arounnk

Travel Advice Experts,

I would like to hear from you all on planning a road trip from Portland,OR to Crater Lake. I'm planning this trip as a weekend one starting on Saturday morning and like to cover Crater Lake as a first stop and then a night stay at Roseburg and the next morning to Winston Wild life safari. From Winston I'm planning for Florence sea lion caves and back to Portland. I'm planning this trip with my family and like to cover most of the good places around these areas.

Any ideas and suggestion on my trip and also the route to take will be useful for me. Appreciate your early response.

Thanks,

janisj

That is not a weekend trip IMO. It is about 650 miles/12 hours car time without ANY stops. By the time you visit Crater Lake and the Wild life park -- the weekend is over.

So it is really two different weekends 1) Crater Lake and Roseburg/the animal Park, and 2) the coast.

What time of year? Access to Crater Lake is another issue depending on when you are traveling.

Fodorite018

I agree, this is a bit much for just a weekend. Also, not knowing the time of year you are wanting to go makes it hard to give relevant advice.

All that said, Crater Lake is a fantastic place to visit. If you go from July to about mid September, do not miss the boat tour. Be sure to do a rim drive as well, whether on your own or take the trolley. The wildlife safari is ok. If it is summer when you come, try to do this in the morning when it is cooler and the animals are more active. Sea Lion Caves is a bust, IMO. You can see many of them for free in several locations around Newport.

arounnk

Thanks for the reply. The trip might be this weekend or the next. Also I'm thinking about covering Florence and can skip as well if the trip will become more hectic.

Is there any other places I can cover near by. Also any suggestions on the route I need to take for these places.

Fodorite018

Honestly, I would skip Crater Lake since you are too late for the boat ride and they may get a bit of snow this week. It sounds like you live here in OR also, and if that is the case you are not too far to plan a trip at another time more easily. Try for July/August. If this were me, I would head to the coast for the weekend. You could head over from Portland, and driving southbound is much easier for pulling over for quick stops, and then you could take I-5 back up. That way you could meander down the coast, giving you more time there, then with I-5 being much faster, would be a straight shot back up.

janisj

I agree w/ mms. Sept is the best weather of the year along the coast. Go west to the coast this weekend. Save Crater Lake for next year/summer.

5alive

Another vote for the coast. And I would not go to Crater Lake with a family unless you arrange for the boat tour. It will take your kids from a "meh, I've seen lots of scenery" to an adventure taking the boat to Wizard Island, trekking up to the top, or even diving into cold, cold Crater Lake.

As to the coast:

The sea lions are around or not, seasonally. We typically have good luck at Newport. But the best was with Girl Scouts, about 2 years ago in early October. There were so many crammed onto those docks, they couldn't fit any more. And they were loud.

There are other spots to see them, but that's where we've had best results.