Since my "Parks Pass" message got no response, I hope somebody can help me on my itinerary! Does this look feasible for TEN days, first visit, to include the Gorge, a day in Portland, some short hikes and scenic stops along the way:

Portland - 2 nites

All of these ONE nite:

Cannon Beach
Lincoln City or Newport
Florence
Coos Bay or Bandon
Gold Beach
Brookings
Grants Pass
Then for the last nite, head back to Portland via I-5

Thanks in advance.

When will you be there?
It looks to me like you are spending a lot of time along the coast. What will you do?

The water is not very inviting even at the sandy beaches because it is usually windy and cool. There are things to see along the coast, but after 3 full days, I would be ready for something else.

If you are there in the late spring or early summer, I recommend Crater Lake.

Distances between the coastal towns isn't that great. So, rather than spending one night in each place, why not two nights each in Cannon Beach, Florence (or Yachats, or Newport), and Gold Beach.

Are you planning a visit to Crater Lake somewhere around the night in Grants Pass?

By the way, you might get some responses to your parks pass question if you include "Oregon" in the title. Sorry, I don't the answer to that question, though.

Distances (very roughly):

Cannon Beach to Newport 100 miles
Newport to Florence 50 miles
Florence to Bandon 70 miles
Bandon to Gold Beach 50 miles
Gold Beach to Brookings 30 miles
Brookings to GP 100 miles
GP to Portland 250 miles

You can do it, but it's going to be a lot of driving.

What time of year are you doing this trip? What particular interests do you have? Some coast towns are great for wildlife viewing, some for beachcombing, some for shopping, some for golf!

I agree with Bob Brown...you are spending a lot of time on the beach...which is good if the weather is good...the Oregon coast is great. Some of those beach towns are not as charming as others or don't have as much going on....especially in winter. Depending on your interests, I might also add Ashland-Shakespearean festival in summer& fun, interesting character in winter as well as winter sports nearby or Jacksonville, an old historic town near Ashland with lots of character and interesting shops, history. There's also Ft. Vancouver and Mt. St. Helen's which are just across the Columbia River from Portland in Vancouver, WA. St. Helen's is a farther drive but infinitely more interesting than a dreary, rainy day at the coast with nothing to do. Portland could easily take more than a day also....

My husband & I usually travel in Sept. and I had read there could be less chance of fog as opposed to Jul/Aug? Someone gave me a Fodor's book about Oregon which I've been reading. As I mentioned, we liked to do short hikes and usually "walk the towns" in the evening; we just have 10 days. We try to limit car time ea. day to 200 mi. or less and attempt to avoid backtracking. But appreciate all the advice so far and certainly will consider it and any other input.

Correction - I meant 2 hrs. or less per day of driving (not 200 miles!!!!). And, anything unique/scenic is our goal.

A more satisfying use of your ten days might be:

• Portland
• Hood River, including waterfalls and the Columbia River Gorge
• Bend (or other stop on way to Crater Lake)
• Crater Lake (rather than the coast from Florence to Brookings).
• Florence, including Cape Perpetua, light houses, and Sea Lion Caves
• Newport, including Nye Beach and the Aquarium
• Cannon Beach, including Ecola State Park
• Portland

I would plan two nights at Crater Lake and Cannon Beach.

You are spending two more days on the coast than you need to unless you are a real beach fanatic. I suspect the Portlanders will hate me for saying this, but I would skip Cannon Beach and head directly to Newport from Portland, skip Gold Beach and go directly from Bandon to Brookings, the head inland and spend a night at Ashland and the last night near Salem so that you can see Silver Falls area. The Oregon coast is marvelous, but you don't have to see every mile of it. Crater Lake is also great, but a hard and long drive from I-5, and it doesn't sound that you like to experience this.

After a nite at Grants Pass, I think we will drive to Prospect and stay there; then on to Crater Lake for the day, driving to Roseburg for a nite before heading back up to Portland. I've trimmed it down to Portland (2), then Cannon, Newport, Bandon and Brookings. From there, drive to see some of the Redwoods before heading up to Grants Pass. Could someone tell me the most scenic areas of the Redwoods? Thanks again.

Why Grants Pass? You would much more enjoy a night (or 2) in Ashland.

I don't know if you could say that one area of the redwoods is more scenic than others. It's like saying one tree is prettier than another. The redwoods are all awestriking (that a word?) in their size. Driving from Brookings south to 199, then north, will take you through a couple redwood groves, at least one of which has a nice park. If you think you want to see more, I'd head further south to the place that has the redwood with the tunnel cut through its base. I remember going through that as a kid, but don't know where it is. Save some time this day for a couple stops along the Smith River. Beautiful!

beachbum
"awestriking" - I think you may have coined a new word! It's a great description.

We just went through the area that Beachbum is talking about last March. Beautiful! We also did the drive-thru tree when I was a child, but it was fun to do again with our children.

dsquared, awestruck......awestriking.... glad to see you think it works too.

mms,
so, where is that tree? it's quite a bit south of Crescent City isn't it?

Beachbum--Yeah, its a ways south of there! It was a few hours, but didn't seem like it since the entire area was so beautiful. The tree is in Leggett and is called the Chandelier Drive Thru Tree. If you look at the tree upside down, it looks like a chandelier.

Agood place to stop to see the redwoods that is right on the way to Grants Pass on 199 is Jedidiah Smith State Park. I agree with beachbum that Ashland is a much more attractive stop than Grants Pass, and it's only about 40 miles south.

If you're heading to Newport, you may want to check out the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Keiko no longer resides there (I guess it WASN'T a good idea to "free" Willy . But they put a cool underwater tunnel in it's place.

If you take the recommendations to go to Ashland, you may want to visit The Oregon Vortex, House of Mystery. It's pretty interesting. It's located between Grant's Pass and Ashland.

I do agree with those above, you DON'T need to spend so much time on the beach. Have fun in Oregon!