Oregon trip in May
 

My husband and I are planning a trip to Oregon (flying into and out of Portland) from 5/7 to 5/19 and would appreciate some advice on an itinerary.

This is on our list:
1. Mt St Helens & Mt Hood
2. Columbia River Gorge
3. Pinot Noir wineries
4. Coast

We are avid hikers and big winos, so we'd like to spend a few days in wine country, and the rest where the hiking and outdoor scenery is good. Maybe stay 1 night in Portland. We don't mind staying in several different places.

We know it won't be warm in May, but are chances of rain/cloud too much to make trying the big mountains practical? Will we see anything worth seeing at Mt Hood and St Helens if it's overcast?

We love big trees--is there a spectacular area where we can hike among these other than the Redwoods in northern CA?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

The Black Walnut Inn for a stay in wine country
http://www.blackwalnut-inn.com/

You can stay in Portland for the rest of the trip, the Gorge and Coast can be day trips..or stay in town for a couple of nights and the coast for a couple.
There are minimums on the Coast but don't think there will be any in May..

The wineries are really not worth staying over, aside from the stay at the Black Walnut..
mms who is a poster here, knows all about hiking and will be a big help when she sees this.

I went to the Coast a lot and lived in Portland but not big hikers :)

Coast stay...Cannon Beach- SurfSand Resort
or in Arch Cape (10 mi south on 101)..the Inn at Arch Cape

www.innatarchcape.com

Hope this helps :)

For great Pinot Noir places to visit, don't miss Archery Summit, Domaine Drouhin, Domaine Serene, Sokol Blosser, Ponzi and Scott Paul in Carlton. Have a meal at the Joel Palmer House in Dayton, really yummy food here in a nice ambiance. ***kim*** ((f))

There are several great hikes in the Gorge area - one of them is Eagle Creek - beautiful hike - several waterfalls

There is a group called Friends of the Columbia River Gorge that do several hikes a year in the Gorge area - you might check into them and see if they are doing a hike when you are there

Here is a link to the website

http://www.gorgefriends.org/hikes/currentschedule/

Ya know, with 12 days, you <i><b>could</b></i> hike in those northern CA redwoods! And throw in Crater Lake. But, that might involve more driving than you want to do.

I'm not sure what to suggest in terms of an itinerary. As Scarlett said, St Helens &amp; Mt Hood, the Gorge, and wine country are all typically done as day trips from Portland. There are lodgings in those areas, except for maybe St Helens. But most seem to prefer Portland, not only for lodging, but activities, wining and dining as well. So, help us out with a little more info....

The coast, on the other hand, is easy; 2-3 nights in Cannon Beach, 2-3 more on the central coast, and you're set.

By the way, if you are winos, and have any familiarity with Oregon pinot noirs, you might know that several of the wineries kimamom suggests produce the highest priced bottles in the state. Nice to taste, but if you're not in the $80-$200/bottle market..... Plenty of places producing great wines at a fraction of those prices.

Thanks to everyone for the great info.

Scarlett--the Black Walnut looks nice, I will look at that maybe for 2-3 nights.

kimamom--thanks for the winery and restaurant tips. I have a list of wineries I want to hit, and I saw a couple on your list. I've been able to taste some OR wines that I can get in VA (although not many are avail here). My fave has been Adelsheim, which tastes great but also not so pricey, so I will seek them out in OR.

sunbum--thanks for the hike info, I will check the website out. May spend a couple nights in that area as there are alot of hikes.

beachbum--We prefer to drive and stay places as opposed to having a home base spot like Portland. Less back and forth over the same roads that way and less driving time. We love good food, but usually that is secondary to staying in an out-of-the-way or quirky place that might not have such a good selection of restaurants around. And yes, I've seen the prices on some of the Pinot Noirs--it's hard to find good cheap ones. Hopefully we will be able to taste the more expensive wines without being compelled to buy or people looking down on us. I got the impression that OR wine country wasn't as &quot;snooty&quot; as CA can be. Also, if anyone can give me some names of some of the cheaper but good pinot wineries, I would love that. I am all about cheap but good wine.

