Drive Suggestions
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Joined: Sep 2007
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From: Portland, OR
Drive Suggestions
This weekend's superb drive up the Columbia River Gorge got me thinking about other possibilities. If anyone is interested in doing a preview of any of these with me, let me know! (I'm retired & generally available for fun drives during the week if you're off work or playing hooky....)
Larch Mountain (local)
If you haven't been to Larch Mountain, it will surprise the hell out of you! It's up above Corbett, a 20-minute drive from there, I.e. a sweet local drive. The road isn't great, but it's super twisty. At the top you walk to a pinnacle, a 360-degree view point. Mt. Hood looms to the east and you can see from Mt. Rainier in the north all the way to Mt. Jefferson down in Central Oregon - weather and clouds permitting, of course. (Oh yes, don't forget to put your $5 into the State Park fee box.) The upper part of the road isn't maintained, i.e. plowed, after the snow starts to fall. This is a drive you can only count on from late spring through early fall.
Hood River Valley in Bloom
Drive down (not up) the Hood River Valley in the month of April, when the orchards are in bloom. It looks like a Grandma Moses painting! (Lower elevations are in bloom early in the month, upper elevations later.) That could be a loop out Highway 26 to Mt. Hood, down 35 to the town of Hood River, back to Portland/Vancouver on I-84.
Silverton/Oregon Garden?
I enjoy driving down Highway 213 to Silverton (for lunch or to the Oregon Garden or both or none of that). Silverton is a funny time warp, kind of stuck in the 50s - maybe 70s. You wonder why you can't get your quarter into the parking meter, then realize it's so old it doesn't accept "large" denomination coins. Nickels, dimes and pennies only! The Townhouse Restaurant there is a classic, formica tables and vinyl booths, seniors around the counter in the mornings, a hand-written sign for the daily special, e.g. "Spaghetti/bread/salad $4.75." Include a side trip up to the Mt. Angel Abbey? Other points of interest?
Foster Road/"back way" to Mt. Hood
Foster Road out of Southeast Portland may be a bit of a secret to the Portland/Vancouver group in general. All the other major streets (Powell, Division, Stark, Burnside, Glisan, etc.) are four/five lane suburban thoroughfares riddled with stop lights - and they take you into the maddening 25-mph traffic mire of Gresham. Foster Road becomes a curvy, fun, two-lane highway just ten minutes from I-205. It's a nice little gateway to Clackamas County's country roads (which I consider to be my personal driving playground). If you don't mind driving a little longer, a little farther, Foster Road (Exit 17 from I-205) is a great "back way" to get to Mt. Hood - taking you through Damascus and Boring to catch Highway 26 PAST freakin' Gresham.
Stonecliff Inn/Carver Caf
Larch Mountain (local)
If you haven't been to Larch Mountain, it will surprise the hell out of you! It's up above Corbett, a 20-minute drive from there, I.e. a sweet local drive. The road isn't great, but it's super twisty. At the top you walk to a pinnacle, a 360-degree view point. Mt. Hood looms to the east and you can see from Mt. Rainier in the north all the way to Mt. Jefferson down in Central Oregon - weather and clouds permitting, of course. (Oh yes, don't forget to put your $5 into the State Park fee box.) The upper part of the road isn't maintained, i.e. plowed, after the snow starts to fall. This is a drive you can only count on from late spring through early fall.
Hood River Valley in Bloom
Drive down (not up) the Hood River Valley in the month of April, when the orchards are in bloom. It looks like a Grandma Moses painting! (Lower elevations are in bloom early in the month, upper elevations later.) That could be a loop out Highway 26 to Mt. Hood, down 35 to the town of Hood River, back to Portland/Vancouver on I-84.
Silverton/Oregon Garden?
I enjoy driving down Highway 213 to Silverton (for lunch or to the Oregon Garden or both or none of that). Silverton is a funny time warp, kind of stuck in the 50s - maybe 70s. You wonder why you can't get your quarter into the parking meter, then realize it's so old it doesn't accept "large" denomination coins. Nickels, dimes and pennies only! The Townhouse Restaurant there is a classic, formica tables and vinyl booths, seniors around the counter in the mornings, a hand-written sign for the daily special, e.g. "Spaghetti/bread/salad $4.75." Include a side trip up to the Mt. Angel Abbey? Other points of interest?
Foster Road/"back way" to Mt. Hood
Foster Road out of Southeast Portland may be a bit of a secret to the Portland/Vancouver group in general. All the other major streets (Powell, Division, Stark, Burnside, Glisan, etc.) are four/five lane suburban thoroughfares riddled with stop lights - and they take you into the maddening 25-mph traffic mire of Gresham. Foster Road becomes a curvy, fun, two-lane highway just ten minutes from I-205. It's a nice little gateway to Clackamas County's country roads (which I consider to be my personal driving playground). If you don't mind driving a little longer, a little farther, Foster Road (Exit 17 from I-205) is a great "back way" to get to Mt. Hood - taking you through Damascus and Boring to catch Highway 26 PAST freakin' Gresham.
Stonecliff Inn/Carver Caf
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Joined: Apr 2007
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From: Battle Ground, WA
Wow, they all sound great. I know that I'll be giving Jim a call some time. In the meantime Jim, think about going on the drive with Aaron and I on Sunday in Central OR, I promise that it won't disappoint you, especially if you like "twisties". Since you like driving so much, it's only a couple of hours or so to get there.
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