Cool places to stop in Northern Oregon/Washington/Idaho

[lc94fsh]

Hey, I will be traveling through Northern Oregon, Washington, and Idaho in a couple weeks and upon all your advise I thought I'd ask if any of you who have been through there know cool places to stop? hiking trails/scenery/attractions/resturaunts/events/towns anything cool from mountains to cities I'm interested.

 

[rvwandering]

Drive as much of the Historic Columbia River Highway as you can. Beautiful scenery with many waterfalls and places to stop and hike.

 

[lc94fsh]

Thanks for the advice, will do!

 

[mockturtle]

Washington is my life-long home. There are a lot of beautiful parks to visit. Olympic National Park is one. Consider going around the Olympic Peninsula [US 101]; take a ferry through the San Juan Islands; visit Mt. Rainier NP and Mt. St. Helens National Monument. There some great hikes in these parks and some breathtaking scenery. Another favorite of mine is the North Cascades Highway, which also has some great national park campgrounds [Colonial Creek on Diablo Lake, for one].

 

[Suanne]

You've got some great recommendations already. Here are a few more that come to mind. Along the Washington-Oregon border, along the Columbia River, are a couple of cool places to stop and see: Multnomah Falls (Oregon side), and a replica of Stonehenge, a veteran's memorial (Washington side). Also, near the Seattle waterfront, is Pike Place Market (a personal favorite) -- fresh seafood, produce, crafts, eateries, buskers, and home of the first Starbucks. Finally, for a nice place for relaxing, hiking, swimming, kayaking, etc. try Rattlesnake Lake which is a major water source for Seattle. There's a very cool visitor/education center there too. Please note: Rattlesnake Ridge was misnamed by an early surveyor who thought the noisy seedpods were rattlesnakes. We don't have any poisonous snakes in Washington west of the Cascades. Happy and safe travels to you!

 

[Patrick46]

First...the Oregon Coastline is EPIC!!! This is actually on the top 10 list of places to see in one's life, (acording to the Travel Channel I believe)

If possible, a stop at Crater Lake is an absolute if you've never seen it...
http://www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm

I'd very highly reccommend Silver Falls State Park...
http://www.oregonstateparks.org/index.cf...parkId=151
It's about a 10 mile hike to do the whole loop, and we camped there yet again last month. (probably our 15th time there, and my wife's absolute favorite place to go & camp) There are 11 HUGE waterfalls (many of which the trail goes behind). They have a wonderful campground right there....but you definately need to make camping reservations, so be sure to do this!!) This place is PHOENOMINAL!!!

Do you like hiking??? If so, you could do a day or two hiking and backpacking on the Pacific Crest Trail...
http://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/d...on-hiking/
which skirts right along Crater Lake, and comes very close to Silver Falls SP.

Into outdoor concerts???...https://www.brittfest.org/performances
a killer place to watch big names perform under the stars.

There is so much to see in the PNW, that it'd be hard to figure out what to see, and what's gonna hafta wait until your next trip out here!!!


Please post up a travelog for us!!!

 

[Howiet]

In Eastern WA. Leavenworth, Winthrop and Grand Coulee.

 

[blars]

Rogue-umpqua scenic byway and Newbury volcanic national monument (two lakes in a crater you can camp at, among other things) are a couple of things in Oregon. Just over the California border is Lava Beds national monument if you like caves. Powells books in Portland.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I've not been there yet, but high on my list of places to see when I hit the road is Craters of the Moon National Monument, in central ID.

Regards
John

 

[lc94fsh]

Great advice guys thanks. I currently live in Southern Oregon but have never gone to far North, been to nasty Portland a few times lol. I'm going to be beginning my 48 (possibly 49) state road trip.

What is a travel log

 

[Patrick46]

What is a travel log

that's easy...

it's just a simple thing of posting up photos of cool places you've been, and mybe a short paragraph about what you saw or learned at each one.
Stories of the people you've met, or of things that happen along the way are great too.

Mostly...it's a journal of your travels, so those of us at home can enjoy your trip vicariously through these interwebs.


so you're in Southern Oregon?? Me too...I'm in Coos Bay, over on the coast.

 

[Free Range Human]

What?? NO ONE's mentioned the Tillamook Cheese Factory tour and store??

Unless you're a vegan, this is a must. And be sure to pick up some "squeaky cheese" while you're there: Fresh mild cheddar curds, not to be missed, and not widely available elsewhere.

The tour is free.

 

[Patrick46]

there's a new cheeze factory in Bandon now too.

Bandon is a funky little town, and has a cool 'Old Town' area, with groovy little shops, art gallerys, and bookstores.

Actually...so does Florence, another hour & 1/2 up the coast.

Good food too!!!

 

[mockturtle]

I think my favorite town on the Oregon Coast is Depoe Bay. Great for whale watching and they have a terrific used book store, Roberts Bookshop. [I posted this in the wrong thread earlier. ]

 

[lc94fsh]

Any tips on income for this area? Not to change the subject too much but I've been applying to camp job after camp job but none of them are working out. What other options are there especially in that area?

I'm also a seasoned musician and have made income busking before. As small as the towns along the coast are would there be any good places to maybe busk? I've found areas with lots of bars (and of course.. drunk people) seem to be gold mines for busking haha.

 

[Suanne]

January is the best time to apply for camp jobs as it's pretty late in the season to get started now. When I was looking at WA State camp hosting jobs a couple of years ago, I found that most of them didn't pay. Rather, you only got a campsite and hookups in exchange for your work. Have you contacted CLM (California Land Management)? I believe they are the contractor for the Mt. Hood area. And CLM does pay!

As far as busking, the Pike Place Market in Seattle comes to mind right off. But, I would definitely check to see if they require a permit of some sort.

What other jobs and/or skills do you have? That would help others to recommend work options.

 

[blars]

I work for CLM (aka Mt Hood Recreation aka Northwest Land Management) in Mt Hood NF. This is the busy season, they will only be hiring replacements for people that quit now and will want people they don't have to train. Oregon State parks has volenteer positions, they want at least a month in a spot and 32 hours/week for a full hookup spot.

 

[Patrick46]

they expect you to work 32 hours, and only give you a hookup spot???

lessee...

the most expensive camping fee I found was $32 a day.

$32 x 7 days = $224. (they didn't mention if they have a weekly rate on the website.)

or,

I could work for 32 hours for $7 an hour......that's LESS than MINIMUM WAGE for a physically laborious job.

meh....I think I'll pass.

 

[lc94fsh]

January is the best time to apply for camp jobs as it's pretty late in the season to get started now. When I was looking at WA State camp hosting jobs a couple of years ago, I found that most of them didn't pay. Rather, you only got a campsite and hookups in exchange for your work. Have you contacted CLM (California Land Management)? I believe they are the contractor for the Mt. Hood area. And CLM does pay!

As far as busking, the Pike Place Market in Seattle comes to mind right off. But, I would definitely check to see if they require a permit of some sort.

What other jobs and/or skills do you have? That would help others to recommend work options.

I just went to CLM website and they only have openings in California and one in Colorado it seems. Unless I read the site wrong or something.

We just arrived in Portland.