My wife and I are flying into Portland on June 25th.We have been planning, searching,and looking for weeks now including reading many posts in this fourm, but it has become difficult to collectively plan all there is to see and do in the ten days we have. I will list our VERY rough draft of an itinerary. Please feel free to make any suggestions, changes, anything to help. Day 1. Fly into Portland. Would like any suggestions on what to do with a overnight stay planned in Astoria. Day two. See sights as we travel south along the coast, ending that evening in Newport or Yachats. Day 3.Depart the central coast with stops at lighthouses and other recommended stops with the day ending around Gold Beach. Day 4. A trip up the Rouge river along with other suggestions from the helpful people on this forum. Day 5 is still very much up in the air. We would like to continue south to the Redwood National Park in northern Calif. then head back north on Hwy. 199 towards Grants Pass. With that being said we thought we could travel approx. 150 miles a day. We don't know of alot to do in this areas but we want to visit Crater Lake,waterfalls,do some hiking,other sightseeing, etc... That nights stay and the next are yet undecided. (any ideas)We want to then move on to the Willamette Valley to visit wineries, possibly more waterfalls, hiking and so on. Also need suggestions on lodging for that evening. We plan on our trip comming to an end by spending our last days in the Mt. Hood/Columbia River Gorge area before flying out of Portland on the 6th. We would very much like suggestions on where to spend the 4th.(Portland waterfront blues Festival maybe?) I know this itinerary may seem lofty, but we want to see all we can with what time we have. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Would guten tag be in order?

Since you have some time in Portland at the end, I'd recommend driving straight to the coast upon arrival. It's about 2.5 hours to Astoria. The drive down the coast looks fine; 150 miles/day is just about right, but be warned; you will want to spend more time than you've given yourselves.

If you've not seen the redwoods, you should! Maybe end day 5 in Ashland. It's a little out of the way, but after all the scenic outdoorsy stuff, you might want to add a little culture by attending a play at the Oregon Shakespeare festival. Spend night six as near to Crater Lake as possible. It's unlikely that at this late date, you'll find a room in the Lodge.

After visiting Crater Lake, hightail it back to Portland on I-5. It's about 5 hours, but unless you want to go up the east side of the Cascades, there aren't many reasons to stop. Most of the Willamette Valley wineries are in an area 1 hour SW of the city off 99W, and can be done in a day trip from Portland. If it's waterfalls you want, include Silver Falls out of Salem as part of a winery day trip. Remember that you'll also see a bunch of waterfalls in the Columbia River gorge.

The Blues Festival is a good choice for July 4. Alternatively, Vancouver WA, directly across the Columbia River from Portland, has the largest fireworks display west of the Mississippi (or Missouri, or one of those big rivers).

You've done a nice job on this itinerary! It may be a little rushed, but I don't think too lofty. If you ask (maybe even if you don't), you will get all kinds of recommendations about where to stay, what to see, and even what to eat all along the way.

I can't add much to what Beachbum has said. Got a couple more thoughts, though. If you can't find anything you want to see in Ashland, check out the Britt Festival in nearby Jacksonville WA:

http://www.brittfest.org/

Great music.

Fireworks at Fort Vancouver are awesome. The Spirit of Portland has a tourboat cruise that watches from the Columbia River. You might look into that. They are shot from a barge over the river. Viewing from the river is amazing.

Have a great trip!

Thanks for the input. Any word of advice is alot of help. Beachbum...(or, please anyone else)any personal preferences on picturesque places to stay between the five hour drive from Crater Lake and Portland? This question may seem a little redundant, but what would be considered must see places along the coast? Again, thanks so much.

IF you decide to watch the fireworks at Fort Vancouver (and they are excellent), be advised that it's a very popular thing to do; finding parking will be virtually impossible. You might want to consider spending that night at a local hotel within walking distance...probably the best choices for that purpose are Homewood Suites, Shilo Inn Vancouver, or the Vintage Inn B & B. Homewood Suites is on Columbia Way and in theory you should be able to walk (about a mile or so) from the hotel to Fort Vancouver (which is interesting to see, even without the fireworks, some neat tidbits about NW history are tucked into the park). Be careful, some of the Vancouver hotels are pretty far out (near the mall or Salmon Creek or Cascade Park, etc.).

I recommend a visit to Cannon Beach, which is about 35 miles south of the Washington border. It's a charming, artsy, interesting little town, with a lovely main street to wander along. I think of it as Carmel (California) in Oregon.
The Lewis and Clark Museum near Astoria is very interesting and historic.
In Newport (on the coast) is a wonderful B & B, the Sylvia Beach Hotel, called "Bed and Breakfast for Booklovers," which has each room decorated after an author. The restaurant is called "Table of Contents." Great overnight for a reader.
Take your umbrella, sweaters and raingear to Oregon anytime of the year.....

I can't add much since the others already gave you great advice. The Blues Festival is great and on the 4th of July there is a nice fireworks show on the waterfront. The fireworks are done on a barge out on the water and people gather all along the waterfront to watch. Although it is not quite the zoo that Ft. Vancouver can be, it is still very crowded. I don't want to sway you away from it at all, just want you to know what to expect if you decide to go.

Hi Gunter. Run a search on the board (under Oregon) for Astoria, Canon Beach, Newport and Yachats. You'll find lots of suggestions of places to stay. Book soon!

Gunter,
If you don't want to drive straight through from Crater Lake to Portland, why not go up highway 97 towards Bend. SunRiver is a popular nearby resort destination, with towering lodgepole pines and mountain views to go along with the golf courses, tennis courts, and swimming pools.

