We will be in Oregon for 7 days in early Sept. I would like to make a loop from Porland down to Eugene, over to Bend, and then back to Portland. How many days should we stay in each location. We are looking for tourist things to do as well as look for a retirement area. How long does it take to drive to each location; especially from Bend back to Portland to catch our return flight.Thanks

On the way south to Eugene you might like to stop and visit Corvallis. That's where my folks have retired and they love it.

I'm guessing Eugene must be about 3 hours from Portland? Approx. 1-1/2 hrs south on I-5 then cutting across heading west to get to Eugene.

Portland to Eugene is about 2 1/2 hours. It is an easy straight shot down I-5. Bend back to Portland can be anywhere from 3-4 hours, depending on traffic and which route you take. If you are headed directly to the airport, then I would take hwys 97/26/84 which would bypass the downtown core area and so is easier as far as traffic is concerned.

I am biased with Corvallis, I love it. It is a college town with a great feel to it.

As far as how much time in the various areas, it depends on what you are looking to do. Bend has great hiking and scenery. I don't know Eugene at all besides the University. Portland is great and has a lot to offer, with many easy day trips from here. Let us know what your interests are and we can help more.

Eugene is about 1 1/2 hrs- 2 hrs from Portland- and is considered to be one of the best spots in the US to retire-so you might want to spend a little time here( obviously I live in Eugene)
and Valley River Inn is a hotel you might consider staying at- on the river.

Between Eugene and Bend there is so much to see and do you could spend 7 or more days just doing that. The McKenzie Hwy has many places to stop and walk, view waterfalls etc-. Belknap Spings might be a nice stop- its a resort so can rent a room and has a pool heated by hotsprings - beautiful grounds and hiking trails. You might check out Black Butte Ranch also - nice resort with great golf courses and mountain views- across the road from Black Butte is the Metolius area and Camp Sherman - another of my favorite spots-famous flyfishing area.
Sisters is also a great place to stop and spend some time - lunch- visit the shops.
And Bend also has so much to see and do
SunRiver Resort is close by- great resort with wonderful walking biking trails and golf courses.
If you stay in Bend you might consider the Old St Francis school- an old catholic school turned into hotel - walking distance to downtown Bend and is a fun place to stay.

Hope you have a great trip -


As far as how much time

Portland to Eugene is about 2 hours, Eugene to Bend about 2.75 hours, and Bend to Portland about 3.5 hours. With 7 days to spend in the three cities, I'd allocate 3-4 to Portland, 0-1 to Eugene, and 2-3 to Bend.

Eugene might be a nice place to live, but I don't know why a tourist would want to stop there. Bend is popular as an outdoor recreational destination with camping, hiking, biking, climbing, fishing, rafting, skiing, and golf pretty much at your doorstep. There's lots of outdoorsy stuff to do around Portland too, in addition to other activities you'd expect in a city of its size. Popular attractions include the Columbia River Gorge, Washington Park Rose Garden, Japanese and Chinese Gardens, Pittock Mansion, and shopping in the Pearl District and along NW 21st and 23rd.

You might also consider a day trip to the coast during your Portland stay. It's a short 1.5 hour drive, and one of the many reasons people love living here.

LOL! With four responses, you got four different answers on the travel time from Portland to Eugene. It's about 110 miles. I guess we know who in the crowd here has a lead foot.. ahem.. sunbum?

beachbum- OK I'm busted! I can make it from downtown Portland in an 1 1/2 -
on a good day - with just a little heavy footedness - just keeping up with the rest of the traffic -

Beachbum, I think Eugene is a fun place to visit! When we lived outside Portland, we often took visitors down to Eugene for a day trip. And when we lived in Eugene, our visitors all enjoyed themselves.
Anyway, kenmat is considering potential retirement spots as well as vacation spots, so it merits an overnight.
MMS, what are the best rental developments in Eugene at the moment? Just in case kenmat wants to consider renting in the area for a while. When we lived there, Boulders on the River, about a mile from the Valley River Center, was the nicest place and had mostly non-student residents (not that there's anything wrong with students).
Also, we tended to go to the Bend area via Highway 58 rather than the MacKenzie route. Also scenic.

I'm not really up on rental areas as I have a home- but believe Boulders is still good.
There is a new condo develpment just started - on Olive- kind of across from the old library- that is supposed to be very upscale - believe they are going to be going for $400,000 and up - which is pretty high for the Eugene area
And there are many new housing developments which have opened up -

This is too funny all the drive times from Portland to Eugene, lol! Can you guess who does not want to get a ticket? lol!

Btilke--You must mean Sunbum for the Eugene help.

All this talk of Bend has my getting very antsy for our trip there soon!

Wow you guys drive fast! I know I make it Portland to Corvallis in exactly 1-1/2 hours... and I thought Corvallis to Eugene was ~45 mins. But maybe there is a more direct Corvallis-less route you take between the two.

OK OK- I guess I will have to change my name from Sunbum to Leadfoot -

suze--You and I can cruise along in the slow lane

ya... i guess so, huh? ;-)