USVI-On-Line

Hello forum family,

We are taking our kids out to Portland/Welches for their spring break this year. I am trying to find out some things to do in the area. We have a few days in Portland and then a week in Welches. My husband and sons (10 & 12) would like to downhill ski a few days (I injured my knee so am not able to do that!) so we are looking for some places to do that nearby.

We are also considering driving over to the coast for a night or two and forgoing our Welches accomodations.

Does anyone have any input or advice they'd like to share? We're pretty active and enjoy nature so anything along those lines would be great.

Thanks!

I'm sorry, can't really help as I have never been to Portland. However, I would love to go to Portland, everything I've seen looks beautiful and full of life. So - in closing - let me be the first to beg for trip reports and pictures. (I must do more of this living vicariously through strangers vacations - it's pretty fun, this week I've seen Italy & Japan, Chile could be in my future and of course the Bahamas and Vegas). Here's to having a really great trip.

I HIGHLY recommend the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Drive/Area/Park...can't remember the exact name. But it is probably only 30 min outside of Portland or so. Within a 30 mile drive through the gorge, you can view a dozen or so fabulous waterfalls. Some of them are a small hike from the road and the largest - I think called Maltonamah Falls or something like that, is a mile high and you can hike to the top. Of course, I did this in May, so I'm not sure of the conditions in the time of year you are going. But some of the waterfalls are visible from the road without hiking, so you could at least do that. It was beautiful, I thought. I can probably dig up some exact names, etc if you are interested.

On the way to the beach, I stopped in a fabulous tiny town called Otis, OR. The Otis Cafe is very popular and totally YUMMY...especially for breakfast.

The Columbia River Gorge drive is awesome, and Multnomah Falls is cool! We drove from Portland to Mt. Hood, then drove along the Gorge on our way back. Hood River is a nice place to stop during the drive - you may see a ton of windsurfers, kite surfers, etc. depending on the weather.

If you drive over to the coast fo to Canon Beach, and possibly up into Washington - as a Wisconsinite I don't know if the Tillamook Cheese Factory would interest you, but I though it was cool.

There's also a state park where you can take a hike through a forest, it winds back and forth towards a point, and the views of the ocean there are incredible!

Check out Old Town Pizza, really great place with very good pizza and a fabulous selection of microbrews!

The boys might like a tour of the Shang High (sp?) Tunnels

Don't know if you and your family like urban stuff, but Portland Oregon is an extremely delightful small city to walk around and people watch and river watch and window shop and book store browse etc.
Powells Book store (largest independent used and new bookstore in the world) and the multi-level flagship Columbia sportswear store were pretty cool.

We stayed at one of the Kimpton properties (cant recall which one – Monoco or Vintage Plaza) – great friendly service, free evening wine, etc. Sign up for their customer program and you’ll likely get a very good deal with stuff included like parking or breakfast.

Walked down the block from the Kimpton and had dinner at the Pazzo Ristorante www.pazzo.com That was one of our all time dining experiences. My daughter was about your kids age at the time and got the biggest kick sitting up at the “kitchen counter” where we watched the chefs cook our great meals while they bantered with us. Great Thai food to be had in Portland too, not to mention salmon, and NW wines and beers thruout the region.

I see you are planning time in the mountains – consider whitewater rafting if it is in season as it’s a huge blast.

Sure the gorge and Mt. Hood are pretty cool, but you really shouldn’t go to OR without seeing/walking/touring some of the coast, at least nearby Ecola State Park and Cannon Beach.




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OK now I want to go back.

Tracy,

Some great ideas, as a native here are some suggestions;

Since you are in Welches, go up to Timberline Lodge, great rustic lodge, plenty of snow. In fact the only place in US that you can ski all 12 months.

I would second the Columbia Gorge, pretty drive. Some of the water falls require a little hiking to get to, the most popular is Multnomah Falls, right next to the highway.

Rafting, during spring the water and weather would be freezing, more late summer activity.

Oregon Coast is great, in no way will it remind you of St John but beautiful in other ways. The northern coast from Astoria down to Pacific City is a great drive and viewpoints. Also some hikes like Cascade Head are short hikes with great vistas. If there is a storm coming in, most likely since this is Oregon, great place to watch the waves pounding on the beach.