People have different philosophies but the first time I always try to see a lot and then later decide where to spend more time the next trip.

I think you could do both - and in Oregon - drive along the Gorge to see some of the great waterfalls and get up to Mt. Hood and the fabled Timberline Lodge, where there is plenty of hiking opportunities and scenic views. http://www.timberlinelodge.com/

The weather could be a big issue during your trip...So far this has not been a" big" snow season,
however it only takes one storm to close Timberline roads. There are great hikes along the Columbia River even though would be quite chilly.
Oregon Coast; usually lots of rain or just drizzle with brief periods of sun. Personally, I think the enduring the weather is worth the beautiful scenery..
Do some "searches" on this site: Seattle---Oregon coast..
Get maps of Oregon and Washington---try to figure "loops" to cover areas you want to see.
IMO I think you need to concentrate Oregon (Portland and coast) OR Seattle area.
Considering the time of year..I would choose Seattle area..
Plan a future trip for Oregon ---Sept&.Oct. are wonderful.
Good luck.

Portland is a good base for day trips to the coast, the Columbia Gorge and Mt. St. Helens if you wanted to spend time in the city. And it is definitely worth spending time there. With only eight days, that's not a lot of time to do both Seattle and the Oregon Coast/Portland. You might want to choose one or the other.
If you decide to do both, I would fly into one city and fly out of the other one. It's about a three-hour drive between Seattle and Portland, so it's a bit of a hike. And it's time that could be spent sightseeing, instead.

I think the weather is a big factor, but it sort of depends on your tolerance for rainy conditions. I agree that the coast is very atmospheric in rainy/windy weather, but only you can say whether more than one day in such atmospheric conditions is enough for you, or if you relish the idea of the whole time on the coast being like that.

Or, if you really dig it, then you might consider an alternative bit of coast: Head over Puget Sound from Seattle and loop around the north end of the Olympic Peninsula (watch out for vampires and werepersons.) Visit the Hoh rainforest in Olympic National Park, which at the end of the winter can be nothing short of amazing: the Roosevelt elk (big animals, those) eat much of the undergrowth during the winter, leaving this remarkable scene of trees with hanging moss disappearing into the mist, but surprisingly long vistas below the canopy, unencumbered by undergrowth, just moss underfoot. It's beautiful and eerie, well worth the drippy conditions.

Then visit some of the beaches along the Olympic NP coastal strip - Ruby or Rialto beaches - which are very close to the Hoh turnoff. You can stay in Forks for this (dull little town) or better, at Kalaloch or Lake Quinault.

Then drive down the coast (US 101 - boring but quick) to Astoria, then follow the Columbia River back into Portland and spend a couple of days visiting Portland, the Columbia Gorge, Mt. Hood if it's not snowed in, etc. Or if you still have the itch, transit the Gorge to Maryhill Museum (on the Washington side of the river near The Dalles) for some culture in the high desert, or even better, keep heading east toward Walla Walla. The Palouse country (around Walla Walla - best up by Davenport WA) is breathtaking in the early spring, when the sprouting wheat turns the rolling Palouse hills into the most remarkable pattern of green you've ever seen. (Like, for instance: http://www.chipphillipsphotography.com/Landscapes/Inland/Palouse-HIlls-Spring-1/1234254285_d9wHz-L.jpg )

Guardyloo has a great plan but it may be too much driving to go all the way to WallaWalla.
This is my proposed loop. Fly to PDX and rent the car. Head east and see the waterfalls and Mt. Hood. Continue east to US 97 to see the dry side of Oregon and Washington. Head north on 97 to Ellensburg WA. Take I-90 back to Seattle. Seattle to Astoria, Astoria-Cannon Beach-to Newport. be sure to see the aquarium just south of Newport. Head back to I-5 on US 20 and then back north to Portland for the remaining time. If you have the time, take a day trip from Portland to see Mt. St. Helens.

Wow, this is so much to take in! Coming from Florida, I appreciate you helping me gauge my time for distance and travel. I don't really have a preference one location over another. I just want to see the magnificent coastline.

Is there that much difference in the weather in Seattle vs. Portland that time of year? I do anticipate rain while out there, but would love to see some blue skies as well.

I am going to research the information you've given me. Thank you!

Forgot to mention that SEATAC airport and PDX are only 4.5 hours apart so it does not make sense to fly to one and out from the other. With 8 days you should be able to see a great deal of both states. There are plenty of things to see in both cities with good public transit. There is a "free zone" in each city.
The east end of the Red line of TriMet is right outside the baggage claim at PDX.

