Portland,OR & Vancouver, WA insight/ advice for July 2017 please
 

Hi All,

Trying to put together some day trips from Vancouver, WA with 3 days on
either side of the July 4 holiday.

Trip 1 would be Vancouver to Troutdale (would 205 to 84 be best
to avoid Portland traffic ? )Then pick up Hwy 30 to enjoy the wonders of the Gorge.
Next head south on 35 from Hood River to Mt. Hood to catch a bit of the "fruit loop
and visit the Timberline Lodge. Would head back on Hwy 26 to Vancouver. Looking for your thoughts on the time required to do this loop and advice on avoiding Portland traffic and places to eat/anything else/alternative routes you might want to point us to.

Trip 2 would be from Vancouver west out to the coast. Thinking about taking 26
to Astoria then either OR 30 or WA 4 back to Vancouver. Would love to work in
the car ferry ride between Westport & Cathlamet. Steering us to must see sites
and routes to get out and back from Vancouver would be most appreciated.
Get us out of the car folks :)

Now as for the 4th itself...where best to see the fireworks while avoiding crowds ?
If is feasible to get into Portland near the water-front on the light rail by parking outside of the City ? Yes, we are up for a walk.

Is there a Trip 3 here that ventures into some of the Willamette Valley ? McMinnville ?and
perhaps a different part of the coast.
Or perhaps we go north into Washington ?
Please know we are coming from Sonoma County
CA, and have had decades to live in & explore San Francisco and the
beautiful northern CA wine country and coast.

For our Other days we'd love to hear about a fun hike, kayak trip and your favorite
places to dine.

Many thanks,
R5







Nan Shoninger
Sent from my iPad

You have a great start:)

For trip 1, yes you have a good route. When you are on 84, get off at exit 22, which is for Corbett. Go up the hill and at the stop, take a left and then not too far down on the left is the Portland Woman's Forum (odd name, great views), then Crown Point Vista House and then Multnomah Falls. Those are the 3 biggies, but there are plenty more places to stop. We do a lot of hiking in the gorge, so can help with that but of course it depends on what you are looking for regarding miles, elevation etc.

Day 2 is good, but do know that the coast will be really crowded with the holiday. If you decide to skip the ferry, just take 26 over to 101 and see Cannon Beach (Ecola State Park and Haystack Rock are must sees), and then head down to Tillamook and take highway 6 back along the Wilson River and it will meet back up with 26 to get back to the metro area.

For the 4th, there is the Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland along the waterfront. It is fun, but crowded. Yes, you can do the light rail and walk. You might like to head back to the gorge for this evening though, as Corbett puts on an amazing show! It starts with an old fashioned parade in the morning, then activities during the day at the school, and then the fireworks show at night, at the school. Corbett is a tiny town, but their fireworks show is really good!!! Definitely worth it!

Yes, the Willamette Valley wineries are worthy of a day:) This is the area where we live, ands obviously enjoy it. We have over 400 wineries in this area alone, plus some excellent restaurants and some good shopping. You can add in the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville.

Hi mms !
Long time no see-hope you and yours are well !
Lots of helpfull ideas here-thank you.

For Trip Two-what are your thoughts about Cannon Beach and going north to Astoria, then looping back to Vancouver on the WA side ? We probably won't
hang around too long a Cannon Beach....Any thoughts on places for lunch from Cannon Beach to Astoria or ??

Thanks for the heads up about Corbett for the 4th !!

It looks like our Trip Three day could include heading to the coast via McMinnville
up to Tillamook and heading back in on 6 & 26, althought we would love to avoid the traffic of Hillsboro/Beaverton/metro Portland....

Also, how many hours should we allocate for each of these trips.

and finally, what should I pack other than jeans :)) ???

Kayak trips- Alder Creek Kayaks has rentals at guided trips out of Portland.
Last summer did a couple of trips with them.
Enjoyed kayaking the Willamette River last summer. It's pretty easy, little current. Fun seeing downtown Portland from the water and paddling under the bridges.

