Oregon itinerary feedback- early Sept
 

Husband and I are planning 2 week trip to Oregon early Sept. We visited years ago and spent time on Northern coast and Columbia River Gorge. This time we'd like to do more hiking and road biking (not mountain biking) and exploring other parts of the state. This is the itinerary so far:

Sun: arrive PDX early afternoon, drive to Eugene. Spend 2 nights exploring city.

Tues: drive to Crater Lake Lodge. Have reservations at the lodge for 2 nights. Hike the area. Maybe do some biking - haven't done much research into this yet. Heard a nice ride was around Indian Lake? We bike a lot - have done century rides and biked through Andalusians and Tuscany but I have heard Crater Lake is difficult riding. If we can't bike, I'm sure there's plenty of hikes to do.

Thurs: Drive to Bend. Rent bikes again and explore the area and hike. Have heard there are numerous activities within driving distance. Spend 4 nights in this area.

Mon: Drive to Hood River and spend 2 nights. Ride bikes east toward the Dalles area - heard there are many orchards and farms that bikers visit.

Wed: Drive to Portland and spend 3 nights. Have seen all the falls last trip but will stop again - they're beautiful!. Will leave from PDX on Saturday.

My questions: do we really need a car in Portland? Would love to drop it off when we get there and use public transportation - how easy to get to the airport without a car?

We had toyed with staying at Timberline Lodge one night but will it be too cold mid-September? Driving from Bend to Mt Hood and then to Hood River is a lot of driving, even over a few days. Would love to fit in at least a visit to Mt Hood but it seems to be out of the way in our itinerary.

Any feedback? I know it sounds like a lot of driving but this is how we do our vacations. We want to see as much as we can - DH has only 1 stipulation: we spend at least 2 nights at a hotel before moving on!

A few thoughts.

Is there a reason for Eugene? It just is not a usual visitor destination. I personally would skip it and put that time towards other areas, but that is just me;)

At Crater Lake, be sure to take the boat ride. Get off at Wizard Island and you can spend the day there and hike to the top.

Four nights in Bend will be wonderful! This is one of our favorite areas of our state.

You can easily do Portland itself without a car. Getting back to the airport is easy on MAX.

I would do a night at Timberline if you can get a room. It is not too cold in mid September, although at night it will be getting chilly.

Unless you have some attraction to the University of Oregon, 1 night should be enough in Eugene. Second night could be spent at Diamond Lake if you can't get 2 nights at Crater Lake Lodge.
Don't try to ride a bike at Crater Lake. There are too many blind corners where you can meet a tour bus.
The town of Sunriver south of Bend is a bike paradise. You can commute from there to Bend or Mount Bachelor. Make a visit to the High Desert Museum south of Bend.
Travel from Bend to Timberline or Hood River takes about 5 hours via Madras and US 26.
Make a stop at the Peter Skene Ogden rest area south of Madras to see the deep Crooked River Gorge.
You do not need a rental car in Portland. The end of the red line light rail is right outside the baggage claim at PDX.
For a real thrill try wind surfing on the Columbia out of Hood River.

Thanks for the quick responses with GREAT ideas. This is just why I love Fodor's forums so much. We will have a 4 hr flight and figured with the 2 hr drive, we'd get into Eugene late. And were staying there mostly just to break up the long trip to Crater Lake.

What I really wanted to do was drive to Eugene and spend 1st night there, leave next AM and drive to Grants Pass to spend the night and do the Rogue River boat tour and then drive to Crater Lake the next day but my husband thought it would be too much driving and too many one night stays. Is the Hellgate Jet Boat tour of the Rogue worthwhile?

Our reservations for Crater Lake Lodge are Sept. 9 and 10 and they are solidly booked so we have to work around that. Next in importance was to spend at least 4 nights in Bend. I really want to fit in a night at Mt Hood.

The Jetboats are a lot of fun- but check and see if they run after Labor Day- not sure on that.

