eileyann

My Husband and I would like to fly into Washington State, rent a car and see it and Oregon in a week. WE like scenery, little cabins, pounding waves and mountains. Can anyone help us plan our trip? We could take 8 or 10 days if there is lots to do. We do have some friends to see for a day or two in Portland and would like to see Victoria Island as well. Thanks so much!!

Andrew

There is more than lots to do in 10 days. The question is, how much do you want to see? Ten days to see parts of British Columbia (Victoria Island), Washington, and Oregon (presumably you mean the western parts of the state) is probably still pushing it.

Search Fodors for past posts - tons of them on Oregon and Washington. In general, there are of course the cities of Portland Seattle, the Cascade Mountains (Hood, St. Helens, Rainier), and the Coast. Read through them and ask some more specific questions.

enzian

When are you coming? We could suggest some nice loops, including lots of cabins, mountains, and pounding waves. But the suggestions depedn on when.

eileyann

Thank you Andrew and Enzien!
WE're thinking mid-june. We don't care about cities. I will look over the WA and OR posts but would like some help with the "loop" idea Enzian!!!That is just the info I need! Thanks again

trislow

Willamette Valley wine country is incredible, Cannon Beach is lovely any time of year. The Columbia Gorge is fun to drive thru and very scenic, DH and I do it a few times a year and stop at Multnomah Falls, Bonneville Dam to watch the fish ladder and in the fall we get apples up there. You could also drive up to Timberline Lodge to have lunch or dinner. It's beautiful. I also recommend checking out the Lewis River Falls in WA. HTH

enzian

If you want to skip the cities, fly into Seattle, pick up a car and head straight for the Olympic Peninsula, most easily reached via the Bainbridge Island ferry from downtown Seattle. There are numerous "cabiny" places to stay within a hour's drive of the ferry landing. On Marrowstone Island, there is the Ecologic Place:

www.ecologicplace.com

Or, for wonderful views of Puget Sound, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Baker, rent one of the old officer's homes at Fort Flagler State Park (you need to provide your own bedding, however):

http://www.parks.wa.gov/vacationhouses/ftflag.asp

Or go as far as Sequim and get a waterfront cabin near Dungeness Spit:

www.juandefuca.com

Heading around the peninsula counter-clockwise, you could stop at Lake Crescent and the Log Cabin Resort:

www.logcabinresort.net

Stop in Port Angeles and take he ferry over to Victoria for the day. The ride is 1.5 hours each way. If you want to spend a night or two on Vancouver Island, head west from Victoria to Sooke, where you will find lots of waterfront cottages and B & B's:

www.beacheswest.com
www.edgewaterbeachhouse.com
www.ottercovecottage.com
www.sooke.net for others

The wonderful Juan de Fuca trail starts near here.

Back on the Olympic Peninsula, you can include a day trip up to Hurricane Ridge, a high point in Olympic National Park. Continuing south along the coast, you will finally come to crashing waves. Kalaloch Lodge is a good place to stay along the ocean:

www.kalaloch.com

From there, continue south along the coast and make your way to Portland. I'll leave the Oregon part of your venture to someone else.

If you want to stop by Mt. Rainier National Park on your way back up from Oregon, you might try Stone Creek Cabins, which is just outside the park entrance:

http://www.destination-rainier.com/

Or, the National Park Inn at Longmire inside the park is nice and rustic. From there you can drive up to Paradise, at 6,000 feet. It will still be covered in snow, but the view of the Mountain is beautiful, and you can hike a bit on the snow, or even snowshoe.

eileyann

Thanks so much enzian! I'd have replied sooner but I lost my post and didn't know how to get it back!! I am used to cruisecritics and it is much harder to follow things on fodors. I am in the process of looking up all the links you gave me. Can't wait to see the land!

enzian

Now that you know how to find your post (easiest way is to just click on your name after you sign in), you can ask follow-up questions. do you want more beaches, mountains, more or less remote, etc.?

Sorry I can't help much with the Oregon part, but Andrew can, or mms, or lots of others.

mms

I agree, even with 10 days you would just be scratching the surface.

A couple loop ideas for Oregon. One would be to start in Portland, head east out to the Columbia River Gorge. Lots of waterfalls (and great hiking) including Multnomah Falls. Continue to Hood River, then around the back side of Mt. Hood. Stop at Timberline Lodge. That could be a good place to stay for a night, or just have dinner. Whenever you are done there, continue back west into Portland. This can be a long day trip, or a nice overnighter.

Another loop would be from Portland over to the coast. It is only 90 minutes from here to Cannon Beach, which is a great little town. Then you could continue down the coast towards Lincoln City before hopping on HWY 18 to head back over to the Willamette Valley. That hwy will catch up with HWY 99W which is the main road through our wine country, and then heads back toward Portland. You could easily stop for a night or two along this route. I would recommend staying on the coast.

If you wanted a larger loop in Oregon, you could incorporate the Bend/central Oregon also. Just depends on how you want to split up your time and what your interests are.

Bobmrg

Just an addition to enzian's post...go to this web site to keep up to date with progress on rehabilitating Mount Rainier National Park, which is currently closed until further notice...

http://www.nps.gov/mora/

happytrailstoyou

As others have said, you want to do more than can be done in 8-10 days.

For the ocean experience, you may find what you want in Manzanita--just south of Cannon Beach, OR.

enzian

Regarding Mt. Rainier, the most current information says they hope to re-open the road all the way up to Paradise in mid-May. I hope that's true---there will still time to get some skiiing or snowshoeing in.

But it will be much longer before the trail system is repaired, so summer hiking, especially on the Wonderland Trail, will be affected.

seashell

Sorry...just highlighting for future reference. Wonderful ideas enzian.

jannieween

marking