Family trip advice wanted: WA or OR, shore plus forests plus city?

May 3, 2018 5:09 PM

We (me, wife, boy 18 & boy 14) think we want to vacation in early August in Washington or Oregon, to enjoy the shore, tide pools, forests, parks, hikes, etc. that we've seen amazing pics of. We like city stuff too (museums, markets, record stores), but Portland seems a bit far from the shore and Seattle seems (maybe?) a bit much? (Expensive? Crowded?) We want tips from folks who have vacationed in the northwest or live there - are there smaller WA or OR destinations that have these NW things we are craving?
posted by chr1sb0y to Travel & Transportation (12 answers total)

We have done multiple trips where we start in Seattle for a couple of days and then move to the Olympic Peninsula or the San Juan Islands for the remainder of the week. Seattle can definitely be crowded with tourists and cruise-ers in August, but it's still very enjoyable.
posted by Mid at 5:31 PM on May 3, 2018

Consider the Tacoma area! Museums, shops, a zoo and aquarium down at Point Defiance as well as places to explore the beach, access to forests/parks/hikes...

Although to be frank, if you're looking for actual SHORE, Seattle isn't a good place to visit. There are beaches here and there but they're small, they tend toward rocky instead of sandy, and they're crowded as hell in good weather. People in this area go down to Ocean Shores, Long Beach, and surrounding areas down in coastal Southwest WA for the kinds of beaches people think of when they think West Coast beach vacation.

When I was a kid growing up just south of Seattle, our late August vacations were always to the Oregon coast -- Astoria, Seaside, Cannon Beach, Newport are all places to consider. You could arrive in Portland, spend a day or two there, hit the road for the coast, do your thing out there, then loop back to Portland and head for home.
posted by palomar at 6:26 PM on May 3, 2018 [4 favorites]

Portlander here, grew up on the Oregon coast. What palomar says about true ocean beach proximity to Seattle is true. Seattle is on the water, but it isn't on the ocean, an it takes much longer to get to a pretty ocean beach from there than it does from Portland. There are some gorgeous beaches on the Olympic Peninsula, but they are really remote, and not really appreciably better than much more accessible beaches in Oregon. The closest beach towns (Seaside and Cannon Beach) are about 90 minutes from Portland if there's no traffic. Astoria is fun, and close to the ocean, but not right on it. So, just like palomar, I'd suggest starting in Portland, heading to the north coast and checking out as many towns as you have time for, then leaving from Portland. Astoria is nice for a half-day of walking and checking out the historic buildings and the port. Seaside (where I grew up) is not the prettiest beach, but it's nice enough, and the town is kitschy and a little trashy in a fun way, if that's your thing. Cannon Beach is much prettier, and the town has strict rules about buildings and signage that keep it from ever looking trashy. If you have time, explore the stretch from Cannon Beach to Tillamook/Netarts/Oceanside/Pacific City, it's an amazingly scenic drive, and all the towns have something unique and interesting worth stopping for. My biggest protip is to walk up or down any beach for 15 or 20 minutes from wherever it's most crowded (like near parking lots or town centers) and you'll mostly have it to yourselves, even on the busiest days. Finally, we pretty much always stay in Manzanita, it's close enough to Cannon Beach and the towns to the south to easily hit those beaches, but it's cheaper and mellower than staying in CB proper.
posted by outfielder at 7:30 PM on May 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

I live in Vancouver, WA. Come here first then meander up to Long Beach (also Washington, we aren't good at unique names)!
posted by masquesoporfavor at 7:38 PM on May 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

Manzanita, Oregon, is a great base camp for excursions to nearby beach towns, great hiking in coastal rainforests, tidepooling galore...you name it. It's smack dab in the middle of the temperate coastal rainforest, so you'll get immersed in the rugged, NW coast experience. It's a two-hour drive from Portland, which you'll want to explore for at least one day (possibly allow time to visit Timberline Lodge for a mountain-to-ocean experience).

Hiking near Manzanita: Oswald State Park (Blumenthal Falls, Devil's Cauldron, Cape Falcon, Short Sands), Neahkahnie Mountain Loop. More hikes. Also check out this list of scenic coastal hikes.

Notable beaches: Hug Point, Cannon Beach/Haystack Rock, Ecola State Park, Cape Meares (cool lighthouse!)/Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge

Also check out the Oregon State Parks Ocean Scenery Flckr gallery.
posted by prinado at 8:07 PM on May 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

We stay in Seattle a couple of days and then do a loop around the Olympic peninsula. The tidepools along Rialto beach are pretty cool -- make sure you visit during low tide.
posted by Ostara at 8:26 PM on May 3, 2018

We visited Lewiston last fall via Spokane and went on a jet boat tour up the Snake River. It was awesome. They do white water multi-day trips too.
posted by tamitang at 8:30 PM on May 3, 2018

Cape Disappointment (Southwest WA) has great cabin/yurt camping, hiking, and seaside exploration options.
posted by Tiny Bungalow at 8:54 PM on May 3, 2018 [2 favorites]

We are doing exactly this in August! We are flying into Seattle, staying a night, then renting a Vanagon, traveling through Olympic National Park, then returning to Seattle. We are renting from Peace Vans. They've got lots of great suggestions for routes as well.
posted by fyrebelley at 9:46 PM on May 3, 2018

A lovely town with a great beach (northwest style - rocks and logs) is Port Townsend. It’s on the Olympic Peninsula, in the rain shadow of the Olympics (so sunnier), on the Straits of San Juan De Fuca. A Victorian former logging town, with an amazing wooden boat culture, good food, and great hikes. It might partly scratch the itch for museums and such, while still being relatively close to forests and the actual ocean.
Link here: http://enjoypt.com/
posted by dbmcd at 6:54 AM on May 4, 2018

I'm a native Washingtonian, live in the Seattle area, and love my state beyond all reason... but there is nothing like the Oregon coast. It's far more accessible than the Washington coast, and there are loads of small towns, lighthouses, sea stacks, vistas, the sea lion caves, the wildlife park in Roseburg...

I'm really not familiar with Portland, but from what I do know it's a modern, cosmopolitan medium-big city with just about everything you could want, and a far better public transit system than Seattle.
posted by lhauser at 7:34 PM on May 4, 2018 [1 favorite]

I am extremely Midwest but I took a few days before a conference in Portland to road trip around the Oregon/Washington coast with a rental car. My "home base" was Astoria, I took a packed picnic lunch from Safeway to Cape Disappointment, there's also a NPS site where Lewis and Clark were stationed, and I dipped down to Cannon Beach on my drive back to Portland. I was only gone a couple nights, but I'm sure you could go further up/down the coast in either direction to add more time on.

I am easily awed by ~*~*dramatic coastlines~*~*~ and this itinerary did not disappoint. Super fun, would 100% do it again, A+++. Pack a warm zip-up and a rain jacket, even in August it still got a bit damp and chilly.
posted by mostly vowels at 12:40 PM on May 5, 2018