West - Crater Lake, Portland, and Seattle

I have a business appointment in Portland, and another in Seattle. I live in NC, have tons of vacation I have not taken - so am thinking along the lines of a combo trip.

My thoughts are:
fly to Portland on a Saturday, drive to Crater Lake, spend remainder of day, all day Sunday, and most of Monday....then return to Portland.

On Tuesday, I would have my Portland biz call in the AM - then drive to Seattle. Wednesday I would have my Seattle biz call, finishing by 2PM or so. That would leave remainder of Weds, Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sun for activities in Seattle, Olympic Peninsula, etc. I have seen all of these things - my sister lives there - so have to factor in visit time with her.

But that doesn't give me much time in Portland proper - which I have never visited. Also really does not allow for a leisurely drive Portland to Seattle - should I allow time for sightseeing on the drive?

I can add a day or so on either end if need to do so - but need to hold the trip to about 10 days due to other appointments which bookend the trip....

TIA for your assistance....

August? February?

Oops, sorry.

Early October.

I have a business appointment in Portland, and another in Seattle. I live in NC, have tons of vacation I have not taken - so am thinking along the lines of a combo trip.

My thoughts are:
fly to Portland on a Saturday, drive to Crater Lake, spend remainder of day, all day Sunday, and most of Monday....then return to Portland.

On Tuesday, I would have my Portland biz call in the AM - then drive to Seattle. Wednesday I would have my Seattle biz call, finishing by 2PM or so. That would leave remainder of Weds, Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sun for activities in Seattle, Olympic Peninsula, etc. I have seen all of these things - my sister lives there - so have to factor in visit time with her.

But that doesn't give me much time in Portland proper - which I have never visited. Also really does not allow for a leisurely drive Portland to Seattle - should I allow time for sightseeing on the drive?

I can add a day or so on either end if need to do so - but need to hold the trip to about 10 days due to other appointments which bookend the trip....

TIA for your assistance....

The drive to crater lake from Portland is about 5 hrs. If you are traveling in early October at higher elevations you will have fall color changes.

In October the weather can be great or the mountian passes could be snow covered.

Are you flying round trip into Portland or round trip into Seattle?

Your Portland meeting is on Tuesday and Wednesday is in Seattle

You havent been to Portland before....

Friday fly into Portland in the evening.
Saturday drive down to crater lake through Bend, OR
Sunday spend all day at crater lake---you honestly only need a day there. You could spend Sunday night at the lodge in the Park (not sure of your travel time or if it will still be open then)
Monday AM crater lake then drive out to Eugene and up to Portland. If you are into wines you have willamette valley between Eugene and Portland so you could drive on a parallel road called Hwy 99 through theis area

Tues/Wed meetings
Wed/Thurs spend time with sister
Friday--drive back down to Portland and then the weekend explore the city of Portland. They have a weekend Saturday market which is sort of like Pike PlaceMArket in Seattle where local vendors sell their stuff.

What I would add onto this if I were you and you never went there before...but you have done all the stuff near Seattle

S day 0 fly into Portland
S day 1 Portland
M day 2 Columbia Gorge to Mt Hood, OR then South to Bend
T Drive to crater lake spend night at crater lake
W day 3 crater lake...drive and stay in grants pass
R day 4 AM drive to Crescent City/ PM Redwoods National Park
F day 5 AM Redwoods National Park...early evening start your drive up the S coast maybe stay in brookings/Gold Beach/Coos Bay
S day 6 drive the oregon coast then up to Portland or stay at Cannon Beach
M day 7 drive to Portland in the AM Portland in the PM
T day 9 meeting Portland
W day 10 meeting Seattle
R day 11 sister day
F day 12 sister day
S day 13 siter day--fly home

What you could plan on doing--is you can fly into Portland and out from Seattle...you can get to seattle using AMTRAK or fly on Alaska or United between PFX and SEA. If you dont need your car in seattle with your sister. If you do then you could just drive back down to Portland for your flight.

What you could plan on doing--is you can fly into Portland and out from Seattle...you can get to seattle using AMTRAK or fly on Alaska or United between PFX and SEA. If you dont need your car in seattle with your sister. If you do then you could just drive back down to Portland for your flight.

or you could use the new Boltbus service.

I'm sorry, I don't mean to be obtuse....but I had thought I would fly into Portland and out of Seattle? Is that not viable?

My thoughts are:
fly to Portland on a Saturday, drive to Crater LakeI think that would be a very long day. You might be better off to get a hotel in Portland for the night, and then spend the next day or so exploring there. Personally, I don't think there's much worth seeing :) I've been a few times, but with specific destinations in mind (meetings mainly, though I did make a trip specifically for donuts (http://voodoodoughnut.com/index.php) that was overall not worth the journey). I believe it's popular with foodies these days, so if you're into that sort of thing maybe some folks can make some suggestions on "must eats".

