Portland worth a visit from Seattle?
 

Hi All,

I am planning a two and a half week trip to the US in August including 8 days in Hawaii with stopovers in the west coast on both legs of the trip: 3 days in Seattle, 3 days in Oregon, then flying over to Hawaii from Portland, then flying back to San Francisco for 3 days, visiting Carmel and Monterey before flying back to Europe from SFO.

I would like to know if the city of Portland and its surrounding are really worth a visit though or if I should just add a couple more days to Seattle and visit a couple of the islands and national parks around town in addition to the harbor and mount Rainier.

I've already been to BC so please don't suggest a trip there : )

Any suggestions are appreciated!

When I think Portland, I compare it to a city like San Francisco... rich in character, history, people, and experiences...

Just like SF, it's defined by the people, proud to be quirky, artsy, and active...

It's well worth two days of your adventure, but keep it about the people for the best taste of Portland...

<i>I would like to know if the city of Portland and its surrounding are really worth a visit or if I should just add a couple more days to Seattle</i>

From Portland you can visit two of the Columbia River gorge and the Pacific coast. Both are "really worth a visit."

I don't know what you "should do" with regard to Seattle. The Olympic National Park, Mt. Rainier, and the San Juan Islands are among nearby attractions.

HTtY

Some practicalities...

Accommodation in Seattle in the summer is very expensive, owing to pressures from general tourism plus Alaska cruise passengers. You'll need to shop aggressively for affordable lodging.

Olympic National Park really requires a 3-day commitment owing to its distance from Seattle and the location of the Park's various highlights - they're spread around the edge of the Olympic Peninsula, often hours apart. Mount Rainier can be done as a day trip from Seattle, or of course longer if you want to take hikes etc. Accommodation in or near both national parks is limited and might be heavily booked by now, depending on your dates.

The Columbia River Gorge and Mount Hood offer terrific variety without the need for hours and hours in the car. A loop that includes the waterfalls and vista points on the Gorge's wall, Hood River and the beautiful Hood River Valley, and Mount Hood itself, can be done as a long single day or a very rewarding 1 1/2 or 2 day itinerary from Portland.

Weather in Portland tends to be noticeably warmer in August than in Seattle.

Seattle is a good jumping off point for many great destinations.
I would not spend 3 consecutive nights there.
My advice would be to take an Amtrak Cascades train from Seattle King St. station to Portland and then rent a car downtown to go see both the Columbia River Gorge and the north coast of Oregon.
If the weather is nice, try for a night at Hood River or up at Timberline on Mt. Hood.
As geocacher, I enjoyed my visit to the world HQ in the Fremont section of Seattle in January. Seattle has some lesser known attractions such as the troll under the north end of the Aurora Bridge. I met with other geocachers there for an event on Jasnuary 4. I left Seattle at 1PM with the temps in the 50's and got home in central Oregon that night with the temperature at 10.

Thank you guys so much. My main interests beside beautiful nature include period buildings and walkable neighborhoods beside an interesting casual food scene.

tom fuller, that is exactly what I was thinking, to book a train down to Portland and take a Columbia River Gorge tour.

garyt22, two days in Portland sound fantastic: a full day to explore the city and a daytrip out to the Columbia River Gorge. Portland does have a reputation of being home to such interesting residents including "weird" and progressive pockets living side by side with a bunch of ultra-conservatives.

happytravelstoyou and gardyloo thanks a lot for all the info I really appreciate it.

Normally I would say yes, Portland and the area is worth it. However, this August it depends on your dates. If it is during the eclipse, there is no way I would do it! We are expecting over a million visitors here in OR for that and it will be a zoo!!! If your dates do not conflict, then yes;) Do not though that our hotel rates are also ridiculously high during the summer. We loved be in both the Portland and Seattle areas and so are very familiar with both and the pros/cons of both.

Ugh, we live in both areas.

You might enjoy the Epicurian Walking Tour of Portland.

You will taste foods, maybe some beer, from a variety of places as you walk through the city and also get a bit of history from the guide. I enjoyed very much.

