Local Travel Tips: The Best Way to do Oregon!

Our latest trip to Portland, Oregon was the perfect way to bring the summer to a close—delicious donuts, majestic waterfalls, a fairytale beach, ancient lava tubes, and local travel tips. We narrowly missed the terrible heat wave that ravaged the Pacific Northwest. And we slid in just before COVID’s delta variant started taking its toll on the States again.

Last time, we shared our experiences getting to Oregon. You can find out what to expect at an airport (and on the plane) in the post-COVID “new normal” by clicking here.

This week, we will discuss the first two days of our journey. Unlike other trips, we left most of our plans open and relied heavily on local travel tips. Read on to find out how well this works!

Day 1: Arriving in Oregon

Traveling on Local Travel Tips

We had booked an AirBnB for the week about 20 minutes south of Portland near the small suburb of Milwaukie. Our hosts were fantastic, and we couldn’t wait to meet them given that they had a little one and are expecting another. Before we arrived, they sent Amanda some advice on where to eat, ensured us that we would have a Pack-N-Play in our apartment for Adrian, and invited us to join their son’s 4^th birthday party upon arrival.

Taking their local travel tips, we stopped at Happy Valley Station to grab a bite. Let me tell you, wow! With over 18 different food carts, the options seemed endless, and the eclectic mix of ethnic cuisine had us jumping for joy. Happy Valley Station is the perfect place to ease any anxiety about travel after COVID. With tons of outdoor seating, it was simple to find our own little spot away from everyone else.

We ended up trying Grilla Cheese and Sakura Noodle. The Grilla Cheeseburger was a decadent burger sandwiched between two sumptuous grilled cheeses. From Sakura Noodle, the Korean Rice Bowl was an expertly crafted and splendid mix of beef, rice, noodles, and crisp veggies. You can see our video about the subject and subscribe to our YouTube channel here.

After our delicious meal, we stopped by a local grocer, Fred Meyer, to grab the necessities for our week. As a traveling family, it is important to know your limits and set a budget that is sustainable. With that in mind, we planned on cooking our own breakfast and dinner each day to limit eating out expenditures. This gave us a chance to engage with locals at the grocery store and enjoy a more immersive experience.

Day 2: Exploring Oregon

Following Local Travel Tips down the Columbia Gorge

After a restful evening and a good meeting with our hosts, we followed their advice to head out to Multnomah Falls on our first full day. Initially, we planned on just heading out the Mount Hood but realized that we could take a roundtrip loop west on IH-84, south on SH-35, and back east on SH-26.

Multnomah Falls is a great place to go for any traveler but it is especially fun for a family. Parking is a bit of a pain; we had to wait about 20 minutes for a spot. The alternative is parking a distance away from the entrance and walking (though not advised because of the narrow roads) or taking a trolley that runs along SH-30.

For a mere $15, you can take the open-air hop-on-hop-off trolley on a narrated tour of the Historic Columbia River Highway and stop at all 9 waterfalls along the way. Specifically for Multnomah Falls, you need to make a reservation to entre in advance. Your timed-entry costs $1 per person and can be reserved here.

The falls are well worth the visit. With the upper fall plunging 542 feet and the lower fall spanning 69 feet, it is quite the sight to behold. From the bottom, you can view both falls with a picturesque bridge separating the two. If you are a fan of Pixar’s Cars, you will see some stark similarities between this sight and the one where Sally and Lightning McQueen drive through the countryside.

If you’re up for it, you can take a mile-long hike up the cliff to view the falls from above. We opted to stop just past the bridge since Adrian’s little legs had had enough. But we did enjoy some great views of the Columbia Gorge.

Local Places to Eat

On our way out to Mount Hood, we took a short detour to Bradford Island. This is the location of the Bonneville Lock and Dam. It is a perfect stop for a travel schooling lesson on hydroelectric power. The Bonneville Dam is one of three hydroelectric power plants operated by the Portland District and generates enough energy to power approximately 900,000 homes.

