Vacation out West for a Novice - Need LOTS of help !!!!!

My family is talking about doing a trip out west next year. My girls will be 7 and 13 next year and the older one is whining that she is tired of the annual beach vacations and would rather bungee jump, mountain climb, whitewater raft, etc, etc. That is not going to happen on our trip as myself and little one are non risk taking chickens but looking for ideas on an itinerary that might work.

We live in Ohio and our thought is to fly into some city in the west and rent a car. Drive around for a week to ten days (depending how long my husband can get away) and then return the car to the same airport we arrived in (to save large drop off fee on car by flying out elsewhere).

I haven%26#39;t been out west since I was 10 and we went to the Tetons, Yellowstone and through Montana. My husband has done quite a bit but it was 20 years ago. Don%26#39;t know if we should be doing Yellowstone, Brice, other spots. Then I thought of going Seattle and down the coast instead throughout Washington, Oregon, northern California but then my loop back to airport probably wouldn%26#39;t work. I%26#39;m so confused and looking for some ideas that others have done for family vacations with kids.

Thanks!!!

Vacation out West for a Novice - Need LOTS of help !!!!!

Fly into Portland, OR. From there you are 90 miles to the amazing Oregon coast and 90 miles to the Columbia Gorge and Mt. Hood. The coast from Seattle on down isn%26#39;t that impressive but Oregon%26#39;s coast is jaw droppingly beautiful. If you prefer mountains and gorges, head east where the terrain changes by the mile. In Hood River you will see world class windsurfers and endless fruit orchards. Go farther east and the forested hills turn into tumbleweed plains and a drier environment. Bend and Sunriver are fun resort areas in Eastern Oregon and still about a 5 hour drive from the airport.

Vacation out West for a Novice - Need LOTS of help !!!!!

Good ideas so far. Just a bit of clarification though. Bend and Sunriver are in Central Oregon, not Eastern. And from PDX they are only about 3 1/2 hours, so not a bad drive at all. There are quite a few of us here who vacation over there, but there are a couple posters who live there that are a great help, Sillybilly and Imagist.

Sometimes it is not any more money to rent a car and drop it at another location. It just depends on the company and supply/demand. Call around and see what you can get.

Starting in Seattle and working your way down would be great. I would stay a few days there, then stop at Mt. Rainier and then Mt. St. Helens on the way to Portland. Visit here, then head over to the coast. Cannon Beach is a favorite with us, and a great place to stay with a family is Surfsand Resort. Oceanfront, great views of Haystack Rock, minutes from the must see Ecola State Park, and within easy walking distance of the heart of downtown.

Possibly head over towards Bend for a couple days, visit Crater Lake during that part (only 1 1/2 hours from Sunriver). Which, Sunriver is a great resort about 15 minutes south of Bend. Miles of bike trails, several pools, lots of great hiking in the area, and whitewater rafting (if you don%26#39;t want to go, there are trips for teens) nearby.

Drive back up toward Mt. Hood and visit the gorge before flying home out of PDX.

I am sure that I will have more thoughts on this later, but it%26#39;s been a full day and my brain is a bit fried by now:)

I trust Mtngrls suggestions on this, as a local and someone who has often given me help on directions and ideas on places to go here, she has never been wrong and I rarely get lost when she helps lol...as a new resident in Portland, I tend to get lost quite a bit :)

I know neighbors of ours have a second home in Bend and they go there for weekends, the trip is only about 3 hours or so ..

Cannon Beach is our favorite town close to Portland, about a 90 minute drive from downtown..a nice day trip as is Mt St Helens and the Historic Highway %26amp; the Waterfalls, which is only about half an hour from town.

Our first trip to Portland, we arrived in town, stayed in a hotel ( the 5th Avenue Suites) and explored Portland for a few days. There is plenty to do here! Zoo, Japanese Gardens, Chinese Gardens, JetBoat tours on the river, Washington Park, Forest Park, Sauvie Island..and more.

