esp

Have a trip to the Northwest coming up in early September. I haven't been in the Northwest since I was a teen (now 35). I will be travelling alone until I reach SFO where I'll hook up with friends.

Although I've already made reservations for a bunch of hotels, I still have some flexibility built in. What's not to miss?

Rough schedule so far:
- Two days in SEA
- A day or two at Mt. St. Helen's (maybe I'll do some hiking), I'll be staying in Kelso/Longview
- Around six days at the WA/OR/North CA coast (Astoria, Newport, Crescent City).
- Probably a one-day stopover in Sonoma or Napa as I don't want to do the somewhat long-ish drive to SFO in one go.
- Then SFO, for which I have everything planned.

Non-NonRev

Perhaps a short visit to the Oregon wine country (Willamette Valley)?

onthego15

I find the entire Oregon Coast to be beautiful. If you look on a good map you will see that Oregon has a state park every few miles. So, there are many places to hike and explore.
My top recommendation is Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. The dunes are amazing. Some of the dunes reach 500 feet above sea level.
On my last visit to the Oregon Coast I got this map, and found it to be very helpful for my explorations:
http://gmjohnsonmaps.com/product/was...state-map-gmj/
My favorite northern Oregon coast hike is Neahkanie mountain. It is on the ocean and 1680 feet tall, and the view from the top is magnificent. It's in Osvald West State Park.
The view from Cape Meares near Tillamook is also wonderful, and there are some nice hikes in that park.
Munson Creek Falls is a 319 foot waterfall south of Tillamook.

Gardyloo

Having made this drive literally more times than I can remember, and at the risk of suggesting a major makeover for your itinerary, consider this: https://goo.gl/maps/e3yYFe66bUv

This would have you transiting Mount Rainier NP through Paradise and over the incomparable Stevens Canyon Road to US 12 over White Pass and down into the Yakima Valley. You'd then follow US 97 south through the Yakama reservation and terrific "old west" country to the Columbia River at Maryhill (site of a fun little museum and Stonehenge replica.)

Then follow the (north bank) of the river - fabulous red rock walls - into the Columbia Gorge. Stay in Hood River (terrific little town) and visit the Hood River Valley (orchards in harvest mode) and Mount Hood, or cross the Columbia and hike around the base of Mount Adams from Trout Lake. In lieu of the hot and crowded Napa Valley, do your wine tasting in Hood River, which is also, by the way, a major center of craft brewing.

Travel through the heart of the Columbia Gorge past numerous waterfalls (google "Oneonta Gorge") and vista points, to Portland, then head north toward Longview on I-5. If time permits and you're still interested, a day at Johnston Ridge on Mt. St. Helens is easy, then follow WA 4 along the north bank of the Columbia through some historic towns and good riverside scenery to Cape Disappointment. Visit the Lewis and Clark interpretive center and stick a toe in the water at Waikiki Beach.

Then cross the (awesome) mouth of the Columbia and stay on US 101 all the way to the Golden Gate. For what it's worth (and others are free to disagree) my opinion is that the most scenic part of the Oregon coast is the final 70 miles before the California state line. There are some lovely bits between, say, Newport and Florence, but the northern coast - Cannon Beach, Ecola State Park etc. - is nice but very heavily visited (Cannon Beach drives me nuts, frankly) while things thin out quite a lot once you're past Port Orford.

Anyway, just a thought, and maybe a disruptive one at that.

esp

Thanks all. I'm still researching, but your suggestions surely piqued my interest.

It'd be great if you posted that link once more, somehow it was messed up.

Gardyloo

Let's try this - http://gmjohnsonmaps.com/product/ore...state-map-gmj/

onthego15

I definitely concur on Gardyloo's suggestion to spend time in the Columbia River Gorge. It is spectacular, especially if you love waterfalls.

djp98374

rough itinerary to consider....

day 1-2 Seattle
day 3 Mt rainier night in longview
day 4 AM St Helens, PM Astoria/Cannon beach for sunset ..night in Portland
day 5 Portland/Columbia Gorge
day 6 Willamette valley down to Eugene then to the central coast (yachats, Florence)
day 7 drive southern coast down to Brookings
day 8 Redwoods..night Garberville
day 9 To SF down 101. Could easily stop at places in Sonoma since 101 goes thru that area.

darthbimmer

There are a lot of great suggestions above. I don't see that anyone's asked, though, one really important question: What do you like to do?

esp

Great suggestions indeed. Turns out they were pretty much spot on. I'd just like to explore & enjoy the nature and probably do some hiking and/or cycling. I enjoy good wine and craft beers, so I'd be curious to try some of the local stuff (although I'm not a foodie and can't imagine going to a fancy restaurant every night or doing multiple wine tastings).

rjque

That's a lot of driving on day 4. It's been years since I was up on Mt. St. Helens, but I remember it taking quite a long time just to get up there from Portland. It's worth a day on its own.

darthbimmer

I agree, djp's Day 4 description is too ambitious. Cut out the side-trip to the Astoria coast and spend more of the evening in Portland with its excellent bar/restaurant scene. There's plenty of coast to enjoy from Florence, OR down through Crescent City, CA.

I concur with djp's suggestion of spending your last night before SF in Garberville, CA. It's about the right distance from SF to do as a comfortable day trip with scenic stops along the way.

The night before that you might consider staying in Bandon, OR instead of Brookings. Do whichever balances the driving and touring time better. But either way, definitely spend a few bucks more to stay at one of the small hotels on the beach. It's so worth it having no development (except often wooden stairs) between your patio and the sand and the endless Pacific ocean.

djp98374

It can be done .....sure it's a longer day....

Am see St. Helens...lunch in Longview...90 min drive to Astoria then down to cannon beach. There till sunset. Then it's a 75 min drive to west side of Portland.

Can stay at cannon beach for the night but it likely is expensive and if there on a Friday or Saturday night many require a 2 night stay.

catgirl

Having just returned from the central Oregon coast (yesterday!) after spending a week there, I can vouch for much of what onthego15 has said. State Parks every few miles as you travel along the Pacific Coast Highway. The hike we enjoyed the most was from Hobbit Beach to the Heceta Head lighthouse, just south of Yachats OR. The Oregon coast has many lighthouses, but locals suggest that the Heceta Head one is the prettiest. You can decide for yourself. We also did the very short and easy walk to Munson Creek Falls in the Tillamook area. Alas, we never made it all the way south to the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, so cannot speak on that one. We also loved just walking down the beach (any beach), many of which were uninterrupted for miles (particularly at low tide). It was windy and did get cold at times, so dress accordingly. During our week in the area, there were times when the temperature as we walked down the beach dropped to 55F.

susanc

Have done this drive. The number one regret for me was not allowing for more time in Mendocino. Coolest weird stop was Bodego Bay, sole reason was to look at the different locations the movie The Birds was filmed.

roadtripamerica.com is an invaluable resource for any road trip. IMHO