Berkeley Parents Network: Going to Oregon

Berkeley Parents Network

Going to Oregon

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > Places to Go > Going to Oregon

Ashland

May 2006

Does anyone know any good places to stay in Crescent City, CA, and in Ashland, OR? My husband, son, small dog (Basenji) and I are going to be camping near Fort Bragg for a few days in June, then traveling up along the coast to Crescent City where we hope to spend one night. Then on to Ashland to see a show at the Shakespeare Festival. We have a very well-behaved small dog (16-pounds) who will stay happily in her crate for several hours, and we'd like to stay somewhere besides Motel 6 if possible, although we are fine with Motel 6 also. Has anyone been in those parts traveling/lodging with pet? Also, any suggestions for ''don't-miss'' things to do along the way? Thanks. Elaine

We drive from S.F. to Seattle a few times a year and Ashland is our favorite place to stay. We typically stay in the Best Western. It is nothing fancy, but a step up from Motel 6. They allow dogs, which we know from experience. They are located right in town. They also have a pool, which is great with kids after a day in the car and nice because it can get pretty hot there. You can also save money, by going a few miles north to Medford. It is not as nice of a town, but they have all the big chain motels Mary

Re: Driving to Portland - where to stay along the way (Nov 2005)
Ashland is a great family/kid friendly town with parks, activities, nice-friendly folks. We have done the drive from here to Portland a couple of times and Ashland was a good half- way point. It has lots of B n B's, but also just outside of town are decent enough hotel/motels with pools i.e. Days Inn or the like. Have fun!
Driven to Portland too

2001

My family of 4 (2 kids ages 5 and 2) is meeting another family with a 2 year old in Ashland, OR to see some Shakespeare plays. I am interested in getting recommendations of family-friendly accomodations (hotels, motels, or B&B's) in Ashland, preferably within walking distance of the theater.

My parents always stay at the Winchester Country Inn and have seen families there with children, although not as young as 5 and 2. They have 18 rooms at the inn and some of them are away from the main house so it's quite possible that they can accommodate them. We'd recommend that a call be placed to the Winchester at 1-800-972-4991 to inquire. If they don't, they can probably recommend another inn that does. Also, the inn is about 5 blocks from the theater and right in the heart of the main part of Ashland. Have fun! Jill

Visiting Bend

Re: Half-way vacation spot for SF and Seattle families (October 2006)
Bend Oregon is a nice spot between Seattle and SF - although it is east and over the Cascades from the mid-way point (which may be somewhere around Medford). Bend has a wide variety of hotels, cool parks with volcanic geology near by, the outdoor/indoor High Desert Museum (see their website), the Deschutes River, the Deschutes brew pub. Some folks like to stay south of town at the Sun River resort. If you want to stay west of the cascades along hwy 5, I'm sure Medford or Eugene or other central Oregon towns have a lot of great parks and playgrounds
Travelin' Mom

June 2004

We're taking our sons aged 8 and 12 to stay at Sun River Resort in Bend, Oregon, the first week of July. Aside from enjoying biking and the pool, we'd like recommendations about other places to see, activities to do, things we should take up with us (we're going by airplane), and places to eat. nancy

Oh man, Bend is awesome!! If you all have bikes, I would suggest riding them! If you don't have bikes, you should rent them. I don't know the names of the trails, but any bike shope in town (and there are a few) will be able to get you pointed in the right direction for trails that fit your skill level. Also, there's a restaurant on the main drag in town called (I think) Alpen Glow. Great place for breakfast! Have fun! Jen

I have visited relatives in Bend a couple of times. We went to Petersen Rock Garden and Museum in Redmond, a 4 acre park of gardens, towers, and bridges that Petersen made over a number of years from rocks that he found. Lava Land Visitor Center has short hikes in a very different landscape. The High Desert Museum is a great learning opportunity re the pioneers, and also has some great landscape dioramas with live animals. We have also gone to Operation Santa Claus, where there is a reindeer ranch. These are also all listed in the book, Fun With the Family in Oregon, by Cheryl McLean, along with other ideas. jewel

Corvallis

March 2005

anyone have recs. for inexpensive hotels or motels in Corvallis- my husband's family is having a mini-reunion- well his parents and several siblings and us, all of whom have families are going up for youngest brother's college graduation in June. My mother in-law currently has reservations at the (only?) motel in Philomath where the college is, but is worried it's ''boring'' there and thinks Corvallis would be a nicer place to stay. Also any recs. for fun things to do for kids and/ or adults of a range of ages welcome. and, does anyone have a favorite restaurant or health food store around the area? Thanks! anon

I grew up in Philomath, OR and yes, I believe there is still only one motel there. If you can, take bikes, there is a wonderful bike path from Philomath to Corvallis. Once in Corvallis, the area along the river has great kid friendly restaurants, bakeries and coffee shops. Avery Park is also a nice destination (also on the bike path) which has a train engine for kids to play on. If you do stay in Philomath- tour the ''old historical college'' there. dnahoy