Then we rented a car and drove to Cannon Beach.

The next day we took the scenic highway and saw all the waterfalls..

We did a 10 day trip the first time and while we felt that there was a lot we didn%26#39;t get to see, we did feel like we got a ';taste'; of Portland and some of Oregon.

From Portland to Ashland/California is a long trip, these long drives will eat up time you could be out of the car and enjoying the Place ( if you see what I mean)..

Hope this helps some :)

Good Morning,

Certainly do come out West! We moved here from Western NY in 1985 %26amp; love it. We live in the Columbia River Gorge and work in Hood River. This area is great in the summer, lots of FREE activities going on in town, like concerts in Jackson Park on

Thursday nights in August, signing up downtown to use free windsurfing equipment on the beach in HR, First Fridays are huge!

Be sure to take your kids up to Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood, it%26#39;s such a treat to play in the snow in the middle of the summer in your shorts! Take a hike at Cloud Cap so you can get a magical view of Mt Adams, Ranier, and St Helens at dusk. We stayed at Bend in Sun River recently and visited Crater Lake. Crater Lake is stunning and well worth seeing. Do not forget your cameras!

Have a wonderful time,

Sandy

Great advice from wagonsho and hipmama! :) We were in the Gorge area this summer and had a great time. There are several white water raft trips down in Ashland which is in Southern Oregon. We like the jet boat trips there that leave from the Riverside Inn. We have seen a group called Orange Torpedo that you may want to check into in that area.

Have fun! :)

Hey, syrahgirl!! you forgot Mtngrl and Scarlett !!!

LOL or was that deliberate :D

Wagonsho, welcome to the boards and let me say that your trip is amazingly like my friends family trip that she just came back from.

You can find it here on TA and see if there are more things you have in common :)

I look forward to seeing and doing all of these great trips and hikes etc,too, it is a treat to live in Oregon, isn%26#39;t it ?!

LOL, Scarlett....

The funny thing to me is that she spends a half day in the Gorge, and has never been to Mt. Hood, but still considers herself expert enough to ascertain who%26#39;s advice is better. Give it up, syrahgirl. ;-) Can%26#39;t you be satisfied with being the Fresno ';expert';?

I read your post yesterday, Go-Bucks, and didn%26#39;t know quite how to respond. Driving ';around for a week to ten days'; with a 7 and 13 year-old just doesn%26#39;t sound appealing to me at all. Especially when one of those girls would rather be bungee jumping somewhere. If you can narrow your focus a little, I think we can be more helpful.

But as a suggestion, how about spending the majority of your time in two places, and doing daytrips for sightseeing and other activities? Three days on the coast and the balance in central Oregon would provide opportunity to do everything on daughters list and then some (if you wanted) and still allow time for sightseeing. I second Mtngrl%26#39;s recommendations for SurfSand in Cannon Beach and Sunriver south of Bend, but think you might also consider the central coast and Black Butte Ranch ( ;-) Mtngrl). In particular, a dune buggy ride on the central coast would be a big hit with the whole family. A jetboat ride up the Rogue River from Gold Beach would be pretty cool too.

To clarify syrahgirl%26#39;s post, the Riverside Inn is in Grants Pass, not in Ashland as implied. Syrahgirl, you should try Orange Torpedo sometime. We did a five-day trip with them years ago, when one of my friends was a guide. With each person paddling his/her own inflatable kayak, they appeal to active and adventurous (like your daughter(?), Go-Bucks). Anyway, my wife and I still talk about that trip as one of the most exhilarating and frightening of our lives.

Wagonsho--Where in the gorge are you? We have family that lives there too:) And we just spent a week at Sunriver with a day at Crater Lake. Such similar lives;) Isn%26#39;t Sunriver nice to be close to bend...only 17 miles away!

lol Mtngrl, yes, very similar..

Scarlett--:D