I live in Eugene- its an OK little city with lots to do in the surrounding areas- I think one night here would be adequate. But if you decide to stay 2 nights, I have to say Eugene has picked up a bit and we suddenly have several brewpubs and urban wine tasting rooms as well as several nice wineries a short distance from town.

One of my favorites is Sarvers- on Friday nights they have music, wine, food for purchase and fabulous views.


I recommend spending some time hiking along HWY 138 between Roseburg and Crater Lake- You can spend the whole day hiking/walking into a variety of waterfalls and also trails along the Umqua River. I spent a weekend last summer doing this with a group and it was very fun- one of my favorites is Watson Falls- If you do this, watch for poison oak.

http://southernoregon.org/article?ar...way-waterfalls

One of the best waterfall hikes in Oregon is Silver Falls State Park - east of Salem. There are 10 waterfalls - some of them have trails behind the falls. Since you would be there in Sept- the volume of water over the falls will be a bit decreased but still a great hike.

Agree with Tom, that SunRiver is a great place to bike- paved trails all over the resort and when you get tired, you can stop in the Village for a beer, or wine, or a pastry- or whatever! There is a lot to do at Sun River- you can do kayaking, river rafting, biking, hiking,

There are many nice hikes in the Bend area- you should visit Smith Rock ( close to Redmond) world famous for rock climbing but also has some nice hiking trails.

I know people who have biked around Crater Lake but I know its a tough ride, twisty roads and no shoulder- too scary for me.

If you stay in Eugene, I can recommend restaurants, walking trails etc.

Is a beautiful state- hope you enjoy!!

Tomfuller--Um, Bend to Hood River is less than 3 hours, not 5.

I agree with the Sunriver suggestions. That is our go to place in the area and we stay there several times a year. It is a great base for all the fun things to do in the area:)

Driving in Oregon - to me - is a pleasure. From Eugene - over to lovely Florence - on the coast - is about an hour (great place for late breakfast/early lunch) - and then what - 3 plus hours (150 miles or so) down along the scenic Oregon coast to the mouth of the Rogue River @ Gold Beach

Actually if you pull in for some great salt water taffy at Bandon - it takes a wee bit longer. :)

Or - if you are going to Grants Pass - from Eugene - just a short shot down the freeway - couple hours max?

And from Bend to Timberline (3 hours?) - is a scenic drive - fairly easy along the former main road - 97 - which includes such treats as seeing beautiful Mt. Jefferson - majestically standing all by itself in the distance - and to me - Timberline is one of the greatest lodges/settings in the world.

From Timberline to Hood River - an hour? - and from Hood River back to Portland - an hour?

For a great walk/short hike - many options at/around Timberline Lodge - including the pristine Trillium lake just below hiway 26.

And while I love Eugene and went to grad school at the U of O - as Tomf suggests - I would allocate another day by Crater Lake - perhaps at nearby Diamond Lake - where I caught four big/beautiful rainbow trout - which were very tasty.

If I wansn't clear - one day in Eugene is fine - another day by Crater Lake at Diamond Lake would be very nice/scenic with numerous walk/hiking options.

Also near Bend - check out Paulina Lake and the adjacent Newberry Crater - and a nearby mountain of obsidian - where the Native Americans/Indians gathered the prescious rock/lava to make arrowheads and spearheads. Was like gold to them.

Hellgate boat tour is amazing and I highly recommend it. If you would like to break up the drive I would also recommend a little Oregon destination call Wild Life Safari http://www.wildlifesafari.net/, a cute place you interact with animals for adults and kids alike.
I would also agree with the others, there is no need for 4 nights in Eugene. Being a huge UO fan I love Eugene, but I don't want to stay for 4 nights without a football game!
If your considering Silver Falls out side of Salem (I highly recommend) have you thought about biking through some of the Wine Country in the Willamette Valley? I'm not sure how it would work on your drive but it is defiantly worth the stop. Crater Lake, Bend, Sunriver, Mt Hood and Hood River are all perfect destinations. No car needed in Portland, the public transit works well.
Have fun!

