Need help planning 2 weeks in Pacific Northwest

Of course you will need to spend $$$ for non resident angling licenses for everyone. Cascade Lakes Hwy is a fantastic area, but most of the small lakes will require a small boat for good access, many also require fly fishing only. As for camping, most are National Forest camp grounds and rather small and cramped for a MH. Instead, plan to camp at Tumalo or Lapine State Parks and drive up to the lakes for the day. Around bend, that is along US97 you will find Collier State Park and their neat logging museum, The High Desert Museum, numerous lava tubes and caves that are available to explore. East of Bend is the Pine Mountain Observatory, which is open many evenings for visits. Also west of Sisters about 15 miles is the Metolious River. This river boils out of the ground at about 45 degrees a full fledged river. There is a nice paved path to the head waters. At the Camp Sherman store you wan stand on the bridge and see some really big trout. The river is probably one of the primere fly fishing only rivers in Oregon. Most of the camp grounds were originally built by the CCC in the 30's. Reminents are still visible in some places. There is also a nice fish hatchery on the river worth visiting. Also west of Sisters on the old Mckenzie hwy (not for RV's) is a great lava field and at the top is a nice lava observatory with portals for many of the Cascades. Continuing to the Mckenzie river you can find some nice hot springs to soak in. Some free, some you have to pay. From here you can follow the highway back east toward Central Oregon visiting a really pretty water fall, the head waters of the McKenzie river and back over toward Sisters. It is not really a long drive and you can visit everything and still have a easy drive back to camp. From here you can follow US97 to Redmond and take the road toward Prineville. Picking up US26 east. Through the John Day fossil beds where you can actually collect fossils. Then on to the town of John Day where you could visit the historic Chinese pharmacy. At Bates Junction take the scenic highway toward the Sumpter valley and the hugh dredge sitting in the middle of a creek. Down the hwy toward Baker City and the Oregon trail interpretative center where you can walk the ruts left by the many thousands of wagons heading west. From here you can take I84 east and if you have time jog up to Yellowstone Park. Coming out of Yellowstone at the North entrance to I90, Toward Custer Battlefield, the Bkacl hills and Mt Rushmore. That should take up most of your time with a dead head blast home.

First of June to end of June is good fishing in the Oregon Cascades. Check out Trillium Lake and Timothy Lake near Mt Hood. Cascade Lakes Highway around Bend Oregon has some great campground. Try Little Lava Lake or Crane Prairie. Some great scenery around La Pine Oregon and Newberry Volcanic area. Sisters Oregon also is a great little country town. Around Bend Oregon there is a Costco. Bend is a large city with anything you need.

dennis1 wrote:
When will you be in the NW? Your posting is a little confusing. You wrote in November 2013 that you will be starting traveling in June of this year. Which year are you talking about?

Sorry for the confusion. We will be leaving June of 2014. After really looking at things.... is seems clear that a comprehensive tour of the PNW will not be possible with 2 weeks and another week to head home. So from here on out I am looking for help from South Washington and down. I won't have the time to make it to Olympic NP or Mt. Rainier NP. We will have to save that for another trip. Thanks again for all the help so far. :) We also hope to find some interesting places to see in Idaho. The total trip time needs to be about 23 days from Redding CA, to Long Island NY. We have done these cross country adventures for the past 4 years, so we know how much windshield time is involved, but we usually make great great time from from Denver to home as there is not much to see compared to the west. No offense to the Midwest or East Coast, but when time is tight as it is now we need to prioritize. Thanks again for all in input thus far..

When will you be in the NW? Your posting is a little confusing. You wrote in November 2013 that you will be starting traveling in June of this year. Which year are you talking about?

i would take highway 299 west from Redding to the coast and then head north from there.
try Jedediah Smith Redwoods and then head up the Oregon Coast.

Near Reedsport, OR is the Oregon Sand Dunes Rec. Area (40 miles long). You can rent ATV's and ride on huge dunes and on the beach. We were there during the week and almost had the area to ourselves. Our boys were about the same age when we went. They loved it! You can see & hear many seals at Sunset Bay SP, you don't have to go to Seal Cave and pay money to see them. We explored the loop from Medford to Roseburg. Part of that is Hwy 138 North Umpquah Hwy, past Diamond Lake and Crater Lake. Beautiful area, lots of hiking trails to the many waterfalls. Near Crescent City, CA (Norcal) is the Redwood Forest, very cool! Have a safe trip!

