hikrchick

Hi everyone, thank you so much for all the wonderful comments on my previous thread with our barely-thought-out plan for Portland/ONP/Seattle. After some discussion, we have pretty much decided to eliminate Seattle. Gardyloo's ideas about the Oregon coast sounded sweet and so Hikrguy has revised everything. I would love some comments and critiques:

Friday June 23: Arrive Portland late from either JFK or EWR. Stay at a nearby hotel for just sleeping so the next day we can head out, so we're not driving on unfamiliar roads at 11 p.m.

Saturday June 24: Rent car. Wander around Portland. late afternoon drive to Roseburg probably on Route 5. Stay in Roseburg.

Sunday June 25: Roseburg with cousins. Hiking! Stay in Roseburg.

Monday June 26: leave Roseburg after breakfast and there are two choices: drive up to Portland via Rte 5 and then west to the 101. OR drive west from Roseburg to the 101. Head up into Washington. This day is all about the gorgeous scenery and the drive. Stay somewhere near southern Washington/Northern Oregon?

Tuesday June 27: Drive to Lake Quinault, ONP. Stay at Lake Quinault.

Wednesday June 28: Hiking! Stay at Lake Quinault.

Thursday June 29: Hiking! Stay at Lake Quinault.

Friday June 30: Drive north and then east on 101 to Lake Crescent. Hiking! Stay at Lake Crescent.

Saturday July 1: Hiking! Stay at Lake Crescent.

Sunday July 2: Leave ONP. Drive 101 south to Olympia, then Rte 5 to Portland. Stay in Portland. Pros/Cons of leaving ONP early to have more time in Portland this day?

Monday July 3: Drive east to Columbia River Gorge. Hiking! We can drive back the same way OR drive south on Route 35 and then west on 26.

Tuesday July 4: fly home.

We could use some advice on routes from Roseburg to Lake Quinault on Monday:
Option 1: Roseburg to Portland (Rt 5) and then to McGowan, WA (via 26 and 101). This would be 279 miles and we'd probably want a recommendation to stay somewhere around McGowan.

Option 2: Roseburg to Gardiner, OR (Rt 138 to Rt 88) and then up to McGowan via the 101. This would be a total of 280 miles or longer. Is this scenic and charming?

And we could use some recommendations for a small but scenic town to stay overnight that evening. We are not quite sure what is a doable amount of driving that day.

Thanks for all of the help so far, we are very grateful to have this resource to help refine our plans.

suze

Much better! Shaping up nicely!!

One teeny observation/question: Why do downtown/city/Portland on two separate occasions? Why not drive out to Roseburg that first morning? Or later on go from ONP direct to Columbia Gorge?

Gardyloo or others, please correct me if that suggestion makes no sense.

hikrchick

Gardyloo? Any thoughts?

marvelousmouse

Main reason to do Portland that first day would be to hit the farmer's market. Otherwise I'd book it out of town and then just head back as early as possible from the ONP. Then you can make that day all about Portland. Portland is a great afternoon/evening town. Morning is for farmer's market and boozy brunches.

26th- either Astoria or Cannon Beach, probably, for your overnight. Astoria is a river town, and very scenic in that slightly decayed blue collar town way. Interesting historically. CB has better food, beautiful beach, very walkable...but is kind of (not sure how to put this) overdeveloped in a cutesy way.

I'd (maybe) swap Portland and the Gorge. You have to be in Portland that last night anyway. So I'd probably stay in hood river or at macmenamins edgefield July 2 and Portland downtown July 3. Reason: less encounters with traffic. and a bit less driving, I think.

sunbum1944

The annual Waterfront Blues Festival will be Jun 30-Jul 4 in Portland so there will be much activity in the downtown waterfront areas. Hotels may get booked so plan accordingly.

If you like music, it is a fun event- 3 stages of non stop music.

tomfuller

Drive out to Hood River on I-84 the first night even if it is 11PM. (I-84 Hood River exit) is much easier than finding a hotel in Portland IMO.
Rt. 138 to Elkton off I-5 is much more scenic. About 5 miles before Reedsport you can see elk at the Dean's Creek viewpoint. If you can't make it all the way to Cannon Beach, try for Lincoln City to see the world's shortest river.
For a hotel close to PDX I like the Embassy Suites.

sunbum1944

Hwy 138 is very scenic.

Suggest driving to Florence instead of looking for a place around Gardiner where I am sure there are not many options.

Fodorite018

I agree with MM's suggestions. McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale is a lot of fun, but they book up far in advance, so if that sounds good to you, book now.

As sunbum mentioned, the 4th of July festivities here have a huge impact on downtown. If you can't get a room at the Edgefield, you might try another McMenamin property The Kennedy School. It is a short drive (5-10 minutes) to the heart of downtown, but is in it's own cool area as well.

I absolutely would not drive out to Hood River on the night of arrival! If you are getting in at 11pm, and tired, then add on an hour to drive out to HR is just not a good idea.

We do a lot of hiking in the gorge, so if you need suggestions or anything, just ask

marvelousmouse

And hood river is NOT easier to find hotels in!! Tom, have you tried that in the summer lately?? Every time I passed through the gorge last summer, hood river was completely sold out, and Dalles quickly followed suit.

Fodorite018

Very true MM. We have a wedding to go to in HR in August and we want to stay right near it, so need to book a hotel now.

hikrchick

wow. You are all amazing. Thank you everyone. I am particularly appreciative of the traffic details. Since our time there is so short, spending less of it in the car is a very good thing!

We're going to try to get this set this weekend.

then I can come back and ask about vegetarian restaurants in Portland.
oh -- I read about Kenny & Zuke's deli. Does anyone know if it is actually kosher or just a Jewish-style deli?

thanks!

tomfuller

Check the menu for Purim. http://www.kennyandzukes.com/delicat.../delicatessen/
I'm not Jewish but I love this place. It is across the street from a rather expensive hotel (Mark Spencer?).There is also a small restaurant in the SW corner (ground floor) at Powell's World of Books.

Gardyloo

Does anyone know if it is actually kosher or just a Jewish-style deli?

The latter, and barely that, e.g. bacon and eggs, pastrami and Swiss omelet...