cbender

My wife and I are considering taking some time off to go explore this lovely state we now call home. Because it's a such a big place -- and given our desire to balance seeing lots of new things with relaxing and recuperating -- we have been thinking of doing only the coast and the Cascades, leaving the eastern half of the state for another time. We enjoy being outdoors, like to camp, like outdoor adventures, and we would likely bring the dog. Below is a list of a few things that look interesting to us. Any feedback on the list? Anything or any places we should add? Any inns/B&Bs or places to camp that you'd highly recommend? We're still very new to Oregon, so we can use help, both in terms of identifying things to see and do and in terms of planning the route and finding places to say.

Best and with thanks,
CB

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COAST/COASTAL RANGE:

Oregon Aquarium (Newport)
Sea Lion Caves (Central Coast)
Oregon Dunes National Park (north of Coos Bay)
Siskiyou National Forest (southwest corner of the state)
Redwood National Park (south of Crescent City, CA)

ASHLAND:

Shakespeare!

CASCADES:

Klamath Falls (east of Ashland)
Crater Lake National Park
Bend

ksdaoski

COAST/COASTAL RANGE:

Cannon Beach is hands down the best beach in OR, if you havent been. Nice drive/time, heading to cannon beach, walk the beach, the shops. Then drive to Tillamook from Cannon Beach, along HWY1. Can see the cheese factory and cows! Then heading back to Portland taking HWY-puts you in Forest Grove/Banks.....but an even prettier drive with less traffic, compared to just driving to Cannon Beach and back.



Klamath Falls (east of Ashland)---skip
Crater Lake National Park---very cool
Bend---cool town, but not so small these days. Dont forget sisters
Oregon Aquarium (Newport)--nice once
Sea Lion Caves (Central Coast)--maybe
Oregon Dunes National Park (north of Coos Bay)--cool

Add the Gorge and Multnamah falls. Great places. Mt Hood of course. Seattle right up the freeway.....

Tillamook State Forest for mountain biking, or hiking, or offroading. 220k acres of forest, 40mins away. Very nice.

Even exploring PDX, tons of things to do. Rose Garden, Washington Park, the downtown areas (Pearl/PioneerPlaza/Waterfront/Cultural), the Chineese Garden is amazing. Just the parks in the city.

cbender

Hi ksdaoski,

We live in PDX, so we''ve seen a lot of what's close since we moved out here two years ago. On this vacation, we want to see what lies beyond a one day trip from Portland, so we'll likely save anything within 4 hours for another time. So, anything further down the coast, below the Willamette Valley or beyond is great. Thanks for the suggestions!

Best,
CB

ksdaoski

didnt realize that, thought you were REALLY new!

TwistedS2k

can I come with you guys? I really need a vacation

cbender

No, we moved here about two years ago, but much to my dismay we've not seen but a small fraction of what the state has to offer. Thanks for the suggestions! Twisted, you'll have to compete with the dog for space in the back of the CR-V...

spapdx

I personally don't like the oregon coast, it bores me, but I am probably too young to appreciate it. My kind of ocean front beach is mexico where I can sit on the beach and have a waiter bring me drinks

I haven't been to sun river for about 6 years, but I remember it being a lot of fun back then. We rented mountain bikes, went golfing, shopping, ect... not sure how it is now... That is the extent of my oregon experience

PrimoAP1

My suggestions:

Deschutes River - for camping and white water rafting with a beautiful drive along the way. There is also hiking and climbing as well.

Bullards Beach - Great camping right off the beach (cleanest camp ground I have ever seen). Fun shops in Bandon and Quad Moto rentals 15 min north in Coos Bay Dunes. I have done this trip a few times both with a girl and with my buddies and have always had a great time. Bandon Dunes Golf course is right next to the KOA campground and is one of the nicest courses in N. America. (very expensive green fees)
http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_71.php

My trip consists of driving out to Cannon Beach then driving south down the coast (101) through the twisties to Bandon/Bullards Beach. Have dinner in town and camp that night. Wake up and head to Coos Bay and rent Quads for a few hours of tearin' up the Dunes. Have lunch in Coos Bay and drive 15 minutes back to camp. Rest for a couple hours and then take a sunset stroll on the Beach. BBQ steaks at camp and go to Bed. Then I usually either drive to SoCal from there, Crater Lake, or head back home.
Total cost is under $300 with gas, camping cost, food, and moto rentals for 2.

Harpoon

I'd second the recommendation to drive from Cannon beach to Bandon. Very little tourism down there and a really beautiful beach.

You said you'd stay away from the eastern part of the state, but Joseph is worth the drive. Some of the non-highway routes are fun and high-speed opportunities abound. (Motorcycles are known to blast above 140k regularly in the northeastern sections of the state).

I'd also recommend driving up the coastline all the way to Port A and taking the ferry to Victoria. Roads up there are in perfect condition and it's amazingly different from OR and WA.

cbender

Thanks, Harpoon. We're saving the eastern half of the state for its own trip, perhaps next year. I like the Washington coast -- or at least what little I've seen of it -- but we want to limit ourselves to exploring this new state we now call home. Oregon's a remarkable place, and we'd like to see more of it.

At this point, the plan is starting to gell around (i) driving a big loop going south down the coast and winding our way back up through the Cascades, (ii) spending a few days in/around the Oregon Dunes area, a few days in/around Redwood National Park (yes, I know it's NoCal, but it's a place I've always wanted to visit), a few days in the lower Deschutes, a day in Ashland, a few days in Crater Lake, and a few days meandering through the Cascades on the way back to Portland. We're bagging on Klamath Falls.

Best and THANKS to you all for your help,
CB