Place to stay on the Oregon coast (on the way to OP) (Portland: house)

[windmiller]

We are going to be in Portland for 3 days and then leave Friday and drive the coast up to Lake Quinalt Lodge. I was thinking it might be nice to stay somewhere on the coast on the way up but not sure if that is a good idea? Maybe stay an extra day in the OP instead? I remember the Oregon coast being such a cool erie place when I was in my 20's and following a certain band.

After staying at the Lake Quinalt Lodge we are going to had to Seattle. Any nice routes to go from Lake Quinalt Lodge to Seattle that are scenic? We are in now hurry and would enjoy stops along the way, preferably not tourist type stuff.

I would also be interested in any suggestions for a route from P-town to the 101. The 6 or the 26? I would prefer beauty over speed.

Thanks for any ideas!!

[davefr]

Avoid 26 and take 6 to Tillamook. Visit the Tillamook Forest Visitor center along the way and check out the "cloud girls" lookout tower. When you get to Tillamook, check out the air museum, (one of the largest wooden structures in the world), and then take the loop to Netarts, Oceanside and Cape Meares. (Oceanside is the "crown jewel" community on the OR coast IMHO). See the Cape Meares Lighthouse and Octopus tree. Now go out to bay Ocean Spit and walk the trail to either Crab Harbor or the take a trail to the beach.

Loop back to Tillamook along Tillamook Bay and get back on Hwy 101. (some people like to visit the Tillamook Cheese factory but I prefer to avoid it). Now head north and check out Garibaldi, Rockaway Beach, Nehalem and Manzanita. (so far all the towns I mentioned would be good places to spend the night).

Take in the scenic views north of Manzanita. (you won't see them if you take Hwy 26 to Seaside!!). Some people like to see Canon Beach but I prefer to avoid it. Haystack rock is probably worth seeing but the town is just a tourist trap.

You might want to check out Astoria before crossing the bridge into Washington. Once in Washington check out the Long Beach area.

Have fun.

P.S. Some of the better places to eat would be:

Schooner - Netarts (famous for brick oven pizza)
Roseannas - Oceanside (the deserts are to die for)
La Mexicana - Tillamook (best authentic Mexican food on the coast)
Pirates Cove - Garibaldi (seafood, best clam chowder in the PNW)

[Melissa E]

Not sure if it is on your way, but we recently visited Oregon and to our surprise little Astoria ended up being our favorite place of all!! (and we went all over the state!) it was awesome ... so much culture for such a small place, and the vibe in the air was awesome. We stayed in the Best Western there which was pretty nice. There are some cool places downtown and we checked out some movie locations, ect. Also, someday you might check out Florence Oregon ... right out of it is the Heceta Head Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast. We stayed there and it was AWESOME!!!! The house was awesome and the lighthouse breathtaking. We had a 7 course meal in the am that was sooooo good. Google it =). Have fun!

[pdxMIKEpdx]

I think I would make it a long driving day and spend an extra day at Lake Quinalt.
That may be hard to do if you like to stop and look at things though.
I don't know what your price range is, but if it's just an overnighter, the Shilo Inn in Warrenton is fine. Not too expensive and clean.
And it's probably midway between Tillamook and the OP.
I also recommend the 6 route.
Highway 26 is a just a mad dash to the coast. And if you do it on a weekend, the traffic can be trying.
Not really any "traffic jams", but crazy drivers trying to make it to Seaside as fast as they can.
Also, highway 30 to the north would put you in Astoria from Portland in about 90 minutes.
Whatever route you take, don't speed, the Oregon State Patrol will get you!
An interesting "back country" route from Portland to Astoria is to head out 26, and right before you head up the hill into the mountains, take the right turn to Vernonia.
This is the hometown of some of the loggers of the tv show "Axemen".
Get a map, and follow the backroads through the towns of Jewell and Mist, then on to Astoria.
There is an big Elk herd out that way, and it's pretty neat to get a chance to see them.
Plus the country is beautiful!
The downside is that you will miss all the stuff on the coast.
In my opinion, some of the best things are on the less traveled roads in Oregon.
Plus you get away from all the touristy and big city stuff, and get to see what Oregon is all about!

[windmiller]

Due to reservations our plans have changed a bit and we are no longer driving up the coast but we will be staying in Portland for 3 days and wanted to take a days trip to the coast and back. I received such great suggestions about a drive up the coast that I thought I would consult you guys/girls about this day trip.

So we will have a full day and would like to hit the coast and as mentioned before scenery over speed
We are backroads kind of people