If you're experienced, fit cyclists (and it sounds like you are), I'd do some riding around Crater Lake. I've admittedly never biked their myself, but I've looked at the elevation totals for the Crater Lake Century, and they look very doable to me. I'm a flatlander and my general attitude about steep climbs is that the worst that happens is that I dismount and walk. Not my favorite thing to do with cycling shoes, but it's not the end of the world. And for longer, slower climbs, I just pace myself and rest if necessary.

I'd note that beginning last year, the park designated the third weekend in September to be car free around the lake. They indicated at at time that it would be an annual thing. It sure would be nice if you could plan to be there that weekend. Traffic scares me far more than any climbing does.

Sorry I have been out of commission for a few weeks so am now just reading replies. If I gave the impression of planning to stay in Eugene 4 nights, that was my mistake - it was going to be 2 nights and we've changed our plans and will just spend one night coming from the airport to cut up the driving. We got a 3rd night near Crater Lake so we'll be there 3 nights. Booked the boat tour to Wizard Island and will hike the island. We'll decide on the biking when we get there because we plan to bike near Bend and Hood River also.

Found a condo in Bend for 4 nights and have really nice road bikes reserved - much better than my own bike! With 5 days there, we plan to see as much of the area as we can - probably biking 2-3 of the days and driving to hiking areas on the other days. On to Hood River for 2 nights and the last 3 nights in Portland before flying home.

We're staying at the Inn at Northrup Station in Portland. Very excited to visit the great state of Oregon again!

Did you compare the condos in Bend with the condos available in Sunriver? Sunriver bike paths are so much nicer than riding with the traffic in Bend.
I'm hoping the air quality is better in Sept. than it is now.
The Two Bulls forest fire (7000+ acres) is keeping some bicyclists off the roads and trails near Bend.

Sooo much to see and do around Bend - such as the Chain of lakes drive (or whatever it's called) - getting up to the ski area - Mt. Bachelor - and maybe doing some mountain biking down from the top? - maybe visiting my old Boy Scout camp at blue blue Crescent Lake - or nearby O'Dell lake which has a 47? lb monster Mackinaw/lake trout displayed in the lodge restaurant, or taking the drive west (only open in the summer) up the Cascades (toward Eugene) to where you can see fields of lava where the Astronauts trained for their moon walk back in the late 60's, and on and on.

And while downtown Bend can be cute - I would agree Sunriver is more laid out for biking, general vacation enjoyment.

Btw - some great brewpubs/restaurants in Bend - Deschutes being one of the oldest?

If you have any more Q's - let me know as one of my Klamath Falls high school classmates used to be the Mayor of Bend. :)

Oh yes - some great wineries outside Eugene - toward the Coast - such as the lively named "Sweet Cheeks" - or the biggest one - King? - and there are others. Just google away to find them. We brought out picnic lunch to one - overlooking the grape fields and it was great. Will have to look it up - unique name also and good wine. Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir grapes really grow great near Eugene.

Ah yes - Silvan Ridge/Hinman was the one with the nice deck/picnic tables just outside the tasting room - overlooking the vinyards.

Sarvers Winery is a great one to visit outside of Eugene as well- great views, pretty good wine, and Friday nights they have music, food- it has become a favorite of many of us locals. And its a little easier to get to than some of them

Eugene has suddenly become quite a brew pub center. If you like beer there is Hop Valley with a large outdoor patio and dining area, Ninkasi also has an outdoor patio and Oakshire- Hop Valley is my favorite.

Enjoy your trip

sunbum--I really like Hop Valley too:)

When I was in Eugene last fall, I stayed here:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...ne_Oregon.html

It's right on the river and the multiuse paved trail that runs along the river.