Silent, cheap, seclusion. PNW edition.

September 28, 2023 10:35 PM

Coming from Portland, OR, I need--ASAP-- a place to spend a week to 10 days alone without anyone bothering me. Have a biological attraction to wilderness, alpine, ocean front, mountains, plains, high desert. Just give me space and a space.
posted by nenequesadilla to Travel & Transportation (15 answers total)

Sounds like you want to book a Getaway house
posted by ananci at 11:57 PM on September 28, 2023

Sounds like you want to book a Getaway house

Not to disagree for its own sake, but I looked into those a while back and cabins are fairly proximal to one another. There's a sound curfew that they ask visitors to abide by, but who knows how noisy it gets at night. That might be a little different than what the asker is looking for?
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 12:25 AM on September 29, 2023 [2 favorites]

How far are you willing to travel? I don't want to put my Ozark secrets on blast unless that's in your range (send me a message if it is).
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 4:37 AM on September 29, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: You can memail me for the specific airbnb, but we spent a couple months in La Pine this time last year in a neighborhood of acre lots, and La Pine's just big enough (plus just close enough to Bend) to still get contact-free grocery delivery. Crater Lake's slightly more than an hour away, you've got volcanoes down the street, the scenic byway cuts right through there, and the state park right there is really nice to wander along the river or in the woods (and was never really busy, especially on cool mornings).
posted by Lyn Never at 6:20 AM on September 29, 2023 [4 favorites]

There are plenty of little hotels in little towns that would fit this need, but here’s one I spent a couple of nights at. There was a friendly but pushy cat that would come into my room whenever I left the door open- I consider this an amusement and a plus, but depending on your definition of “anyone” you might need to keep your door closed.
posted by Secretariat at 7:25 AM on September 29, 2023

Are you interested in tent camping? Because that is by far the cheapest way to get seclusion in the wilderness.

There are 11 national forests in Oregon, that's where I'd go to get away from people and in to the wilderness.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:57 AM on September 29, 2023 [3 favorites]

I stayed in a really nice rental house in Gig Harbor Washington that had a great view of the water and Mount Rainier. The area north of town was really calm and quiet. Mail me if you're interested.
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:09 AM on September 29, 2023

Vertical Horizons Treehouse Paradise near Cave Junction, Oregon is very nice, quiet, and isolated. (Another treehouse hotel near it is unquiet.)
posted by neuron at 8:40 AM on September 29, 2023

Best answer: When I want to go to a place with very few people, I often use a light pollution map as my guide. I pick a dark spot on the map and then start to search for vacation rentals in those spots.

https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/

My personal go-to place is Capitol Reef National Park, but not during the summer. :-)
posted by SegFaultCoreDump at 8:47 AM on September 29, 2023 [12 favorites]

There are 11 national forests in Oregon

Much as I love me a national forest, note that if the government shutdown happens all national parks will be closed. I assume State parks will stay open.
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:02 PM on September 29, 2023 [2 favorites]

I spent a 10-day sabbatical at the Hollyhock Guest House in the painted hills a few years ago and it was a perfect retreat! The same owners have a few cottages grouped together, of which I think Hollyhock is the most isolated. They're located in Mitchell, OR which is a town of about 200 people. I had to drive about 45 minutes into John Day to get any cell phone reception at all, although there was some (very slow) wifi at the cottage. It was extremely quiet and delightfully disconnected and remote. The house itself is surrounded by garden, and outside the garden is desert. The Hollyhock cottage is a little more tucked away than the others, which are across the street and more grouped together. I went in summer, so I'm not sure what it would be like this time of year, but I would go back again in a heart-beat.
posted by duien at 3:34 PM on September 29, 2023

We rented a VRBO house that was on a bluff overlooking Dabob Bay; it is on the Olympic Peninsula north of Brinnon, Washington.

This was the most peaceful place we've ever stayed. The bay is off limits to most boats because it's used for submarine training from a nearby base on the Hood Canal (which isn't really a canal but I digress... ) so no boat motor noises. The only noises we heard were from various aquatic birds. While there were other driveways near us we didn't hear anything from those houses. I'm not linking to the house itself because everyone's needs and tastes in a vacation house are different. I will say that you probably want to bring some groceries with you. There are some restaurants around, but I think some of them are seasonal.
posted by TimHare at 8:29 PM on September 29, 2023 [1 favorite]

A week or 10 days by yourself, probably backcountry camping is the only way to accomplish that. You will want to look at dispersed camping in the National Forests. Choose somewhere far from Portland in an area not known for anything exciting that will bring other people. Ideally you will hike off trail but that depends on your experience and comfort level at backcountry hiking. That rules out beaches, which tend to attract people.

Yes national PARKS entrance stations may close if there is a government shutdown, that's entirely different than the national forests. There won't be any services at ranger stations in the national forests, but since it sounds like you don't want to interact with anyone that should not be an issue. Don't end up needing to be rescued though, don't take unnecessary risks.

You might want to rent an emergency beacon, if you do get into some sort of emergency you won't have anyone with you to go for help.

I don't think a hotel or VRBO is going to work for not being disturbed, it's pretty likely you would have encounters with room cleaners, neighbors, meter readers, or something like that over the course of 10 days.

Of course someone else might find your corner of wilderness, so you might want to put out a sign that says something like silent mediation retreat, please do not speak or interact. Hopefully anyone else hiking out to a remote place will understand that means you don't want to be disturbed.
posted by yohko at 9:54 PM on September 29, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Y'all are awesome.

MeMailed a couple of you and the light pollution map is a fucking great pro-tip SegFaultCoreDump, thank you.
posted by nenequesadilla at 11:29 PM on October 1, 2023

Response by poster: (Edited repeated comment)
posted by nenequesadilla at 11:02 AM on October 2, 2023