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Oregon in May
Hi all,
for our first visit to the US, we would like to go to Oregon. We plan to travel on may 15 and return home around three weeks later. The plans so far are; - Fly to Seattle - Take the AMTrack to Portland (my wife really likes to travel by train) - Rent a car in Portland - travel along the coast south about til the border of California - travel north inland to Seattle Does this make any sense? Are the main attractions like Crater Lake accessable this time of the year? Hints, Tips, suggestions anyone? I hope my English makes any sense. Regards Léon van den Broek, The Netherlands |
Oregon in May
"ElBee" wrote in message ... Hi all, for our first visit to the US, we would like to go to Oregon. We plan to travel on may 15 and return home around three weeks later. The plans so far are; - Fly to Seattle - Take the AMTrack to Portland (my wife really likes to travel by train) - Rent a car in Portland - travel along the coast south about til the border of California - travel north inland to Seattle Does this make any sense? No It would be far better to pick up the car in Seattle and avoid paying drop off charges. In addition by the time you have travelled to and from the station at each end, checked in etc you'll spend the best part of a day making a journey you can do by car in 3 hours A far better choice for a railway trip would be one of the excursions on the Mount Hood Railroad or the Skunk Train in California http://www.mthoodrr.com/ http://www.skunktrain.com/ Are the main attractions like Crater Lake accessable this time of the year? On average Crater Lake gets 18 inches of snow in May and the main facilities at the Rim Village dont open till June. The road up to the rim MAY be open but the rim road will be closed and you shouldnt attempt the drive to the rim unless you have tyre chains and are experienced in winter driving. Its a beautiful place but I'd have to advise you to think twice. See http://www.nps.gov/crla/crlatrip.htm http://www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm If the road is open visit Mt Rainier NP but check first as you may not be able to get past Longmire if the snow has been heavy, it was just thawing in early June this year but we had no problems. Also dependent on weather is a trip to Mt St Helens, even 20 years after the eruption the view is awe inspiring The main road through Lassen NP will also almost certainly be closed as it doesnt normally open until Mid June. Keith |
Oregon in May
I agree with the other poster about renting a car in Seattle and forget about
the train. It's less than a three hour drive from the airport to the Portland area. The airport is south of Seattle and closer to Tacoma. Unless you want to go to Portland on your drive down I-5, I would advise heading to the coast via highway 4 on the Washington side of the Columbia River. It's a beautiful drive and you can take the bridge across to Astoria to start your journey down the Oregon coast. Depending on how much time you have, I would suggest spending at least 3 - 5 days touring the Oregon coast. It's beautiful in May and there many great beaches and small towns to explore. The coastline is over 300 miles. You could do it in 1 or 2 days but you would miss alot. Take highway 1 all the way to Brookings Oregon, the last town in the state. Continue into California and then take highway 199 into the Redwoods along the Smith River. It's one fo the most beautiful drives in the area. Take a walk in the redwoods and then continue on 199. It will bring you back into Oregon and you'll end up in Grants Pass. I would then suggest a visit to Ashland and the southern Rogue Valley. Ashland is a great small town with a wonderful Shakespeare Festival. Lot's of great restaurants, etc. (I live in Ashland) From this area ,Crater Lake is about a 2 hour drive and yes, depending on the weather there could still be a lot of snow up there. You would have to call the park when you're in the area to find out if the road is open. If you need more info on the area, please email me directly. Happy travels. Ed |
Oregon in May
I agree... and, you might consider stopping at the Oregon Caves off 199 in
Cave Junction. (Ed, are my bearings correct? It's been awhile since I've been up there). Sharon "Edison Ed" wrote in message ... Take highway 1 all the way to Brookings Oregon, the last town in the state. Continue into California and then take highway 199 into the Redwoods along the Smith River. It's one fo the most beautiful drives in the area. Take a walk in the redwoods and then continue on 199. It will bring you back into Oregon and |
