00 Rooster

Hey folks, my wife and I are going to take a big road trip in a few weeks and I have a few questions about your beautiful OR coast. We are driving from Edmonton, Canada down the coast to N Cali and back-I am sooooo excited!!!
We are wondering if Portland is important to see. The way I see it we have to make a chioce at approximately Kelso whether to got to Astoria (which seems pretty nice!!) or down to Portland.
Let me know your opinion please !!
thanks
Rob

C6NRED

I am from Spokane and have traveled through that area several times...Portland has a very pretty downtown, and VERY confusing freeways, so watch your maps....Astoria is an old town right on the Columbia river and is prettier and much more intimate to visit. The really pretty parts of Portland are all of the outlying areas.....my choice would be Astoria.
By the way, calling 101 a highway is somewhat of a misnomer. It used to be that you could drive a good distance on it at the marked speed limits, but it has gotten so built up in so many areas that most of the time you feel like you are driving through one big strip mall or neighborhood. There ARE some breathtaking views of the Oregon coast in the area of Seaside, and probably 50 miles either side of that, but after that, I would buzz over to I 5 and tkae that the rest of the way. You'll be lucky to average 25 to 30 MPH over any stretch of the 101....

dreamer2468

You may very well enjoy the visit to Astoria,,,I have been there many times, and one of the things to see there is the US Coast Guard Maritime Museum, along with the Astoria Bridge connecting Oregon and Washington. Great photo shoot area! Also, plenty of shops there, and not far from Seaside, Oregon, also there is the Lewis and Smith Natural center that has been recently been rebuilt, and there are trails that you can follow to see where they had been. Lincoln City has the worlds smallest D river, lol, just a creek running into the ocean, and Depoe Bay is awesome as well. Be sure to visit some of the lighthouses, as many times I have seen the grey whales migrating, along with having the honor once of seeing an orca, which was awesome! He put on quite a show!

randy814u

Go Astoria . Better things to look at, and during the week, less traffic.




Randy

INGER67

Do yourself a favor and skip Portland. The only part I like about driving in Portland is that I5 is right on the river and you have a nice view of downtown, especially at night. Also nice views of Mt Hood off I5, but not worth skipping Astoria for.

dreamer2468

OSCS Ret

I personally would go the Astoria route as well as driving the entire coast of Oregon. It will take longer as eluded to by C6NRED, however, If you can afford the time, it's a beautiful drive. I of course may be a bit biased being from Coos Bay

Major Screwup

The only thing you're gonna see in Portland is, hippies riding bicycles.
They most likely will be flipping you the bird.


Take few minutes to check out the maritime museum in Astoria, pretty cool.

00 Rooster

Thank you so much! I can't explain how excited we are about going on this trip. All I ever hear is that the OR coast is beautiful so I can't wait to see it myself. Since you ALL voted for Astoria, I think the decision has been made. We are taking two weeks and one thing we want to do is slooooow down and enjoy the journey (as compared to our road trip last fall. We bought the vette in NJ and drove it home to Edmonton in ~5 days. 2900 miles was cool but not much time to enjoy the country)
Thanks so much and if you see a White 2000 coupe with Alberta plates, make sure you wave...cause I will

dreamer2468

Have a great trip!
Laura

c4cruiser

Once you cross into Orygun at Astoria, check out the Fort Clatsop Nationa Memorial and Ft. Stevens State Park. Ft. Stevens was a coastal artillery base during WWII and guarded the mouth of the Columbia River.

Dont forget to stop at Tillamook and sample the cheese!!

dreamer2468

Dont forget to stop at Tillamook and sample the cheese!!


And right north of that they have the jerky factory, which sells tillamook jerky. I always stop by there and buy at least one jar of it!

C6NRED

Stop me, somebody please STOP me.........

If you visit the Tillamook factory, make sure that they cut the cheese for you...........I am SO sorry!!!!

dreamer2468

captmike13

Here's a good example of what to see on your way down the coast.
Yaquina bay



Heceta head light house





Have fun on your trip.

duckvett

Fixed it for you.

maukavette

While passing through Tillamook, if you are an aviation buff, I suggest going to the Tillamook Air Museum. www.tillamookair.com/ This is a terrific museum concentrating on WWII aircraft, and it is housed in a huge dirigible hangar! Lots of fun there. Have a fun trip. Jon

dreamer2468

OMG,,,,,I cant believe I wrote that,,,I am so embarrassed!!!

c4cruiser

And if you really like airplanes, you can take a side trip and head east back towards McMinnville and visit the Evergreen Air Museum which is home to the Spruce Goose (Howard Hughes' 6-engined wood transport) and a wide variety of aircraft including some excellent examples of WWII aircraft. Here's their website: www.sprucegoose.com

To get there from the coast, take Oregon Highway 18 just a couple miles before you get into Lincoln City. The museum is on that highway and is about 50 miles. If you are returning via I-5, you can visit on the way back. Just take the exit going to McMinnville and follow the signs.

duckvett

dreamer -

Will you be in Newport tomorrow? We'll share a laugh and maybe a cool one.