I'm planning a trip to Oregon with three girlfriends for 4 days. Our original idea was to spend a day in Portland and then head out to the coast to spend a few days just enjoying the scenery. But, it looks like we'll spend 3 hours in the car just to get the coast from Portland and that, on top of the long plan ride from Texas, sounds like too much travel time for a 4 day trip. Has anyone had a great Oregon trip that might help us decide how to spend our time wisely?
I'm also open to suggestions of other cooler-weather locations we could visit instead (we are looking for more relaxation than big city tours). Thanks.
Re: Oregon Trip
Seaside and Cannon Beach are about 90 minutes drive from downtown Portland. It's worth the drive, the Oregon Coast is gorgeous. It's an easy day trip if you don't want to spend 3 whole days there, drive out in the morning (stop at Camp 18 for breakfast!) spend the day at the beach, have a bonfire and watch the sunset, then drive back around 9:30pm.
What are you into? Wine tasting? Shopping? Hiking?
I've been there a few times for work and some great restaurants that I've been to are below:
OBA - Latin/Cuban tapas. They also have happy hour specials
Salty's on the River - A little expensive, but right on the Columbia River that has great views!
You should totally go down to the coast from Portland, no question! Go to Cannon Beach, it's gorgeous there, one of our fave places. The town is really cool, full of unique shops, boutiques, art galleries, antique shops, coffee shops, and some great cafes/restaurants. It's great just to walk all along the huge beautiful beach.
Seaside is 20 min from there, and worth checking out too. Lots of shops and eateries, a real beach town kind of atmosphere. More family oriented and busy with tourists though.
Portland is a great city so you should spend at least a day/night there. There's the Rose Gardens, Pittock Mansion, Powell's bookstore, VooDoo Doughnuts, Stumptown Coffee, Mother's for breakfast (so good!), and Jake's Famous Crawfish has an awesome Happy Hour.
Have a great trip!
Agree 100% that you should head for the coast. If you're on a tight budget, look into renting a yurt vs a hotel (about $35 a night). A lot of the campgrounds on the beach that have them, and you can book online. Multnomah Falls is also good, as is Silver Falls State Park if you like the outdoors and have someone with a car (a bit more of a drive at about 90 minutes... they have yurts/cabins there, too).