Oregon in May
I agree... and, you might consider stopping at the Oregon Caves off 199 in
Cave Junction. (Ed, are my bearings correct? It's been awhile since I've been up there). Sharon Yes, I lived in this area for 12 years before making it out to Oregon Caves. It's a very nice trip off of 199. It can get very busy on the weekends though, week days are usually best. Ed |
Oregon in May
In article ,
Edison Ed wrote: I agree with the other poster about renting a car in Seattle and forget about the train. However...there are excursion trains in all three states the original posters plan to visit, so maybe that would give them their train fix. I found these listings of excursion trains, exhibits, and museums: http://steamrailroading.com/tourist/sites/ca.shtml http://steamrailroading.com/tourist/sites/or.shtml http://steamrailroading.com/tourist/sites/wa.shtml I would then suggest a visit to Ashland and the southern Rogue Valley. Ashland is a great small town with a wonderful Shakespeare Festival. Lot's of great restaurants, etc. I was going to suggest the same thing. See www.orshakes.org for information about the festival, which runs from late February to late October. If by chance the original posters postpone their visit to June (in order to have a better chance of visiting Crater Lake), they can even take in a show at the beautiful outdoor Elizabethan Theatre. Patty |
Oregon in May
As I sit here today in our little beachfront retirement home 25 miles
north of Astoria on the Long Beach Peninsula, it seems like paradise. Right now I'm looking out the window at the snarling Pacific with a high wind storm blowing; fantastic! Lived in the San Francisco many years before retiring so have traveled the Washington/Oregon/CA coast many times. Can't recommend it too highly. Just don't everyone come at once. :-) snip snip |
Oregon in May
"Keith Willshaw" wrote in message ... "ElBee" wrote in message ... Hi all, for our first visit to the US, we would like to go to Oregon. We plan to travel on may 15 and return home around three weeks later. The plans so far are; - Fly to Seattle - Take the AMTrack to Portland (my wife really likes to travel by train) - Rent a car in Portland - travel along the coast south about til the border of California - travel north inland to Seattle Does this make any sense? No It would be far better to pick up the car in Seattle and avoid paying drop off charges. In addition by the time you have travelled to and from the station at each end, checked in etc you'll spend the best part of a day making a journey you can do by car in 3 hours Much as I like the train myself, I have to agree this stretch of track is not particularly scenic. You do get a little bit along Puget Sound and near the end a bit along the Columbia River. North from Seattle into Vancouver BC is prettier. If you intend to concentrate on Oregon, have you considered flying into and out of Portland instead? Or make it an open jaws. Not wishing to denigrate the sights of my home state, Washington, Marianne |
Thanks all for the splendid info!
We will arrive a week later, fly to Portland and rent a car, take a week to
explore the coast (southward), visit Ashland, and try to fit in all the other suggestions posted. Many thanks and greetings from a wet and windy The Hague, Netherlands "ElBee" wrote in message ... Hi all, for our first visit to the US, we would like to go to Oregon. We plan to travel on may 15 and return home around three weeks later. The plans so far are; - Fly to Seattle - Take the AMTrack to Portland (my wife really likes to travel by train) - Rent a car in Portland - travel along the coast south about til the border of California - travel north inland to Seattle Does this make any sense? Are the main attractions like Crater Lake accessable this time of the year? Hints, Tips, suggestions anyone? I hope my English makes any sense. Regards Léon van den Broek, The Netherlands |
Thanks all for the splendid info!
"ElBee" schreef in bericht ... We will arrive a week later, fly to Portland and rent a car, take a week to explore the coast (southward), visit Ashland, and try to fit in all the other suggestions posted. Many thanks and greetings from a wet and windy The Hague, Netherlands "ElBee" wrote in message ... Knip Leon. I would suggets to fly in to Seattle a direct flight with Nortwest the KLM partner. Rent a car at SeaTac Airport, get the Interstate 5 (I 5) down to Portland. It's only ± 175 miles (300 Km) a four hour drive. (70 mph) You don't have a direct flight into Portland, you have to catch a small plane to fly in to portland (PDX). Henk |
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