South of Coos Bay but north of Bandon is Shore Acres State Park,,,,amazing scenery, https://shoreacres.net/about-us/abou...es-state-park/

Along the Cape Arago highway just south of CB you will find three beautiful state parks side by side...Sunset Bay, Shore Acres, and Cape Arago.

Looks like I need more than two weeks! Thank you Bobmrg.

We've finally had a chance to sit down and look at these suggestions in depth and Gardyloo's suggestion of the the BC wine region in the Okanagan Valley has piqued our interest.

We've made a few tweaks to the map he provided, but wanted to run this by posters familiar with the area to see if what we propose makes sense. I think we'll be hard pressed to fit all of this into two weeks, but we're willing to add a week if necessary, and/or cut back if needed. If we add a week, we'll probably start the trip the last week of April.

We're thinking about three nights in each town (except Spokane, perhaps only one night prior to departure unless we find enough of interest to extend).

Arrive Spokane
Drive from Spokane to Coeur'dalene - 35 miles
Drive from Coeur'dalene to Kalispel (3.5 hours)
Drive from Kalispel to Cranbrook (2.5 hours)
Drive from Cranbrook to Nelson (2.5 hours)
Drive from Nelson to Kelowna (4 hours)
Drive from Kelowna to Osoyoos

OR drive from Nelson to Penticton and use it as a base for exploring the Okanagan Valley wine region which looks pretty extensive

Drive from Kelowna or Osoyoos or Penticton to Chelan (~2 hours)
Drive from Chelan to Spokane (three hours)

We'd very much appreciate thoughts on this proposed itinerary. Feel free to tell us if we're nuts.

I think it sounds fine. I don't think it makes much difference whether you base in Kelowna or Penticton; they're not terribly far apart. I do think, however, you should look at taking BC 6 north from Nelson, possibly with a stop in New Denver (picturesque and interesting/beautiful memorial park on the site of a Japanese internment camp in WW II.) The roads alongside Slocan and Upper Arrow Lakes are fab. Map - https://goo.gl/maps/ZHfM7BTfz9K7LTCj9

Are you planning to head up to Stehekin from Chelan? If you plan to spend a night there, advance booking is essential.

Thanks Gardyloo. Hadn't considered Stehekin, we'll take a look. Do you think we need three weeks?

Melnq8--I gave you some on Stehekin on this thread. Go back and read and see if you think it will work. You need to book asap as the places fill up as does the boat. I booked last January for July and the boat was nearly full at that point, to give you an idea.

Thanks mms. We've since looked at Stehekin, don't think it will work. Might have to scale back a bit.

I think we're going to ditch Cranbook, unless someone here convinces me otherwise.

Is there a reason to go to Kalispell MT if you want to go into Canada to see the Kootenays wine region?
You might want to post a new thread in the Canada forum.
Were you flying into Spokane? It might be easier/cheaper to fly to Seattle or Portland and take the Empire Builder train to Spokane. The train arrives in Spokane about midnight but you can easily get a room in Spokane and go from there in the morning in your rental car.

Tom - our main interests are the outdoors, hiking, scenery, small towns and food/wine....and since we're so close, we thought heck, let's check out Coeur d' Alene and Kalispell while we're up there.

Flights into Spokane are similarly priced to those into Portland, so it doesn't really make sense for us to add another layer with a train, which would mean spending an extra night in a hotel at the start of the trip. Seattle wasn't even on our radar, I've read so many things about what a nightmare it is to get in and out of the airport, but honestly, we didn't even look into it.

Granted, we're novices when it comes to that whole chunk of the country, let alone Canada, so we could well be making some mistakes..still a work in progress.

Appreciate your insight.

Understood. Kalispell does have an airport. I've rented a car there when there was not one available at Whitefish. I like Whitefish much better than Kalispell. My favorite lodging in the area is at the Meadow Lake Resort in Columbia Falls. Check on the policy with the rental car company about taking their cars into Canada including insurance regs.
It is not hard to get in or out of PDX or SEA, IMO. I've flown from and returned from both. The end of the TriMet Max red line is right outside baggage claim at PDX. Car rentals and taxi/Uber are also a short walk from baggage claim.
Spokane has a nice park along the river that was the site of the smallest World's Fair in the US. I did once drive from Oregon to Spokane and parked my vehicle to start a trip on the Empire Builder. We spent an afternoon walking around Spokane including the park before going to the train station for our late night trip east to Chicago.

Check on the policy with the rental car company about taking their cars into Canada including insurance regs.

Brilliant minds...we were doing that very thing just a few minutes ago.

We flew into/out of PDX in 2016 when we visited OR and WA for the first time. I've flown through SEA a few times when we lived overseas, but never ventured outside the airport.

If you were planning to visit Glacier National Park, then Kalispell would make sense IF you were traveling in the summer. If you're planning to start in late April or May, however, then I'd drop Kalispell and Cranbrook, and maybe Chelan too, and consider a loop that includes a couple of days in the Washington Palouse, a couple of hours south of Spokane (but north of the main Walla Walla wine country.) Map - https://goo.gl/maps/eNQm7pmh29JSDreC9

The Palouse hills in the spring are magical, with infinite shades of green, e.g. this view from Steptoe Butte -

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7a29867936.jpg

And Palouse Falls ought to be terrific at that time, too -

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...99c817d0c2.jpg

I would make the trip in a clockwise direction, in order to give the Canadian parts a little more time to develop into spring. And you shouldn't have any difficulty in taking a US rental car into Canada; just tell the rental people that you plan to do so, and check to make sure your insurance will cover you, which it probably will.

Thanks again Gardyloo. Glacier is certainly on our long term wish list, but not for this trip. We're aware it's too early in the season, but there seem to be loads of hiking opportunities near Kalispell.

As always, your photos inspire and we'll take a long look at your proposed itinerary.

Consider Sandpoint and Whitefish if you enjoy smaller towns.

Thank you Patty.

Gardyloo -

Is the drive between Nelson and Penticon via New Denver (Hwy 6) pretty enough to justify the six hour drive?

I think so, yes. You pass through some beautiful mountain-and-lake scenery, which ought to be great at that time of year. I'd check road conditions, of course; if it's cloudy and wet, then maybe following BC 3 is the better plan, but to me, the BC 6 route is pretty special.

Thank you Gardyloo! That's what I was hoping to hear.

This thread needs tagged for Idaho, Montana and if possible, British Columbia.