bklineman

I have read many of the posts and need advice for a short haul (weekend)
We live in Richland, WA, and are doing the "cycle the gorge" bike tour for a week ending June 20th. It will a birthday weekend and we want to “see the ocean” before we head back to Richland. We will be ready to go, from Portland, mid afternoon on Friday so my thought was:
Japanese gardens,
next stop the three capes and then work our way north to the mouth of the Columbia river (could we do these three things in an afternoon?) or stay near the mouth (where?) and view on Saturday morning.
From there is where I am stuck should we see anything further North or head East back toward Richland and if so what should we see and where should we stop for the night?

We want to back in Richland mid day Sunday or even late Staurday night.

Thanks for your help

cmcfong

Your trip sounds like fun. Can you tell me a bit about the group with whom you will be traveling? Also, please post a trip report.
Have fun!

bklineman

The ride is sponsored by Adventure cycling http://www.adventurecycling.org/tour...lethegorge.cfm --- the weekend portion is what I need help on planning.

beachbum

From Portland to the north end of Three Capes Scenic Loop is 90 minutes. The Loop itself is 40 miles, and ends 90+ miles south of the mouth of the Columbia. You can drive all that in an afternoon, but you won't have much time to stop and enjoy what you're seeing.

So I'd suggest skipping Three Capes, and heading straight to Cannon Beach. Cute little town, and the beach there is one of the best on the planet. Visit Ecola State Park, just north of Cannon Beach before heading up to Astoria.

The best place to view the mouth of the Columbia is actually on the WA side, from the Interpretive Center in Cape Disappointment State Park, about 15 miles from Astoria. Some pretty spectacular views from the North Head Lighthouse there too.

The drive from Astoria to Richland is around 5.5 hours. I'm sure you'd enjoy spending a night on the coast or in Astoria if you could fit it into your schedule.

bklineman

Fine tuning the plan based on what I read and need additional info. When we leave Astoria to head back to Richland; What stops should we do and which road should we take?Should we go through 84 to visit Multnomah Falls or take the WA route via US12? The time difference is about 10 minutes but we want the most scenic and "potential" stops as we will not be rushing.

Thanks again for your help everyone