Anybody know anything about Oregon?

[neilli]

We're thinking of doing a bit of a tour of the North West and wondered what Oregon was like. Any info on places to see (or avoid [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] ), or things to do would be appreciated!

[hippietim]

Re: Anybody know anything about Oregon?

Oregon is beautiful. Portland is a very fun town. Say hi to my cousins when you're there. Seattle is fun to as long as you are only visiting. If you get up to Seattle then you are just a couple hours from Mt. Ranier and St. Helens.

Also, I highly recommend going to Vancouver, BC. It's a great city - lots to do. Stanley Park is great.

Basically you're looking at about 3 hrs between all these things with Seattle as the mid point.

Eastern Oregon and Washington are full of wide open space for miles and miles that are big rolling hills. Lots of wineries.

Enjoy!

[neilli]

Re: Anybody know anything about Oregon?

Tim,
Thanks for that. I know Vancouver BC pretty well as I have a college friend who lives there. My wife and I have been there on 7 or 8 three week trips and we even got engaged there (on the western tip of Stanley Park in fact!) We're looking at doing some touring and then ending up back in Vancouver and everyone has said that Oregon is a beautiful place.

We went to Seattle for a day and it was OK, but nothing that I'd rush back to (mind you, we could easily have missed the good bits as we had no real idea where we were going!)

Those wineries sound like a good plan (they were in the Okanagan anyway!): Maybe I should get my wife as another named driver on the rental car [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]!

How big is Portland and is there much to do there?

Where should we aim for on the coast?

[TheSteveMan]

Re: Anybody know anything about Oregon?

I've been living in Oregon for 13 years (and I'm in the middle of a one-year break)

There's plenty of camping if you're into that-- check Bend, or the Rogue River National Forest, or the Crater Lake National Forest for that stuff.

The Crater Lake National Park is worth a visit, pretty good scenery and there's some camping close to it.

The coast is pretty nice-- if you're going to visit there, Newport, North Bend, and Coos Bay are the further-north places you can visit, and down south there is Gold Beach and Brookings. Brookings is really close to Crescent City, CA...
the access to the coast sucks in some places, so like where I live we have to actually drive north to Grants Pass and then southwest to Crescent City, then north to get to the Oregon part of the coast.. pain in the butt!
Let's see... Coos Bay is near the Oregon Dunes which I believe is a state park.. you can rent ATVs and stuff there, which is kind of fun. There's a big aquarium at Newport and there's one at Crescent City too...
Been so long since I've been out there, I can't remember what's where.. Brookings and Gold Beach are pretty nice, that's where we usually go, but it's in the extreme southwest corner of the state so it might be out of the way.

No matter where you go, the nice thing is that the beaches are not really crowded.. and no where near as dirty as So-Cal beachers. On the down side, it is a bit chilly, though, and kind of rainy.

Portland is a nice town, but really not incredibly different from any other decent medium-sized town out there. A buddy of mine from high school moved to Portland and apparently there's a reasonable music scene so that might be worth a shot.

Lemme know what else you wanna know [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[pro-fusion]

Re: Anybody know anything about Oregon?

I grew up in Portland. In my opinion, if you've been to Vancouver and Seattle, you've basically been to Portland. Portland is smaller than Seattle--about 1.5 million people in the metropolitan area, versus more like 2 or 3 million in greater Seattle. But the climate is the same and the culture is similar.

As a former Oregonian, I will say that Oregon is more known for its wines than Washington State is. There are many small wineries southwest of Portland and within about 1 hour's drive. Oregon produces very good riesling and pinot noir wines, from what I remember. Me, I'm a beer drinker! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] And Portland is GREAT for beer drinkers--it was really the heart of the microbrew fad that was big in America back in the '90s, and there are still lots of great beers to be had in Portland.

From a visitor's standpoint, I think Portland is comparable to Seattle--both are excellent if you are into outdoor activities (hiking, skiing, whitewater rafting, freshwater and ocean fishing), but Portland might be slightly better in that regard. You can do all of those activities and more within an hour's drive from Portland.