While in Redding, see if you can take a day trip up to Lassen Volcano NP.

Option 1 is to head straight north. Some great scenery along the boundary between the mountains and desert. Bend is one of our favorite places to explore around in the NW.

North from Redding, stop by Lava Beds NM. The boys will love exploring some of the lava tubes (buy some cheap LED headlamps before you go). Interesting CG right at the NM. Of course from there, you'll want to head north to Crater Lake NP.

To follow up on SteveAE's post, near Bend consider camping at Newberry Crater National Volcanic Monument, esp. at Paulina Lake and East Lake. These CG's are by lakes right in the crater. The Obsidian Flow is really interesting. Lots of other trails in the Bend area. Visit Lava Lands Visitors center for other ideas, and drive to the top of the Cinder Cone while there. For fishing, there are a number of lakes on the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway. A number of NFS CG's along that route.

Further north, there are a number of interesting trails along the Columbia River Gorge that go up to waterfalls. We camp at Ainsworth SP. Easy access to Portland also.

Further north, Mt. St. Helens is a real interesting place to visit. A variety of camping opportunities in the area. From there, head up to Mt. Rainier NP. If you continue further north past Seattle, a day trip on the ferry to explore the San Juan Islands is great fun. We camped at Deception Pass NP in that area.

Option 2 would have you heading west to the coast then north. We prefer to camp at the OR SP's along the coast. To explore the redwoods in northern CA, we camp at Harris Beach SP in OR and backtrack into CA.

There are a number of SP's along the coast. Do some research here and pick a couple, then explore up and down the beach from there. Don't miss some of the lighthouses. The boys will love to explore some of the tidal pools. Personally, once I got partway north on the coast, I'd pick a route eastward and pick up the Columbia River Gorge and points north as I describe above.

Besides the mountains vs. ocean difference between options 1 and 2, another difference is how much hiking you will find. While we do a lot of walking along the beaches of the coast, we do more hiking if we follow option 1. Of course there's the difference of ocean vs. fresh water fishing.

In WA, I would certainly include both Olympic National Park (Kalaloch, Ruby Beach and Hoh Rain Forest) and Mt. Rainier National Park. Taking the Olympia Peninsula loop, you should take 101 north along Hood Canal and return via the coast. You will drive by Lake Crescent, which is very scenic, as well.

evotech,

Don't try to see it all. The PNW is a very diverse area with deserts, mountains, large valleys, and miles of varied coastline.

In Oregon, you really have three route choices:
- Hwy 101 up the coast. Beautiful coastline, but busy in the summer.
- Interstate 5 up the Willamette Valley. Pretty, but it's a freeway and in many ways it looks like western NY.
- Hwy's 97 and/or 395 up the eastern side of the state. Mountains and high desert country.

If it was me (I like outdoor activities), I would go for the high desert and mountains.

So I suggest taking hwy 97 North at Weed, check out Crater Lake, maybe detour west along hwy 138 (North Umpqua river for fishing and great camping), back to hwy 97 and north to Sunriver. From Sunriver, drive west on South Century Drive to connect with the Cascade Lakes Hwy. (more great camping and fishing....esp. if you have a small boat), follow the Cascade Lakes Hwy NW to Bend and spend a few days (camp at Tumalo State Park) and check out the High Desert Museum, Sisters, Metolius River (more great camping and fishing) and one or two of the many micro-breweries that have sprung up in Bend, then take hwys 97 North to Madras and Hwy 26 NW to Mt Hood (more great camping), check out Timberline Lodge and ski area (go skiing if you want), then backtrack to hwy 35 and take it north to Hood River. At Hood River, hop on interstate 84 east toward home. Oops, forgot Washington but you will be out of time by then anyway. Besides, if you do have some extra time, there is Idaho and Wyoming to explore. Did you say that you had two WEEKS or two LIFETIMES :)

The only negative on the loop I outlined above is that the mosquitoes will be out in full force in the alpine areas and the higher trails will have snow. That said, if you prepare, you will be fine.

Have a safe trip (I already know that you'll have fun),
Steve

p.s.; Some of the above fishing locations are Fly Fishing only (N. Umpqua River, some of the Cascade Lakes, and the Metolius River). So if you don't have this skill and/or equipment, now is the time to obtain it (Christmas presents???)

S.

Do you want ocean, mountain, or desert? Oregon has all three, so you need to decide which is most important to you.