a great stop, but it's a bit of a detour.

"did i miss any nice places along the coast?"

Ummm.... are you sure you want to know the answer to that question? ;-)

thanks beachbum!
i posted a new thread per your suggestion and had a follow up question on crater lake.
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...egon-coast.cfm