Help! My husband and I (39 and 40, respectively; love hiking, scenic beauty and beer) have three days to spend in Oregon after a business trip to Portland.

We want to see the Columbia River Gorge and, if possible, Bend. (We've spent some time on the coast on previous trips so we're ready to explore the interior.)

Here's a tentative plan -- is it too much?

Thursday: drive from Portland to Columbia River Gorge, do some hiking, stay overnight in Hood River.

Friday: drive from Hood River to Bend. Go to the High Desert Museum and hang out in Bend. Stay overnight in Bend.

Saturday: do some stuff in Bend (what exactly, I don't know) and drive back to Portland that evening.

It looks like about 7.5 hours of driving over three days, not including side trips.

I'm wondering if we should skip Bend and just do the Columbia River Gorge for two nights. But we will be sorry we didn't see Bend?

Any advice (including hotels, restaurants and, of course, microbreweries) would be fantastic. Thanks.

I am interested in replies too!

The gorge area is beautiful, if you like historic lodging, check out the Columbia Gorge Hotel. ***kim***

The gorge is nice, but I love Bend. The High Desert Museum is great, and also right by it is the lava cave and lava butte. Nearby is a short hike to Benham Falls. All of these would be short, easy things to incorporate into a quick trip. Deschutes Brewery is there in Bend, and a great place to stop for a casual lunch or dinner as well. The downtown area and Old Mill District are fun areas to wander and there are tons of restaurants and places to try the locals beers. The Old St. Francis School is a McMenamins hotel there. I don't know if you are familiar with the McMenamin properties, but the brothers take historical buildings and turn them into hotels and restaurants, while keeping much of the history. They are all unique and lots of fun.

And then there is the Bend Brewery, which just won a best in show at a beerfest in Denver. In the river room you can see the river while enjoying good food and beer. Enjoy! I would not miss Bend. You could stay at McMennimans so you would be able to walk all over town. CJ

In three days you may want to bag the hiking and Beer idea because the best is down in the Bend area. Of course you'll miss the Bend Brewery, Deschutes river, the Cascade range (the Sisters etc.), great restaurants....and the Deschutes Brewery. Ahem. The Columbia Gorge Hotel is beautiful and the wind surfers at Hood R. are amazing. Mt Hood is a reasonable drive from Hood R. and in three days that would probably be your best alternative. Plan a trip to Bend when you have more time and shoot the rapids, climb South Sister and drink copious amounts of beer.

With such a short time in Bend I would skip the Desert Museum and do more of the outdoorsy things to do.

SunCountry Tours does a short rafting trip - The Big Eddy - and its not an all day trip and as mms says,the lave cave and butte are interesting- there is a great hiking trail at Benham Falls

Dont know what time of year you are coming but in the summer its great to take the chair lift to the top of Mt Bachelor.

Or drive over to Smith Rock- short distance from Bend- is a famous rock climbing site with a great hiking trail along the river - its a fabulous spot

There is so much to see and do in the Bend area - the possibilities are endless.

and the Old St Francis School is a fun place to stay - and walking distance to downtown Bend.

The Old Mill district in Bend is great for shopping, dining and there is a great hiking trail that starts there and takes you along the Deschutes - so you can shop, drink beer and hike all from one place.

I love Bend and area - fortunatly I have a friend who lives in Sunriver so I get over pretty often .

Enjoy

In Hood River the beer there is called Full Sail. I here it's toxic! LOL. Enjoy Bend.

Thanks, all. So what I'm getting from this: if you had to pick one or the other, you'd go with Bend, yes?