So…I’ve been planning a 2-week vacation to Oregon in early September, and I thought I had it all scoped out. Silly me! A new challenge has been introduced and I humbly beseech you to share your expertise with me. I grovel at your feet, humble and hopeful….

We are traveling with another couple, with whom we vacation every other year. The husband is quite the movie buff, and I’ve come to understand what a passion it is. Everywhere we have gone, he can name movies that were set in wherever we are, and it delights him. This trip, I decided to deliberately include some of his favorite movies in our journey. I have plotted a loop from Portland, along the Oregon coast, then inland, returning to Portland.

The monkey wrench is that I've just discovered he’s into the “Twilight” movies. I think it’s mostly the woodsy settings, but nothing will substitute for being able to say he’s been to Forks. Can you help me rework my plans to have adequate time to make that visit?

Here was my original plan:

Day 1: Catch early morning flight from Florida to Portland; drive up to Ape Cave Lava Tube (Mt. St. Helens area); hike, spend the afternoon and next morning there (1 night)

Day 2: Drive to Astoria for 2 nights. Good location for movie memories, plus Lewis & Clark museum and other sites.

Day 4-10: Week at timeshare in Depoe Bay on Oregon coast. Week spent exploring the coast (this cannot be changed)

Day 11: Head south for Redwood Nat’l Park; 1 night

Day 12: Head for Crater Lake; 2 nights

Day 14-15: Mt. Hood, Columbia Gorge, Multomah Falls, etc.; depends on time and inclination at this point.

Day 16: Plan to be in Portland by mid-morning; spend the rest of the day in Portland. Maybe visit Powell’s Books.

Day 17: Fly home. That takes mostly all day, thanks to the time zone changes.

Question – is there time to do both the lava tube at Mt. St. Helens and Forks, in the few days before we check in at Depoe Bay? Or should I work the lava tube into the end of the trip, or abandon it altogether? We will be in Astoria over Labor Day weekend and most places have a 2-night minimum stay (at least those that look appealing to me), but perhaps I should look at a single night there?

Sorry for the long post. But if I can work this in gracefully, we are going to make this a surprise for the big guy. Normally we prefer to spend 2 nights whenever possible. Oh yes - any recommendations on where to stay in Forks?

Appreciate your time, thank you so much for reading this far.

Don't be in a rush to leave Oregon...most of the filming was done in that state.

http://twilightsaga.wikia.com/wiki/Filming_Locations

The city scenes of the St. Helens movie were filmed in Bend, OR. Parts of Rooster Cogburn were filmed in the Deschutes NF west of Bend. Kathryn Hepburn used to skinny dip in Sparks Lake before showing up for filming. If you want to come up the east side of the Cascades after leaving Crater Lake you can see Bend on the way back to the Columbia Gorge.

Thanks for that, bobmrg and tomfuller. I'll be sure to work as many of these into the trip as I can.

If I do end up needing to work in a "Forks pilgrimage," is there anything else worth the drive? We do enjoy doing some hiking, and love both natural scenery/parks and interesting historical stops. If all we are doing is taking a boring, non-scenic drive up there and back, I want to avoid it. But otherwise, I am fairly certain he will never make the trip himself, so want to be sure to include it if it's worthwhile.

Weeee-eeeeeeell, indeed those may be the 'sets' on which Twilight is filmed, but all of the teenage girls who are big fans don't stop short of Forks itself.

And there will surely be decent amounts of ocean scenery on the way up the coast, and mountains and green forests once you get nearer. Not to mention the town of "Humptulips"... ok, really, don't mention it.

Do bring an umbrella because the real "Forks" doubles as the rainiest town in the lower 48 states.

Plenty of souvenirs to be found in Forks too.

Forks is definitely out of the way given the rest of your itinerary, so to include it, something's gotta give.

Personally, given the time of year you're coming, I'd be inclined to nix the Ape Cave and Crater Lake. Going to Ape Cave means using a different access road into MSH than the main one that leads to Johnston Ridge and the good views; getting from one to the other is a really long (like 100 miles) detour. You could "substitute" the Oregon Caves (I know, not the same thing) later in the trip - as you return from the Redwoods en route to Crater Lake you'd have to take US 199 from Crescent City to Grants Pass; the Oregon Caves are right alongside US 199. http://www.nps.gov/orca/index.htm

In early September Crater Lake and nearby areas are likely to be hot as Hades; fine if that's what you want, and a real change from the Redwoods. However, I'd be inclined to suggest you take the Crater Lake days and add them to the Mt. Hood/Columbia Gorge/Hood River Valley area. If you want the kind of hot/dry climate you'll get at Crater Lake, you can just go a little east from Hood River to The Dalles, or Maryhill (WA) - great museum and Stonehenge replica - www.maryhillmuseum.org - where it will definitely be warm and sunny. Mid-September is quite wonderful around the Hood River Valley - lots of fruit trees getting close to harvest, really nice.