There are several other food tours as well.

https://tickets.portlandwalkingtours.com/?interface=4

One of my favorite urban walks in the US is through the Pearl District and then up the hill to the Nob Hill neighborhood.

HTtY

I cut time in both Seattle and Portland and spend more in Hawaii.

suze, who lives in seattle

Yes, Portland is worth a visit in my mind, no question, especially given that you like walkable neighbourhoods and a casual dining scene. You might even wish you had more time, given that one of your days will be to visit the phenomenal Columbia River Gorge. Six days total it looks like you'll have for Seattle, Portland and surrounds...those days will go by quickly and you'll likely have a list of things to do for when you return one day!

Have a great trip! Daniel

>My main interests beside beautiful nature include period buildings and walkable neighborhoods beside an interesting casual food scene.>

With only a few days in Portland, personally I would skip any time consuming trip to Mt. Hood.

You will see beautiful landscapes in Hawaii and since you will be in Seattle and have been to British Columbia I think you would find the city life in Portland much more fun as a tourist.

Portland is such an amazingly cool city. I recommend having a rental car and hitting such neighborhoods as Division Street in SouthEast Portland for the cool foody scene. Also Alberta St in No.East Portland, and the downtown area has lots of cool places as well.

Find out were the local, organic, independent coffee houses are.
If you need I'm sure many can give you a long list of cool restaurants, cafes, beer craft houses, etc.

https://pdx.eater.com/maps/best-portland-restaurants-38

Here are some of my favorites (which are on the above list):

Bamboo Sushi NW
St. Jacks
Le Pigeon
Bollywood Theatre
Pok Pok
Toro Bravo
Beast

Coffee houses:
Common Grounds, Extracto, Coava, ...

But there are literally hundreds of very cool places.

mms, my trip is planned for the first week of August so it not affected by the eclipse but thanks for the heads up!

sunbum1944, I do enjoy taking food tours once in a while will certainly look that up thank you.

Suze, spending more time in Hawaii sounds fantastic! though coming from so far away it would be a shame not to spend any time in the continental United States not only because it is such an interesting "cool" corner of the country but it also allows me to comfortably fly to/from Hawaii to the other side of the globe.

Daniel Williams thank you sir, that sounds amazing I'm sure I'll have a great time!

nanabee, Thank you so much for the great suggestions!!

Hi guys I found these two tours from Portland below -please help me pick one!

Are these tour very different or do they have a shared overlapping area?

Tour 1 full day:

Downtown Salem

E.Z. Orchards Farm Market

The Oregon Garden

Silver Falls State Park and it waterfalls

Silver Falls Lodge

South Falls

Willamette Valley Vineyards

Tour 2 half a day:

Columbia River Highway with panoramic views from hundreds of feet above the river at Crown Point and the historic Vista House.

Latourell Falls

Travel past Wahkeena Falls to Multnomah Falls and Lodge.

Oneonta Gorge and Horsetail Falls enroute to the Bonneville Dam and fish ladder, a national historic site in the splendid heart of the Gorge.

<<Suze, spending more time in Hawaii sounds fantastic! though coming from so far away it would be a shame not to spend any time in the continental United States>>

Then skip Seattle and just do Portland? Add 3 days to Hawaii. I love San Francisco so definitely keep that on one leg of your journey.

Maybe it is because I am a long-time resident but to me Portland and Seattle cannot hold a candle to the Hawaiian islands in any way shape or form :-)

Those tours do not overlap at all. I was born and raised in Salem, and cannot for the life of me understand why downtown Salem would be a draw for anyone besides a local. The other locations of that tour are good though. As for tour #2, that would be my choice. That said, Oneonta Gorge is closed and has been for over a month and will be for the foreseeable future as a flash flood came through and moved trees/rocks and it is deemed unsafe by the forest service. I think the gorge just has more wow factor than tour #1, even though I adore Silver Falls and the vicinity.

I didn't want to insult anyone, mms, but wondered the same thing about including "downtown Salem" -haha- (my family lives in the Corvallis area so I've been thru there a bit). I wonder what exactly there is to see there?? :-)

suze--LOL, no offense taken:) Great place to live with a family, but definitely not a draw for visitors!