Not much difference between Seattle and Portland, but the coast is typically much rainier than either city. In the case of Seattle, the Olympic mountains tend to deflect a lot of the moisture coming off the Pacific (hence the rainforests on the west side of the Olympic Peninsula) while in Portland the Coast Range does something similar.

In both Oregon and Washington, the Cascade mountains (east of both Portland and Seattle) really block the moisture, so that the eastern half of both states is much, much drier than the west. So for example as you go through the Columbia Gorge, the west end is very wet, with numerous waterfalls, but by the time you get to the east end of the Gorge (around The Dalles) you're basically in desert - sagebrush, etc. The change is very striking and takes place over a very short distance (around 30-40 miles.)

That's why the Columbia is such an amazing river with which to base your travels. You can go from beautiful but very wet coastline to real "old west" country in the space of two or three hours.

In fact, if you wanted to focus just on the Columbia basin, using Portland as both your arriving and departing point, you could have a very rewarding week. Explore the coast around the mouth of the river (Cannon Beach is nice but can be a bit touristy; you might look instead at the area around Ilwaco and Cape Disappointment on the Washington side: http://www.flickr.com/photos/38411907@N04/4082607803/lightbox/ )

Then when you're tired of the weather, just follow the Columbia east (I like the north shore very much - some interesting and historic towns) back to Portland, then keep going east through the Gorge and into the sunshine (which is very reliable once you're through the Gorge.)

Drive times are not huge - a couple of hours west from Portland to Astoria, a couple eastward to the dry end of the Gorge, another hour or two past that would get you to the Palouse scenery. If the roads are open to Timberline on Mt. Hood, that's about 90 min. from Portland depending on your choice of route. If it's an early spring (which it might well be) then the Hood River Valley (running south from Hood River in the middle of the Gorge) might be very nice, with the many orchards in spring bloom, and the mountain looming over the valley floor, like here: http://gardyloo.us/20100509_85a.JPG

You really can't go wrong.

I just want to see the magnificent coastline.

In that case you should spend most of your time in Oregon. The Washington coast has little to offer in comparison to Oregon.

In Oregon the best ocean views from 101 are between Brookings and Port Orford and from just north of Florence to Lincoln City.

Our favorite places to stay on the coast are Cannon Beach, Newport, Yachats, Bandon, and Brookings.

I suggest you explore the coast from Cannon Beach to Eureka, that you check out the redwoods, and that you spend your last day or two in the Columbia River Gorge.

Following these suggestions you will have endless beauty to photograph, many opportunities for walks and hikes, and you won't need to worry about snow.

Fly in and out of Portland.

HTTY

BTW - they usually keep the road to Timberline open don't they? It's a busy ski area in the winer.

And while I like the Olympic National Forest - it takes a little work to get to - a couple of hours beyond Seattle, but hey - I like to drive - while others may not as much.

Also - as I recall - I think it's more like 3 hours (or even less) from the Portland Airport to SeaTac - assuming no significant traffic. From Portland to Seattle is 144 miles - and SeaTac is about 10+ miles south of Seattle, between Seattle and Tacoma.

Glad the OP told us where (they) are from - that always helps a great deal.

Firstly, Seatac airport and PDX are a mere 2 1/2 hours apart (using the estimate on Bing Maps).

Given how far you're traveling to reach the area, I think you should include as much as is realistic (including both Seattle and Portland).

I'd let airfares and rental car costs dictate WHICH airport you come and go from (price your 8-day stay with every combination involved).

All things being equal, I think you might as well fly to Portland first. IF inclined to see a bit of central Portland, you might even go it without the car the first day (or two?), using the rail from the airport, and then not having hefty car charges overnight that first night.

Furthermore, if you rent from a downtown location instead of the airport, you'll save more there too!

So, fly to PDX... rail to downtown, check into hotel... scout the area... spend maybe 1 1/2 days IN downtown Portland... then rent the car on the 2nd morning... check-out of downtown hotel.

(as someone said, using Portland as a BASE for day trips makes sense, but I dunno that you need the lap of downtown luxury and expense for them. Not sure what is 'optimum' in terms of convenience and expense, but perhaps a lesser hotel in a suburb could be best)

SO... Columbia Gorge... day trip to the east... perhaps matched with a pass of Mount Hood... (from a safe "March" distance).

