Washington/Oregon and area things to see

[TomE11]

Oh man. I lived in Oregon 54 years and did not even come close to exhausting the possibilities!

There is a road along the crest of the Cascades from Crater Lake and you can get all the way to Mount Hood if you have a good map. The only Forest Service road is 46, and it's paved. (but not plowed if there is snow.)

Century Drive out of Bend. Going around Mt. Bachelor. Elk Lake.

The Painted Hills near Monument. The Ochoco Forest with abundant Forest Service campgrounds.

Lost Lake on the north side of Mount Hood.

Timberline Lodge.

Anywhere on the Coast. Newport has a really nice waterfront. Beverley Beach State Park, and yes, a reservation is important for the State Parks in summer. Forest Service parks, not so necessary, particularly if you avoid Friday and Saturday nights.

There is a cool little county park on an almost island in a bay just south of Tillamook, in the county of the same name. Beachcombing there is wonderful. Whalen Island County Park.

The drive from Eugene, up the Mckenzie pass, and down the Santiam. Sisters, Oregon.

The loop drive from Gresham, to Timberline Lodge, around to Hood River, and back.

The "Old Columbia Gorge Highway" a 1930's era road (tight and twisty) with Multnomah Falls, and the Vista House. Both of which you likely have seen on postcards.

Waldo Lake is a favorite of ours. We camped there many years. Third clearest lake in the world and the beauty. Camping season is short there, though. July - early September. Early and Mosquitos. Late, and snow.

Hood River.

Cascade Locks on the Columbia River and the view from the CharBurger restaurant. Food is only OK, but the view is to die for.

Mary's Peak in the summer time, between Newport and Eugene.

So much more!

[thrifty bill]

I’d reconsider your mileage. 250 miles a day along the coast in summer is a very long day. Inland it’s no problem.

In WA state, Widbey Island is a must, make a reservation at Deception Pass SP., Fort Casey SP is a good one too. Over in Sequim, Dungeness Spit County Park is a must see. Around Mt Rainier, several forest service campgrounds between Yakima and Chinook Pass. North Cascades Highway is a must too.

Lived in WA state for 13 years. Endless places to see.

[k0wtz]

guys don't forget the factory tour of tillimook dairy what a fantastic place to stuff yourself on the best ice
cream in the world!!

bob

[thrifty bill]

Also be sure to stop at the Pendleton factory in Washougal, WA, near Portland, OR. We got a load of nice wool blankets and more last trip. They have a senior discount day, forget which day.

[k0wtz]

bill the best blankets we own are the woolen ones from mexico those dudes are heavy we packed them over the border wore us out!

they were so cheap then

bob

[k0wtz]

bill we started this in Italy running the sea shore we didn't last long oh so many stop lights and traffic!


bob

[Jack L]

You already have enough suggestions that would take you several years to view, but Ill add two more. Salmon fishing out over the Columbia River Bar is always fun for us. This year the prospects and forecast are not great, but that could change. Also, if you are interested in American history, the Lewis and Clark Expedition spent a lot of time on the Washington and Oregon coast and there are lots of things to visit here. Fort Clatsop south of Warrenton, where they wintered, and the Interpretive Center near Ilwaco Wa. are very interesting.

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by EricAllyn

Next August we will be doing a inner passage cruise out of Vancouver and will spend some time before and after seeing things. Besides the National Parks in the area, are there other things we "can't leave without seeing?"

It's so tough to say as people like such different things. I was at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco for the umpteenth time last year. I took my brother there and I was completely absorbed, as usual. He slipped out and had a beer at a local restaurant. Afterwards, he said "not enough weapons" with a grin. So, different strokes...

There are some terrific air museums if you like that sort of thing. The Museum of Flight is is located at the southern end of King County, just south of Seattle. Paul Allen's Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum is located to the north, between Seattle and Everett. The towns of Tillamook and McMinnville down in Oregon both have terrific flight museums.

https://travelforaircraft.wordpress....uped-by-state/

Then there are not one but two Automobile Museums in the Tacoma area, America's Car Museum and the LeMay Family Collection at Marymount.

Natural wonders abound, along with many other things; it's a very rich area for travelling... Tell us what kinds of things you like to do and maybe we can hit closer to the mark!

[Carlc]

Wow, great info everyone! Picking up my new Escape around the beginning of June and hope to see many of the beautiful spots in the Northwest! Thanks!

