Six
Day Trips from Portland
An Oregon Sampler, by Carol
White
Oregon is a state with a great reputation: high-tech,
environmentally friendly, urban-wise and, yes, totally laid-back
in the rain. I have lived here for most of my life, and I
can assure you, it is a very cool place. But how best to see
it? If you are coming to Portland, I suggest you take a series
of day trips designed to show you a little of everything:
the mountains, the desert, the ocean, the sleek cities and
small towns, the trendy and the Wild West.
The Wine Country
Dundee, Oregon
1 hour
Oregon's wine country stretches nearly across
the state, comprising more than 350 wineries, but the richest,
most concentrated area is the red hills of Dundee. While pinot
noir continues to be Oregon's signature wine, many varietals
are grown throughout the region and are available for sampling
at the wineries that welcome road-tripping visitors.
Some of my favorite wineries with tasting rooms
in the area include Sokol Blosser, Eyrie, Erath and the Ponzi
wine bar, which has a great little gift shop. In nearby Newberg,
four more are worth a visit: Adelsheim, Rex Hill, Montinore
and Oak Knoll. Next door to the Ponzi wine bar is the Dundee
Bistro, featuring Ponzi wines - my favorite place for
lunch. I love their fresh and inventive salads, but the menu
has something for everyone.
If you've never taken a hot air balloon ride,
this is a great place to give it a try; Vista
Balloon Adventures is one of the best known operators.
Of course, if you would rather have someone plan your tour
- and even do the driving -- many
tour companies are awaiting your call.
The Coast
Cannon Beach, Oregon
1.5 hours
The entire length of the Oregon coast is part
of the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway, and there are "can't
miss" towns and turnouts all along the way. One of the
most popular is Cannon
Beach, home to the marine preserve at Haystack
Rock, as well as many art galleries, live theatre, a sand-castle
contest in summer, and a lamp-lighting event in winter. You
can easily while away a day here at any time of year. The
thing I return to time and again, though, are the glass blowers
and their beautiful creations.
Near the north end of town is Ecola
State Park, a nice place to picnic. You can also go horseback
riding on the beach here. Or check out the tide pools near
Haystack Rock -- there are often volunteers on hand to help
you identify what you are looking at.
Of course, no visit to the beach would be complete
without some good seafood or a bowl of chowder. Mo's,
in Cannon Beach, is the granddaddy of simple seafood restaurants
along the Oregon coast. Yum!
The Columbia River Gorge
Hood River, Oregon
1 hour
Carved by millennia of water running through
rock, the Columbia
River Gorge separates the states of Oregon and Washington
along most of Oregon's northern border. An easy day's drive
takes you to many interesting and inspiring vistas, beginning
with the Vista
House at Crown Point. Built in 1918 in a German Art Nouveau
style and completely restored in 2006, the Vista House stands
sentinel 733 feet above the river. A few miles further east
is the second-highest year-round waterfall in the United States.
At 620 feet, Multnomah
Falls plunges gracefully just steps from the highway.
From here it's not far to the city of Hood River,
Ore., the windsurfing capital of the world. If you are fit
and adventurous, give it a try in the protected Columbia River
basin built just for learning the sport (me you'll find watching
from the shore!). This would be a great place to stop for
lunch, and I recommend the Columbia
Gorge Hotel. Built in 1921 by timber baron Simon Benson,
this gorgeous landmark hotel overlooks the river. Or head
for one of the city's several excellent brew pubs.
After lunch I suggest you take the "Fruit
Loop Tour" (yes, that is what they call it!) of the pear,
peach, and cherry orchards that dot the landscape on this
northern flank of Mount Hood. The area also boasts many wineries.
My favorite: Clear Creek Distilleries, which produces a pear
brandy that has a real pear inside the bottle. Be sure to
find out how they do it.
The Mountains: Timberline Lodge
Government Camp, Oregon
1.5 hours
One of Oregon's best known landmarks sprawls
across the flank of Mount Hood: Timberline
Lodge, a massive rock-and-timber edifice built as a WPA
project in the 1930s and dedicated by Franklin Roosevelt himself.
Now a National Historic Landmark, the lodge welcomes overnight
visitors and the dining room is one of the finest in the state.
In my early years of skiing here, we actually tromped through
the lodge to get hot chocolate and lift tickets; later a day
lodge was built, substantially reducing the wear and tear
on one of our most beloved attractions.
The lodge makes an especially nice destination
for road-trippers from Portland, for the change in scenery
is remarkable. As you ascend from near sea level up to the
lodge, you pass through forests, cross over tumbling rivers
and creeks, and traverse the "tree line" above which
no trees grow. Here, at nearly 6,000 feet, one can see most
of the Cascade Mountain peaks to the south on a clear day.
The lodge itself surrounds a six-sided fireplace
that extends more than three stories through the center of
the structure. It's a great place to take a road break in
either summer or winter (2 million visitors do every year),
and there's skiing year-round. Where else but Oregon can you
snow ski in the morning, water ski in the afternoon, and watch
the sun set over the ocean - all in the same day?
The Desert: Ka-nee-ta
Warm Springs, Oregon
2 hours
Sitting squarely in the middle of the Warm Springs
Indian Reservation, at the edge of the Deschutes River, the
Ka-Nee-Ta
Resort gives visitors many opportunities to explore Oregon's
rich American Indian culture. You can visit the Museum at
Warm Springs, kayak on the Warm Springs River, attend a native
salmon bake, sample traditional dishes like bird-in-clay and
fry bread at the restaurant, swim in the hot springs pool,
ride horses through the reservation, raft on the river - even
camp overnight in a real teepee.
If these more traditional activities don't entice
you, then maybe the championship 18-hole golf course, the
spa or the casino will draw you to this high-desert location.
Almost any day will do: The resort enjoys more than 300 days
of sunshine a year.
The Valley
Eugene, Oregon
2 hours
Nestled at the southern end of the Willamette
Valley is the city of Eugene,
a college town and the biking capital of Oregon. The sportswear
giant Nike was born on the University of Oregon track, and
a visit to the university's Hayward Field will reward you
with a large bronze statue of Bill Bowerman, Nike's co-founder.
Perhaps he will inspire you to hop on a bike and ride along
the many
miles of trails crossing the Willamette River on the five
bridges set aside exclusively for bikes and pedestrians. Eugene
is so bicycle-crazy that many motels along the bike routes
make bikes available for guest use.
Eugene is bounded on the north by Skinner's Butte and on the
south by Spencer's Butte; both are nice spots for picnicking,
walking or exploring if you have time. Before heading back
up the valley, head to the Oregon
Electric Station for a bite to eat in an antique rail
car. On your way back to Portland, take time to gaze upon
the fields flanking Interstate 5. Flooded regularly over the
centuries, the Willamette Valley is Oregon's richest agricultural
area, supporting crops ranging from grass seed to nursery
stock. It is one of the greatest pleasures of day-tripping
in Oregon that such bounty can be found at every turn of the
road.
Carol
White
6/13/08
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