Next day... a day trip to the coast... (unless you want more time there, but in March... the drive from Astoria to well down south might just be enough, before cutting back over to I-5 for the northern trek back to Portland)

Mount St. Helens... maybe do that on the path out of town to the north toward Seattle...

The Portland-to-Seattle freeway path is filled with trees, and decent amounts of nature, but it isn't especially appealing when compared to others.

At the end of March, don't know how much you can hope to get of Mount Rainier if you planned a visit. Just hope the weather is clear in Seattle, for impressive views of the mountain from 60 miles away (and, um, 'good luck with that...' )

Another option would BE to do a day trip to Mt. St. Helens FROM Portland first, and THEN drive back south to/through Portland... and down toward Albany or beyond, and over to the coast, for a NIGHT... and then the next DAY you would drive all the way up the coast toward at least Aberdeen (central WA coastal area).

From there, you'd decide whether to go northward and around, perhaps catching a ferry to Seattle (not a bad idea, the ferry) OR whether you'd instead drive inland from Aberdeen, for being threatened with only rain and fog along the coastline. Much of that area as well is TREES and lots of'em. Would expect either crisp, clear weather or bone-chilling rainy weather (especially from the perspective of a Floridian).

I'd stay in central Seattle for a couple of nights and MIGHT even consider an alternative path back south... going EAST from Seattle to Ellensburg... and then through Yakima and Goldendale, and up the Columbia River (again).

(of course by the time I wrote that, I was thinking you could perhaps make that part of the PLAN, and skip the earlier "day trip" TO the Columbia Gorge. in favor of passing through via this route).

IF all that works right, hey, you might even avoid the routine freeway drive between Portland and Seattle on the freeway.

I sure feel that you have enough time to cover this, especially if you apply improved efficiency to what I spat out there.

When you narrow down your interests, we can perhaps better help you pinpoint the specifics.

Oops, by "hefty car charges"... I meant for PARKING at a downtown Portland hotel.

(but of course off-airport rental counters cost less per-day in terms of the associated taxes and fees, in addition to chopping a day or two off of your rental car needs, for staying in downtown Portland that first night)

Check www.carrentals.com, and we have even gone to an off-airport car rental - maybe a mile or two from the airport - on Sandy? - which didn't have the dang airport tax and they were friendly enough to give us a ride back.

I would suggest shifting the entire trip south.

The Washington Pacific coast does not have a lot to offer except for Olymic NP. On the other hand, there are several great accessible sights in Puget Sound or a trip to Victoria Island, BC.

I would suggest flying into Portland. Depending on the weather and road conditions, a day trip up the Columba gorge, east of Portland, is certainly worthwhile. Also, there is a scenic train ride available from Hood River.

The Oregon coast is outstanding with three distinct sections.

The northern section is the most populous, is rich in Oregon history with nice sand beaches separated by spectacular headlands. Newport has a very nice aquarium. There are many opportunities for hiking, but be prepared to deal with rain and possibly heavy storms.

The central section from Heceta Head to Coos Bay is punctuated with huge sand dunes with coastal fishing towns snuggled between them. Taking to the dunes on quads by dune buggy or on foot is worth the time. Hiking the sand dunes is not for the light hearted as they are steep and hiking soft sand is not easily. You will know the true meaning of taking 2 steps forward and one step back when trudging up even a smaller dune.

The southern section from Coos Bay to Brooking is my favorite part of the Oregon coast. It is less populated, best weather and there is much less tourist pressure. Make sure to spend some tine in Bandon. A mail boat ride up the Rogue river from Gold Beach is a great day trip.

With 8 days, you should have time to continue south and explore the redwoods of northern California. I think some of better groves are outside the NP and in the State Parks.

You can continue south either taking US Highway 101 or California Highway 1 to San Francisco. 101 is certainly faster, but the narrow winding Hwy 1 provides outstanding coastlines.

Another alternative is to go south from Brookings to Crescent City and turning back north on to Grant Pass.This will also allow you see some redwoods. Then either north on I-5 returning to Portland, stopping at one of Oregon’s best kept secrets, Silver Fall SP east of Salem with a fantastic trail leading you 10 majestic waterfalls, four falls you can walk behind. Or head up to Crater Lake NP where the snow will still likely be deep but there will be great views of the lake from around the lodge. You can take US Hwy 97 north to I-84 and down the Columbia Gorge to Portland.

