Looking for a little help/input here. The daughter graduates in May from college and wants to take a week and go to one of these two states with her boyfriend. Other than staying out of Portland and Seattle, any ideas would be appreciated. They want to do some hiking, sightseeing etc.

Squatch sight seeing hiking up in those mountains out their might be pretty cool.

Portland and Seattle????

A pooper scooper might be needed to walk around without stepping in something squishy.

Either is gorgeous. Not sure about National Parks at the moment but crater lake in Oregon or Mt Rainier in Washington. Mt St. Helens in Washington also although weather could be iffy for viewing at any of the mountains. Oregon has very accessible ocean beaches with sand. Washington has a few but most of Washington is rocky or not accessible. Anything from coastal rainforest to high deserts in either state.

Oregon coast, cannon beach and sea side
Multnomah falls
Mt Hood
Bonneville dam

All in oregon

Southern Oregon coast ...Heceta Head south ...maybe drop down 101 far enough to see the north end of the redwoods around Crescent City CA. Coastal trails abound.

Lonely Planet Guide for Washington or Oregon

Tough call. They both suck mightily, but honestly Oregon is the MOST Phouced up place Ive ever been. So on that basis, I'd pick Washington.

Politics aside, Oregon is one bitchin place. Anyone saying otherwise is ignorant.

Politics aside.

Bend or Port Orford OR are also nice. Flintlocks has a good suggestion. WA has lots of nice places too. Bring your raincoats if they go on the coast.

Screw the politics, both places offer some magnificent scenery. Washington state is as diverse of an ecosystem as it gets in the lower 48. The Blue Mountains are cool in the Southeast corner of WA too and not as crowded. The Oregon coast is cool, just avoid the big cities!

This. Go to Gold Beach and take a 104 mile round trip jet boat ride up the Rogue River. It’s a unique perspective and they should see wildlife.
We went with Jerry’s Rogue Jets.

Plus 1.

When the kids were young we did the Oregon Coast thing several times. Good trips. Bring a raincoat.

Oregon coastal towns, any small town from Astoria south, and maybe change location once.

Jet boat the snake river from Clarkston wa. To hells canyon or salmon river jet or raft in idaho.

I lived in Washington.
Seattle, Kirkland, Redmond, Everett, woodinville
Beautiful place

Bend pretty much sucks now. Ben-diego is just California, but farther north.

Yup.

I would challenge anyone to visit NE Oregon, specifically the Eagle Cap Wilderness in the Wallowas. Do some backpacking there, then come back and tell us Oregon sucks.

After you do that, I could list a couple dozen other specific parts of the state that are unparalleled in natural beauty.

But - please stay away. There are too many people here already that have fled Kommifornia and have polluted the gene pool, just like is currently happening in Texas, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, etc.etc.


This now concludes your morning PSA for the Phouced up State of Oregon. Back to your regular scheduled programming.

If they want to hike, they can actually hike from Grants Pass here, to Gold Beach along the Rogue River... 4 day hike... 85 miles or so... and then take Jerry's Jet Boats back up stream....

Tour HWY 101, around the Peninsula up in Washington starting in Olympia, up the west side of Puget Sound, up to Port Townsend, over to Port Angeles, then down Hwy 101 on the west side, cross into Oregon at Astoria and then follow Hwy 101, down the west coast..... zillions of State Parks on the Oregon Coast, down to Brookings, and Crescent City CA... follow that on down to Eureka area, head east back on US 299 to Redding Up I 5 until they hit Weed, and take Hwy 97 up the east side of the Cascades, side trip near Klamath Falls to see Crater Lake... up thru Bend and then on up to Washington state, and cross into WA... There is a duplicate of Stone Hendge made after WW 1 that overlooks the Columbia that is pretty cool...

