Visiting Portland, Oregon for a Few days

[JanetRose]

and renting a car for one day to visit the coastline - is it worth the drive to visit Mount St. Helens or Mount Hood?

Thanks.

 

[shortbun]

From where? In the same day-no? I'd skip the volcano and focus on Oregon. The wine region is nice. Lincoln City to Newport is a great drive.

 

[oregonmommyof2]

I agree with the above poster... There are a lot of really neat little towns along the coast line...

 

[mamacatnv]

Couple weeks ago I drove out to Multnomah Falls from Portland and then along the Columbia River Gorge to Hood River. Gorgeous, absolutely worth the drive BUT no way would I try that and the coast in the same day.

The trek up to Mt. St. Helens is rather lengthy if I remember correctly - a long windy road with several stations to stop at along the way. I have never done it, never had the time or it was winter but it is on my list of things to do.

 

[SamRoc]

I would try to see Seaside Oregon. Its so nice there, such a different coastline from here on the east coast.

 

[LindaM]

We drove down from Canada a couple of years ago, we had planned on a day in Portland and the next morning we went to the coast. It was fantastic, yes it did take us a full day to drive from Canon Beach to the tip of California but it was beautiful. We stopped at many little towns throughout, this is a trip that DH and I want to do again.

 

[RadioNate]

Coast, Hood and MSH are all each day trips IMO. I guess I'd need to know more about your trip and how much you plan on doing but that all can't be done in a day.

I didn't like living in Oregon but I love vacationing there this time of year.

So many great areas to check out. I can also recommend a great B&B in the wine country.

 

[flipturngirl]

and renting a car for one day to visit the coastline - is it worth the drive to visit Mount St. Helens or Mount Hood?

Thanks.

I think that if you only have one day in Oregon to go the coast line. take 26 to Seaside and spend time there and then head south...down 101. There are a lot of things to do on the coast; crabbing, beach strolling, twilight (movie) searching, fishing, sightseeing.. Usually my family will go to the beach and make it a day long trip. By the time you get back to the valley where ever that might be Eugune, Salem, Portland.. you will hit rush hour or it will be dark and not be worth the drive to Mt. Hood or St. Helens.

If you are thinking about going to Mount Hood.. I would suggest it! You could make a trip up the Historic River Highway.. Take I-84 East and then get off on the highway.. it is about 50 miles to hood river from there.... There is a lot to see on the high way to get to Mt. Hood.. Waterfalls, Vista House, Twilight filming prom scene... Or you could just take 26 out to Mt. Hood. It is really pretty going either way. But if you take 26 it won't take as long and personally I do not see why you would want to make a trip up there in the summer... unless you are talking about winter for skiing.. I guess you could fish or take nature trails.

Finally, Mt. St. Helens.. There are things to do there.. but personally I do not see many people from the Portland area going there unless it is for a class trip or something like that. There are caves that you can go to.. unless they are closed off from the last eruption a couple years ago. I guess don't ask me about Mt. St. Helens because the first and last time I went there was in grade school... on a bus...lol

Oregon is really pretty. There are a lot of things to do.. But I would not take the word day trip and make it like what east coasters think day trips are... Oregon is big... It is quite annoying driving for a day before you get to California if you do not leave at the right time.. like you could drive from georgia and be in orlando quickly... oh who am I kidding? Sorry for this long tangent. But I hope it helped.. if you have any questions fill free to ask.

 

[SunshineOR]

I agree with what people are saying. The coast is a pretty long drive from either Mt. Hood or Mt. St. Helens. Mt. St. Helens is a nice day trip and very cool, but I don't know if it's worth driving all the way from the coast. I don't know if Mt. Hood is really anything different from other mountains you can see other places. If you only have one day in Oregon, I'm not sure if I recommend that. We also love Multnomah Falls and the gorge, but again, it's a lot of driving if you only have one day. Depends on what you really want to see and do though and if you like driving, it's a beautiful drive this time of year.

If you stick to the coast, my favorite coast towns are Astoria, Seaside and Cannon Beach and we love Moe's if you want a good bowl of chowder!

 

[JanetRose]

Thanks everyone - I'm looking forward to our trip!

 

[mamacatnv]

Don't forget about the Tillamook Cheese Factory!
http://www.tillamookcheese.com/
I really like Cannon Beach - SeaSide is more touristy (cheesy) to me. Cannon Beach had some beautiful galleries and wonderful unique shops