washington and north oregon trip - revised itinerary and ?s

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I%26#39;ve revised the itinerary a bit according to your suggestions. what do you think now?

day 1:

drive from Vancouver to Seattle: capitol hill lunch and shopping + Cal Anderson Park. Dinner: Rain Forest Cafe (the restaurant in Westfield SouthCenter)

day 2:

downtown Seattle: Space needle, childrens museum, downtown shopping

(other suggestions for Seattle? where and how can we enjoy the lakes / floating houses? we decided on the Oregon zoo over the one in Seattle)

day 3:

drive to Mt. Rainier (I still prefer it over St. Helens. Beautiful scenary and simple hikes will work for us better than interesting visitors center and documentary films) -

sleep outside the park (any recomendations for lodging? nice restaurants? should we just drive to Cannon Beach and sleep there, to save the unpacking and packing the next day?)

day 4:

Cannon Beach - just enjoy the beach, shops and restaurants

day 5:

I%26#39;m struggling here: should I add another day in Cannon Beach, and use half of it for Oswald West State Park and/or Seaside (I checked SeaSide website, and I was not too impressed. Cannon Beach looks more interesting. On the other hand, we do want to rest a bit, and not just drive hours every day.)

day 6 (or 5 depends what we decide for Cannon Beach):

Drive South + Three Capes Scenic route : (Den: I need more information here please, where to stop on the way? which route to take?) - where to sleep? driving back to Cannon Beach according to Den is 2 hours. After long day of driving and stopping that may be too much with our little boy. (again, the same dilemma - driving back and return to the same hotel, or ';paying'; with packing, unpacking and packing again)

If we have time, we%26#39;ll take syrahgirl suggestion, for stopping in Tillamook for the cheese factory and Blue Heron for wine testing and petting zoo.

day 7 (or 6):

Portland: Oregon zoo + washington park and japanese gardens (we don%26#39;t mind skipping the downtown): sleep in Vancouver, OR

day 8 (or 7):

Colubia George: drive the old scenic highway, stop in waterfalls and view points - lunch or dinner in Multnomah Falls Lodge (looks lovely, what do you think?) - sleep in Vancouver, OR

day 9 (or 8):

Drive back to Vancouver, BC - any intersting point to stop on the way? North Cascade park? I%26#39;d like to stop for few hours/half a day to break the long drive

I don%26#39;t want to go longer than 9 days, and therefore I didn%26#39;t include Olympic Park. (but we live in Vancouver, BC, so we can keep that for the next trip)

washington and north oregon trip - revised itinerary and ?s

For the Three Cape Scenic Route, head west out of Tillamook towards Cape Lookout State Park (Third St). Once you get out of Tillamook, you%26#39;ll take the road to the right towards Bayocean. It%26#39;s will be marked, so don%26#39;t worry about printing this out and trying to follow it.

From Bayocean you simply head south. There are great vistas along the entire route and a few quaint little towns. The DO NOT MISS (north ot south), IMHO are: Cape Meares Lighthouse and Park; the town of Oceanside; Cape Lookout State Park; The trail from the top of the cape to the end; Pacific City; Cape Kiwanda.

If you make the loop south and back on hwy 101, to and from Tillamook could take as little as two hours or as much as eight. Tillamook does not have an abundance of motels, but here is a pretty nice Shilo Inn on the north edge of town that could facilitate a visit to the nearby cheese factory. There is also a new Best Western in the same area by Fred Meyer.

~Den~

washington and north oregon trip - revised itinerary and ?s

I think it would be nice to overnight in Cannon Beach, you could enjoy the area a bit more. A picnic at Ecola State park would nice. You could also check out Oswald West State Park. It%26#39;s a nice little walk down to Short Sands Beach, we surfed there frequently last summer. This is a gorgeous area of the coast, I would use this as a time to relax and slow down a bit and ';take it all in.'; Your itinerary is coming together very nicely! :)

I doubt you%26#39;d think two days in Cannon Beach is too much, so if you have the time, why not use it? If you%26#39;ve not settled on accommodations, consider SurfSand Resort, a very nice family oriented hotel. As for how to spend your time, you%26#39;re right that Seaside isn%26#39;t very ';impressive';; nevertheless, your 3-year-old might enjoy it for an hour or two. It%26#39;s the quintessential touristy-tacky beach town, complete with arcades, rides, bumper-cars and corn dogs. Oswald West is certainly worth a visit too. But you could be perfectly happy with buying a kite at Once Upon a Breeze, and spending the day on the beach. Some nice tidepools around Haystack Rock, too.

Tillamook Cheese Factory shouldn%26#39;t take much time. It has a self-guided ';tour'; if you%26#39;re interested, but the best thing about the place is the ice cream they serve. That would be the reason to stop!

Any reason you%26#39;re staying in Vancouver (that%26#39;s WA by the way :-) ) rather than Portland? You%26#39;d have more dining and activity options in Portland.

