Planning a road trip to Oregon and looking for the best places to add to your itinerary?
The two of us road tripped Oregon alongside with Washington’s Olympic NP this April, and all we can say that its diversity absolutely blew our minds! Think beaches, mountains, waterfalls, desert… Oregon truly has it all and it’s a paradise for all nature lovers.
That being said, Oregon is a lot bigger than people realize, so planning a trip while trying to see as much as possible can be quite challenging. For these reasons, we decided to stick around Northwest and Central Oregon to minimize the amount of driving between the destinations and make the most of the 8 days we had for this beautiful state. And today, we’re excited to share 16 amazing places we visited and that we highly recommend you to add to your Oregon road trip itinerary! You can easily visit these places in the order below to make a loop.
CANNON BEACH
Cannon Beach was our first Oregon road trip stop and while we weren’t super lucky with the weather and didn’t catch any vibrant sunsets, seeing the famous Haystack Rock and experiencing the coastal atmosphere this town has to offer was still absolutely magical!
The main attraction is the beach itself and since it stretches alongside the whole town (approx. 4 miles), it’s perfect for long walks or peaceful bonfire evenings (yes, fires are allowed as long as you follow the guidelines). The famous Haystack Rock is located directly in the center of the beach, but don’t worry – as it rises 235 feet out of ocean, it’s pretty hard to miss! In fact, this is one of the largest sea stack on the Pacific Coast and an amazing place for birdwatching (puffins are in the are from April to August)!
If you have time, make sure to visit at both low and high tide as it’s a different experience. While the high tidebrings the waves closer to the shore and makes it more dramatic, the low tide means that you can get close to the Haystack Rock and explore the revealed tide pools and rock formations. You can check the tide times here.
We stayed in this cute hotel which was within a walking distance to the Haystack Rock, so we didn’t have to worry about parking. Plus, the Pelican Brewery was just steps away!
ECOLA STATE PARK
While we absolutely recommend exploring Cannon Beach, let’s be honest – it does get busy. If you’re looking for a quieter alternative in the area, Ecola State Park is just a quick 10 minute drive and offers epic views of Cannon Beach shoreline and Haystack Rock from above.
There are two main parking areas with different coastal trails that you can explore and since they’re just a short drive apart from each other, we decided to stop at both. The first parking lot leads to multiple easy scenic viewpoints from where we could see Cannon Beach coastline from above. From second parking lot, we walked down to Indian Beach, which is a beautiful secluded beach and one of the filming locations from Twilight!
Note, that there is a daily parking permit fee of $5 per vehicle, that you can purchase at the parking lot machine. Alternatively, you can purchase the 12 or 24 month parking pass, which is valid for all Oregon state parks and can be more cost effective if you plan to visit multiple parks throughout the year.
CAPE KIWANDA
As we drove down along the Highway 101, our next stop was Cape Kiwanda just north of Pacific City.
This sandstone headland is another amazing viewpoint on the Oregon coast from where you can see a haystack rock which is even taller than the one in Cannon Beach. And if you’re up for a little challenge, you can climb up the sand dunes to get even better views of this natural area. It’s tougher than it looks, but it’s absolutely worth it!
The fragile nature of sandstone means the ocean is constantly eroding and re-sculpting the entire scene, so make sure to stay within designated areas for safety reasons.
There’s a new, free public parking lot situated behind Doryland Pizza – just a quick walk to the walking trails at Cape Kiwanda.
SILVER FALLS STATE PARK
As much as we’d love to road trip the whole Oregon coast, we decided to prioritize places we wanted to see in Central Oregon. Thus we turned off the Highway 101 and headed to Silver Falls State Park.
Silver Falls State Park is the largest of Oregon state parks and absolute heaven for all waterfall and old-growth forest lovers! It’s mostly known for the Trail of the Ten Falls, which is a 7.5-mile loop that (as the name suggests) takes you around ten stunning waterfalls. I think we’ll all agree that ten waterfalls in one hike is a pretty good effort-reward ratio, isn’t it?
It took us around 3 hours to finish the whole loop with plenty of stops for taking photos and admiring the waterfalls. Most of them are absolutely gorgeous, so doing the whole loop is well worth it, but if you’re short on time, it can be reduced via two cutoff trails. And if you really only have time for a pit stop, you’ll want to check out the South Falls which are right at the beginning of the loop and only a short walk from the parking lot. It’s basically a giant curtain waterfall that you can hike behind and it was definitely our favourite one!
We stayed in the campground right inside of the park and found the facilities to be really nice. Note, that if you´re not camping and don’t have an annual permit, you need to buy a daily parking permit which is $5 per vehicle.
KOOSAH AND SAHALIE FALLS
Koosah and Sahalie Falls are two beautiful waterfalls along the McKenzie River and even though it was a little detour on our drive from Silver Falls State Park to Smith Rock State Park, it was absolutely worth it!
There are two free parking lots for each waterfall, but if you want to stretch the legs, we’d suggest you to park at one of the lots and walk between the falls instead. Not only it is short (just over a 1 mile for round-trip), but you’ll also get amazing views of the brigh blue water of McKenzie river.
SMITH ROCK STATE PARK
Oregon truly has it all and the Smith Rock State Park is a proof of that.