Ok, I'm looking at the drive from Portland to St Helens, and it's 2 1/2 hours to get to the east side. Is there a place halfway or so that we can stay overnight? I'm thinking of doing the east side, then driving down and doing the gorge (2 nights) and making a loop back to Portland, then on to wineries and coast.

Also, the first day of our trip usually we pick up a styrofoam cooler and some ice and stock pb&amp;j, cheese, snacks in it as we go so we'll have something if we end up in the middle of nowhere. We've also had many cheap but good dinners doing this too. Can anyone recommend any little gourmet shops in Portland, around the wineries, the gorge, coast, etc. where we might pack little things away in our cooler as we go? All we really need is some good cheese, fresh bread, hummus, little salads, olives.

.<i> We've also had many cheap but good dinners doing this too. Can anyone recommend any little gourmet shops in Portland, around the wineries, the gorge, coast, etc. where we might pack little things away in our cooler as we go? All we really need is some good cheese, fresh bread, hummus, little salads, olives.</i>

Great idea!
Oh my, where to begin..Portland is crammed with gourmet shops, wonderful foodie places...
Whole Foods on NW 12th and Trader Joes on Glisan &amp; NW 21st..
With those 2, you really can get everything you ever wanted..I have gone blank on the small places. I lived across the street from Whole Foods ( do not ask me how much I miss that!) but there are good small places too. Ken &amp; Zucks Deli at the Ace Hotel.. is another thought..
The Pearl Bakery on NW 9th &amp; Couch- the BEST breads and rolls and sweet things...( this is making me very homesick :) )

Hopefully mms will see this thread. I've not been to the east side of St. Helens, but I think she has. Pretty sure she has some off-the-beaten-path suggestions in the Gorge, too.

To fill the cooler before you take off, look for a Zupan's. Or, if it's not far out of your way, Square Deal Wine at NW 23rd and Thurman has a little cheese shop/deli inside, and St. Honore Bakery right next door.

For wine country, I think you'd like basing in Carlton, which I think will eventually be the capitol of Oregon wine country. Neat little town. There are B&amp;B's nearby, but I'm intrigued by some rooms I've heard are near/above Ken Wright Cellars. Call for more info: http://www.kenwrightcellars.com/. Adelsheim is not far from Carlton, and be sure to hit Bergstrom, a little further up the same road. Then Penner Ash, and maybe Laurel Ridge, which is lower priced, but still decent. In Carlton, Scott Paul is worth a visit, but more so Cana's Feast and Winemaker's Studio, a coop of sorts where several small producers share facilities. Look for Andrew Rich wines in particular. You'll find decent wines in the Tyrus Evans tasting room, too. And, check out Horse Radish if the cooler is running low. Great little tasting bar there, too, with more boutique-styled wines.

Then, you should also spend a day in the Dundee area, where it is a little more &quot;snooty&quot;. Domaine Drouhin and De Ponte are great stops regardless, but in general, I find most of the larger wineries around Dundee making wines with broad appeal, but not necessarily reflective of the terroir.

That all said, if you're wanting to taste at appointment-only places, say so. I've got a different list to recommend.

For the beach, I think you'd like Inn at Arch Cape, as Scarlett recommended. Again, small, off the beaten path, but still situated with great scenery and hiking all around.

I'm less familiar with the central coast, but what would you think of an old lighthouse keeper's home converted to a B&amp;B. It's supposedly haunted, too. http://www.hecetalighthouse.com/.

One you've firmed up the itinerary a little, we can help fill some more blanks.

The good thing is you have lots of time:)

As far as Mt. St. Helens goes, I truly believe the west side is the best for first time visitors. That is where the visitors centers are, which gives you so much information on the eruption so that you can truly appreciate what you are seeing. The best center is Johnston Ridge Observatory, which opens in May. I don't know the date for this year, so you might want to call. The east side is great, but without the information one cannot truly understand what all they are seeing. If it is really cloudy or rainy, then yes you will not see much at all, so I would try for another day. Our weather in May is real iffy.