We stopped in Hood River for a bite to eat after reading some local reviews for unique places to eat near Portland. Talk about unique! Broder Ost stood out as a must among the standard American diners and pizza joints. This Scandinavian restaurant attached to the Historic Hood River Hotel served up delectable servings of Aebleskiver (Danish Pancakes), Tunnbrodsrulle (Stockholm Hotdog), and seasonal fruit fritters.

Fun Fact: G Willikers Toy Shoppe is a really cool place to take the kids. It is a two-story shop full of books, toys, and games that every kid would love. Located only a block away from Broder Ost, we recommend going here while you wait to be seated since advanced reservations were not accepted.

Dazzling Mountain Views

Our hosts told us about some of the amazing lakes that surrounded Mount Hood. Lucky for us, we followed their local travel tips once again. Since we didn’t have time to climb the mountain and doubted the little man would last long enough for the hike, we decided to heed the advice and find a relaxing spot to end the day.

There are countless options around the southern and western sides of the magnificent peak. From what we read; you couldn’t go wrong with whichever lake you chose. The question really came down to how much extra driving you wanted to do off the highway. Cost also varied depending on if you chose a developed site or an unimproved lake.

Since time was running out for us, we opted to go with Trillium Lake. This is one of the more popular places. The crowds were rather large given the time and parking was difficult to come by. We also had to pay a $10 entry fee to access the lake. This wasn’t ideal since we got in so late, but if you plan to spend the day there, it is totally worth it.

The views were absolutely stunning, and the lake was so large that the crowds were quite dispersed. We easily found a spot just for us to enjoy the frigid waters. And I mean cold! What I liked the best was the view of Mount Hood and the picturesque views of it reflecting off the lake.

Pro Tip: You can camp at Trillium Lake for $43 per night at a single site. Enjoy tons of recreation activities from boating to horseback riding to paddle boarding. Click here to make your reservation.

NExT Chapter

The best advice we can give you is to talk to the locals. Those local travel tips made all the difference in our first two days in Oregon. You will see this theme continue over the next few posts as I continue sharing our experience in the Pacific Northwest over the coming month.

Traveling with more flexibility changed my perspective quite a lot. As a typical neurotic planner, leaving things open and “going with the flow” as Amanda says was an eye-opening and refreshing change of pace. I felt more rejuvenated, fulfilled, and was much more present in the moment.

I would highly recommend that you give this type of traveling a try. Get out of your comfort zone, throw caution to the wind, and let local travel tips guide your experience. You’ll find a more immersive and enriching experience if you do.

Big News

Before we go, I wanted to share our exciting news! We recently published our first book, Explore! San Antonio: Your Culture Guide to Educational & Service-Oriented Travel. It is available on Amazon, Lulu, and on our website’s shop.

If you’re interested in learning about the rich history of “The Alamo City” and ways you can support the community, click here to learn more. If you purchase directly from us, you get two versions (PDF & E-Book) plus a FREE Explore! San Antonio Travel Guide ($41 value for only $3.99)! You can also get a printed copy by clicking here. As always, 10% of our profits will go to our Cause of the Month. September is ChildFund and October is the Children’s Chorus of San Antonio.

Don’t forget, registration is open for Explore! San Antonio Cultural Excursion. Click here to learn more. We hope to see you in December!

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Until next time…

Happy (Mindful) Travels,

Michael

~ Change the world one nameless stranger at a time. ~

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Brand New Product Release! Check out our new Adventure Guides and Travel Guides in our shop and take advantage of our launch sales by clicking here.

Registration is now open for our “Explore! San Antonio Cultural Excursion.” Find out more here and register today!

Check out our YouTube channel where we post free content about family travel, alternative education, and volunteer service.

You can find info and good deals for travel visas at CIBT Visas. Click here and let them know Michael Camarillo sent you.