Then either follow the Columbia River Gorge back into Portland and home... or continue up Hwy 97 on the east side of the Cascades, maybe a side trip to MT Rainier....all the way north until you hit US 2, and take that west over Stevens Pass on the North Cascades Hwy... back into Everett, then down I 5 into Seattle and fly home....

minus the Looney Toons, there is no shortage of cool places to see here....that is why I live here, but endure the political wackos, and leftist idiots...

Moved here in 95 from the Twin Cities....because I foresaw Minneapolis/StPaul turning into what it has become.... didn't come here to live in Portland or Seattle.. which were both beautiful cities back in the late 70s when I was stationed at Ft Lewis.. that sure changed after I left....

When my time comes, I'll probably go back home to Virginia tho.... but I have sure enjoyed the outdoor opportunities the PNW and Northern California have offer me...

Totally bitchin..
The west coast is the best coast.
If I need to explain it, you would not understand

Crater Lake to the Jefferson Wilderness! Some of the best hiking in the state! The Wallowa Mts. should be avoided at all costs. Their too beatuiful for most to appreciate!

Pretty overwhelming for most.

A week is not much time for sightseeing Oregon. I would pick a coastal town, maybe two, and take day trips from there. Oregon coast is spectacular scenery , lots of local little breweries for those who like such things, lots of rain this time of year for sure.

The drive is something else!.

Beautiful

Agree, Wallowa mountains in NE Oregon are a hidden gem. Lived there for 14 years, sure miss the place.

Born raised there.

Will you guys quit talking about the caps and the lake. There are already to many people there. Makes it tough on me when I want to go down there and stay. I remember as a child going down there and there were hardly any people there except the locals. My dad told me that when we were going down there in the 60's that my parents looked at buying 40ac on the back side of the lake that was not developed for $5,000. They talked about but it, ultimately decided not to buy it. My dad told me several times that was one of his major misses there.

Lived here in Oregon all my life and other than Portland going to hell in a hand basket, the state is still one of the most beautiful places on earth to spend time. About the best way I could think of to spend a week if that is all you have is to take Hwy 101 from Astoria all the way down the coast to Coos Bay. The scenery is absolutely spectacular along the way, lots of beaches you can wander around on, great places to eat and stay, and fishing if you are so inclined. Most of the harbor towns along the way offer fishing charters for pretty reasonable rates for salmon, bottom fish, and what watching. Unless you really are into the shopping and touristy nonsense, avoid Seaside and Lincoln City- they are over run with tourists most weekends .... the trip from Newport to Bend is a great drive and there is some amazing hiking along the way, including the Pacific Crest Trail if they are adventurous... the tree covered mountains are amazing and serene and when you top out at the town of Sisters, you can see snow capped mountains in all directions... I could go on all day- and I'm heading up to the Bend area but South for some coyote hunting and sage rat hunting in a week or so if my schedule works out....

Bob

Riding a good motorcycle up the west coast through all thoes little coast towns is just an adventure you have to do at least once.

The high desert of Washington and Oregon is beautiful all onto itself.

Turn the radio and tv off and leave the political crap behind and you will be in geographical heaven.

Fly into Seattle
Spend 2 days in the San Juans
Spend 2 days in Leavenworth
Depending on what they like, spend 2 days camping at La Wis Wis, or stay in Seattle, or VRBO an oceanfront house.
Hike to Camp Muir and hear the glaciers cracking, or Mount Si or Mount Eleanor or Snow Lake

338Rem: May is a beautiful month in Montana - would NOT waste my time in either taxington or portlandia.
No sales tax in Montana.
Best of luck to them what ever they choose.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I would have to agree with my almost neighbor here.

Are they both from your location, MN? Odds are they've never seen a redwood tree, a big one, as in a REALLY big one? Like flintlocke said, that area of the South Coast of OR, nice little towns like Port Orford and such, all the way down to the Cali coast is spectacular.

