Hi, all!
My family and I (4 adults total) are planning to take a trip to Portland this Summer. We're from Nashville, TN, so it will be a pretty big change of scenery for us...all of us love to hike and be outdoors but also love exploring cities. Right now our trip is looking like it'll be a week long. I want to plan a few days/nights in Portland and a few spent taking in the wonderful landscapes of that area. Currently trying to decide how to make the best use of our time; I've heard Eugene, Mt. Hood, and other surrounding areas are worth visiting but I'm not sure exactly how to decide how much time to spend where. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Hi daterra8,

I would definitely recommend planning to spend a day visiting the Columbia River Gorge, a stunning beauty at Portland's doorstep and one of my most treasured experiences thus far during my travels in the Pacific Northwest.

Best wishes, Daniel

A week is actually a pretty short period of time given all the things you can see and do in the region.

I'd start with investigating a touring plan something like this - https://goo.gl/maps/w2gqMb6ovwR2 .

It's basically a figure-8 tour that includes an inland loop through the Columbia River Gorge as far east as the fun and funky Maryhill Museum and nearby Stonehenge replica - Rodin in the sagebrush in a stunning location overlooking the river canyon; then seeing the stunning Hood River Valley (orchards and vineyards) up to Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood.

The second loop would entail traveling to the magnificent northern Oregon coast, starting with Ecola State Park near the popular seaside town of Cannon Beach, then traveling through historic Astoria and over the (awesome) mouth of the Columbia to Cape Disappointment, with its lighthouses, waves-on-rocks scenery, its own Waikiki Beach (!) and terrific Lewis and Clark interpretive center. If time permits you could travel along the historic north shore of the Columbia inland to Mount St. Helens for a visit to the Johnston Ridge observatory (not shown on the map because the access road is currently closed by snow.)

Google these places, and don't forget that Portland itself is a treasure trove for foodies, beer, book and art lovers, and fans of general kookiness. Your challenge is going to be finding time to see even a fraction of the things on offer. Sure you can't take 2 weeks?

The only thing I would add to Gardyloo's map would be to go south on US 101 from Cannon Beach to Newport. Just south of Newport is the Oregon Coast Aquarium which might interest you more than the Maryhill art museum.
Leave Newport on US 20 and see Salem and our beautiful capitol building on the way back to Portland.
If you get stuck in Portland on a rainy day spend at least an hour in Powell's World of Books.
Also along US 101 make a stop at the Tillamook cheese factory. The newly remodeled visitor center should be great.

I just discovered this great website: http://www.oregon.com/attractions
The Tillamook cheese visitor center will have a grand opening sometime this summer.

The Epicurian Walking Tour is a great way to see some of the city. You will see some of the city, hear about some of the history and try out some of the local foods. I thought it was a fun outing.

If you like hiking, plan a day at Silver Falls State Park east of Salem. There are 10 waterfalls to visit. Some of the trails go behind the falls. There is a visitor center at the S Falls where you can get a trail map. It's one of my favorite hikes.

Another fun adventure I have done is kayaking the Willamette River with Alder Creek Kayak. They provide gear and a guide. You will start from Portlands downtown area and paddle under several of the bridges and see Portland from the water. The river is pretty calm in that area and fine for beginners.

And as Gardyloo suggested, the Gorge is beautiful. Some very nice waterfall hikes.

There is a paved path along the river where you can walk for miles. I usually do a loop by crossing over one of the bridges and loop back over another bridge.

Summer can be brutally hot in Portland in the summer.

My first question would be when? Weather can vary quite a bit. June is typically cooler than July and August can get pretty warm, although there can be a heat wave during any of that time. Also, June is the Rose Festival so things get really busy and hotel rates etc rise. Personally, I would avoid that time.

As for where to go, I agree the gorge and the coast are must sees. A word of caution on the gorge though, as there was a massive fire this past summer that did a number on some of the OR side of it and right now they are saying that many of the trails will not reopen until sometime this summer, hopefully. So keep that in mind and keep an eye on websites such as www.oregonhikers.org to see the most up to date details on this. In the gorge itself, a few must sees are Portland Woman's Forum (odd name, fantastic views), Crown Point Vista House and Multnomah Falls. There are many more wonderful places to stop as well. We spend a lot of time hiking in the gorge, so if you need suggestions, let me know what you are looking for in terms of distance and elevation etc. There are numerous hikes on the WA side as well, and those were not affected by the fires.

In the gorge, I would take the old scenic highway (hwy30) at exit 22 off of 84, and then continue out to Hood River and The Dalles, out to Biggs Junction and then cross to the WA side. Stonehedge replica is there and is interesting, and the Mayhill Museum is a not stop, but I prefer just the outside grounds vs in the inside, and then further down is Horsethief Butte which is a stunning area. You can take that WA highway 14 all the way back to Portland or cross back over to OR. We tend to cross over at Cascade Locks.

For the coast, I do disagree with Gardyloo a bit. I don't think the WA coast area is worth the time. I would instead route you from Portland over to either Astoria or Cannon Beach and then go south until at least Newport. Then cut back over to I-5 and head up to Portland, stopping at Silver Falls near Salem on the way. Like Sunbum, we really enjoy this trail. It is 7 miles long and not difficult at all, but very scenic.

I personally would skip Eugene unless you have a specific reason for it.

Are you interested in wine tasting at all? If so, the Willamette Valley is where you want to go. OR is known world wide for Pinot Noir and this is the area for that. There are wineries in the gorge, but different varietals and frankly their quality does not compare at all to what you will find in the WV, IMO.

You might look at this website for interesting places to stay. In Portland, we've stayed at the elementary school and enjoyed a day out at the poorhouse. Always a delight to see their locations.

https://www.mcmenamins.com

Definitely include time on the Oregon Coast!

I agree, the McMenamin properties are a lot of fun! We have stayed at almost every one and always enjoyed them.