I'm not sure where this message goes. Before out trip to Bon in mid November John and I would like to take a trip to Oregon this summer. Have two guide books but have no idea what area(s) would suit our needs - we like not very challenging hikes - 700 - 800' elevation, waterfalls, white water rafting and would like to see the coast. Any advise? Too much to do for 10 days to two weeks? Any suggestions will be gratefully accepted.
Sue

Hi Sue I am going to move this to CC as it has nothing other than a pre trip.. to do with Bonaire..

Is Niki still around? That's her neck of the wood and probably has some suggestions.

I've been to Oregon once, years ago. We stayed in Portland and drove over to the coast. It was a beautiful drive and the coast was amazing. I'm used to FL, so going and having, what I'd call, mountains on one side of the street and the ocean w/ huge rocks in it, on the other, was beautiful. I don't know the roads we took, but I'm sure a map can help. We also took a day trip to Mt. Hood, which was spectacular!
Have a good trip!

Regarding the oregon coast: South of Waldport, the coastline is pretty rugged, nice for views. There are still long sandy beaches (just south of Waldport) and at Florence (about 40 miles further south). Florence has some great sand dunes if you have never experienced these.

Remember, all Oregon beaches are public beaches even the more populated areas have accessible beaches. Compared to the east coast of USA, there is typically "no one" on the beach in Oregon. Of course this might also be due to the water temperature - low 60's right now, I think. As one heads north of Waldport, the coastline becomes much more populated with a less "remote" feeling. I'm making gross generalizations, of course, but as one heads north you get closer to the tolerable driving distance for Portland residents which means demand for second homes, etc.

Can't respond about the other interests - spent most of my time windsurfing the bay at Walport and upriver to the jetty at Florence.

Oh, one other thing to consider about the Oregon coast - when it gets hot inland, the coast can be "fogged in" for a distance of a couple of miles inland. Spring and Fall are usually the best times to see the coast, since there is a higher chance of fog during the summer. Making a trip to the coast to experience 65 degree temps and fog is probably not the best choice. Always bring a coat as it is usually windy and on good days the temps are in the 70s.

Thanks for the info. Am ready to book trip. Good price with Northeast on Orbitz. Of course I don't know what the cost of gas is in Oregon but it couldn't be much worse than what I'm paying in CT ($4.45/gal!)

sue, here's a good website to check gas prices in Oregon

http://www.oregongasprices.com/

A few years ago, i took a trip from San diego all the way to the border of WA and Canada...coast all the way. Oregon is beautiful, and Barton is most correct in that the shoreline is not sandy beaches like So Cal. very rugged, cold, foggy, rainy, and beautiful. Coos Bay was one of our favorite stops. And there is a town on the coast named after chocolate, can't remember the name now, but it was neat. Very unspoiled coast (at least a few years ago). Have a good trip!

Barton - I'm sure we will spend some time on the Oregon coast. Expect it to be rugged.Boat chick I did chek out the website and found that gas prices in Oregon are similar to Ct. Just booked with Southwest for sept 4-19. Much better price than Northwest. Thanks all for your help. Can always use more. The Cascade region looks like a keeper.

Sue, I know you have guide books but just a reminder to be sure to calculate driving distance/times between sites - Oregon is slightly bigger than CT and people are sometimes surprised by how long it takes to get from point A to point B because they forget to look at the scale of miles on the map . That said, with 10 - 14 days available, you should be able to see the cascades and the coast, if you want.

The cascades should be nice in early September, might even see some early fall color at the higher elevations.

Barton - the fact that Oregon is so big intimidated me but we will just focus on areas we find we enjoy. We just booked a flight for Sept 4 - 19. We figured 10 days would be too short for such a big state. We just bought our tickets from Southwest. Ticket prices were very low -about 2/3 the price of a one way ticket to Bon for both of us roundtrip!!