This park is considered to be one of the birthplaces of sport climbing in the USA and when we arrived, we couldn’t believe the contrast in landscape compared to the other stops we made on our road trip! It’s located in the Oregon’s high desert and offers striking views of towering cliffs and rugged rock formations.
We decided to hike the Misery Ridge Trail for sunrise and the it was simply fantastic as it felt like seeing the whole park and its deep canyons from above! You can even wave hi to Mount Hood and some other Oregon volcanoes in the distance.
The Bivouac (Bivy) Campground is located inside of the park and operates on a first-come-first-served basis, but if you’re not into camping, Bend has plenty of accommodation options and is just around 30 minuts away. Note, that if you´re not camping and don’t have an annual permit, you need to buy a daily parking permit which is $5 per vehicle.
TRILLIUM LAKE
Trillium Lake was another place we had on our Oregon road trip itinerary as it offers amazing views of Mt. Hood (especially in early mornings or evenings when there is also a reflection).
Unfortunately, the lake was still frozen and the road was full of snow when we drove around in April, so we had to leave it for the next time!
COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE: OUR OREGON ROAD TRIP FAVOURITE
Columbia River Gorge is an 80-mile long spectacular river canyon on the borders of Washington and Oregon which is known for beautiful cliffs and insane amount of stunning waterfalls. We happened to visit at the beginning of wildflower season which made it even more beautiful and I think it ended up being the favourite area of our Oregon road trip because of that! Besides that, we took a scenic flight over the gorge that we’ve reviewed in this article, and it was simply amazing to see it all from above!
There is lots to explore from both sides of the borders, but we decided to stick to the Oregon side and camp at Ainsworth State Park for 4 days. It was a perfect base as it was close to all stops we wanted to do in the area:
Multnomah Falls
Multnomah Falls is simply a must see when visiting Columbia River Gorge as this is Oregon’s tallest waterfall located right next to the highway!
The lower viewpoint is just steps away from the parking lot, but if you have time, we highly recommend doing the whole Multnomah Falls Trail that takes you to the top of the waterfall and offers amazing views of the gorge.
Note that this is the most visited natural recreation site in the Pacific Northwest, so $2 Timed Use Permits are required from May 24th through September 2nd, 2024.
Latourell Falls
Latourell Falls is another easily accessible waterfall in the area and it was probably our favourite since it was a lot quieter than Multnomah Falls. You’ll likely have the opportunity to feel the waterfall spray as you cross the creek’s footbridge which is just a quick 5 minute walk from the parking lot.
Sadly, the trail to Upper Latourell Falls was closed during our visit, but it would make for a great stop in case you’d like to make your walk longer.
Bridal Veil Falls
The trail leading to Bridal Veil Falls is (once again) short and sweet, so you can easily combine it with other stops in the area. Reserve 15 minutes for the whole loop.
Vista House at Crown Point
Vista House is a museum and beautiful scenic point on the Historic Columbia River Highway. Apparently, the building itself is architecturally significant, but we were honestly more impressed by its location on top of the cliff and amazing views of the gorge below. We thought this would be such a great spot to watch the sunset!
Wahkeena Falls
Wahkeena Falls isn’t as huge as other waterfalls in the gorge, but it has its own magic.
To reach the falls, you’ll need to take a 15 minute uphill walk through the paved section of Wahkeena Trail which then continues to other viewpoints in the area and even connects to the Multnomah Falls through a loop.
Horsetail Falls
We originally didn’t even plan visiting Horsetail Falls, but its location right along the Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway makes this waterfall basically impossible to miss, so if you can spare 5 minutes, this is a great pit stop!
Tunnel Falls
As you probably know by now, Columbia River Gorge is full of easily accessible waterfalls, but we personally like to combine it with places that require a bit of an effort to reach, so we knew we had to check out Tunnel Falls!
Tunnel Falls is a moderate 12 mile round trip trail along the Eagle Creek that takes you to a stunning waterfall that has a tunnel behind it! How cool is that? To say we loved this hike is an understatement! You just gotta go and see it for yourself, but note that there are quite a few narrow areas that have ropes to hold onto, so it’s not for everyone.
A Northwest Forest Pass is required to park your car and you can pay $5 in cash at the trailhead.
Rowena Crest Viewpoint
Rowena Crest Viewpoint is a scenic overlook that offers multiple trails and magnificent views of the Columbia River Gorge. And if you also happen to visit during the spring – it’s a great place to see the wildflowers!
We drove here to catch the sunset from Rowena Plateau Trail and the arrowleaf was in full bloom, so it couldn’t be more beautiful.
Memaloose Hills
The last stop on our epic Oregon road trip was the Memaloose Hills trail which is a quick 3 miles hike with beautiful views of Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood.
Once again, we didn’t originally have this place on our itinerary, but as we got to the Gorge area and found out that the wildflowers were blooming, we decided to squeeze it in. It did not disappoint as the fully bloomed arrowleaf was literally everywhere around us! But frankly we don’t think it would be that interesting outside of wildflower season.
OREGON ROAD TRIP: FINAL THOUGHTS
And there you have it, friends!
This road trip to Oregon was definitely one of the highlights of the year for us and since we had limited time, we aimed to make most of it. While we’re already looking forward to exploring more of this beautiful state in the future, we believe that these are some of the best places you can see in Northwest and Central Oregon, so we hope this roundup proves helpful when you plan your own itinerary.
Until next time!
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