We'd like to visit Portland - i've done a search of different things to do, and looks like we'd be interested in the following: Mt. Hood/Colombia Gorge area, Willamette Valley vineyards and the Oregon Coast. I'm having difficulty assessing the distances/driving times between Portland and these places and was hoping for some suggestions as to how we should plan our itinerary. By no means do we assume that we can visit all three, but we'd like to experience the best the area has to offer. Ideally, we'd like to stay in Portland and make day trips, getting back in time to sample some of the restaurants for dinner. Is this doable or am I daydreaming? Any information you could provide would be helpful. Thanks.

Also, i'm confused as to the different areas you can stay. There seem to be many different areas in and around the city - Beaverton, Hillsboro, Clackamas, Downtown, Gresham, East Portland, Jantzen Beach, Columbia River. Is there a location where you'd suggest we should stay or stay away from?

I've visited the coast and the Gorge area, but not the vineyards. I was very impressed with the beauty of the Gorge and found it one of the more majestic places I've visited, having been to almost every major scenic attraction in the US. While the coast was beautiful, I didn't find it too unique, other than the odd looking rocks near Cannon Beach.
You can enjoy the Gorge as a day trip from Portland, though it's a full day if you stop off to see some of the waterfalls and such. We went east on the Oregon side, back to Portland on the Washington side. Great salmon served at the Skamania Lodge. Convenient place to eat early evening on the way home.

doable??? no problem!! first as to where to stay..Beaverton,Hillsboro,Clackamas, Greshan, are baciclly just bedroom suburbs of Portland,,not much to see.
Jantzen beach has a couple nice hotels right on the river "Doubletree".. Or you could stay at one of the hotels downtown, Heathman, Hilton,Benson..depending on your budget.
You could do the vineyards and Oregon coast on one full day..heading out thru Newburg, right thru the heart of wine country to the coast.
Then on another day head up I-84 to Troatdale, take the old scenic highway up to the waterfalls stopping at Vista house for probably one of the top ten views in the US..Then hit I-84 again and go east to Hoodriver,,head straight north from there and loop back around the back side of Mt Hood, back to portland,,Driving time?? portland to the coast about 2 hours without stops,,
The gorge loop..5 hours tops without stopping,

thanks gg and rick. very helpful information. i live near san francisco, and the drive times between our parks and natural attractions can get pretty long here, so i was worried that the portland area might be the same. i was thinking of maybe bidding on priceline or using hotwire for the hotel. seems they have good deals, mostly doubletrees. if anyone else has any suggestions re hotel, restaurants, sights, i'd love to hear them!

Two fun lodging alternatives can be found at www.mcmenamins.com - the Hotel Oregon in McMinnville is close to the wine country, and the Edgefield outside Troutdale is ideal for tours to the Columbia Gorge or day trips to Mt. Hood. McMenamin's also operates the Kennedy School in Portland, another enjoyable if slightly off-beat property. Most folks who stay at one of these places want to come back, or export the idea to their home towns.

All these suggestions are good. We like Columbia Gorge Highway using the "old" highway and not the freeway--more waterfalls that way. If you have a day, you can go on up to Hood River and then make the loop around Mt. Hood (including the lodge) and back to Portland.

One place that is not often mentioned is Mount St. Helens. The volcano erupted in 1980. We just came back from there. We're working on a page for our Travels and Travelogues web site, and if you'd like to preview it (we hope to post it in the next few days), try . . . http://www.geocities.com/judcomp/hel.htm .

There are some great wineries out in Yamhill County (an easy daytrip from Portland). Unfortunately many of the wineries are only open on Thanksgiving and Memorial Day weekends. Even so, there are still plenty of good ones to choose from on a regular basis.

The Columbia Gorge is a must do while in Portland. It's a toss up between the other two. Coming from California, I get to see plenty of ocean and have a wide variety of wineries up and down the state. I guess you just need to decide which type of day you'd prefer. Either way, you'll have a great day.