Thank you, sunbum 1944 ! We are interested in doing this type of activity
on our "in town" Portland's day(s).
Some folks we know have also suggested an afternoon at the zoo followed by Jakes (?) for dinner for this day.
(which prob won't involve much before 11:00 AM due to our flight not landing at PDX much before 10 PM )
Is this Portland Jakes the same as the
smallish "chain" I went to in Seattle and wondering if it is the same ?
Any other true Portland dining you locals fave we would love to hear about.

Many thanks,
R 5

A couple of thoughts...

Instead of SR 35 south from Hood River, take the parallel Eastside Road (just east) and stop at Panorama Point for gorgeous views of the valley and Mount Hood - https://jletookthis.files.wordpress....mount-hood.jpg . You can easily reconnect with SR 35 to continue. You might also consider doing this trip in reverse, so that by the time you end with the main part of the Gorge, the sun will be behind you as you look at the Gorge from Vista House or the Portland Women's Forum viewpoint. In the morning the sun in the east can wash out the views to a degree.

Second, I'm a big fan of WA 4 out to the coast. Ilwaco is a fun little fishing village, not as hyped or twee as Cannon Beach, but the real star is Cape Disappointment on the Washington side of the river's mouth. Lighthouses, waves crashing on rocks, Waikiki Beach (!) and a terrific Lewis and Clark interpretive center. A great day can be had doing a loop - out to Cape Disappointment, across the river to Astoria and down to Ecola Beach, then back. If you want to take the Cathlamet ferry over the river, do it on the return.

Ecola Park, not Beach - sorry.

R5--Good to see you gain too! Your alternative route for the coast is good. In Cannon Beach, I would suggest a couple of places for lunch. For one, skip Mo's!!! It's been around forever, but the food is bad. Instead, the Wayfarer is very good and even better if you can score an outside table. Our favorite place though is Public Coast Brewery. It doesn't have views, but has great beer and food, and has a large outdoor seating area. Another good place is Pelican Pub, again, not right on the water, but good beer and food, and has outside seating. You might change your plans up a bit. If you do the coast, then instead of heading back to Portland, if you stay around McMinnville, you could easily go from the coast over there and totally avoid any metro traffic. Then you would be set for the next day for wine tasting. If you do that, instead of taking highway 6, go down to around Lincoln City and then cut over. It takes about an hour from there to McMinnville. Personally I would skip Jake's. Higgins in a Portland gem that has been around for a while, but not resting on it's reputation.

Such wonderful responses thank you all !! We so appreciate everyone's thoughts !

After all of your terrific input we are switching things up - and are open to doing so again and again as we bump long.

Having a plumbing ER so will hopefully return later today....

Thank you All !

mms your recommendations for Cannon Beach are timely. I would have gone to Mo's -- who knew? DD and family bought a tiny cabin on the coast so I hope if I get the chance this summer to actually go to Cannon Beach and will check out the other places you mentioned. Public Coast Brewery sounds great.

nanabee--We head over to the coast a lot, so just let me know if you need any suggestions. Yes, Mo's is popular, but I think because they have been around forever, but their food is seriously bad.

Has anyone eaten at the Bell Buoy in Seaside lately? They used to have some good chowder.

Historically the largest firework show "west of the Mississippi" were at Fort Vancouver in... Vancouver. Organizers cut back on the size about 5-7 years ago, but it's still a good show. We went about 3-4 years ago and toured the fort during the day. They had actors in period costume in the blacksmith's, etc. There were also bands. If you love blues music, go to Portland. But I wouldn't leave Vancouver to go to Corbett.
http://4th.fortvan.org/

https://www.nps.gov/fova/planyourvisit/index.htm

I do think to see the Gorge you should get off in Troutdale and drive through the town. It's the official gateway to the gorge and it's charming. But if you are pressed for time, then take the Corbett exit.

We actually enjoy Mo's chowder, but we all have a right to our own opinions.

Jake's is an institution, but I'm far less sold on it.There are so many great restaurants in Portland by comparison. What do you like?