Hope this is helpful and have a great trip.

Point of order, leswhetham. There is a Victoria Island in Canada, but it is in the Northwest Territories, above the Arctic Circle. You meant to say Vancouver Island, right?

Anybody on the West Coast of North America - when they say Victoria - knows it refers to Vancouver Island.

And we love it. You can visit one of the British pubs and think you are in Merry Ole England, and nearby Buchart Gardens is beautiful - and if you have the time - the 4 plus hour drive to Tofino is worth it - and you pass through one of the 3 temperate rain forests in the world, with one of the others being just inland from the Oregon Coast - with the road to Salem being fairly representative.

Weather in "the last week of March" is NOT going to be very welcoming to coastal ideas/plans... It could be so windy/rainy that you won't want to get out of the car near the coast, and possibly so rainy that you won't be able to SEE out of the car in spots.

Were it July or August then to center your whole time around the Oregon coast might make more sense.

You have plenty of time to give both Washington and Oregon a good go, and for coming from so far away you should probably make such an effort given your opportunity.

I decided to book our airline tix to fly in and out of PDX. Ideally I would love to explore the area in the summer months, but time just isn't permitting then. I'm not going to make any hotel reservations just yet, as I have to digest all the options above...and I am loving all the ideas!! Even if I can't spend the entire time on the coast, looks like I will have plenty of options.

That's great advice too about not renting a car at the airport since I will be spending at least one night downtown. It will be nice to save a little on car rental and parking.

Thank you!!

So I'm trying to narrow down my game plan. I'm not going to spend as much time on the coast as initially planned because of the rainy season. I have some places I'd like to go, but if not realistic to fit it all in, I'd love your feedback. I know I have a lot packed in, but I would like to see as much as possible.

We're flying in on Sunday to PDX. I'd like to spend a couple days downtown. Then take a day trip to Columbia Gorge and see waterfalls on Tuesday. On Wednesday, head to the coast and see Cannon Beach and the Goonies house in Astoria. Weather permitting, I would love to go to Ecola Park. That would have us spending Wednesday (and maybe Thursday) night around Cannon Beach. From there, head to Seattle and spend Friday through Sunday there. Head back to Portland Monday (the quick route) and hit Mt Rainier or Mt St Helen on the way back. Fly out of PDX early Tuesday morning.

Also, I've heard there's a ferry to Seattle. Is that on the way? The only ferry I've ever been on is at Disney World to take me to the parking lot. lol I'd love to go on a real one.

With regard to the ferry... You would go up the Washington coast... turn inland at Aberdeen, and then northward from the Olympia area on Hwy #101... and finesse your way to Bainbridge Island, or Bremerton, to take the ferry across Puget Sound, to Seattle.

With so little time IN Seattle, I think you would do best to NOT go the long way around the Olympic Peninsula (northwestern Washington).


Hey, before I forget, you should maybe look-up where to find the exact house that Bella Swan lived in, at the start of the Twilight series, if you're into that. It is in the town of St. Helens, OREGON, which is out Highway 30 North of Portland.


When you go BACK from Seattle to Portland, just take the relatively boring, yet quick-ish drive down Interstate 5.

Everything else about your revisions sounds good.

Spend 1 day in Downtown Portland instead of 2 then carry your plan forward tacking the "extra" day on the end to see what you missed the first day.
As for Seattle, when you are done seeing the city, take the ferry to Bremerton and maybe see the Naval museum before heading back south through Gig Harbor to get back on I-5 at Tacoma.
Make sure to see the Astoria Column and the waterfront as well as the Goonies house.

Sweet, thanks for even MORE great advice! I knew this was the place to go for the expert's opinions.

I'm thinking I will just spend just the one night around Cannon Beach to have an extra day in Seattle. I also like the idea about heading out of Portland a day early and then spend the last day in Portland. I wouldn't feel as rushed to get back into town that way.

So far all of your replies have been very helpful in planning our trip. We arrived in Portland yesterday. We had a wonderful, sunny day exploring the city today.

Tomorrow we get a rental car and will venture to the coast. First we will head for the Evergreen Museum for hubby to see the Spruce Goose. From there we will head for Cannon Beach. The online map has us taking 47 to 26 to the coast. A second route would be to take 18 to 22 to the 101. Would the second (longer route) be worthwhile to see more of the coast? I'm just not sure if that extra stretch will have that much more to see.