If you decided to skip Ape Cave, then you could head north on I-205/I-5 from the Portland airport as far as Olympia, then connect to US 101 and take it all the way to the top of the Olympic Peninsula. (The part where US 101 runs alongside Hood Canal is very scenic, too.) It's around 5 hours from PDX to Forks, but you could easily stop for the night at Port Angeles; if your energy level is high enough then you could take a quick trip up to Hurricane Ridge near PA.

Forks itself is pretty much a wide spot with some Bella and Edward schlock for sale; the aim for a Twilight excursion ought to be First Beach or Rialto Beach near La Push. Of course the beach scenes weren't filmed there (they were mainly in British Columbia) but at least the places are mentioned in the books.

Anyway, just down the road from La Push is the Hoh Rain Forest, which is a true highlight of the area, especially in late summer. It's different from the Redwoods rain forests, but equally awesome (IMO.)

From there it's around 3 1/2 hours to Astoria, so PA/Forks > La Push > Hoh > Astoria is doable in a day, albeit a longish one. That would in essence swap a night in Astoria for a night with the undead or the wolves. Is it a decent bargain?

Oh, you might look at Ilwaco (WA) for an overnight if you're not committed to Astoria. It's a cute fishing port and not likely to be as packed as that part of Oregon. Some excellent lighthouses and coastal scenery nearby, too.

Perfect! Thanks, Gardyloo (any special meaning to that screen name, btw? I've wondered). This solves several problems - the Ape Cave piece was always an awkward place in my plan, and no I am not committed to staying in Astoria.

On our last trip with this couple, we ran into unseasonably hot weather in Yellowstone in mid September, and I was a bit worried about that on this trip. In visits to family in the Everett/Marysville/Mukilteo area, September has sometimes been hot, and in San Francisco (where I grew up), that is/was typically the hot month.

Although seeing Crater Lake is on our friends' wish list, I'll change things up to make it more of a "drive by." I wanted to spend more time in the Columbia Gorge and Hood River anyway.

Final questions - any recommendations on places to stay in Forks, Ilwaco, or any of the other areas you mentioned? I'm looking for something a bit unusual, and at least 1 B&B.

Thanks again.

NorthwestMale, good to hear from you again. You confirmed my hunch about the Forks pilgrimage. I am trending toward staying at the place in Forks with the note on the marquee "Edward Cullen DIDN'T sleep here," lol.

About Humptulips - no promises there, we make a DVD (with captions) for all our vacations. This in itself is an incentive for the detour...

Humptulips is down the road a piece from Sappho.

In medieval days "Gardyloo!" was yelled by inhabitants of the tall tenements in Edinburgh's Old Town before they threw the contents of their chamber pots out of the upper windows. It supposedly came from the French "garde de l'eau" - "look out for the water" - subsequently freely translated by the wifeys of Auld Reekie. I lived in Edinburgh for a number of years and thought the expression was good advice. As you travel the world, watch out for the falling...

We stayed in Forks for 4 nights several years ago and totally enjoyed it.

Some Fodorites asked "Why stay there?" but we found it to be a great location for what we wanted to do---hiking in Hoh rainforest, exploring beaches, especially Second Beach, our favorite, and Rialto. On a rainy day we drove to Lake Crescent Lodge for lunch and then hiked to Marymere Falls and Sol Duc Falls.

www.manitoulodge.com good place to stay off highway close to beaches, but in forest. We were in Forks pre Twilight movies, so imagine it has become a lot more touristy. Restaurant choices were not memorable.

Don't know where Guardyloo got the idea Crater Lake would be hot in September. I've lived in Klamath County for the past 5 summers and I don't remember a day over 100 in any September.
July and August a few. Last August 30 I was in a firetower when it snowed about a half inch in an hour.
Crater Lake is nearly always 10-15 degrees cooler than Medford in the summer and fall. To do the drive through on Crater Lake, come in the south entrance see the visitor center on the south rim and then go around the west side and come out the north entrance. Turn right on 138 to go to Hwy 97 north to Bend or left to go to Roseburg and I-5.

Some great advice, and Manitou Lodge looks like just the sort of "special" stop I was seeking. It occurred to me that there is no reason we couldn't do Astoria first (although technically there is some backtracking, it's along the coast we want to see anyway). After the long flight, I don't really want a long drive the same day.

How about this:


Day 1 - fly from Florida to Portland, arrive 11am. Drive to Astoria and spend night in a B&B. (Thursday) ~ 2 hrs drive

Day 2 - after breakfast, drive up to Forks; spend 2 nights at Manitou Lodge (Labor Day weekend). Explore "Twilight" schlock and get in some hiking in the Hoh rain forest, etc. ~ 3.5 hrs drive

Day 4 - spend the day leisurely driving down coast to Depoe Bay, stopping along the way as desired (~ 6 hrs drive plus stops); check in after 4pm at timeshare

Day 5-10 - spent along Oregon coast.

Day 11 - drive down to Redwood Natl Park (~ 5 hrs); 1 nite there.

Day 12 - head for Oregon Caves and Crater Lake. ***WHERE TO SPEND NITE?