I was there just a few weeks ago, but it%26#39;s been a loonngg time since I%26#39;ve had a meal at Multnomah Falls Lodge. The reports I hear are that the food is just okay. There aren%26#39;t many other options nearby though, so expect that it will be crowded, especially at that time of year.

mistletoe,

We will probably use your recommendation and stay 2 nights in Cannon Beach. The first day - it will probably be lunch time anyway by the time we arrive, since we travel from Mt. Rainier and stop in Astoria for a short visit. I was just worried there is not enough to do in Cannon Beach to keep us happy for 2 days. It does look like a beautiful beach town, with nice shops, restaurants and beach. I was worried we may be dissaponted with the beach, since it is not really swimmable beach (like the Maui ones we recently visited), but my son can still play in the sand, right?

The reason for staying in Vancouver was to cut some costs - I%26#39;ve heard very good things about Residence Inn in Vancouver. For 109 a night, we can get a really nice suite and breakfast. It is also seem like a good starting point for Columbia George. Do you see any issue with this choice?

Den and all,

For day 6 - where to sleep?

I%26#39;m not sure if we should sleep a third night on the coast after driving south from Cannon Beach and visiting Three Cape Scenic Route and Blue Heron farm and winery. We could either head back north to Portland area for the night, or stay another day on the coast, let%26#39;s say around Tillamook, complete our visit in the area in the morning,and then head to Portland.

There is also a third option: to head back at night to Cannon Beach for a third night, and in the morning drive to Portland. What do you think?

Spending time in Astoria sounds very nice! We have enjoyed Astoria for over sixteen years now, it%26#39;s nice to be able to see the Astor Coumn from our front doorstep, you would enjoy a drive up to Coxcomb Hill to see the gorgeous views from the top! There is also a riverfront trolley that runs along the Columbia River your little one should enjoy. Cannery Cafe, the Wet Dog Cafe and the Ship Inn are all good places for meals on the trolley run.

There aren%26#39;t too many place to stay around the Tillamook area, there is the Shilo Inn there that may fit your family%26#39;s needs. The Shilo properties and clean and comfortable, comprable to a Best Western place. :)

Oh that Cannon Beach%26#39;s beach was swimmable like Maui%26#39;s..... But it is big, and beautiful, with plenty of sand for your little guy. He can get his toes wet too. :-)

I%26#39;m not familiar with the Residence Inn, Vancouver, but it should be fine for access to the gorge. I assume you%26#39;d just head east on 14, and cross the river on the I-205 bridge.

I wouldn%26#39;t drive back up to Cannon Beach from Tillamook, if only to head into Portland the next morning. But as Den says, Tillamook is pretty slim pickins for hotels/motels. Here%26#39;s a thought; why not spend a night in one of the cabins at Cape Lookout State Park? You%26#39;d have to bring your own gear, but I think it%26#39;d be fun! On the other hand, Portland is only 90 minutes from Tillamook, and the drive along the Wilson River is a nice one.

Unless you really want to take the self guided tour at Tillamook...just stay at the Surfsand...they have ice cream days and service complimentary Tillamook ice cream:) Huge scoops too!

Beautiful scenary and simple hikes will work for us better than interesting visitors center and documentary films) -

Not sure where you got idea Mt St H was that, VCs and films. . Mt St H is a very recent volcanic activity which is very evident. and it is still growing. visitor centers simply explain what happened. You can go only to the one at Johnston Ridge. Then I am very interested in volcanoes. But sounds as if ou have mind set

N cascades really not worth a stop for you since you live close. most interesting stuff several miles off I-5. Not sure it would take a lot longer to stop at Hurricane Ridg if you ferry across at Port Townsend, and much clearer view point for beautiful scenery. Washington Pass best view but it is long ways from I-5

Perhaps you should consdier driving up to Mt Hoodb

Have you been to Mt Baker? very nice. Though could be long day trip for you.

thanks for all your suggestions.

Here%26#39;s my thoughts:

Day 3: End the day in Ashford (or somewhere in the area) - it%26#39;s outside Mount Rainier East

Day 4:

Drive to Cannon Beach (it%26#39;s something like 3.5 hours drive). stop in Astoria on the way. Any other recommennded stops? Afternoon - Cannon Beach

Day 5:

Rest day in Cannon Beach

For day 6 - we will drive south in the morning, travel as Den suggested, and head back in the evening to sleep in Portland or Vancouver, WA. That way, we save the unpacking and packing time, and can start the 7th day in Portland Zoo as planned.

Day 6-8: Should we sleep in Portland or Vancouver, WA?

How far away Vancouver,WA is from Portland - we plan the 7th day in Portland. For day 8, the plan is to do the historical old way of Colmbia George, with all the nice stops for vista points and falls.

You may want to consider a stop at Fort Steven State Park in Warrenton on your out of Astoria over to Cannon Beach. There is the wreck of the Peter Iredale there that is interesting. The beach is usually windy, a good place to fly a kite. There are several miles of walking trails if you want a little exercise. Coffenbury Lake is also here which is very pretty.

Cullaby Lake area across the highway is also a nice spot for a picnic. It%26#39;s also a very pretty lake in the area. :)

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