Los Angeles to Portland with Two in Diapers

Hi all, this is my first post here so I'm excited to see the valuable feedback I will (hopefully) receive. My wife and I are 25, very outdoorsy people and love to travel. We have two kids a 3 year old and a 6 month old (ages respective of how old they'll be when we go on this trip).

We are planning a road trip from Los Angeles to Portland. We will spend about 5 nights in the Portland-ish area so would like some suggestions on where we should land. I've thought about landing somewhere in Mt Hood National Park area so we're outside of Portland but still removed from the hustle. Our plan is to take a 3 day camping trip in Big Sur Aug. 14-17 (alread booked) and then head up on our trip from there. We're going to spend about 5 nights in Portland-ish area and then head back down. I'm thinking 2 nights between Big Sur and Portland-ish for travel (need suggestions here for waypoints) and then about the same on the way back home.

What I'd like to know from the group or from anyone (especially with kids) thats done this trip before:

1. What would you suggest as the best place to land in Portland-ish area (preferred lakefront, riverfront, or near water)
2. Where would you consider as a few good waypoints to spend a night during travel
3. What COOL stuff should we see and do while in Portland-ish area?

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

Around the Portland area you have Mt Hood National forest, the Historic Columbia River Gorge and Mt St Helens that 'stand out' in the crowd but it's unclear whether your main focus is visiting Portland or the places around there, or both. There are some towns on the east side of Portland and close to Columbia river Gorge that would put you in a good position to visit all. [I'm thinking Troutdale to Latourell area]

There is quite a lot to choose from between Big Sur and Portland so whether or not you would consider spending a little more time on the road and less around Portland is up to you but with 3 days on the road heading up, you could look at heading to Lassen Nat Volcanic park and Crater Lake, or one or the other. Both offer great scenery without the need for major hiking. Driving home in 2 days won't leave a lot of time for anything other than the drive and to take small breaks from the car, but with an extra day you could consider heading to the Redwoods NP and drive part of the Northern Cali coast and the Avenue of the Giants in Humboltds.

Thanks for that advice Dave. We would like to be just outside Portland so we can still get a good feel for the city but be staying somewhere that is preferably waterfront and outside of Portland. I'll check out Troutdale or Latourell. What should we be sure to see around Portland?

I pointed out 3 of the 'main attractions' around Portland in my previous post and there is also the lovely drive up Larch mountain for the views. Of course there will be other places of interest so take a good look at the maps. From our [RV] experience, campgrounds are quite scarce near Portland so booking in advance is something I would recommend.