keener

My husband and I (we are in our late 50s) will visit Oregon in November. We will spend one day and night in Eugene and then head south to the Crater Lake area - then to the coast and up to McMinnville. Where should we stay in the Crater Lake area - Roseburg, Grants Pass, or...??? I welcome suggestions for lodging, restaurants, 1/2 day hikes (easy to moderate). Also for the south-central coast, from Gold Beach to Lincoln City.

boom_boom

Neither Roseburg nor Grants Pass are near Crater Lake...Klamath Falls is the closest city of any size.
I like Florence, Yachats or Newport on the coast. The Hallmark Resort in Newport was nice as was the Best Western in Florence. Stayed at very nice B&B in Yachats, but can't remember the name.

NWWanderer

When in November? It's very possible there will be a good amount of snow up at Crater Lake by even early Nov so hiking may be out of the question.

I would agree that Roseburg is a little too far to be a good base for Crater Lake but Grant's Pass is do-able. Medford would be closer still, or if you have an interest in Shakespeare, Ashland could work.

If your budget permits, I wouldn't miss a chance to stay at Tu Tu Tun Lodge in Gold Beach.

sunbum1944

I would also guess that there will be a LOT of snow at Crater Lake in Nov -
The Prospect Hotel in the little town of Prospect is a great place to stay - short drive into the Park-The hotel itself has some very nice rooms - and back behind the hotel are some more motel like rooms -
which are just very basic but clean.
The people who run the hotel are great- and the food is wonderful
I belong to a ski and sports club and we stay there every year for a snow shoe/cross country ski trip.

Another choice- more upscale is the Steamboat Inn - on the Umqua River

http://www.prospecthotel.com/

http://www.thesteamboatinn.com/

beachbum

I 2nd the recommendation of TuTuTun, and suggest you consider the Overleaf Lodge in Yachats. I believe the Shakespeare Festival ends around the 1st of November, but think you'd probably still prefer Ashland over Medford or Grants Pass. More lodging and dining choices. We've stayed in several places there; favorite is Ashland Creek Inn. Ashland Springs Hotel is nice too. Restaurants we particularly like are Lark's, Liquid Assets, and Amuse.

NWWanderer

Oh, good point about the festival--it runs so close to year round I always forget they actually do shut down for a few months in the winter ;-).

kimamom

Hi there! We recently enjoyed a very nice stay at the Weasku Inn in Grant's Pass, this was our second stay here in a river cabin. The property is very spacious and the cabins are adorable with comfy beds, river rock fireplaces and nicely appointed bathrooms. There is a wine and cheese reception in the evening and a nice breakfast buffet set up in the morning. For dinner we went to River's Edge a few minutes from the Inn, the food was very good and you have views of the Rogue River from the outdoor patio area where we dined.

Don't miss the Rogue Creamery in Central Point if you want to sample some of the finest Bleu Cheese in the area. There is also Lilly Belle's chocolate shop where we picked up some gourmet candies. Have fun! ***kim***

irish_tank_is_back

Look up the Diamond Lake Lodge. It is about a 10 minute drive from Crater Lake. It is not a town just lakeside cabins. This place is great if your going to Oregon for scenery.

saige

keener
If your itinerary includes Ashland, I highly recommend the Country Willows B&B. We've stayed in lots of B&B's and the attention to detail there was incredible.
http://www.countrywillowsinn.com/
There are lots of good restaurants and interesting shops in town and the Shakespeare plays alone are worth the side trip.

You might want to check on forest fire and smoke conditions before you make the trip to Crater Lake. Roads into the area can be closed due to fires,smoke or snow. We had a clear view of Crater Lake from ten until one and then it was completely obscured by lingering smoke from forest fires.

Oregon is beautiful! Enjoy your trip.

thorspecken

We were lucky enough to get a last minute reservation for the lodge at Crater Lake. I would stop there for lunch and/or refreshment as the view is lovely from there on the porch. We walked down to the lake from the only trail that goes down and we did not think the hike down and up was worth it. A walk in an old growth forest later would have been better. We loved the coast. If you like whales go to Depoe Bay. There are some whales that stay to feed in that area but I am not sure they will still be there in Nov. If they are still there Depoe Bay is a great place to see them. We drove through the three Capes mentioned in the Fodor's book. Fabulous with those large rocks jutting out of the water. The restaurant Roseanne's (I think) in Oceanside had a great view of the sunset and the food is as good as the guide says.

Fodorite018

thorspecken--Yes, I wouldn't bother with the trail except for doing the boat ride. That is a really interesting way to see Crater Lake, and the rangers ride along and give you so much information. I highly recommend that to anyone who visits.

keener

We have decided to stay in Grant's Pass for two nights. We want to visit Crater Lake one and putter around other scenic sites on the other day. I have been checking out lodging options - we don't want to be too isolated and we prefer an inn or hotel over a B&B. What about the Riverside Inn - it looks nice, but the comments online are mixed. I welcome suggestions.

kimamom

Hi, we have stayed there many, many times, usually under the Entertainment Rate of about $59/night. The property is located right on the Rogue, all rooms have river views. We like the rooms directly in front of the pool, downstairs. One time we had a really bad room upstairs that had a horrible mattress and we had to move to another room around 1:00 am, the staff was very accomodating, they have a nice complimentary breakfast in the Eagle's Nest or you could walk over to the River Rock Cafe for Starbuck's and strawberry waffles.

Any further questions on the RI, let me know! There is also the Lodge @ Riverside across the street, the rooms a more upscale and it is a newer property, it used to the RI before they went out on their own. ***kim***

keener

Thanks for your information. The entertainment rate sounds great -- how do you get that?

kimamom

We buy our books from local schools, you can also purchase them online. ***kim***