donger274

hello, i live in seattle washington and have a friend coming from hawaii in a few weeks and was planning a trip to portland for a few days. I was wondering if anyone had any advice in things to do as well as good restuarants. We were planning to go dune buggying somewhere east of portland but other than that. Ive tried google but would love some feedback from actually people who live in oregon!! fwiw ive been in oregon once in the 7 years of living in washington (just to drive through it).

thanks alot!

-dong

mysilvers2k

Dune buggying east of Portland? You might want to try Winchester Bay on the coast for dunes...home of the tallest dunes in OR, massively gigantic dunes there. Going up Banshee Hill is amazing. And Umpqua Lighthouse State Park is there, and that is the coolest lighthouse at night.

Other than that, I would say Happy Hour @ Henry's 12th St Tavern is a must. If you're going east of Portland, then stop off at Edgefield McMenamins in Troutdale. A drive down the Columbia River Gorge is always nice, then stop and take a hike up Horsetail Falls to Ponytail Falls, if it's not long enough, then hike all the way up to Triple Falls.

donger274

maybe it was west of portland or winchesterbay . now that i think of it, there was a beach involved( a cousin of mine has been there and said it was awesome). a hike would be awesome, i know she use to run track for high school but on the other hand, im addicted to smoking cigarettes (but i try stay in shape but the will isnt always there lol). a nice fun does sound nice, as i probably will try to avoid i-5 as much as possible. my car as a hardtop which is kinda not removable since my softop was slashed by some asshole in seattle and never got around getting it fixed. thanks for the input!!

mysilvers2k

Most people who go West of Portland will go to Sand Lake, which is fun, but is about 1/10 of the size of the dunes in Winchester Bay, which is another couple of hours south, if you have the time, it will be worth the trip for sure.

As far as the hike is concerned, Horsetail Falls to Ponytail Falls is only a mile in (6 switchbacks) and a mile out, and you can go behind Ponytail Falls, which is very cool, then go back down and drive west on the Columbia River Historic Hwy, a couple of miles west and you'll get to the famous Multnomah Falls, which is one of the most popular OR sights, continue going west and you'll hit an extremely fun part of the highway in the S, and go up the twisty fun road to the Vista House, which will look over the entire Columbia River Gorge on your right and towards Portland on your left.

donger274

thanks for the response. kinda got lost in your response. i guess a good plan would be to drive down from seattle and take the scenic view. could i take this route along the oregon coast (with the twisties) on the way down to portland? or maybe on the way down to Winchester Bay? i just got new tires and want to give them spin on the way while avoid the highway.

so would somthing like this work

-drive to portland along the coast get to portland, get a room and head south to Winchester Bay, spend the day there, come up spend the night in portland, wake up and hang out in portland and take the same drive up north?

i guess the question is where is this road in relation to portland/seattle and Winchester Bay.

thanks!

mysilvers2k

Sorry I confused you. I'll try to do better. You said that you're coming down for a "few days", so I guess it would depend on how many days are in a "few days". If it's 3, then this is what I would suggest:

Come down to Portland, I would take the quickest way here and come down I-5, when you get to Portland, you want to head west towards the coast by way of: https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=755366 see the Astoria drive which you put you on some awesome twisties. Once you get to Astoria, then drive down 101 to Winchester Bay (if you want some huge dunes), this is a 5 hour drive from Astoria to Winchester Bay so it'll be A LOT of driving. Play on the dunes and find a place to stay in Reedsport. If this is too much and you don't have the time, you may just go to Sand Lake for their dunes, they're much smaller but adequate, then it's only 2 hours from Astoria to Sand Lake.

Then come back up to Portland the next day to spend a day in Portland and take the Mt. Hood Loop from the suggested drive link above. Then you'll have an opportunity to see the Columbia River Gorge and drive the Old Historic Hwy to Crown Pointe...very twisty. Spend the night in Portland then go home the next day.

donger274

[QUOTE=mysilvers2k,Aug 24 2010, 12:19 AM] Sorry I confused you.

mysilvers2k

Wow, first major road trip...have fun.

The first thing I would say is that personally, I wouldn't go on a road trip of this proportion without a spare, but that's just me, I tend to error on the side of conservative. And for me, once I get in the car I can just keep driving and not stop except for a short occasional break. I've been known to drive over 2500 miles in less than 3 days. And one time drove from Chico, CA to Vancouver ,WA non-stop except for 2 bathroom breaks. I usually put a small cooler in my trunk and fill it with snacks and water for road trips, along with my music, phone charger, window cleaner and a few micro fiber rags and I'm good to go.

And as far as my lip is concerned, I drive an AP1 without mods, so I don't worry. I just make sure that everything checks out (tires, fluids and such) before I go an any long trip.

I hated road trips with my parents as a kid as well, but now I love getting in my S and driving any time I can. Good luck and have fun, let me know how things went when you get back...along with how you like going up Banshee Hill.

donger274

thanks for all the help again! yup thats kinda the plan, though my friend is actually born and raised in hawaii so she might get carsick who knows (especially in a small, rough driving s2000 / driving through twisties). she loves posting pictures so ill be sure to post some pictures on the way.

also were leaving for portland on the 12th so itll be awhile, but ill make sure to find you

thanks again!

-dong

mysilvers2k

You're welcome. Have a great time and let us know when you'll be in Portland.