Where's all the good stuff (Portland, Seaside: live in, gardens, moving)

[andrearenee]

I am coming out in Aug with my 6yr old alone and I want to see Portland area, seaside, crater lake, and mt hood-ambitious aye? I'm flying into Portland so I guess I'll start there. The reason to come out is that I'm contemplating moving there so I don't want to see all the tourist stuff. I want to see the real deal.. all the stuff the locals know about. What would be the best order to go for those places?

[Silverfall]

That is a lot to see in one trip with a 6 year old. Portland, Seaside, and Mt. Hood can be done in one trip. It's a long drive down to Crater Lake. You can't just do it in one day.

What do you like to do and then people can steer you towards what we locals like to do. Do you want good family hikes? Places to eat? Good fishing?

[nanannie]

As a former local and now a yearly tourist, I can say the main stays, even though well known by tourists, are easily dont miss. The coast( I seldom recommend Seaside, not the best of the coast by any means) Mount Hood (go up to Timberline) the Gorge, Portland, the city itself, then a drive through the west hills up to Council Crest park.Cross the river and check out the East side of the city too. There is also dozens of burbs to choose from.You will have a good "feel" for whether you want to take it further towards your move. Then you can head down to Crater. All these places are famous and already 'discovered' by many, but for a first time in Portland/Oregon, I think they are dont miss. I dont know of any local who is not still in awe of these places. We are seriously considering moving back.

[Bendite]

Originally Posted by andrearenee

I am coming out in Aug with my 6yr old alone and I want to see Portland area, seaside, crater lake, and mt hood-ambitious aye? I'm flying into Portland so I guess I'll start there. The reason to come out is that I'm contemplating moving there so I don't want to see all the tourist stuff. I want to see the real deal.. all the stuff the locals know about. What would be the best order to go for those places?

How long are you going to be in Oregon? If about a week, I'd forget about Crater Lake and focus on Portland, the north part of the coast and take a day trip to Mt. Hood. Don't know what you mean by not seeing the tourist stuff - e.g., Crater Lake is "tourist stuff" but we Oregonians love to go there too. In fact, the coast and Mt. Hood are also what I would call touristy. I don't think you can go to the beautiful places that in part define Oregon, and not have tourists, especially in the summer. And many of those "tourists" will be from Oregon. In Portland, try their wonderful public transportation to get a feel of the town. You could take your 6 year old to the zoo and the neighboring world forestry center for something she or he would enjoy a lot. Tourists go there, of course, but they are also locals' favorites spots. Seeing how people recreate, I think, is a good way of finding out about people who live in a given place, and you'll find that people who live in Oregon love visiting all of the wonderful parts of their state (and they do it over and over again)

[andrearenee]

Thanks for the help thus far. I didn't actually mean seaside the town but the coast my bad. What are some good towns to hit and stay. I'm coming for a week. I just wanted to see and get a feel for the people in oregon. Don't want to be in a museum all day.With that being said I was thinking about hitting chinese gardens, the forestry center(thanx), walking around jamison square and alberta st..any other streets I shouldn't miss? Wanted to take her to peanut butter and ellies for lunch sometime.
What would you reccommed then with a week time seeing if not crater lake?

[DragonFly757]

Shoot. Just take the Amtrak. You'll see the inside of Oregon far better that way.