Also really does not allow for a leisurely drive Portland to Seattle - should I allow time for sightseeing on the drive? I've done this drive a lot. I think pretty much the only thing worth seeing is Mt. St. Helens.

I'm sorry, I don't mean to be obtuse....but I had thought I would fly into Portland and out of Seattle? Is that not viable?Totally viable, and definitely the best option. The drive between Portland and Seattle is boring enough, you wouldn't want to do it twice in a week.

The drive between Portland and Seattle is boring enough, you wouldn't want to do it twice in a week.I-5 one way, coast road (US101) the other.

As a native Pacific Northwest-er, I would offer this advice:

Depending on your arrival time into PDX, either stay the night if you get in after say, 3pm. Use that time to check out the Pearl District or have a donut at Voodoos. I like the idea of taking Hwy 26 over to Central Oregon and going south on 97 to Crater Lake. Though an alternate would to take I-5 down to Roseburg and take Hwy 138 up the Umpqua. It is just as scenic. Enjoy your time at Crater Lake. It is beautiful. In October you will definately get cooler weather up in the higher elevations.

As for the drive up to Seattle from Portland, there isn't much. Maybe a sidetrip over to Mt St Helens and the visitor center. The key to the drive is to avoid Seattle rush hour traffic if you can. It can be horrendous. As for the advice taking Hwy 101, it is not nearly as scenic as the Oregon portion. Much of the Washington side is more inland and doesn't offer the breathtaking views of the coast.

Enjoy your trip.

Flying from NC to Portland and then driving to Crater Lake sounds like an incredibly long day to me.
I am wondering if you have driven/explored the Columbia River Gorge, which is so close to Portland and so beautiful.

I have a similar trip coming up. Flying CLT-PDX next week. Then driving to Astoria, Forks, Sequim, Seattle and back to Portland. I'll mostly be exploring the Olympics this trip.

Okay, a couple of contributions to be weighed and/or ignored...

Personally I think Crater Lake is a lovely place, but I put it into a category of National Parks that I'd call something like, "Don't miss if you're nearby." Other candidates for that category include Badlands NP, Grand Teton NP, Joshua Tree NP, and a few others (including our own North Cascades NP.) Basically, they are great places to visit en route somewhere else, but not - again, just IMO - as destinations on their own.

In the case of Crater Lake, it's a really long drive from Portland (or pretty much anywhere else except Roseburg or Bend) and it pretty much kills a day in each direction with scenery that's okay but not life-changing. Once at the rim of Crater Lake, it's a grand view that you can accomplish in a couple of hours on the rim drive, but then, unless you want to go hiking, or have some special aim, like a photo every hour for 24 hours to show the changing light, that's about it. The Crater Lake Lodge has been updated in recent years, so it's no longer the disgrace it was, but it's still way overpriced for the amenity level.

So you can decide how the "Is it worth it?" question plays for you. Fortunately, around Portland, you have an embarrassment of riches that could take the place of those days/hours.

Portland itself is a very fun and funky city, with lots of urban distractions to savor - great food scene, lively arts, great parks, microbrews and the great McMenamins hotels, bars, and restaurants, great shopping (no sales tax...)

Add to that the Columbia Gorge, Hood River Valley, Mount Hood and the Willamette Valley wineries... and the destinations and things-to-do list starts getting unwieldy.

Example of a killer autumn day: Start at McMenamin's Edgefield (http://www.mcmenamins.com/54-edgefield-home), where you've spent the night decompressing from a transcon trip, 10 min. from PDX but definitely in the country. Drive east from Troutdale along the Historic Columbia Gorge Highway, past the Crown Point Vista House (http://gardyloo.us/20100509_5a.JPG), Latourelle (http://gardyloo.us/latourellefallshdr1.jpg) and Multnomah Falls, to Hood River. Grab a beer or some coffee, or an early lunch at one of the brewpubs or similar, watching the windsurfers on the river, then head up the Hood River Valley toward Mount Hood (http://gardyloo.us/20100509_85a.JPG). In October all the orchards around Hood River and the valley ought to be gorgeous; it will probably be harvest time so plenty of apples on offer.

Up the mountain to Timberline Lodge for a look around, a walk and a late lunch or coffee, then you can head back to Troutdale or Portland via US 26, making a great loop out of the day (or just retrace your steps and get surprising views of Mount Adams as you travel downhill through the Hood River Valley.)

The next day, if the weather's decent you can do a day trip up to Mount St. Helens, another volcano (like Crater Lake) but one still doing Volcano things. Around 90 min. each way from Portland/Troutdale to the visitors center. Or head over to the Willamette Valley for some wine tasting, or if you're feeling energetic, take the north shore of the Columbia downstream to Cape Disappointment (http://gonw.about.com/od/lewisclark/ig/Lewis-and-Clark-NHP/Cape-Disappointment.htm) and Ilwaco on the Washington side of the mouth for some great rock-ocean-lighthouse scenery, then cross the (awesome) bridge to Astoria, then back to Portland on the Oregon side. Gorgeous, historic route.

