Road trip to Oregon

Where do we go in December 2020 holidays? Can we take risk with flights in this pandemic? May be, yes. Instead, we chose a safer option of road trip to Oregon from Seattle/Bellevue for 8 days. It was a much needed trip to relax and recharge ourselves for 2021. Here is list of places we visited – Portland, Mt.Hood, Bend, Crater Lake, Eugene, Florence

Day 1 – Portland

Well packed with snacks and clothes, we started our journey from Bellevue before sun rise and reached Portland around 9.30 morning. As a nervous first time rider in snow and next few days are going to be around mountains, we bought snow chains from Les Schwab at Portland Downtown. Slightly relaxed, having got an assurance from the store that Honda Accord tires are not bad for snow (Sorry, I don’t want to bore you with this). Had quick breakfast and went to Multnomah falls. I have heard that its a must visit for Portland, that no one should miss. Couple of trails closed. Lower Multnomah falls view was open and it was not a bad view after all.

Went for a quick shopping in evening to get snow shoes and thermal wear gloves. TAX FREE, so why not make use of it?

Day 2 – Mt.Hood

Pumped up and excited for Mt.Hood. It was a glorious sunny morning. We had a delicious veggie omelette at IHOP and started driving towards Mt.Hood. Weather was cloudy and foggy on the uphill journey. It was a scenic drive, from whatever we could see. Roads were well plowed. We cross multiple ski resorts and snow parks. Found an awesome spot White River Snow park. Coming from India, this is first visit to a snow park. With snow shoes and thermal wear gloves, we were well prepared to enjoy there. Gigantic breathtaking view of Mt. Hood on the backdrop was the best part of this park. Fortunately, sun was out again and we loved it.We walked to move away from crowd and took lot of great pics which we will cherish in our life. It was fun to see kids having great time at the park.

As days are short in winter, we planned to start from there with plans to visit places on the way to our stay. There was heavy traffic on the way and we decided to go to our accommodation Mt.Hood Resort, before it gets darker. It was easily accessible and couple of miles from Highway. Stay was lovely. It had oven and we heated our ready to eat processed foods, managed dinner. Had a good night sleep for next day long trip to Mt.Hood and Bend.

Day 3 – Mt.Hood, Bend

Our plan was to visit Trillium lake and take a hike. But for some reasons, when we saw ski place at Government camp on the way to the lake, I felt that I had to try it. Government camp is a small village and it has most of the things, you need in a trip. Went to ski rentals, got ski boots and boards. Rental costed 45$ each. Same place had food options and we had our breakfast there. We managed to wear boots and take our boards to the ski area. Did not opt for lift tickets, as this was first time skiing. With multiple tries and falls, we managed to stand on the board. I took some courage, managed to move and ofcourse fell. Next couple of hours was full of falling and learning how to remove and put in boards.

As the initial plan is to cover trillium lake, we went there. But it was heavily trafficked and parking spot was full of crowd. Moreover, the road to lake was closed and it needed a hike. Since we were at the snow park the other day, we were not interested in doing a hike again. Also, our plan is to travel from Mt.Hood to Bend, before it gets darker. So, we decided that we will skip trillium lake and started our journey to Bend. See you, Mt. Hood for now.

Stayed at Riverhouse on the Deuschetes . This is our place for next 3 days. This place has a special mention in our trip. It neat, well arranged and I would not prefer a different place.

Day 4 – Bend

Excited to see beautiful places in Bend. Lava Butte is the next destination. Went there early morning. It was not easy to find with visitor center closed and less number of visitors. This place had volcano thousands of years ago and definitely still looks so. It was full of burnt rocks with almost no signs of vegetation. We took a quick hike and mesmerized with the history of how this place was formed. On top, it has view of stretch of mountains Mt.Bachelor, Sister peaks around Bend.

