Anyone from Oregon or Washington?

[whitedogone]

Posting here because the MW forum seems kinda dead. I am going to be in Portland in the 3rd week in October for a 3 day conference. I was thinking of taking a few extra days and bring the wife along and make a vacation out of it. I have never been that far west and although I'm sure there are lots to see/do, I'd like to get some ideas from folks that live out that way. We'll have 3 days in Portland that the days will be taken up, but we would have some time to do some things local in the evenings. Then we were thinking of takeing 4 (or so) more days to see some things in the area. We were thinging of maybe flying into or out of Seattle then renting a car to drive to Portland. PLease help us plan a trip to remember.

WDO

 

[moored4]

There is Mt Saint Helens volcano which will take a day!
You can drive up the gorge, waterfalls, there are the wineries there, stone hinge, Mary hill Mansion, wind surfing capital of the world at hood river.
The coast of Oregon is great; mariner museum in Astoria, Cannon beach is a real nice costal town for visitors, sea lion caves.
Crater Lake in Oregon, Mt Rainer in Washington. Whale watching in the Puget Sound in Washington.

You need to take another week to see just some of it!
Or you could just come by my place and see my tractor!

 

[whitedogone]

What's the "gorge"....shows ya how much I know. Also, any concerns with higher elevations that time of year?

 

[Branchchipper]

The Columbia River Gorge should be first on your list! It is the enormous canyon that the Columbia has cut through the Cascade Range, and it is at Portland's doorstep.

You enter it as you drive east through Portland's suburbs. It begins in west-side low level rain forest, and transitions to east-side Ponderosa pine, then sagebrush high desert, all within 100 miles!

Another very close attraction is Mt Hood. You can make a loop; up the gorge to Hood River, then up the Hood River Valley to Mt Hood, then around it and up to Timberline lodge- spectacular beyond belief, and all within 2 hours of PDX on good paved roads.

The weather and visibility in the mountains should be good in October, unless the fall rains have already set in. The gorge is good in any weather, but a quick visit to Mt Hood, Mt. St Helens or Mt Rainier is pretty pointless if the cloud ceiling is low. There is a saying in western Washington- "if you can't see Mt Rainier, it is raining- if you can see it, its gonna rain."

Mt Rainier National Park is awesome and worth several days on its own. Unfortunately, Mt St Helens is not a national park unit, and while spectacular, is far less accommodating to visitors who are used to the flagship parks.

Then there's the coast- 90 miles west of Portland, spectacular in any weather... as someoene else said, you're gonna need more time!

 

[whitedogone]

Maybe I should plan a few days before the meetings to do something on the coast and a few day after to do a loop mt. rainier way. So I shouldn't even need to fly into seattle at all??

 

[mjarrels]

Take a drive over deception pass bridge. Ride a Washington State ferry, set on the open top deck and enjoy a hot cup of coffee.

mark

 

[Pilot]

First priority should be the loop drive up and over Mt. Hood, stopping at Timberline lodge which is at an elevation of about 5,500 ft. The mountain itself goes to 11,000 ft. Great views from the lodge and the lodge itself is great to see. Then down Hwy 35 thru Hood River, (stopping on the way at some of the fruit stands--it's quite a fruit growing area) to I-84. Take your choice at that point, going east to see the desert (not very far), or west thru the Gorge, which you will go thru to get back to Portland even if you divert east to the desert. The Gorge is the only low elevation cut thru the Cascade Mountains and it's dry on the east side and wet on the west. Several waterfalls, but the must see is Multnomah Falls. Lock your car and don't leave valuables in sight. Several trails, some easy, some steep. Watch out for poison oak, "leaves of 3, let it be"; it will have a lot of red on the leaves in October. This loop is about a half day trip if you just drive straight thru with minimal stopping.

If you are into wine, there are lots of wineries on the west side of the Willamete Valley, south of Portland.

The coast: Follow the Columbia River out Hwy 30 to Astoria, then maybe cross the river to Long Beach, Washington, a touristy destination. Kite flying is big in that area.

Down the coast is very touristy, and there are several highways back over the Coast Range so you can make the trip as long or as short as you want (well, several hours minimum for the shortest option). Central Oregon coast is dramatic with steep cliffs and smashing waves on the rocks below. Several viewpoints.

Portland is a nice city to visit (I wouldn't want to live there) and one famous tourist stop is a bookstore: Powell's Bookstore. Covers 2 or 3 city blocks. New & used books.

Now I'm running out of ideas, but I've just scratched the surface.

Early October usually has very nice weather, 3rd weekend it chancey, so if you have the option, take your extra time early rather than later.

 

[Branchchipper]

Pilot is right on, and if your business is all in Portland, I'd make that your base and skip Seattle (even though I'm a Washingtonian).
I love both states, but driving around Puget Sound is not pleasant most of the time.

Sea-Tac airport is bigger and more frenetic, and the drive between Seattle and Portland is not spectacular overall (the mountains- Cascades, Olympics and Coast Range- are in the distance both east and west of you).

PDX (Portland int. airport) is fantastic in pretty much every way.

The sites we've listed give you a great taste of the PNW in both states, but keep you out of the Seattle metroplex. Portland and the surrounding region (nw OR, sw WA) is more manageable for your purposes.

 

[Pete Judd]

First thing, up the gorge I-84 taking all the byways to see the falls, the cross over on the John Day bridge to see Maryhill. Maryhill Museum of Art

And a replica of Stonehenge close by.

Back down the WA side of the river, and then into PDX. Nice long day.

Second day, take the sunset hwy St route 26 will take you out to the coast, and head south on 101 to the tillamook cheese factory Cheese Factory - Tillamook This will give you a taste of the Oregon coast. Depends on how fast you drive, but I would head north up 101 and set my sights on Ilwaco WA across the 4 mile bridge. Very close to where Lewis and Clark hit the Pacific. Then back up the Wa side of the river to Longview and cross over the river there, and then back to PDX. I think that a stop somewhere during the second day would make it part of the 3rd day.

If you are an Eagle member there a quite a few clubs to stop at along the way.

 

[Pilot]

Maryhill is good, interesting, an art museum with some world class art, out in the middle of nowhere. Yes, if you get the time, see it.

But being from central Illinois where it's as flat as a frying pan, ya gotta see real mountains, such as Mt. Hood and the Cascades. One more thing, a little side trip. 1.6 miles east Timberline Road (the turn off for Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood) is a side road to Trillium Lake (Forest Road 2656). Follow it for 2 miles, go just past the campground and turn right to the little dam. Puts you at one of the prettiest spots you will ever see. http://en.wikipedia.orgwikiFile:Mount_Hood_reflected_in_Mirror_Lake,_Oregon.jpg

Oregon is green because we get a lot of rain, especially on the west side of the Cascades. If rain is forecast, spend your day in Portland or go east of the mountains, Maryhill, Hood River or just out to the desert. If you are into geology, read up on Glacial Lake Missoula before you go thru the Gorge. 12,000 years ago during the last ice age, a glacier formed an ice dam into Missoula, Montana & backed up hundreds of square miles of water. The dam broke and flooded the Columbia for hundreds of miles, scouring out the Columbia Gorge and the desert east of the mountains and carrying rocks down the Willamette Valley 100 miles south of Portland. Flow speeds are estimated to have reached 80 mph, volumes 15 cubic miles per hour. The same thing happened 40 times.