Ideas for a short outdoorsy getaway, near San Francisco or Portland?

June 3, 2015 6:34 PM

My husband and I will be traveling to San Francisco and Portland to visit family and friends for two weeks in late July/early August. We'd like to take a couple days by ourselves mid-trip to get out of the city and celebrate our anniversary -- where should we go?

We're thinking
* Short drive (2-3 hours?) from either San Francisco or Portland
* Awe-inspiring West Coast natural surroundings (we're coming from Boston)
* Moderately challenging hiking/biking/other outdoorsy activities
* Cute AirBnb or similar we can stay at for a couple nights

Also
* Inexpensive-ish and off-the-beaten-path would be pluses, but not essential
* We like good food, but aren't really into wine
* Trip will likely be mid-week (Tuesday-Thursday)
* Last year, we went to Acadia National Park in Maine for our anniversary, and that was just about perfect

We've seen this and this and this. Point Reyes National Seashore or Point Lobos Natural Reserve seem like good options, but we wanted to be sure we're not missing something amazing on the Portland side.

posted by teditrix to Travel & Transportation (13 answers total)

Best answer: My wife is from Oregon, and we've been to the coast there a couple of times. It's a really different experience if you're used to New England beaches. The area around Florence is very nice; we've stayed in Yachats and I've enjoyed it. It's near Cape Perpetua for some hiking, plus Heceta Head lighthouse and Devils Elbow (natural rock formation that causes some geyser-like activity from the in-rushing ocean water). Closer to Florence are the sand dunes, parts of which you can walk around on (or rent ATVs and stuff if that's your thing).

Mo's Seafood in Florence is very good.
posted by backseatpilot at 6:50 PM on June 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I would check out Bend. It's about 3 hrs from Portland, has a lot of AirBnB places, great restaurants (check out Zydeco Kitchen), awesome hiking (lava caves/forest, national grassland, Smith Rock State Park, and lots of mountain scenery all a short drive from Bend), kayaking or rafting in the Deschutes, biking along the river or up mountain roads, and a lot more. It isn't on the ocean, but it is scenery you wouldn't see on the east coast.

Mount Hood with Timberline Lodge is also pretty neat, but there is a lot more to do and more variety in Bend.
posted by elmay at 7:28 PM on June 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

Big Sur is pretty spectacular. I'd go there above Point Lobos or Point Reyes.
posted by vunder at 7:29 PM on June 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

Seconding Big Sur, and you might look in to staying at Asilomar while you're down there.
posted by Rash at 7:40 PM on June 3, 2015

Columbia River Gorge or Astoria OR.
posted by rhizome at 8:07 PM on June 3, 2015

Best answer: Just go to the Columbia River Gorge! Many beautiful hikes, only an hour or so from the city (more or less depending on where you go). The other weekend we did the Hamilton Mountain hike (was kind of cloudy out, but it turned out okay - there was mist at the top of the mountain), and then had a beer at Thunder Island Brewing.
posted by cielgris at 8:26 PM on June 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yosemite!!!
It's a maybe-slightly-longer-than-3-hour drive from SF, but it's so worth it if you want something truly awe-inspiring. Oakhurst has some great AirBnB options -- it's a cute little town about 30 miles from the south entrance of the park.
posted by darkchocolatepyramid at 8:44 PM on June 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

The Oregon Coast can be busy in the summer, but it's pretty spectacular. Mid-week is obviously better. Cannon Beach is about an hour and a half from Portland, so look for a b&b near there. Ecola Bay is incredible.
posted by bluedaisy at 8:45 PM on June 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

Try Skamania Lodge in the Columbia River Gorge, about 90 minutes outside of Portland. They have fireplace rooms with gorge views, a good restaurant, and Walking Man brewing and "downtown" Skamania is about 5 minutes drive down the road. There's dozens of hiking trails in the gorge.
posted by monotreme at 9:11 PM on June 3, 2015

Best answer: Astoria, Seaside, Cannon Beach, south to little, more remote Manzanita, and Tillamook....beaches spectacular. Unlike other west coastlines....great camping, hiking, shopping, espresso, and less than 2 hour curvy woodsy drive from Portland to Seaside/Astoria/Cannon Beach. I live in lovely and more arid Bend, Oregon, just east of the Cascades, but never tire of the Oregon coast.
posted by mumstheword at 9:47 PM on June 3, 2015

Bay Area resident here, former Portland resident. There are many beautiful options, but I personally think Big Sur is unbeatable. Airbnb is a bit pricey in the area (though probably worth it), but you could also camp.
posted by three_red_balloons at 9:53 PM on June 3, 2015

North of San Francisco is Sonoma / Napa with quite a few getaway resorts where you relax and drink wine and such. :)

To the south of San Francisco you can probably have a good time near Salinas / Monterey though they aren't known much for wine there. :)
posted by kschang at 2:45 PM on June 4, 2015

Best answer: I always suggest the Russian River area for this sort of getaway near the Bay Area, aka the western part of Sonoma County, including the coast. There are lots of cute towns with sweet Air BnB or VRBO places to rent (or hotels, too): Occidental, Duncan's Mills, Monte Rio, Freestone, Sebastopol, Guerneville, Jenner. I'm really partial to Occidental, it's very small but has at least 3 great restaurants (plus other decent ones) and two small grocery stores (natural and conventional). Howard's Cafe for brunch, Barley and Hops Tavern for great food and local beer, Union Hotel for pizza and Italian-American favorites. All these spots are relatively close together connected by beautiful scenic backroads.

In this area you get lots of outdoorsy options: strolling beaches, renting a canoe or kayak for the river, hiking in Redwoods, oaks, and bay forests. MeMail for details about my favorite hiking spots in the area.
posted by dahliachewswell at 10:29 AM on June 5, 2015