Visiting Oregon
Oregon at a glance
Oregon exploration should be split up into 5 sections. These sections help us best explain and plan the most exciting adventure available in this beautiful PNW state. Portland/Willamette Valley - A fun city with a large diverse selection of food types. World famous vinyards with yummy fruit picking. This also includes our favorite Silver Falls State Park with over 10 waterfalls to walk in and around. Mt Hood/Columbia River Gorge - Breathtaking views and dozens of waterfalls and cliff hikes. Oregon Coast - Jaw dropping steep cliffs with expansive beach views. Roughly 2 hours from wedding venue. Dozens of quant towns to explore, shop, and eat in. Southern Oregon - Gigantic alpine forests with rushing river ecosystems. 2-3 hours from venue. Bend/Central Oregon - Hipster/Retirement community with great culture, concerts, restaurant, and weather. A fantastic spot to explore a different type of ecosystem.
The 1 Day Fly in & Out
A 1 day trip into Oregon can still be one of the most fun things you ever do. From our wedding venue a short 20-30 minute drive could get you to some super fun spots. Mt Hood Ski Bowl - Explore the tip of Mt hood via a Gondola and Alpline Slide. This also includes things like mini golf, go karts, disc golf, trampoline. Mt Hood Railbike/Train - Pedal your way around the mountain through steep cliffs and large alpine trees. Trillium or Mirror Lake - Float by large alpine trees on a picturesque lake with close up views of the mountain's rock face.
The 3 day Adventure
We think the best 3 day trip is spent best in either the Columbia River Gorge, The Northern Oregon Coast, or within the Williamette Valley. Travel Notes: Columbia River Gorge - A 50 mile waterfall flowing expansive view of the Columbia River roughly 30 minutes from our wedding venue and the main strip on the travel from PDX. Williamette Valley/Silver Falls State Park - Our most romanticized and Oregon-est spot with 10+ waterfalls and gigantic moss covered trees. This is coupled with the a wine loving region with dozens of vineyards and eateries to visit. Roughly 1.5 hours from our wedding venue. 3 days should allow you to spend a full day at Silver Falls and another full day fruit picking. Oregon Coast - World renown cliffs with expansive beach views. Where we got engaged and first fell in love with Oregon! Roughly 2 hours from wedding venue with several river swimming holes on the way. 3 days will allow you plenty of time to explore 1 or even 2 quant towns along the coast.
The 5 Day Exploration
A 5 day trip allows you to strategically plan multiple locations. It is important to take into consideration driving paths and make a loop with PDX. One option is to go from our wedding venue in Mt. Hood to Bend, Crater Lake National Park, and then a loop back through the Williamette Valley. The other option is to start in Mt hood and drive past the Columbia River Gorge, through Portland and to the Oregon Coast. Both of these options allow you to explore different sections of the state and edit based on your preferences.
The 7 Day Experience
A 7 day trip allows you to plan more relaxing time in some of the coolest parts of the state. Similar to the 5 day trip it is important to plan a strategy for your trip to optimize your enjoyment in each area. My personal choice for this time length is to go to the southern Oregon Coast. This is our favorite region of the state and its mixed with massive sand dunes and large alpine forests. It has several raging rivers to explore. The cool thing about a 7 day trip is you could go from Mt Hood through Bend/Southern Oregon and end at the southern Oregon Coast. You could decided if Crater Lake National Park is worth the extra half-full day.
The 10 Day Odyssey
When we originally visited Oregon in 2021 we did this road trip and it is still considered one of the best adventures of our life. We rented a van in Portland and went counterclockwise around the state. We started in Astoria and ended up in The Columbia River Gorge. Please text us about any questions for this as we had so much fun planning and going on this trip!