Corvallis is a great town (just 5 minutes from Philomath)! We visited last summer, and actually plan to move there in two years. Check out the website www.visitcorvallis.com for detailed info about lodging, restaurants, attractions, etc. We stayed in the Best Western Grand Manor Inn, in a very large suite with one separate bedroom (two sleeping areas), for about $99/night with a AAA discount. You can find regular hotel/motel rooms for quite a bit cheaper than that, if you don't need the two sleeping areas in one suite. There's a really nice-looking, new hotel on the OSU campus. You will probably need to book soon, since the area fills up around graduation time. Philomath isn't much--it's a town of about 8000 people, and there really is only one motel (The galaxie). We drove past it and said ''glad we're not staying there!''. It looked fairly run down from the outside. We are outdoor types, and enjoyed visiting the numerous parks in the area. I also recommend driving out to the coast through Newport. It's a beautiful drive, about 45 minutes, and it's not the windy carsick road to the beach like it is here. The beaches are really nice and not crowded at all. We had a great dinner at the Big River restaurant inCorvallis, and enjoyed walking along the new Riverfront Memorial park. There is even a large fountain there that all the kids can play in when it's hot. The downtown area is cute, with hanging flower baskets overywhere and lots of small shops. Eugene is a larger town (over 100,000) that's about 35-40 minutes to the south, and it has many attractions, cute shops, and good restaurants. Have fun! Feel free to e-mail me if you need more info. We really love the area. Gayle

Eugene

Re: Half-way vacation spot for SF and Seattle families (October 2006)
We find plenty to do in Eugene. Lots of parks and skateparks, restaurants. We like the bikepath along the river. But the highlight for my kids is the wavepool in nearby Springfield (a 15 minute drive). Its an indoor pool with a lap pool, a shallow baby/toddler pool, a large wavepool, a slide and a 3 foot pool area.
have fun

Medford

Jan 2006

I'd like to visit my niece who lives in Shady Cove near Medford for a weekend. I don't have a close relationship with her mom so I need a place to stay with her, my son and husband. We also need something to do while we are there. Something related to winter sports and snow (if there is any) would be great. Can anyone give me some suggestions? anon

The closest ski resort is Mt. Ashland Ski Resort south of Shady Cove. It's about an hour drive away. Cathy

The Oregon Coast

Re: Half-way vacation spot for SF and Seattle families (October 2006)
The Oregon Coast offers tons of great places to vacation! The State campgrounds are fabulous (grassy, rather than dusty like California's, and well maintained) and there are nice vacation rentals available in the small coastal towns. Both beach and mountain forest/lake type country are readily accessible all along the coast, and most towns offer antiquing, local specialty produce, historic sites and museums, etc. Plus, outlet malls and no sales tax. :-) We once met my Seattle-ite sister in Lincoln City, OR and had a fabulous time, for a really reasonable price Holly

June 2004

We are headed for the Oregon Coast in mid-July for a camping vacation. We have booked two nights at what seems to be a big-and-busy campground in southern Oregon (Sunset Bay State Park) but would like to hear if others have recommendations for smaller, more intimate/secluded campgrounds along the middle or northern part of the coast. Any recommendations about what to do and where to go on the Oregon coast with a 2-year old would be great. Thanks! Anna

Oswald State Park is lovely, right by the beach in northern Oregon. jennifer

April 2002

We'd like to take 2-3 weeks late this summer on the Oregon coast (preferably closer to Astoria than to Eureka). We have a daughter who will be ~ 1 year old at that time, and two dogs we want to take with us. In the past, we've rented a motor home and stayed in the (fantastic) Oregon State Parks system. But this time, we'd really like to rent a house and stay in one spot. Does anyone have a particular spot/rental agency, etc. that they can recommend on the Oregon coast? Bobbie

Check out the properties rented by OceanEdge Specialty Rentals in Manzanita Oregon--two of them are pet friendly. Here's their website: http://www.oceanedge-vacation-rentals.com/index.htm. Juli, who manages these properties, is my husband's second cousin, but we've never stayed there. Just FYI. Sorry--I forgot to mention I saw a letter recommending OceanEdge in the Sunday Chronicle's ''Follow the Reader'' column a while back. Here's the link: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/12/31/TR109510.DTL . Since I don't have any firsthand experience with the place I thought you might be interested in this person's experience! Christina

Re: Vacation rentals in Oregon

Your best bet would be to go on the Internet and look for the "Oregonian". That is Oregons biggest paper. They have vacation rentals in their Rental Section. If your kids want to do "Dune Bugging" and etc. The best bet would be to go to Coos Bay or Newport. That is where the biggest Dunes are and they rent the Dune Buggies also. There is the Sea Lions Cave right on the coast. I hope this helps. Raye (4/99)

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