Pacific North West -Last week June
 

Hi
We would like to take advantage of a family function in Eugene On July 1 and 2 to visit some gorgeous nature beforehand ( I am still flexible as air not booked yet)

We could fly into Seattle and return from Portland (to Montreal) and probably have about 7-8 days prior to to our Friday evening July 1 function. We could return to Portland on sunday afternoon for a flight out on Monday or tuesday

We love road trips and nature and would love to include the highlights in this region-
What itinerary would you suggest?

Many thanks in advance

sb1020- I am a fellow Canadian from Saskatchewan- live in Eugene- give us a better idea of what you enjoy doing- do you want to hike, raft, wine taste? There is a lot to do - and of course the Oregon coast is spectacular - so give us a few hints!

Hi Sunburn

I think on this trip we would like to see as much as we could of Natural Beauty and probably limit any hikes to short ones-not more than 2 hr per hike
Wine tasting not that important and i am not all that interested on this trip to staying for any length of time on the large cities
Thanks

One possible itinerary to see as many of our scenic highlights would be Seattle, Olympic National Park, (Victoria), Mt. Rainier, (Mt. Saint Helens), Columbia River Gorge, Oregon coast from Cannon Beach to Florence, and Eugene.

HTTY

If you can get the flight out on Tuesday, I would say early Sunday morning head from Eugene to Crater Lake National Park.
Use Rt. 138 east from Roseburg. You may see some snow at high elevation but the north entrance should be open.
Plan on flying in and out of Portland to avoid a drop off fee for your rental car. You can easily make it from Portland to Mt. Saint Helens and to Cannon Beach (via Longview) in a day.
When leaving Crater Lake, you could go up the east side of the Cascades on US 97 to Madras and US 26 past Mt. Hood to get to Portland. If you had the time, you could stop to see the High Desert Museum south of Bend.

HTTY
thanks for your response
How would you divide up the time -we would probably spend the first night in Seattle and head on out the next am

We could arrive in Eugene in the mid afternoon

tom fuller:
thanks also for your reply
How far is Eugene from crator lake in terms of time? It looks gorgerous
Sandy

About 3.5 hours (175 miles) via Roseburg and the north entrance.
It's about 2 hours from the north entrance via routes 138 and US 97 to Bend.
Are you sure you want to arrive at Seattle and depart from Portland? They are only 4 hours apart on I-5 and the drop off fee could be hefty.

tom fuller
Hi tom
No I am not sure yet
We could do a loop starting and ending in Portland -for sure-what do you think and suggest? I thought that it would be easier to visit the Olympic Penisula out of Seattle
Sandy

Yes, it is easier to visit the Olympic Peninsula and Mt. Rainier from Seattle than from Portland.

Also, while Crater Lake is an attraction right up there with the Columbia River Gorge and the Oregon Coast, it is off the beaten path and cannot be appreciated on a quick visit. If you make the effort to go there, I suggest you stay for at least two nights so you will have at least one full day to explore.

HTTY

You could easily spend all your time in Oregon this trip, then do Washington another vacation.

bbqboy

Thanks for your comment-

I think that I have come to the same conclusion!!

There is no point rushing and you are absolutely right-

I think that I will save Washington for another trip

I think for the short time that we have, 9-10 days, we will concentrate on Oregon

What itinerary would you suggest? -it looks like 3 main regions Mount Hood/Columbia Gorge/Falls

Oregon Coast to Eugene

Crater Lake

Sandy

If you can include the east side of the Cascades through either Sisters or Madras/Mount Hood after Crater Lake on the way back to Portland it would be great. I love living in between the High Desert and the Cascades.
While in the Columbia Gorge be sure to see Multnomah Falls and several other waterfalls.

agree with Tom, the whole area around Bend and Sisters is spectacular - one of my favorite areas in Oregon- you might enjoy spending a night or two at SunRiver Resort just outside of Bend- there is a great raft trip you could do, Big Eddy- its only a 1/2 day trip and you can book at Sunriver.
I think the one of the prettiest parts of the coast is from Lincoln City to Florence- lots of places to stop along the way - my favorite beach is Devils Elbow - small beach with Heceta Head Lighthouse overlooking the beach - the innkeepers house is a B&B and it is a great place to stay- but you have to make reservations quite aways in advance. They serve an amazing breakfast in AM.

Spend a night in the Columbia Gorge area - the Edgefield in Troudale-at the beginning of the Gorge. It used to be a poor farm- now a hotel with winery, brew pub, several restaurants
and movie theatre and frequently live music - fun place to stay but most rooms do not have a private bath - so they provide robes so you can trek down the hall- amazing art work on almost every wall and door and exposed piece of pipe. Very unique experience.

I think I would stick to Oregon- too much to include Washington too

Do you want to see Redwoods? If you are going to end up back in Portland, you could leave straight from the airport and head towards the gorge, then down 97 to CL.
From there you could come down 62 and either hit Ashland for a day, or head over to Grants Pass and on down 199 to the coastal redwoods, then up the coast and over to Eugene, then up to Portland, or head back to the coast and finish the trip north, then come back to Portland on 26