The good thing is, outside of getting wet, there are a lot of parks and stuff to hike in. Odds are places like Crater Lake, Mt Hood, Rainier, and other nice scenic parks for hiking further inland are mostly, if not entirely, closed due to snow. One time I tried to get into Crater Lake in July and they had it closed.

Jedediah Smith Park is just north of Crescent City, which is just a short drive from the Oregon border. It's almost like not being in Kommiefornia, and there's camping and hiking there they might enjoy.

I hope they have a nice trip, but if this might be the one time they get to the West coast, missing out on seeing a redwood grove of the "Old Growth" type would be a shame.

Of course, there are other big trees, cedars, Doug fir, spruce in OR and WA. If they prefer WA I might suggest a trip to Olympic NP, over on the coast side at Quinalt there are some nice trails that would be open for a ways until they hit snow line.

I wish them a happy vacation for sure. But tell them to go see a real tree............in the Redwoods!

If they had the entire summer, they could not possibly soak-up all of the natural beauty that can be enjoyed within a 100 miles of Bandon, Oregon. It is really special country, but do have them bring some light rain gear-it will come in handy from time to time in May.

If I had a week to spend in Oregon, I'd fly into Eugene and rent a car and head for Newport (less than 90 minutes drive from Eugene). I'd make that home for a few days and go to the lighthouses (Yaquina Head and Yaquina Bay), the aquarium, whale watching in Depoe Bay (18 miles north of Newport), and if they want to go hiking, head 26 miles north toward Lincoln City and hike Drift Creek Falls. If they're interested in fishing the ocean, Depoe Bay is a great place (Dockside Charters). There's several good breweries/tap houses and restaurants there as well. I'd then head south on Highway 101 and make stops at the Haceta Head Lighthouse and walk the bay front in Florence (Newport has a cool bay front too, but it's a working bay front and smells "fishy" at times, but is worth seeing). I'd then take Highway 38 from Reedsport over to I-5 and head south to Roseburg and then go to Crater Lake. Plenty of falls to hike to along the Diamond Lake Highway if they wanted. It's 90 minutes or so back to Eugene from Roseburg. Or if they have more time, head south and see the Redwoods and then back up the coast. One could easily kill a week making that loop and not run out of things to see and do.

Very easily kill a week Waputi.

I'd rather have a month or two.

Maybe they don't like green and wet? Perhaps a drive through the most remote (from a freeway and associated stuff perspective) areas of our Country is in order?

Drive South from whatever major airport they pick, Boise, Potlandia, Seattle. Get to somewhere in E OR. head to the SE corner of that state. LOTS of open space and in May it will still be pleasant. There's a spot down there, near FrenchGlen I think, that's the furthest from a freeway of any place in the lower forty eight.

Horse sale in Juntura? Might be in June though.

So much territory, most of it public lands, and so little time.

Hidden gem for sure. Born n raised there myself. Miss it daily. Look out after retirement.

I don't know Washington all that well. In May, the Cascades of Oregon are going to be pretty well snow-clogged and farther north into Washington it should be worse. My first choice, later in the year, would be Crater Lake NP. It's stunning. But there's about 7-1/2 feet of snow at the south entrance right now. I don't think the rim drive will be open in May .. maybe, could be wrong .. and the trails still should be snowed over.

Weather in May is variably variable, or maybe less predictable than that. If you get nice days, the coastline is incredible. It can rain / drizzle 'til mid/late June. You never know.

There's very cool, low elevation hiking along the Umpqua east of Roseburg. Mostly day hiking. The highway runs on the north side of the river. Every few miles there's a bridge over the river with parking and access to the trail that runs up the south side of the river. The Rogue River trail and Illinois River trail are both awesome that time of year: it's still pretty green and the wildflowers pop. Later, they get very dry and miserably hot.

Best chance for better weather would be east of the Cascades. One thought would be to check out the John Day fossil beds and Painted Hills. After a little rain to wash the dust off, the colors from the various bands of volcanic ash pop.

