Driving from PDX question

Hello

I will be arriving in Portland on Thursday and driving to Newport. I have some questions about my drive.

First off, what is the best way there? I thought I would be driving west to Lincoln City and take the 101 down. I spoke to the B%26amp;B today and was told to take the 5 to Albany and take that straight over. What do you all suggest?

Also what is the drive like on either of those suggestions? I do NOT want to drive through any mountains and snow if it can be helped.

One more - where is the best place to gas up my rental before returning it at PDX?

Thanks so much for any help

Lori

Driving from PDX question

Hi Lori-

You will have to drive over the Coast Range to get to the coast any way from Portland. However, so far the weather is supposed to dry out by Thursday so you may be in luck as far as snow.

My thoughts on best way to get to Newport depends on what you want to do. Quickest way would be to drive down I-5 to Hwy 34 and then meet up with Hwy 20 in Corvallis. This road follows the river for a time and is twisty there. Also there is some road work. However I think this would be faster because....

Driving Hwy18 and Hwy101 through Lincoln City can be pretty congested due to the design of Lincoln City(10miles long 1mile wide!) and the casino traffic. Because of the high use Hwy 18 is a %26#39;better%26#39; road(less twist and turns). However once you get past Lincoln City you get to drive along the coast, which could be nice if you haven%26#39;t seen it before.

Don%26#39;t know about the gas station near PDX-I%26#39;m sure there%26#39;s gotta be a few somewhere around the airport.

Driving from PDX question

Thanks for the info. I%26#39;ve only driven the Pacific Coast in southern CA so I was kind of hoping to approach Newport that way.

Is it really that congested in Lincoln City? I don%26#39;t gamble, so the casino doesn%26#39;t interest me, but I did want to stop at the outlet mall.

But it seems like either way is an option, just keep my eye on construction and congestion depending which way I go?

Lori

Its probably about the same drive time either way, but I think Hwy 34 would be faster. Also, I forgot to mention, if you do go on HWY 18 from Portland, you will go through lots of little towns in the Willamette Valley which have stop lights and congestion. Kind of scenic through the %26#39;wine country%26#39;, but also is slower because of going thorugh towns.

Just to make things more confusing, you could also drive I-5 to Salem and then go west on Hwy 22 and meet up with Hwy 18 near Grande Ronde. Although make sure you have directions through Salem-signs are pretty good, but if you%26#39;re not familiar it could be confusing. Going this way would by-pass all the small towns and stoplights of Hwy 18 in the valley.

Go the way you feel most comfortable driving...

If your coming onThursday, Lincoln City probably isnt that congested,,, just congested for the OR coast. If you want to stop at the outlet stores then you should go Hwy 18.

I grew up near Newport in Toledo, which is on Hwy 20. My mother lived there for many years then our daughter lived there. I can count on one hand the numbers of times my wife did not insist we drive the coast when heading home to Tigard.

The way I go when alone is through Kings Valley. I won%26#39;t even tell you how to do that. cause I suggest you go 101, Lincoln City can be unpleasant. but once you come out of it the coast drive on to Newport is great. Be sure to stop in Depoe Bay a few minutes, and drive out to the Devils Punch Bowl at Otter Rock, Yaquina Head Lighthouse, could take you all day to get to Newport.

chinookgrls idea of taking 22 from Salem may work best from airport.

You did not say time of arrival at PDX. That could make a difference in how to get out of town.

To see Lincoln City, definitely take 22 from Salem. I cannot remember the best way to get through Salem in order to go west. There is no ';main'; highway really. I suppose you would go south on I-5 to the Market St exit and then go west to Broadway, take a left on Broadway and then take a right on Marion St to head over the bridge and on your way out to the coast. There will be some congestion near Grand Ronde as there is also a casino there. You will be on hwy 22 after crossing the Willamette River. You will drive about an 45 minutes before reaching hwy 18, go south towards Grand Ronde and Lincoln City. You will hit Otis at hwy 101 and then go south about 5 minutes or so to Lincoln City. Lincoln City lacks the charm or Newport but it does have an outlet mall. Depot Bay is pretty fun.

Speaking of outlet malls, there is one in Woodburn, north of Salem, that you will see from I-5. I don%26#39;t know how it is during the week but on the weekends at Christmas time it is crazy busy. It has more expensive and upscale stores than in Lincoln City.

Not sure about gas. The most convenient would be somewhere on Airport Rd. There is a truck stop in Aurora, I think, that has both cheap and convenient gas but it is about 45 minutes from the Airport and you may have to top off the tank if it gets below full.

The stores in Woodburn are called the Woodburn Company Stores. A very nice shopping venue, I love the Banana Republic store there and the Mikasa store. A fun place to shop til you drop! :)

During the week, the Woodburn outlets are not too busy. I wouldn%26#39;t go there on a weekend any time of the year, but during the week it is nice. Very easy freeway on/off access too.

Coming from the airport, I would head down to Salem, then cut over. The directions that Julauf gave for that are good.

Don%26#39;t worry about the traffic on any of these routes on a Thursday.

I forgot to post about gasoline. Are you a Costco member by chance? If so, there is one at the north Wilsonville exit. Right off the freeway, very little traffic around there, so would make an easy gas stop.

The quickest route through Salem from I-5 to Hwy 22 W is to take the Salem Parkway. Can%26#39;t remember the exit number but it%26#39;s a few miles north of Salem and is well marked on I-5. It%26#39;ll take you to Commercial then right to the Marion Street Bridge. It%26#39;s the truck route, so it%26#39;s all very well marked. Salem also has the cheapest gas in the state (It%26#39;s a political thing!!), so if you can make it that far......

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