I just returned this am from the Portland area. We did the wine counrty, Columbia River area, and the coast. The coast is a waste of time, I thought. Cannon Beach was the only nice stop. The views were nice but not worth the REALLY long drive. If you do the Columbia River trip definitely go up Larch Mt Road. It's on the scenic highway before Vista House. You drive to the top and only have to hike 1/4 mile up. It is well woth it. You can see 5 mountains from the lookout. Rex Hill is a nice winery and Duck Pond in Dundee. Dundee seems to have a lot of nice wineries. Also, Nob Hill is a nice area in Portland.

It is AMAZING how close everything is that you want to do from Portland, and how easy it is to get to (I moved here from NYC last summer and found it so refreshing!). I highly recommend staying in the city of Portland as your base of operations. The gorge is an hour away to the east, the wineries an hour (at most) to the west, the Oregon coast is also about 1 1/4 hours straight west, and Mt. St. Helens is about 1 1/2 hrs north. There is a VERY COOL helicopter ride you can take up to Mt. St. Helens and into the crater if the weather permits. It's a bit pricey, $99 per person, but really an amazing site. If you're checking out wineries out 99W near Dundee, I highly recommend Chateau Benoit - beautiful setting (bring a picnic), great wines and knowledgable staff and excellent prices. The Benson and 5th Avenue Suites hotels are both awesome, although a bit more expensive. However they are centrally located so you can walk to lots of restaurants, clubs and shopping downtown from either of them. Restaurants to check out: Paley's Place and Laslow's in NW Portland, Castanga in NE, the Heathman downtown (the chef just won the James Beard award). There's also a great South American restaurant called OBA! in the Pearl District which has wonderful food and fabulous Margarita's. AVOID WILDWOOD! I have had 2 horrible meals there, both from the standpoint of food and service. If you drive up to Mt. Hood there is a nice restaurant at Timberline Lodge, which makes a great car stop along the way. The views are phenomenal. Enjoy!

I've got the same question. Anyone with more info please???

CAME BACK FROM THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST BEFORE THE ALL STAR GAME. FORGET THE COAST MAKE ONE STOP TO A STATE PARK AND YOU WILL HAVE SEEN THE BEST OF THEM ALL. VISTA HOUSE IS WORTH THE TRIP BRING FILM AND HOPE FOR A CLEAR DAY STOP AT THE DAM AND DO THE TOUR AND THE SURGEON AT THE FISH HATCHERY
WENT TO HELENA WAS CLOUDY SO WE COULD NOT SEE THE TOP OF THE VOLCANO BUT THE RIDE TO THE JOHNSTON POINT WAS UNDESCRIBABLE AND SOMETHING TO BE SEEN. MOTHER NATURE SURE HAS SOME POWER

Thanks everyone for all the great information you've given. After reading, we think we'll go see Mt. Hood/Columbia Gorge and Willamette Valley, and save the coast for next time. Plus, we want to spend a day exploring the city of Portland. We're really looking forward to it after reading all your posts and are doubly excited because of the great fares and rates (car/hotel) we've found online (we love to splurge, but we're saving up for our big trip to S. America)!

So we got a $27/nt rate at the Lloyd Center Doubletree off hotwire. I know the MET rail system has a stop right across from the hotel. Will we be able to leave our car and use only the public transport to explore all the sites in Portland? How about in the evenings when going out to dinner (safety concerns, accessibility to restaurant districts)? Thanks!

Your location at Lloyd Center Doubletree is a good one. A 5-minute ride on the light-rail (called MAX) will take you downtown where you can shop and have your choice of places to eat. The Max also goes to the zoo and Washington Park. You probably don't need a car, unless you want to go out to NW 23rd (a trendy area with shops and restaurants) although there are lots of busses and our new trolley cars that go there regularly. I never worry about going about at night Downtown or in NW as a single female.