What to do on my drive?
August 8, 2016 3:06 PM Subscribe
I'm driving from Portland to the Painted Hills (Mitchell, OR specifically) in a few days and would love to see the sights along the way. What route should I take, and what should I see?
My current plan is to take 26 the whole way so I'll be going through towns and such instead of flying by on the freeway. Google suggests that'll take me about 4 hours, which is a pretty easy day's drive, so I'd love to find some interesting places to stop along the way. I'm interested in cute towns, odd roadside attractions, or pretty natural areas, so please suggest almost anything interesting or photogenic you know of along the route. If there's a different route that would be a better drive, I'd be interested in hearing about that as well.
My current plan is to take 26 the whole way so I'll be going through towns and such instead of flying by on the freeway. Google suggests that'll take me about 4 hours, which is a pretty easy day's drive, so I'd love to find some interesting places to stop along the way. I'm interested in cute towns, odd roadside attractions, or pretty natural areas, so please suggest almost anything interesting or photogenic you know of along the route. If there's a different route that would be a better drive, I'd be interested in hearing about that as well.
There's not a lot. However, the Warm Springs museum is actually really lovely. Architecturally interesting and, when I visited some years ago, good exhibits.
posted by amanda at 4:14 PM on August 8, 2016
posted by amanda at 4:14 PM on August 8, 2016
We do the drive frequently to Bend and if 26 is having issues, we occasionally go on 197. The scenery is a little more varied and interesting. The tiny town of Maupin is cute and maybe worth exploring? We've only stopped there for snacks.
Hood River is along that route and that's a fun place.
posted by amanda at 4:15 PM on August 8, 2016
Hood River is along that route and that's a fun place.
posted by amanda at 4:15 PM on August 8, 2016
If you do decide to go by way of The Dalles / route 197 (and of course the drive along the gorge is always lovely, even from I-85), you can get off the Interstate at Exit 76 (between Mosier and Rowena) and visit Rowena Crest Viewpoint which is only about a 5-minute drive from the exit. The road to get there is a lot of fun, too. :)
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:45 PM on August 8, 2016
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:45 PM on August 8, 2016
Mt Hood Brewing in Government camp is alright.
Timberline lodge is always nice to visit. Always fun to see skiers in August.
Little Crater Lake is beautiful, but a little ways off the road.
posted by TomFoolery at 4:59 PM on August 8, 2016
Timberline lodge is always nice to visit. Always fun to see skiers in August.
Little Crater Lake is beautiful, but a little ways off the road.
posted by TomFoolery at 4:59 PM on August 8, 2016
http://www.luckystrikemines.com/
If you like rocks and driving offroad into the middle of nowhere on national forest roads for miles doesn't scare you.
posted by frontmn23 at 5:52 PM on August 8, 2016
If you like rocks and driving offroad into the middle of nowhere on national forest roads for miles doesn't scare you.
posted by frontmn23 at 5:52 PM on August 8, 2016
On the road between Portland and the Painted Hills, I've stopped in Shaniko, population 36, which is interesting and spooky and makes the drive quite long and lonesome. We also drove through the Cottonwood Canyon State Park and it looked pretty great from the road and I wished we had budgeted time to stop. You can also drive through Antelope and think about how it was once Rashneeshpuram, but that is the most abstract l kind of fun :)
In my opinion, there is nothing between Portland and the Painted Hills that is half as breathtaking as the John Day region, where I think a curious person who likes beauty could spend a week, easy, just driving around and gawping.
The John Day National Monument is made up of several different parts; the Painted Hills are one, but there are also two separate crazy mountains made of green rock, one which you can do a several-hour interpretive hike into, a paleontological center, and a historic ranch you can visit. With driving included, that could take a few days easy. It's all amazing and if you want to understand it better the Oregon Paleo Lands Institute does various kinds of tours.
