Our epic 8-day trip to the Pacific Northwest concludes with three days in Portland, Oregon. Our trip to Portland starts at the end of our two days exploring Olympic National Park. Follow along as we drive down the incredible coastline and explore the weird and unexpected city of Portland, Oregon.
Part 1 of our epic Pacific Northwest trip starting in Seattle here
Day One: Coastal Drives, The Goonies, and Cheese
8:00 am
We wake up early to check out of our hotel The Olympic Lodge in Port Angeles to get on the road to Portland, Oregon! But first, breakfast at the hotel.
1:05 pm
Welcome to Oregon! After a very long drive through Washington, we finally make it to the Oregon border! We didn’t really stop anywhere outside of a gas station for pit stops.
1:45 pm
We stop in Astoria to eat lunch at a place called Fort George Brewery + Public House. We were greeted by a gal wearing a Cleveland is Magical t-shirt from Cleveland Clothing Company so I felt like we picked the right stop. I had a delicious Caeser Salad and Nathan had a burger and fries. Astoria seemed like such a cute town, I hope we get to come back and explore soon.
3:00 pm
We make our first coastal stop at Ecola State Park for some breathtaking views. To get to the park, you have to drive through some dense forest with lush ferns, trees, and trees. We took Ecola Park road which led us to a parking lot and expansive views of the Pacific where you can see as far as Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach to the left.
“Goonies Never Say Die”
3:45 pm
After taking in the views at Ecola State Park we make our way down to Cannon Beach to admire the famous Haystack Rock of The Goonies fame. I used to think this was the view at the end of the movie, but turns out the view was actually of Haystack Rock from Ecola State Park with it in the background!
4:15 pm
While continuing our drive south we stopped at Silver Point Interpretive Overlook to take some beautiful photos.
4:30 pm
Our next stop on our coastal Oregon drive was Hug Point. We found parking and made our way down to the beach, the tide was high so we weren’t able to pass Adair Point to actually see Hug Point, but we still took in some breathtaking views.
5:00 pm
Back on the road but we find a great stop called Neahkahnie Viewpoint. We decided to stop and take in the views for a little while. It was at this point we realized we might not make it to one of our destinations, Tillamook Creamery. We realized if we left that moment we could make it with 15 minutes to spare. We took one last look and then hopped back in the car on a mission to get cheese.
More beautiful nature scenes in part 2 of our epic Pacific Northwest trip to Olympic National Park here
Time To Get Cheesy In Tillamook
5:40 pm
We made it to Tillamook Creamery with 15 minutes to spare before closing! Our first stop was to the ice cream shop and both got some ice cream before briskly walking through the rest of the creamery and picking up cheese samples. We left the building with ice cream in one hand, and cheese samples in the other. Yum!
7:40 pm
We arrive in Portland and drop our rental car off and get to our Hotel, The Heathman, to check-in and relax a bit before dinner.
9:15 pm
We finally head out to find dinner. We walk around looking for the food cart pods but ended up going to a Mexican spot called Santeria.
Day Two: Waterfalls, Doughnuts, & Books
10:00 am
Picked up a rental car for the day. It made more sense to drop our car off, then rent one for a day than it did to keep the car and pay for parking at our downtown hotel. We had some exploring to do today!
10:30 am
We have a late start to breakfast and decide to try out Mother’s Bistro & Bar which came highly recommended and was delicious.
11:45 am
On the road to explore the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area and lots of waterfalls!
So Many Waterfalls
12:45 pm
We arrive at the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area and our first stop is the famous Multnomah Falls, a 620-foot tall waterfall that splits into two levels with a scenic bridge that crosses for the best views.
1:50 pm
Our next stop is Horsetail Falls, located 2.75 miles east of Multnomah Falls on the Historic Columbia River Highway. An easily accessible stop along the drive.
2:15 pm
The last waterfall of the day was Bridal Veil Falls. This waterfall wasn’t accessible from the road and required some hiking to get to. We were both pretty exhausted still from all the exploring we’ve been doing the past few days so we decided this was our last stop-and what a great last stop it’s was!
Unique Doughnuts & Weird Portland
3:45 pm
We make it back to Portland and decide it’s time for a treat and get ourselves donuts at the famous VooDoo Doughnut shop. I got the Dirt, vanilla icing with crushed Oreos and it was so good. Along the way, we find the Keep Portland Weird mural.
4:15 pm
The next stop was one of the most incredible book stores I’ve seen, Powell’s City Of Books. This place literally takes up a city block and will take some time to explore the layers and layers of wonderful books inside.
7:45 pm
It’s time for dinner and we decided to eat at Screen Door, another highly recommended stop. They have a mix of Southern and Cajun-style food that reminded us of New Orleans, yummy.
9:15 pm
After dinner, we stopped at a brewery Nathan wanted to visit called Cascade Brewing Barrel House so he can try out a couple of beers.
10:15 pm
Not ready to say goodnight just yet we walk over to Pine Street Market to check out Wizbangbar, a soft-serve dessert bar by Salt n Straw
Day Three: Biscuits, Donuts, and Shopping
11:15 am
Very late breakfast for us, we visited Pine State Biscuits and maybe ordered a little too much food.
12:30 pm
We find our way to some shopping and end up at another local donut shop called Bluestar Donuts so we have to try some out to see how they compare to Voodoo. Verdict? Both are good, Voodoo is more fun, Bluestar is more refined. Spend a couple of hours exploring shops and taking a break resting at our hotel.
7:00 pm
Time for dinner so we try out Sizzle Pie, a spot we saw while exploring Powell’s Books the day before.
7:30 pm
Exploring the Nob Hill Neighborhood with so many cute shops and restaurants. I wished we had found this neighborhood sooner as I’d love to have seen more. We grabbed a cup of ice cream at our local favorite Salt n Straw to eat as we strolled through the neighborhood.
8:30 pm
Back to our hotel, The Heathman, we decided to check out the beautiful interior for a while before calling it a night. We have an early flight at 5 am to Orange County, California to catch the next day for a friend’s wedding!
That’s it, our epic Pacific Northwest trip! Hope this itinerary was helpful and inspiring for your trip planning!
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