Or, you could continue to Bend, and head northwest through Sisters to Black Butte Ranch, Camp Sherman, or a new lodging at Suttle Lake. The question with any of these (including SunRiver) would be whether or not they have minimum stay requirements at that time of year.

One of the attractions of all of these "resorts" is that they are on the dry side of the Cascade range, with a completely different climate(lots more sun) than the western side. I think you can find accommodation options through Google.

Where are you staying in Astoria? I would recommend the Hotel Elliott, www.hotelelliott.com It's a beautiful hotel. We enjoyed a flight of Pinot Noir (Sineann) tasting in the Vintner's Room there, definitely worth checking out for wine tasting.

What are your interests? For a nice dinner spot in Astoria, I would suggest Fulio's for Italian or the Silver Salmon Grille. Both are located in downtown Astoria, walking distance from the Hotel Elliott. If you like spa treatments, the Columbia River Day Spa is a very nice way to relax and be pampered. It is right across the street from the Hotel Elliott.

There's a cool little trolley that runs in the summer until 9:00pm in the summer months. It will take you along the entire riverfront there. If you like to swim, the Aquatic Center is very fun. www.oldoregon.com Enjoy your trip! ***kim***

Hi Gunter, sounds like a great trip. to get to Astoria, you might want to by-pass the normal Hwy 26 route and instead take Hwy 30 from Portland or I-5 north to Longview, WA and then over to Hwy 30. 26 is actually a pretty drive, but it will eliminate you backtracking on 101 when you head back down the coast after Astoria.

In Astoria the Columbia River Maritime Museum is worthwhile, as is a climb up the Astoria Column - you'll get a spectacular view. Seaside, OR is about 20 minutes south and has a nice downtown area with lots of shops, restaurants and arcades. Cannon Beach is another 20 minutes south and is also has a nice shopping/restaurant area. Ecola Park at the north end of Cannon Beach has beautiful views. Further south you get stunning views of the coast from the view point at Neahkahnie Mountain, about 20 minutes south of Cannon Beach.

Further South is Tillamook and the Tillamook Cheese Factory - definitely worth a stop. If you have time, the 3 Capes Drive is very scenic, especially if you have good weather. Also in Tillamook is the Tillamook Naval Air Museum, housed in an old blimp base.
Farther South is Lincoln City, Newport and Yachats. Both Lincoln City and Newport are decent sized towns for the coast and have plenty of lodging and restaurants.

When you get to Gold Beach, be sure to take a jet-boat ride. There are 2 companies, Jerry’s (www.roguejets.com) and Mail Boats (www.mailboat.com). I’ve done the Mail Boats a couple times and it is a great trip – take the 84 mile ride – it’s really good! Also in Gold Beach is Sheriff John’s Classic Cars (www.sheriffjohnsclassiccars.com) – a really nice museum, especially if you’re into old cars. Gold Beach Books (www.oregoncoastbooks.com) is a must. They have a spectacular Rare Book Room, something you’d expect in a major city, not on the Southern Oregon Coast. They also have a great coffee house attached and often have live music and theatre on weekend evenings. It’s right on 101 in the center of town, you can’t miss it. There are great stretches of beach and beautiful lighthouses between Astoria and Gold Beach, too.

If you are still thinking of doing the redwoods, the Redwood National Forest is about 2-3 hours south of Gold Beach. The really cool part of the Redwoods, the Avenue of Giants is another hour or so south of that. If you just want to get a taste of the redwoods, take 101 South into California then follow Hwy 199 to Grants Pass. It is a bit of a windy road, but it does take you through the edge of the redwoods. Grants Pass is about a 2 hour drive.

There really isn’t a lot of scenic attractions between Grants Pass and Portland, unless you detour to Crater Lake, which is spectacular. The boat trip at Crater Lake is great – just be prepared to hike down to the lake to catch the boat – and back UP! The trip down isn’t too bad, but it seems much longer when you’re headed up.
Along I-5 back to Portland you will see the Willamette Valley Vineyards just south of Salem. It is a wonderful winery with a great tasting room.

Once you get back to Portland, I agree with the people who have recommended the fireworks in Vancouver – they truly are spectacular – as long as you can get close. If the Spirit of Portland has a cruise to Vancouver that evening, I’m sure it would be well worth the cost.

The drive up the Gorge on I-84 is very pretty. You can take a day to see Multnomah Falls, the Bonneville Locks, Columbia Gorge Hotel. Head back to Portland down the Washington side on Hwy 14 for a different view.

I hope you will have a wonderful trip!

If you're looking for a lovely place to stay on the coast, I highly recommend New England House B&B (newenglandhouse.com). You will be the only guest there and treated to unobtrusive pampering. You have a wonderful view of the ocean, and it's so quiet and peaceful there. You are within driving distance to Newport, Hecata Head lighthouse, the sea lion caves, horseback riding, and many other activities. If you like to hike, there's a fun little trail within driving distance called "Hobbit Trail" that takes you down to a pristine beach. We found no fewer than hundreds of intact sand dollars, quite a few very small agates, and a lovely walk. The hosts of New England house will provide you with lots of information about the area if you like (or leave you on your own if you like). The food is freshly prepared (5-course breakfast) and very healthful (and delicious - the best blueberry pancakes ever).

Hi Gunter

Just a comment on the redwoods if you get that far south. 199 will give you almost nothing as far as rewdwoods go. You want to take Howland hill road it is a little out of the way but worth it.

Have Fun
GP

it sounds like youv had a geat response i lived in vancoune washington for years and portlands a great city the firworks on columbia river are great good luck