Best time to visit Oregon

I%26#39;m from the Netherlands, planning a trip to Oregon and Washington.

There%26#39;s a little doubt about the time to visit.

Wich is better:

end of May/begin June or end of September/begin October?

What are specific things in each timespan.

What about the weather? And what about the hazards?

Is the term ';Indian Summer'; something specific for Oregon and Washington?

Best time to visit Oregon

I consider September our best month because of the weather and April our second best month because of the colors from flowers and foliage.

I don%26#39;t think you%26#39;ll go wrong with either pick but I would go with late September because rain is less likely then than May/early June and its probably going to be warmer. Our rains don%26#39;t hit usually until last half of October. So yes, we traditionally have an Indian summer in September/early October.

Late May/June, you%26#39;ll still have the blooms but some will be past heir prime.

Hazards? Can%26#39;t think of any unless you%26#39;re planning on hiking in snow. Kids are back in school by late September so traffic is less and sights are less crowded. Probably the same for late May but some schools may and most colleges will be out.

Best time to visit Oregon

Ditto what graper said:)

Where do you plan to visit??

If you plan anything in mountains like Crater Lake, McKenzie Pass, Sept much better. Snows will have not cleared there yet . Though it will have in most places And you can get into Crater Lek just some limits.

I agree weather likely better at coast in Sept. One thing I like about May is the longer days, later sunsets.

Hope Tet jumps in here. They were all over Oregon. He is fellow countryman to you. can%26#39;t remeber when they were here.

If I had a month in Oreg from Netherlands easy choice for me Sept.

Sept/Oct for me too!

We visited Portland for the first time in Aug..then in July , then in Aug.

The weather was so good , we started to wonder if all that Rain talk was just to keep people from coming here in droves LOL

September is good, very good and a lot of October is too :)

Although it rained last year, our first Portland Halloween :(

September!!!!

OK, thanks you all.

That makes my choice so much easier.

My plans are to start in Portland and from there go south to bend (?) and crater lake and from there up north again along the coast.

And from there further to Washington and Seattle and if I have some more time maybe Britisch Colombia/Alberta

Hi Kroon

Hi Phirl, just read his thread

We were in this wonderland september some years ago and it%26#39;s a great month to visit like the others said. And Oregon has it all and don%26#39;t forget to visit Portland for some days.

We also visited Washington and Vancouver Island and if you have time you might also visit BC but maybe consider to visit Northern California instead and NW Nevada also if you have time. U easily

can spend a month in these area%26#39;s. How long are you coming?

Obviously folks from the mentioned states are far more knowledgeable than me but if you like you can contact me at: Tet14fromholland@yahoo.com

Cheers

Tet{:o)_

woops I reread my message. Snow will be gone in Sept and not yet there so access to mountain places good. Apr/May is when snows may not be gone. I need to edit better.

And Tet glad you jumped in .

Hello,

If you are interested in seeing waterfalls, and if you are starting your trip in Portland, you might want to travel east along I-84 or better yet, the old highway 30 to see several waterfalls. All have signs pointing to where they are. Some are right on the highway and others are a short or long hike. You could spend a whole day doing this and then spend a night in Hood River or the Dalles. Head down to highway 97 via highway 26 or highway 197. Bend is about 2 hours south. You will be driving through the high desert and there are a couple of good places to stop. Maupin is right along the Deschuttes and while there aren%26#39;t too many places to stay here, it is a good place to find a snack and check out the river. The crooked river gorge is another very interesting land mark. Bend should be dry and warm in September (much colder at night than western Oregon along the I-5 corridor). Crater lake is probably another 2 hours from Bend. And like previously mentioned, the snow will be gone in September (sometimes it doesn%26#39;t melt completely until August). Take highway 138 out of Crater Lake and drive along the North Umpqua highway back to I-5. It is very scenic and there is a beautiful little waterfall along the way, Toketee Falls. I saw this waterfall in an Oregon magazine several years ago and we just had to drive there and see it. If you drive north on I-5 you will drive through most of the more populated areas. Eugene is always interesting - try finding the Saturday market. North is Albany which is mildly interesting if you like victorian architecture. Salem, the state capitol is also mildly interesting but really Portland is where all of the action is. Try to spend a couple of days there. They have spent a lot of money on public transportation there so might as well use it. It is a pretty safe area though you will find some very seedy areas around the Burnside bridge. I would have to agree with most of the people posting that September is typically a great month to see Oregon and most of the west coast. It doesn%26#39;t really get too cold until mid-October and the weather is too unpredictable in the Spring (and roads to Crater Lake might be closed). There are too many wonderful places to explore and hike to mention and this is the time of year that our family likes to venture out. Best wishes for a wonderful and safe holiday. Hazards ?? If you decide to hike somewhere without really clear trails, tell someone where you will be and then notify them where you should be and when. People get lost for a variety of reasons, usually they go off trail. Also, the ocean tides can be tricky, look up ';sneaker waves';. Really, Oregon is a safe place for most of us.