In the gorge there is fantastic hiking! What do you like as far as distance and elevation gain?

Our wine country (I live on the northern part of it) is great and we have LOTS of great pinots for very decent prices. The Archery Summits, etc are fine, but you can do much better for a much better price. And Sokol Blosser is our equivalent of Gallo, so I would pass on that personally. Amity, Brickhouse (which I learned about from beachbum...definitely listen to his suggestions!), Chehalem, Grochau Cellars are some of my favorites. But Argyle makes a great sparkling, and Ponzi as well as Arbor Brook make good dessert wines.

For a great meal, with the best wine list in our wine country, definitely hit Red Hills Provincial Dining in Dundee for a dinner.

Hello all,

Still in the midst of figuring out an itinerary. My OR Moon guide just arrived in the mail yesterday, so that's helping me to decide too.

I was going to do Mt St Helens at the beginning of the trip, but now I've decided to do the west side based on mms' comments (thank you!), and since the observatory there doesn't open until &quot;mid May&quot; according to the park, I'll put it off until the end, and hope things will be open by then. I might have to put it off for another visit.

So now I'll start with a couple of days in the gorge area, and then head down to Mt Hood and drive up to the Timberline Lodge--there shouldn't be any problems driving up there in a compact car, right? Will we be required to have chains in the car? Then we'll hit wine country and then the coast, then leave a day at the end to try to make it to St Helens from Portland.

Scarlett--I'll take your suggestions and be sure to hit WF (I love them too--we are getting a new one here in spring--can't wait!) and the Pearl bakery to stock the cooler.

beachbum--I really appreciate the winery info. We will visit mostly wineries that are open to the public and maybe 1 or 2 appointment-only--don't want to be on a set schedule. I will look at the lodging possibilities in Carlton, sounds like a good home base. I've seen good reviews about the lighthouse you mentioned, so I was going to look at that. Not too sure about the haunting thing though--that could give me the willies!:)

mms--on a trip like this where we want to see alot of places, we usually pick hikes that are max 5-6 miles (for easy, flat) or max 3-4 miles (for difficult, steep). That way we can fit in multiples a day. We are in pretty good shape, so no elevation restrictions. Any suggestions on hikes you've enjoyed would be great. I will also put your winery suggestions on my list--locals always know best. I definitely have my favorites here in VA and am lucky enough to live relatively near some of the best.

Thanks again everyone for your continuing help. This site is awesome!

I think your plan sounds good.

For hiking, the hardest part will be narrowing it down as there are so many. The most obvious is to go from Multnomah Falls Lodge, up to the very top of the falls. But then after the very top, come back down a tad and cut over on the trail to Wahkeena Falls. This will make the hike a loop, and you will end back up by the lodge. Up to the top of MF is only 1.1 mile, but the loop makes it almost 5.5 miles and roughly 1500 ft elevation gain.

Eagle Creek is another great hike. It is just over 4 miles to Punchbowl Falls and only about 400 ft elevation.

One of my favorites isOneonta Gorge upt to Triple Falls. There are a few ways you can do this one. You can start at Horsetail Falls, then up to Triple Falls, then back down through Oneonta Gorge. Or you can do just Horsetail to Triple Falls, or Oneonta to Triple Falls, or Oneonta to Horsetail Falls, lol! If you do the loop of all 3, you will be walking back to the parking lot for about a half mile, but it isn't bad at all.

You might want to do Beacon Rock as well. That is a short one, being less than 2 miles r/t. Great views though.

Here is a link to the Eagle Creek Hike which I really enjoyed

http://www.oregon.com/hiking/eaglecreek.cfm

There is a little elevation gain and part of the path is very narrow through a canyon - but its a beautiful hike