[slowpat]

Do you want brown or green? The west sides of the Cascades are green and dampish, and the east sides are not so green--brown in Warshington.

I have pulled trailers up and down 101 many times and yes, it is rough in spots. Just south of Seaside are the Whoopdeedoos. The road is sinking in spots and has some pretty good dips in it. The coast area is in motion.

I usually have casinos in mind for backup. The Quinault Casino on the Warshington coast has a gravel parking lot with spray painted spots. I think they charge 5 dollars in the summer. You can hear the ocean but will not see it from their lot, but there is a trail from the casino. Then in Oregon, there is a casino at Coos Bay where they have a full service park or a no service lot. I do not know the rates. The port towns often have city RV parks at their marinas which may be a couple dollars more than the state parks. The Walmart in Newport, OR does not allow camping, which is too bad for the campers but good for the residents. It is close to the beach and would be packed otherwise. (I used to live nearby and shop there).

If you need to hurry, do not drive the coast highway. In the summer, it is very busy and slow. Lincoln City has traffic jams and can take an hour to get through. The farther away from Portland you get, the less crowded it will be.

Get a Fred Meyer gas card. They have stores with gas along the way and are usually a bit cheaper than regular stations. This also means there may be a line up for gas. They are in Warrenton, Tillamook, Florence, and Brookings. I don't think the Coos Bay store has gas.

If you like history, stop at Fort Stevens and Astoria. I love the maritime museum in Astoria, but my family settled in the PNW during the 1800s and I have a connection to the history. If the weather is clear, you can see big ships going by from the Astoria Safeway parking lot. They have RV parking for shoppers, and gas (have a Safeway card). The Safeway is east of the big bridge that crosses the Columbia on the river side of the highway.

If you like to do ship watching, there is a county campground in Skamokawa, WA which is upriver from the mouth of the Columbia. The shipping channel comes very close to the north shore and you can run out to the beach when you hear a Thrum thrum thrum coming along on the river. I don't think too many people know about that place. It has some sites with water and power hookups and then has restrooms and showers.
The river bank is nice and sandy.

Newport has a couple of aquariums and a brewery with very good beer. These are on the south east side of the bridge.

That's about all I feel like typing about. Be aware that some people find the cliffside part north of Florence scary. Just drive it at the speeds on the curve signs and you'll be fine.

[k0wtz]

pat when we hit the casinos we just act like a customer pull over in an out of the way place and park for the night.

we have never been run off yet!

bob

[richardr]

Does anyone have recommendations for central or eastern Washington? Is there BLM land with camping that doesn't fill up in the summer?

[k corbin]

I would say that a must see stop in the Vancouver area is the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia. It is a simply stunning and jaw dropping display of NW Native American objects. You walk into a large foyer filled with huge totem poles. There are many rooms of objects from their way of life with many visual treasures. There is a large outdoor area which includes the long house types of buildings they had in their villages. Definitely this is a world class museum and a very unique one too. I think a visit there before you begin your inside passage cruise is a very important foundation of knowledge in helping you understand the human history for how the native peoples lived and still celebrate their culture in the area you will be traveling on your coastal cruise.


Not too far away from the museum in Vancouver is the Granville Island Public Market. It is a large indoor food market, cheeses, produce, meats, tea, coffee, candy etc. It is a fun place to have lunch and pick up some food supplies for your trip. The Island also has many small shops with artisan made objects including some specialty made items for travelers such as various types of packs. There are also artist galleries there. This area of the Island was developed to give a place to both work and sell for the areas artist and artisans.

[k corbin]

I would say that a must see stop in the Vancouver area is the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia. It is a simply stunning and jaw dropping display of NW Native American objects. You walk into a large foyer filled with huge totem poles. There are many rooms of objects from their way of life with many visual treasures. There is also an area of European ceramics. There is also a large outdoor area which includes the long house types of buildings they had in their villages. Definitely this is a world class museum to visit and a very unique one too. I think a visit there before you begin your inside passage cruise is a very important foundation of knowledge in helping you understand the human history for how the native peoples lived and how they still preserve their cultural history in their lives and celebrations.


Not too far away from the museum in Vancouver is the Granville Island Public Market. It is a large indoor food market, cheeses, produce, meats, tea, coffee, candy etc. It is a fun place to have lunch and pick up some food supplies for your trip. The Island also has many small shops with artisan made objects including some specialty made items for travelers such as various types of packs. There are also artist galleries there. This area of the Island was developed to give a place to both work and sell for the areas artist and artisans.