Next place in our list is Tumalo falls and its in a state park. It was a 40 minute drive from Lava Butte. Road near falls had snow and they were closed 2.4 miles before the falls. 2.4 miles hike towards Tumalo falls was a scenic hike, with view of mountains and trees showed by snow and was a perfect winter wonderland. It was not a tough hike, but walking over few inches of snow definitely took some toll. View of Tumalo falls was breathtaking and definitely made our hike worth it. It was almost frozen and serene. Took good pics to cherish in our life time.

When we planned dinner, found an Indian restaurant Taj palace. That brought smile on us. Being Indians, why would we miss this restaurant? We were actually surprised to find an Indian restaurant in Bend. Though it did not have an authentic taste, it was not bad and definitely worth a try, if you want to have Indian cuisine in Bend.

Day 5 – Painted hills

Pumped up to visit Painted hills. When I planned trip to Bend and Oregon, Painted hills was one of the must visit places in my list, but turned out that its close to 2 hours journey from Bend.Weather forecast predicted rain through out the day and snow showers post noon. So, wanted to cover Painted Hills before lunch. Drive goes through Ochoco National Forest and roads were not great with snow showers, though snow plow was at work. After Ochoco National Forest, weather turned out to be sunny and views indicated that we were in desert area. Reached Painted Hills and this was one of the best views I have ever seen. Hills were painted due to changing weather condition and wind pattern. Words can’t do justice to this place.

Next destination is Smith Rock State Park. On the way back from Painted Hills, we had delicious Veg Pizza at Abby’s Legendary Pizza and reached Smith Rock state park. This is a unique place in Oregon with gigantic rocky mountains. Must be a treat for rock climbers. Sun was about to set and we took Canyon trails. This trails took us through the water and had good views of this state park. Unfortunately, we lost our way in the Trails. With hardly no visitors, we were not sure of the way to come back. Maps worked in my phone and got route of Canyon Trails. Following the route, we ended up on main road on the other side of the park, which is 30 mins walk from parking spot. Return to parking spot was a slow walk thinking about how we lost way. For those planning to take trails here, be prepared.

For dinner, went for the same Taj palace restaurant. This time, I wanted to ask owner how they planned an Indian restaurant in Bend. Found out that this has been there since 15 years or so.

Day 6 – Disappointing day of the trip

Next place is Crater Lake National park. There has been snow storm from South at Crater Lake and places on the way from Bend to Crater Lake. TripCheck has been useful to track road conditions. Before starting our journey, I made sure that Crater Lake is open and started journey. I was well prepared and expected that road conditions would not be great. That was a 3 hour journey over plowed roads and roads not plowed yet. As we were near Crater Lake, roads were covered with snow, though they were plowed. Unfortunately, at entrance, we were told that Road to Rim Village was closed due to heavy snow at the lake with no visibility. That was disappointing, having travelled 3 hours and had to go back. We had reserved Crater Lake Lodge, but we were not sure of wasting our time, by staying there. Our next destination is Eugene and we were supposed to go there next day. But decided that, we would start to Eugene on the same day. TripCheck has been handy in checking road conditions from Crater to Eugene. Drive was 3 hours crossing multiple mountain peaks on icy roads.

Day 7 – Oregon Dunes/Florence

The plan is to visit Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area and hit the Oregon coast. Weather forecast predicted rain, rain and rain through out the day. Oregon Dunes visitor center was closed. Reached Oregon Dunes Day Use and took a trail crossing Dunes, trees to the sea. It was raining throughout. Trail was 1 miles to the sea. Unique place with no chances of seeing Sand Dunes in Washington. Lovely serene Sea view at the end of the trail. It was windy and managed to take few pics. I had plans of using AVT on Dunes, but it was not possible in rain.

Florence is the next place. When in coastal region, should not miss Fish and Chips. So, yeah, had delicious Fish and Chips at WaterFront Depot restaurant, Florence. Travelled to Heceta beach and this was well spread with scenic views throughout. This was a good spot to end our Oregon road trip.

Day 8 – Return to Bellevue

Bye, Oregon for now !!! Oregon was a diversified place with mountains, snow, desert, dunes and coast. It was a trip worth it. Now time to get back to work and plan next trip 🙂