I'd consider the Columbia Gorge. Starts out close to Portland but the views of the cliffs along the river are great and there are a lot of trails on both sides of the river. If it is too wet to the west, go east up the river 'til it isn't.

If you get good / cooperative weather, or don't mind being wet, then the trail along the Oregon Coast has great views, big waves bashing rocky headlands, and small beaches. Same thing .. though I don't know about the trail situation .. around the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. (That remains an area I want to visit ... the Hoh rainforest, etc.)

You can spend your whole life here and not get to all the cool things that are available.

I hike fish and hunt there. But in May still too early to hike and explore

Mountains, deserts, ocean.. pick two at most. Otherwise they will be driving the entire time.

Geno, I agree on driving South into Cali and going to Redwood National Park or close bye.
If they were inland, I would say Lassen Volcanic National Park Mt Shasta area. I learned a whole bunch more about volcanoes on the West coast/Pacific Rim while visiting Lassen.

In May weather will be great in West Oregon or Washington for a few days. Below suggested ternary to see the diversity of the PNW.


Id fly to Seattle . Head out to the Olympic Peninsula , hike sight see then drive HWY 2 incredible scenery) stop in Leavenworth WA for lunch, east over to Idaho Panhandle to Kootenai falls in NW Montana. Explore the Troy, Libby MT area Hike a bit and Take Hwy 90 back west. Day in CDA ID and stop in Ellensburg. Great hiking there in May and all of the wild flowers out. Hike Umptanum ridge. Head back . Stop in Rosslyn too.

Thanks for all the ideas so far. She has traveled to the the east coast, Colorado, California, She thought she would like to travel up to the Northwest.

T_O_M

"There's very cool, low elevation hiking along the Umpqua east of Roseburg. Mostly day hiking. The highway runs on the north side of the river. Every few miles there's a bridge over the river with parking and access to the trail that runs up the south side of the river."

That's what I would have said, but after the fires it is a mess. Before the fires, one of the most beautiful drives around.

I haven't read the whole thread.

Oregon for the Coast and Crater Lake.

Washington for the mountains (Oregon has them too..) and the Olympic peninsula.

Lots of nice semi-arid lands (and drier mountains) in the eastern halves of both states.

Buddy has property close to soap lake.

Slept under the stars many nights out there.
The gorge at George to......

We took our college age girls and a boyfriend out to Washington and visited Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, and Seattle before heading out to the Olympic Peninsula: Dungeness Spit, Hurricane Ridge, Forks, La Push, and the Hoh River. Would do it again in a flash.

Pretty huh

My pick is Oregon away from the Willamette. It's a shockingly diverse, friendly and remote state aside from the Potropolis.

Yes it is, but depending on what kind of snow year they're having up there it could be they don't get much hiking in some of those places.

Hiked through Olympic NP from Quinalt over to the Elwah valley and out there. July 1974. 8' of snow on the pass in the park and that's not very high.

Got over to climb Rainier and do the Wonderland Trail. Managed with the right gear to do Rainier, but the Lodge at Paradise was still mostly buried and the Trail averaged above 6k' and we didn't have snowshoes to do the 93 miles.

Might be some short hikes available in May though. Maybe a Washingtonian can let us know what conditions are up there this year.

Tourism is the fourth largest industry in Washington State, employing more than 182,700 workers and generating $21.4 billion in annual spending.

Good luck with that after the homeless, antifa, BLM, and covid

Avoid the cities completely, come into Oregon down the Columbia River Gorge, stop at Multamona Falls, go north on I-5 to Longview WA, Cross the Columbia there, or stay in WA to the 4-mile long bridge over the river into Astoria.
In Astoria go to the column climb it and take in the view, there is also a fort to sea hiking trail from Lewis and Clark Natl. Park, a herd of elk can sometimes be seen in Fort Stevens and where the Columbia River meets the sea was worth the time.

Like these?

Bend is beautiful but a liberal schit hole. Skip that.

