Things To Do
Stevenson
This is the town our venue is in. Our Recommendations: -Skamania Lodge: You don't have to be a guest here to enjoy their hikes, aerial park/Zipline, and pools/spas (skamania.com) -Hike: Beacon Rock (1.5 mi, 574' elevation, moderate); Dog Mountain Trail (6.5 mi, 3,000' elevation, HARD)
White Salmon
White Salmon is just down the road from our venue. Quaint small town with amazing views of Mount Hood. Our Recommendations: -White Salmon Baking Co. (Avocado Toast pictured above!) -Everybody's Brewing (Try the nachos) -White Salmon River Rafting (for the more adventurous)
Hood River
Hood River is just across the river from our venue in Stevenson, WA. Lots of fun options for breweries, wineries, fruit farms, wind surf viewing, and a great beach! Our Recommendations: -Food: Solstice Wood Fire Pizza, Full Sail Brewing, Mike's Ice Cream (cash only), 3 Rivers Grill (fancier, this is where we enjoyed our post-engagement meal!), Sushi Okalani -Beer/wine: Pfriem Brewing (Hugo's Fave), Double Mountain Brewery -Wine/Cider: Cor Cellars (where we got engaged!), The Pines 1852 (downtown), The Gorge White House (views!) -Activities: See Mount Hood, plus world renowned wind surfing happens here, go by the river for endless rental options for SUP, kayaking, etc
Mount Hood
Mount Hood National Forest has so much to offer, we don't even know where to start! Our Recommendations: -Drive to the Timberline Lodge, hike the "Timberline Lodge to Zig Zag Canyon" trail (AllTrails), and go back to the lodge for a beer right at the base of Mount Hood -Tamanawas Falls (pictured above in winter) -- also beautiful waterfall hike in the summer! -Lakes: Lost Lake (rentals at lake); Trillium, Mirror, Frog Lake (all need rentals brought from Hood River) -Alpine Slides at Ski Bowl
Multnomah Falls
Famous waterfall down the road from our venue, this is a must. Reservations recommended, even for weekdays. If you want to make a day of waterfall chasing, our recommended route (from west to east): 1. Vista House at Crown Point 2. Latourell Falls 3. Shepperd's Dell Falls 4. Bridal Veil Falls 5. Wahkeena Falls 6. Multnomah Falls You can totally do this in reverse, but nothing beats Multnomah Falls so we believe in saving the best for last :)
Portland
If you are flying into Portland, it's worth a longer visit! This is a good home base to get to the beach, wine country, and the mountains in under 2 hours Check out https://www.pdxmonthly.com/ for monthly events. Our Recommendations: -Food: Hawthorne Asylum (food cart pod), Fried Egg I'm In Love, Papi Chulo's, Yama Sushi, Thai Peacock, PDX Sliders, Ken's Artisan Pizza, Voodoo Donuts -Shopping: NW 23rd, Mississippi Ave, or Hawthorne/SE Division, Sellwood/SE 13th -Drinks: Literally anywhere, can't go wrong. -Hikes: Washington Park holds the International Rose Test Garden (free), Portland Japanese Garden, Oregon Zoo, and Hoyt Arboretum; Lower Macleay Park to Pittock Mansion (5 mi, 900' elevation, moderate) for a beautiful view of downtown Portland; Forest Park -Activities: Powell's Bookstore, Sauvie Island (beaches and seasonal berry picking), catch a Portland Timbers or Thorns soccer game or Portland Pickles baseball game, Mox Boarding House, Crystal Ballroom (concerts), Bagdad Theater
Silver Falls State Park
If you like hiking and waterfalls, Silver Falls might be worth a visit. Along a 6.9 mile loop, you will find 10 waterfalls. A few you can walk under and are simply beautiful. *One of Lauren's favorites, she has done this 3 times and highly recommends, though in August, the falls will be a bit more dried up than usual
Wine Country
Oregon's Willamette Valley has some of the best Pinot Noirs (in the world!) It's worth a trip for a wine tour. Here's a link for some great places to stay: https://www.winecountry.com/blog/hotels-in-oregon-wine-country/ Check out the link below for a great guide to the wineries. Dundee, OR also has an abundance of wineries. Winderlea is where we celebrated Hugo's 30th, but so many beautiful options!
Oregon Coast Range
The Oregon coast is just 1.5 hr drive from Portland. There are many wonderful small towns that have beautiful beaches to discover. 1-day road trip itinerary from Portland to the Coast and back: -Drive to Lincoln City and get started with an early morning hike at "God's Thumb" (The Thumb via The Knoll on AllTrails, 4.0 mi, 971' elevation, moderate) -Head up to Pacific City for lunch right on the beach at Pelican Brewing. Save room for dessert, because next up is... -Tillamook for a factory tour of that famous cheese and ice cream -If you still have some hiking in you, stop at the South Neahkahnie Mountain Trail (3.4 mi, 1,000' elevation, moderate) for some sweeping views of the coast, and then... -Finish the day at Cannon Beach: hit Mo's for some seafood and then head over to the famous Haystack Rock for a beautiful sunset on the beach before heading back to Portland