Planning on taking a trip to Oregon later this summer. Good idea? (Portland: how much, hotels)

[malamoyu]

Rough itinerary:

- Fly into PDX from EWR, spend 1 night there?
- Spend 1 night on the Oregon Coast (Cannon Beach?)
- Spend 2-3 nights in Portland (or the general metro area; Beaverton?), and use that area as a base for exploring the Columbia Gorge and Mt. Hood
- Drive to Bend and spend 2 nights there, on the full day take an all-day trip to Crater Lake NP
- Drive directly from Bend back to PDX airport after lunch

We're planning on going in late August, which I hear is a pleasant time to go.

How ****ty is downtown Portland these days? Comparable to downtown SF which I hear is pretty rough these days? Better, worse? (Or is that just conservative "anti-woke" propaganda blowing things out of proportion?) I've never been to SF, but I've been to downtown Seattle and Vancouver (albeit in 2019, which was, um, a while ago) and in spite of its, uh, reputation we had few problems. They both seem like wonderful foodie cities and I'm into that kind of thing.

Also, should we make 2 separate trips to the Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood respectively, or would we be better off combining them into 1 trip?

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by malamoyu

Rough itinerary:

- Fly into PDX from EWR, spend 1 night there?
- Spend 1 night on the Oregon Coast (Cannon Beach?)
- Spend 2-3 nights in Portland (or the general metro area; Beaverton?), and use that area as a base for exploring the Columbia Gorge and Mt. Hood
- Drive to Bend and spend 2 nights there, on the full day take an all-day trip to Crater Lake NP
- Drive directly from Bend back to PDX airport after lunch

We're planning on going in late August, which I hear is a pleasant time to go.

How ****ty is downtown Portland these days? Comparable to downtown SF which I hear is pretty rough these days? Better, worse? (Or is that just conservative "anti-woke" propaganda blowing things out of proportion?) I've never been to SF, but I've been to downtown Seattle and Vancouver (albeit in 2019, which was, um, a while ago) and in spite of its, uh, reputation we had few problems. They both seem like wonderful foodie cities and I'm into that kind of thing.

Also, should we make 2 separate trips to the Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood respectively, or would we be better off combining them into 1 trip?

Will you have enough time for all that, and why are you planning to drive in and out of Portland multiple times? You will end up spending most of your trip just sitting in traffic. You are talking about a minimum 15 hours of driving time. Probably a lot more.

[NW Crow]

What do you want to do in Portland? Days and nights? I'd only allocate as much time there as you have must dos.

When would you be arriving? If early enough, maybe out to coast on first day. And at least next morning out there. Then drive to Bend. Unless you are going to do more than short stops, do Hood / Gorge on drive back to Portland. I'd, fwiw suggest to do Portland at beginning and / or end but not also in the middle. If you sequence the driving this way, maybe you can spend 2 nights at coast.

Check details on Gorge main waterfalls access or go to less popular.

[karlsch]

You should see more of the Oregon Coast. It might be the most picturesque part of the state. Drive from Portland to Lincoln City. From there, drive down to Florence and see the wonderful features of the coast along the way. Stay in Florence. From there, drive to Bend.

[Silverfall]

That is a lot of territory to cover in just a few days. What is your goal? Do you just want to go to places, look around for a couple of hours and leave?

I mean Bend to Crater Lake is like 3 hours one way. Did you want to do any hikes or just check out viewpoints, and eat some good food?

Bend is hot that time of year as it is high desert. I guess it depends on what you consider pleasant for the weather. There may also be wildfires in the Bend and Crater Lake areas that time of year so you should have a backup plan in case it is smokey.

[karlsch]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

That is a lot of territory to cover in just a few days. What is your goal? Do you just want to go to places, look around for a couple of hours and leave?

I mean Bend to Crater Lake is like 3 hours one way. Did you want to do any hikes or just check out viewpoints, and eat some good food?

Bend is hot that time of year as it is high desert. I guess it depends on what you consider pleasant for the weather. There may also be wildfires in the Bend and Crater Lake areas that time of year so you should have a backup plan in case it is smokey.

Just slightly hotter than the Willamette Valley: Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site

When you factor in the humidity, it may even seem cooler.

Contrary to what many believe, not all of Oregon east of the mountains is scorching hot in the summer.

[malamoyu]

I revised my itinerary, now it looks something like this:

- drive directly from PDX to Cannon Beach via Astoria (it's an early flight), and stay the night at Cannon Beach
- drive down to Newport, stopping by all the scenic areas along the way, and stay the night at Newport
- drive down to Florence and stay there (?)
- drive to one of the Portland suburbs since it's cheaper and safer (by how much?), and stay there for 4 nights
- use 1 full day each to visit the city of Portland, the Columbia Gorge, and Mt. Hood respectively
- on the last day maybe have one final lunch in Portland before the late flight

Thoughts? More reasonable? We decided to cut out Santiam Pass/Bend/Crater Lake entirely due to weather and drivability concerns. For the coast is it worthwhile to stay in 3 different places?

[Hemlock140]

We drive to Portland 2-3 times a year for specific purposes, but wouldn't suggest staying there for several days. Most of the interesting parts of Oregon are away from Portland. Maybe spend one night there and then drive Highway 84 to see the waterfalls along the way toward Hood River. Spend the night there, then drive 35 and 26 through Mount Hood, and all the way west to 101. Then what is the best part of the state is down 101 along the cost to Tillamook, where you can visit the cheese and ice cream factory and visitor center. Then continue south to Newport, this is the most scenic part of the coastal drive, and take 20 & 34 to I5 and north back to PDX.

We did a similar trip in September, but went all the way down to Eureka, CA. before going back to I5, and wee took 7 days, 4 motels.

[malamoyu]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

We drive to Portland 2-3 times a year for specific purposes, but wouldn't suggest staying there for several days. Most of the interesting parts of Oregon are away from Portland. Maybe spend one night there and then drive Highway 84 to see the waterfalls along the way toward Hood River. Spend the night there, then drive 35 and 26 through Mount Hood, and all the way west to 101. Then what is the best part of the state is down 101 along the cost to Tillamook, where you can visit the cheese and ice cream factory and visitor center. Then continue south to Newport, this is the most scenic part of the coastal drive, and take 20 & 34 to I5 and north back to PDX.

We did a similar trip in September, but went all the way down to Eureka, CA. before going back to I5, and wee took 7 days, 4 motels.

Right now I'm thinking of using Beaverton, Hillsboro, or Tigard as a base for day trips to Mt. Hood and the Columbia Gorge (as well as to the city itself using MAX). Is this a good idea? I mean, we could spend 1 night in Hood River, but that'd mean checking out of and into many hotels.

Thanks for telling me about the cheese and ice cream factory in Tillamook, BTW. We'll be sure to check it out.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by karlsch

Just slightly hotter than the Willamette Valley: Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site

When you factor in the humidity, it may even seem cooler.

Contrary to what many believe, not all of Oregon east of the mountains is scorching hot in the summer.

I've been there in the summer several times over the decades. I like to visit Sisters and Bend. It is hot and dry. I'm not someone that does well with that kind of weather so I notice it.