Day 13-15 - TBD, emphasis on Mt. Hood/Columbia Gorge/Hood River Valley area (need to work out drive times depending on Day 12 plans)

Day 16 - day in Portland

Day 17 - drag ourselves home.

Day 12- after leaving Crater Lake north entrance if you go the US 97 route, stay at the Featherbed Inn in Chemult.
If you go west to I-5 stay someplace in Roseburg.
About 205 miles from Chemult up to The Dalles at I-84.
About 65 miles from Chemult to Bend.
Along the coast be sure to see the Oregon Coast Aquarium just south of Newport.

No offense or misdirection intended regarding the temperatures around Crater Lake. Obviously due to its altitude Crater Lake won't be all that hot. Of course to those of us on the wet side of the mountains, anything over 80F is "hot." I don't think the 90s are uncommon around Bend or Sisters, and certainly Medford and the Rogue Valley in early September can be uncomfortable (including occasional high humidity) but the temps on the east side aren't high enough to warrant avoiding the area.

Assuming you're on the road in the morning, I think you have time to stop at the Oregon Caves en route to Crater Lake, and still get to the Crater Lake Lodge that night. Not counting stops, it ought to be around 4 to 4 1/2 hours driving from, say, Crescent City to Crater Lake, so add a couple of hours for the Oregon Caves and you still will have plenty of daylight. Sunsets and sunrises at the crater rim can be spectacular. We haven't stayed at the CL Lodge since it was remodeled sometime in the 90s, before which I'd describe it as "rustic" with the emphasis on "rust." Location, location, location, though.

That way, it would be an easy day's drive up US 97 to US 26, thence to Timberline Lodge at Mount Hood or straight to Hood River and the Gorge (again, around 4 1/2 hours not counting stops to Hood River.)

Awesome, thanks again to the both of you. Coming from Central Florida, the heat and humidity of this time of year won't phase us, but of course we are vacationing to hit some "cooler" temps (as in, anything less than 95 day/85 night and 100% humidity). We like buying souvenir t-shirts, so that will be us looking like tourists if it's warm.

Gardyloo - I had a feeling that's what your screen name might mean, too funny!

Crater Lake Lodge would be the best place to stay but it sells out quickly
I usually stay in the little town of Prospect at the Prospect Hotel - an old stage coach stop. They have great food
The rooms in the hotel part are decorated with antiques and are very nice- there is a motel section behind that is pretty basic but clean - I always enjoy staying there

I agree with sunbum1944 on the Prospect Hotel but if you are coming from the Oregon Caves, you will come to Prospect before visiting Crater Lake. If you come out the north entrance and head west, there is a nice place in Steamboat. The scenery in Steamboat is not as nice as it was a few years ago. There was a massive forest fire nearby in 2009.
If you can get reservations at the Crater Lake Lodge go for it.

I am a bit concerned that the piece from Redwoods-Oregon Caves-Crater Lake is a bit rushed. We won't get to Redwoods until afternoon, probably. So, the next day I am thinking either to skip Oregon Caves or to stop before Crater Lake (such as Prospect Hotel).

And...any ideas about where to stay near Redwoods? This one could be a simple chain hotel or one of the older independents (as long as it's not too run down). Will need a TV for this one, since I'm packing 3 nights in B&B's at the front end and the guys will have kittens over that.

You guys are great, thank you.

From Depoe Bay (is that right?) to Crescent City is probably 5-6 hours road time, plus frankly you're passing through (IMO) the most scenic part of the Oregon coast in the process.

Crescent City and Jedidiah Smith State Park are really the northern end of the main Redwood groves; most of Redwood National Park is close to the southern end of the stretch of US 101 between Crescent City and Eureka. That length of US 101 is quite twisty and slow, so if you were planning to get to the National Park the same day you're leaving Depoe Bay, you'd better get a real early start. Frankly I wouldn't recommend it, and I'd just skip going that far south, unless you want to eliminate the Oregon Caves or even Crater Lake altogether.

Instead, I'd focus on Jedidiah Smith park, and use Crescent City for your overnight. There are numerous chain motels around Crescent City (which is a fairly charmless place.) At a minimum try to visit the Simpson-Reed grove (roadside on US 199 a short distance from the US 101 junction.) An hour there, and maybe 90 min. at the Caves shouldn't prevent you from making Crater Lake by evening. Frankly, if you skipped the caves and spent more time in the Redwoods, I think you'd be happier in the end, but just my opinion. Here's a website with a good overview of some of the groves in J. Smith Park: http://www.redwoodhikes.com/Jed%20Sm...d%20Smith.html

I recently stayed at the Curly Redwood Lodge in Crescent City-one of those old timey motels where you can pull your car up to your front door. While I wouldnt say its the greatest place I ever stayed, it was clean- a bit worn but worked fine for us - they do have TX's and easy to walk to a variety of restaurants

and the interesting thing is that it is made out of one curly redwood tree

http://curlyredwoodlodge.com/