Meanwhile, in the town of John Day, there is the Kam Wah Chung center, a time capsule telling the infrequently-discussed story of how Chinese people participated in rural Oregon's Gold Rush (Kam Wah was a community center in those days and someone just shut the door and the building was forgotten for decades -- very interesting).
The John Day river is good for rafting and fishing. You can pick peaches in Kimberly, up near the Sheep Rock Unit. Fossil has some interesting little museums and a fossil bed you can dig in for a nominal fee.
Heads up, cell phone service doesn't work out there. You can use wifi to make calls, or you can bring a long distance calling card and use land lines. But you'll need physical maps (or car GPS). I'm not sure if there is a working gas pump in Mitchell right now but there is one in Fossil (about an hour north). Mitchell has a general store, a couple of restaurants, a coffee shop, a coffee drive-thru, and a brewery/food cart startup the last time I checked. And I strongly support the idea of buying food and drink at local businesses. That said, we usually bring groceries when we go, and I'd recommend bringing at least a couple meals' worth -- you don't want to get out there late and find stuff is closed.
Have a great trip! And if you find something amazing between Portland and the Painted Hills, ping me when you get back. I am definitely going back there and would love to know. :)
posted by hungrytiger at 7:00 PM on August 8, 2016 [3 favorites]
In my opinion, there is nothing between Portland and the Painted Hills that is half as breathtaking as the John Day region, where I think a curious person who likes beauty could spend a week, easy, just driving around and gawping.
The John Day National Monument is made up of several different parts; the Painted Hills are one, but there are also two separate crazy mountains made of green rock, one which you can do a several-hour interpretive hike into, a paleontological center, and a historic ranch you can visit. With driving included, that could take a few days easy. It's all amazing and if you want to understand it better the Oregon Paleo Lands Institute does various kinds of tours.
Meanwhile, in the town of John Day, there is the Kam Wah Chung center, a time capsule telling the infrequently-discussed story of how Chinese people participated in rural Oregon's Gold Rush (Kam Wah was a community center in those days and someone just shut the door and the building was forgotten for decades -- very interesting).
The John Day river is good for rafting and fishing. You can pick peaches in Kimberly, up near the Sheep Rock Unit. Fossil has some interesting little museums and a fossil bed you can dig in for a nominal fee.
Heads up, cell phone service doesn't work out there. You can use wifi to make calls, or you can bring a long distance calling card and use land lines. But you'll need physical maps (or car GPS). I'm not sure if there is a working gas pump in Mitchell right now but there is one in Fossil (about an hour north). Mitchell has a general store, a couple of restaurants, a coffee shop, a coffee drive-thru, and a brewery/food cart startup the last time I checked. And I strongly support the idea of buying food and drink at local businesses. That said, we usually bring groceries when we go, and I'd recommend bringing at least a couple meals' worth -- you don't want to get out there late and find stuff is closed.
Have a great trip! And if you find something amazing between Portland and the Painted Hills, ping me when you get back. I am definitely going back there and would love to know. :)
posted by hungrytiger at 7:00 PM on August 8, 2016 [3 favorites]
Enjoy the trip. We ended up stopping in Madras for the night due to some travel issues, but I don't really recommend that. I can also recommend the Target in Bend if an airline has mysteriously lost your luggage on the way. The Painted Hills are beautiful and surreal. Echoing hungry tiger that everything else at John Day is worth seeing, especially the paleontology museum and Blue Basin.
posted by gingerbeer at 8:33 PM on August 8, 2016
posted by gingerbeer at 8:33 PM on August 8, 2016
Behind the highschool in Fossil, Or is one of the few places it is legal to fossils on public land. But really, just hurry up and get to the John Day Monument. And if you have time, on the other side of the Elkhorn mountains is the Sumpter Dredge and the Fremont power house.
posted by 445supermag at 10:08 PM on August 10, 2016
posted by 445supermag at 10:08 PM on August 10, 2016
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posted by duien at 3:09 PM on August 8, 2016