First Time Visit: July 10-15

We are planning 5 days in Portland/Vancouver with our 2 college-age sons. We are staying in Vancouver and are looking for recommendations:

- Would like to raft the White Salmon 鈥?recommended outfitters?

- Will visit some brewpubs for meals 鈥?which ones for food/drink/fun?

- If time only allows Mt. Hood or St. Helens 鈥?which one?

- In town or short day tour activities for us while the boys are with friends?

Thanks!

First Time Visit: July 10-15

Just to make sure: You are staying in Vancouver and want your questions answered as they pertain to Vancouver, not Portland? Do you want to do things in Portland also? Chuck...

First Time Visit: July 10-15

Hi and welcome to TripAdvisor. I%26#39;d suggest, as will others, that you visit Mt St Helens! It%26#39;s much more unique and the Johnston Ridge visitors center is very well done and definitely worth visiting.

As far as brewpubs, are you looking for some in Vancouver or Portland?

What type of short day activities are you interested in? The Columbia Gorge is a great half-day excursion.

Will you have a car?

Thanks for the quick replies ... we will have a car and are staying in Vancouver (WA). Our drive to rafting will take us along the Columbia; however, we realize it might be more appropriate to take our time and see the sights along the way another day (or can we enjoy it in 1/2 day on the drive out or back).

As for the brewpubs and sights, we would be open to activities in either Vancouver or Portland. It seems only a short drive between the two. Am I mistaken about this?

A day trip to the Oregon Coast would be nice, Cannon Beach and Seaside are both fun areas to explore. I am in Seaside now, let me know if you would like recs for this area. www.seasideor.com

I hope you have a wonderful trip! :)

We visit Portland regularly and have eaten in some very fine spots. We love Andina. But, one of our most memorable meals last visit was at the Bridgeport Brewpub and Bakery. Good beers, very good food, upbeat and relaxed atmosphere.

The Deschutes Brewpub is good, as well. Lively and a great indoor space. Both are in the Pearl, but at opposite ends.

If you are into it, the farmer%26#39;s market up on the hill by the college has not only wonderful produce, baked goods, and other foodie items, but also a number of ';roach coach'; vendors of prepared foods. Everything looked so good, we were sorry we had already eaten breakfast.

Have a nice visit.

If you are driving out along the Columbia. You could either take the old highway out, see the waterfalls and then cross over at Cascade Locks on the way to White Salmon, or vice versa. Depending on how many stops you make, it could take a couple of hours or half the day.

Generally, I would suggest Mt. St. Helen%26#39;s over Mt. Hood, unless you are planning on combining Mt. Hood with a day trip through the Gorge. Since it sounds like you will be heading that way anyway for other activities, I would probably just suggest Mt. St. Helen%26#39;s. Keep in mind that Mt. St. Helen%26#39;s will be a full day trip. There is much more to see that way, IMHO with all the visitor centers, eruption history, etc.

As far as brew pubs, any of the McMenamins properties would be fun. Edgefield is in Troutdale, near the ';mouth'; of the gorge. Kennedy School is also a lot of fun.

http://www.mcmenamins.com/

I would definately recommend the White Salmon rafting trip. It is about a 2 hour drive from Vancouver. I would go with All-Star Rafting www.asrk.com. be sure to make reservationa ASAP for that time of year. Then you can stop by Walking Man Brewery in Stevenson,Wa on your way home.

For a long day trip I would go to The Columbia River Gorge to see Multnomah Falls and continue all the way to Hood River to go to Full Sail Brewing or Double Mountain Brewpub. Depending on your timimg you can go back to Vancouver the same way you came or go up and over Mt Hood back to Portland, but this way will take an extra hour or more just driving.

There%26#39;s no much to see in Vancouver so I would recommend going over to Downtown Portland for a short day trip. Pittock Mansion is an excellent site to see overlooking downtown. Possibly a walk in Forest Park. There are several breweries located downtown as well. Bridgeport Brewing or Deschutes Brewing are favorites. But Mcmenamins has about 5 locations to choose from as well. For a list of all breweries in Oregon visit www.oregonbeer.org. There are just way too many to list.

Honestly I think if you have never been to Portland it is really hard to choose what to do in only 5 days. I have been exploring Oregon for about 10 years now and still haven%26#39;t seen everthing I want to yet. So good luck and hope you have a great time.

My appreciation to all for your suggestions! We had heard of Kennedy School and tried to book it for our stay, but they were full - we%26#39;ll still make a visit. One son is a big Rogue beer fan, so we%26#39;ll make a stop there, too.

Thanks for the river outfitter info, we%26#39;ll look at that. Any opinion on Wet Planet? There isn%26#39;t much on the net for reviews of Oregon/Washington trips and outfitters.

One important thing to remember since you are staying in Vancouver. The freeway from Portland to Vancouver, I-5, is solid congestion - as in inch along and stop - northbound from about 3:00 pm to about 7:00 pm.

There is a carpool lane for 2+, so you could use that, but you will have to squeeze into the rest of the traffic as you approach the Columbia River bridge :-(

Thanks again for the help ... here%26#39;s our plans (for now):

Fri 10th - Arrive 2:20pm / Kennedy School for drinks %26amp; meal / Check-in @ Vancouver HI-Express

Sat 11th - Vancouver Discovery Loop walking tour / Portland Saturday Market / McMenamins Roadhouse Brew-festival

Sun 12th - Either Portland sights or trip to coast / Rogue Distillery for dinner

Mon 13th - Mount St. Helens

Tue 14th - Columbia River Gorge / White Salmon rafting (outfitter: Riverdrifters or WetPlanet)

Wed 15th - Fly back to KC.

We%26#39;ll add another pub (Deschutes, Bridgeport, Henry%26#39;s Tavern?) and eats (Voodoo Donuts, Toro Bravo, Laurelwood Pizza?) where it works in the schedule.

Any thoughts to improve? Sunday is still a question for us, too.

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