So that's killed two days in day trips based out of Portland. More doing, way less driving.

Then to get from Portland to Seattle, and assuming you can get away around noon, don't take I-5, which is boring and probably really slow when you get to the military bases south of Tacoma and through the Tacoma/Seattle traffic zone.

Instead, head east back up the Gorge (you can take the freeway if you've already taken the "historic" highway) to US 97 near The Dalles. If you have extra time, spend an hour at the Maryhill Museum (http://www.maryhillmuseum.org/) for a surprising blast of culture in the sagebrush. Turn north on US 97 and go through some fantastic "old west" landscape over Satus Pass and through the Yakama reservation to Yakima - again, more vineyards and sunshine, then connect to I-82 and eventually I-90 and come into Seattle from the east, through the mountains that ought to have good fall color at altitude.

This route takes around 90 min. longer than the freeway, but it's so much more scenic and interesting that it's ridiculous.

Compared with other places you can drive elsewhere in the country...I-5 between Portland and Seattle is a much better drive in terms of scenery.


If you do fly into PDX and fly out in seattle you will get hammered on rental car charges...ask yourself---is the 3 hr drive in the car worth around an extra $400+ in car rental costs?

I though I said this in my post above...if you arejust doing sister stuff and dont need a car...then return it in Portland and just take a short flight or amtrak train or bus, or some other shuttle service to seattle.

As I already said...if you drive down to crater you should do something else down there like drive up the coast for a return. For a trip by itself in october the weather can be dcey...you could have snow at that elevation or its fog/clouded over.

Most importantly THANK YOU to everyone who has responded.

Many great ideas and suggestions, so I now really have a better idea of options. Much appreciated. And I welcome more....

With regards to a car - my sister is a single Mom with 3 kids, (2 are teens), and 1 car. Because I will be working a portion of the time I am there, I will definitely need a car, and (will also) probably stay in a hotel. It is just easier on everyone. So I will need a car in Seattle.

As far as the rental car charges go, again - I am working, and would legitimately fly into one city/out of another UNLESS it is cheaper to fly between them. Then I would use a completey convoluted official formula by which my company calculates personal expenses from work expenses..so I would only pay the difference - or - do away with the hassle entirely and use free days, which allow for a one way rental. So costs do not have the effect on this trip that it might a strictly personal one.

All of which may be moot as it appears the trip may take place in late October, which, if I am reading everyone's posts correctly - moves the risks of snow from possible to probable.

And as Mr Sophie LOVES donuts and HATES snow - I see the Greater Portland area winning out over Crater Lake should that happen! :D

In October, you won't have to worry about snow on the I5 portion of the trip.

You might find Ric Garrido's trip report about Crater Lake to be interesting and informative:
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2012/07/24/crater-lake-national-park-rim-drive-and-dip/

Most importantly THANK YOU to everyone who has responded.

Many great ideas and suggestions, so I now really have a better idea of options. Much appreciated. And I welcome more....

With regards to a car - my sister is a single Mom with 3 kids, (2 are teens), and 1 car. Because I will be working a portion of the time I am there, I will definitely need a car, and (will also) probably stay in a hotel. It is just easier on everyone. So I will need a car in Seattle.

As far as the rental car charges go, again - I am working, and would legitimately fly into one city/out of another UNLESS it is cheaper to fly between them. Then I would use a completey convoluted official formula by which my company calculates personal expenses from work expenses..so I would only pay the difference - or - do away with the hassle entirely and use free days, which allow for a one way rental. So costs do not have the effect on this trip that it might a strictly personal one.

All of which may be moot as it appears the trip may take place in late October, which, if I am reading everyone's posts correctly - moves the risks of snow from possible to probable.

And as Mr Sophie LOVES donuts and HATES snow - I see the Greater Portland area winning out over Crater Lake should that happen! :D

In all honesty the costs would be cheaper to rent a car out of portland and return to Portland then fly to Seattle on either united or Alaska and then rent a car in seattle than to do a one way rental which effectly doubles your daily rental rate. You can find a flight between the two (Alaska does flights by about every hour) for around $100 if not less.

At the end of October you have a very good chance of snow in the mountains...so the passes by Mt Hood on US 26, I-90, US-2, could get snow covered. Crater lake given the elevation will also likely have snow. In late October its the kind that one day it snows then the next day it could be rain or it snows overnight into the early morning and then warms up and changes to rain.

Between Portland and the coast the roads over the coastal mountains should not be a problem other than if you drive in the middle of the night on a day where the temps fall to around 30

In late October you start to get low elevation color changes on the trees.

With Mt Rainier at that time the lodge and vistors center at PAradise shuts down after Columbus Day. After labor day parts of the park roads are closed for maintenance work before snow falls.