@NorthWestMale- Is there a preference to taking a ferry from Bainbridge Island or Bremerton to Seattle?

I suspect I'm too late with this, but I'd take 47 to 6 to 101 before the 18 to 22 route. Might take longer, but the scenery along 6 is quite nice, with even a nice waterfall 75 yards off the left side just past milepost 30.

Hope our lovely spring weather doesn't foul things up for you.

Have to admit that I don't know enough data about 'the other side(s)' to be fair to your question.

I would just go with the timing, and the ferry schedules... also, maybe even the "Kingston to Edmonds" ferry... just do what it takes not to get delayed by traffic, or whatever... (Kingston-to-Edmonds should be just fine at any point aside from MORNING rush hour)... then you land just north of Seattle, and get a nice 'intro' to central Seattle...

On the other hand, the ferry landing IN central Seattle certainly has its appeal, but in a car, you'd still have to find parking in order to take-in what Seattle offered you IMMEDIATELY.

OK, go by the weather... IF IT IS CLEAR, or clear-ISH... take EITHER Bremerton OR Bainbridge into central Seattle. If rainy, then let your schedule and the ferry schedules dictate your option.

**************

I need to CLARIFY something, about the ferries:

IN a perfect, rain-free world, with clear skies and (violins playing softly)... THEN you might be going up the Washington coast, and PAST Aberdeen, continuing NORTHWARD, and around on Hwy #101... to see plenty of nature (and "Forks, WA", of "Twilight" movie fame).

IF the weather is a dreary mess... THEN it might be inspiration to bag the trip north of Aberdeen, WA... and instead cut INLAND, to Olympia, and then north on Interstate #5 (NO FERRY involved).

THE FERRY option was mainly in the event you did indeed take the "loop" around Highway 101 in northwest Washington, and then wanted to take a more direct path to Seattle.

As of this moment, I don't know which way you should lean on all that. It may depend, also, on whether you have 'saved' any days/time for the last part of your journey.

Alas, Forks was chosen for the movie in large part due to it being the rainiest town in the lower 48... (I'm sure you can sense what that may mean, with regard to your probable weather scenario)

(but SOMEtimes the northwest just surprises you!)

@islandaze- Thank you. I did get your post in time. We were going to take that route, but spent more time then we were planning at the air museum. We wanted to get to the coast while it was still daylight and see the beach before it got dark. We got drizzled on and really sandy feet, but it was worth it. We stayed the night at the Surfsand Inn and it was so nice seeing Haystack Rock right off the balcony.

@NorthwestMale- Thank you for all the options. We got a later start in the day because it was raining in the morning and we figured what's the rush. We decided to give Ecola Park a shot anyway. Eventually the rain subsided and we were able to explore the trails, Indian Beach and hike up to the Tillamook Lighthouse viewpoint. Next time we will know to bring better shoes and clothes for hiking. lol.

After the park and checking out Astoria, it had started raining again and getting late so we opted out of the ferry option and took the 5 into Seattle.

We had a day with lots of rain today. We went to the Boeing plant for a tour in Everett to escape some rain. Tonight the rain surprisingly stopped and we went up the Space Needle for a great view of the city lights. Tomorrow we are going to Pike Market and to get a new raincoat too!

If it stops raining long enough visit the Washington Park Botanic Gardens Arboretum. http://depts.washington.edu/uwbg/gardens/wpa.shtml
Plenty of trails there if they are not flooded.

Thank you all once again for your invaluable help on our NW trip! We covered a lot of area and now know the areas we would like to go back to and spend more time there.

I look forward to doing more exploring in the Columbia Gorge area. At the end of our trip, we spent one night at the cutest cabin overlooking the mountain and river that I found on airbnb.com. The nature in the NW is heavenly. We had a sunshine filled day hiking the waterfall trails. The perfect finale for our trip.

Here are some photos from the trip:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennrationdesign/sets/72157629975035105/with/7623011344/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennrationdesign/sets/72157629385585376/

Thanks for getting back to us. If you have the time, a few of us would like to see a trip report with details on what you liked etc.

Tom- Would I put the trip report in this thread or start a new one?

Start a new thread. Click on the "Trip Report box" when you are done typing.

This is great! I am about to book airfare into portland for a coastal scenic drive 1st week in September. Not sure if to fly both in and out of portland. I have just 4-5 days. Would love any tips on where to stay with great views etc. It's our anniversary so want to make it special. Thanks!