BTW - those were taken at the Hammond boat launch last fall. (Astoria area, where the Columbia river meets the Pacific.)

Lots of Roosevelt elk in that area.

In Oregon, Silver Falls State Park. East of Salem. Beautiful falls that you hike under.

That's another great one - the trail of 10 falls. About a 9 mile hike, best in the winter or spring when water flows are at their highest.

But - Oregon sucks, so stay away.

Oregon has a really neat Light House driving self-tour along the coast. The Oregon coastline if gorgeous. The old light houses are neat as well.

He said in May, so it should be warm.

How about going north along Oregon and Washington coast. Then to Vancouver and then east thru Jasper, Banff and Lake Louise. Next down thru Glacier Park and Yellowstone.

Cant access Crater lake til middle of June or later

Candaian border is closed and will still be closed in May

My wife and I visited the Oregon coast a couple of years ago. Flew into Portland and rented a car. The traffic in and out of Portland was horrendous, about as bad as I've seen anywhere.

Other than that, we had a great time. My advice would be to find a different way to get there, avoiding Portland. And that's not even considering the current political mess.

Ever fly into Seattle, lol?


PDX is a great small /medium airport and is outside of downtown Portland.

In fact, you can be in the gorge in 45 minutes - rush hr not withstanding.

Cross the 205 and take the Washington side.

Can't count on warm dry weather on the wet side until September.

Holy [bleep] man.
Nice hike

Another plus 1 on this. SW Oregon has some grand country. And if they've not been to the BIG tress, it's a win win deal.


Crater Lake in May? BS
Lower in the Cascades, in May? Bring some Deet.

Save the drive, it's just a damned volcano filled with water.

100% agreed. I can suppose if someone went to Portland, then Hillsboro then Gresham, it'd be fairly easy to miss the joy. There's a reason there was an Oregon Trail, it was that good...

BTW, Flying into PDX to drive out ain't chit, just do it between 9 pm and 4 am. I wouldn't trade two Washingtons for half an Oregon. Washingtoon does have awesomeness tooo.

Wow, that’s astute! Like having a dagger sticking in your side and saying “except for the pain and loss of blood, this really isn’t that uncomfortable.”

Beaches-Oregon (no contest)
Mountains-Toss up (in May the mountains won't be very hikable though, due to snow)
Wineries-Oregon (Yamhill/Carlton area, Walla Walla, WA is a close second though)
Breweries-Oregon (Tight race but the nod goes to OR)

If they decide Washington, a few days in the San Juan Islands is well worth the effort.

If I were to plan something for them, I'd fly them into PDX, pick up a car, head west to Astoria, then spend the bulk of their time driving south down Hwy 101, skipping Seaside. 4 or 5 days of beach life, then inland to the Willamette Valley for a couple days of wine tasting then back to PDX to fly home. Despite the naysayers, OR and WA are worth visiting.

The Newport area along the central Oregon coast is nice. We had a condo at the Inn at Otter Crest for years and always spent a few weeks a year there.

Lots of beaches, go crabbing, drive up to Tillamook and tour the cheese factory, air museum at McMinnville and one at Tillamook. Just stay away from Portland.

Bb

When an area has too many options the first thing, they do is start shoving things up their asses.

Did the long haul trucker thing for years, The Colombia River Gorge is
one of the most scenic drives in the country. One of the very best
from an interstate.

In 1976 my wife, then girlfriend, was intern with the FAA and sent to work on antennas at the Klamath Falls airport [next to Crater Lake]. I visited her during spring break.

It was like being on the lunar surface. No sign of life.

Crater Lake, in about July. LOL

Thanks for all the input. Passed it on to my daughter.

Epic.

I wasn't a camera person then. Would have had to carry a million rolls of 35mm to catch it all anyway!

Lodge at Rainier looked similar. Had to access the restrooms through an 8' diam culvert.

On July 19!