Neither city comes close to San Francisco, L.A. or NYC when it comes to cultural activities. The best that you can say about Portland that way is that it is "quirky"--a lot more so that Seattle, actually. Lots of weirdos end up in Portland because the mild climate and tolerant population. So think lots of clanging, annoying "indie" rock and lots of art galleries full of stuff that doesn't look much like art...

On the Oregon coast, I recommend setting out from Portland and making a nice drive along Highway 101 along the coast from Astoria to Lincoln City. That circuit will take you most of a day to complete, but there's a lot to see, especially in Cannon Beach, which is a very picturesque beach community. I never cared for the Washington coast, myself. It's rockier, and there isn't as much to do.

Feel free to contact me if you want to know anymore about it.

[TheSteveMan]

Re: Anybody know anything about Oregon?

I was just thinking about that-- you're right, pro-fusion, Portland is a hell of a lot like Vancouver.

Seattle is a bit bigger than Portland, but Portland is more laid back.

The highway 101 drive is pretty decent (even just any small segment of it).

Oh yeah I nearly forgot, in the southern part of the Oregon coast and Northern part of California, there is also the redwood forest... my family seemed to always think that was a visit-worthy place.. I never got it myself, it's just a bunch of big, really old trees.
Recently we went there (my dad was visiting, he and his wive hadn't been there) and it had been several years since we had been there.. since then the "Trees of Mystery" park got even more goofy-tourist garbage treatment. They have a big statue of Paul Bunyan and his ox, and a bunch of Redwood stuff.. recently they added a gondola that gets you to some viewpoint... what can you see? Lots of trees.

Stay away! Hah!
It is kind of funny, they pay somebody to sit and watch a camera monitoring passers-by all day and make stupid comments over the PA.. and the people who designed the ox decided it would be cool to give him a big fat pair of balls.. amusing for 5 minutes, not worth the trip :-p
I think this is actually in California, though.. can't remember.

[pro-fusion]

Re: Anybody know anything about Oregon?

If you are travelling throughout Oregon, you pretty much *HAVE* to go see the redwoods along the coastal border with California. But be warned--that's about a six-hour drive from Portland. My family and I tended to go through there only when we were on our way to vacations in sunny California--but wow, I guarantee you've never seen trees like those...

On the old Hwy 101 in northern California, it was just a narrow two-lane highway snaking through the redwood forest. Some of the trees were only a foot or so from the side of the road, and it was an amazing drive. They've bypassed that now in favor of a faster road, though, which kinda sucks, since anyone who wants to get to California fast takes Interstate 5, anyway.

[YetAnotherOne]

Re: Anybody know anything about Oregon?

And if you go as far south as the redwoods in CA, the drive down the coast from the redwoods to San Francisco is spectacular, arguably the best bit of coastline in the US.

[thurston]

Re: Anybody know anything about Oregon?

I've only driven through oregon a few times, but I'll be in portland next week for a few shows at Berbati's.

Here's my big tip, Don't Speed and don't try to pump your own gas.

[pro-fusion]

Re: Anybody know anything about Oregon?

Yeah, Oregon and New Jersey are the only two states in the country that don't allow you to pump your own gas. Kind of a pain when you are in a hurry, but good for the folks who need the jobs, I guess.

[the_drip]

Re: Anybody know anything about Oregon?

I've been out there once it was great. I didn't even have to pump my own gas.


I went to Astoria...Cannon Beach...along the coast. I felt like a goonie. It was beautiful...a little wet..but I kind of liked that too.

[Chameleonfong]

Re: Anybody know anything about Oregon?

Only thing i rememeber about Oregon is the freaking $380 speeding ticket i got!!#%^^#*&!@%#*&!% [img]/images/graemlins/eviltongue.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]


Fong

[TheSteveMan]

Re: Anybody know anything about Oregon?

The cops on the freeway are bastards about that... lots of people speed anyway, but Oregon has the lowest speed limits anywhere! Never above 65 on the freeway, where many states have it at 70-75 max.