Oregon road trip

Our Oregon’s 7 wonders RV road trip took us first to Mt. Hood, followed by Crater Lake, the Newberry Volcanic Monument, Smith Rock State Park, Painted Hills, Portland and River Gorge, the grand finale of Seaside.

Oregon, with its coast, forests, and mountains, offers plenty of attractions, its hot springs, rivers and waterfalls. There are also many microbreweries and nice towns here. If you want to get to know Oregon’s 7 wonders like us, check out my map.

Mount Hood & Crater Lake

Our tour started at Mt. Hood there we were hiking and enjoyed a nice lunch at the Timberline Lodge. These are just a few Mount Hood hiking trails; Zigzag Overlook, Tom Dick and Harry Trail and Mirror Lake Loop, Lost Lake, Tamanawas Falls, and Trillium Lake Loop.

We made the 2nd stop at Crater Lake National Park, it is the deepest lake with 1,943 feet in the USA and probably also the clearest. Cedric, Chiara and also Carsten did not miss a  swim (brrr 4C). For this we hiked the Cleetwood Clove Trail. There is also a boot tour (not possible at the moment due to Covid) that you can book. In summer, of course, the park is very busy, so it’s worth getting up early. The Rim Village Visitor Center offers information and a great view of the lake. Trolley tours start from here – fun for the whole family. The Watchman Peak trail  (3 miles) is the most beautiful trail when the sun rises or sets. Rim Drive offers plenty of viewpoints with parking in case you don’t like hiking.

Oregon Impressionen

Around Bend

This was followed by the Volcanic Monument of Newberry, in Bend, where we were in the lava field and in a lava tube.

We went on to to stay in Bend, we visited Smith Rock State Park which is one of the most popular climbing areas in the USA. Smith Rock State Park offers various hiking trails in different difficulties, it is also know a great area for climbers and mountain biking. The Crooked River can also be kayaked if it carries enough water. We hiked to the Misery Ride Loop which brought us to the base of the monkey face rock. On the way back we crossed the river bare foot and Carsten took a unplaned bath :-).
Last but not least it went to the Painted Hills, one of Oregon’s 7 wonders. We managed the 4,6 km of hiking trails despite the heat. It was very impressive. Painted hills is one of the John Day Fossil Beds as well as the Clarno Unit und die Sheep Rock Unit. Unfortunatly  is forbitten in this area but there plenty of  campsites near John Day Fossil Beds.
For the children we had come up with something special that day – knocking stones in an Mine, in Mitchell (permanently closed). Oh that was something. It took us more than 1 hour to get there and then we were told “we are closed”. So we had to turn around and thought we better take a faster way – Pustekuchen that was fun it went over stick and stone once a tree cut us off the way completely and the other time I had to get off so I could navigate Carsten through 2 trees but after about 2 hours we ended up on the normal road again. The following days we spent relatively quietly with the SUB and the paddle boat by the lake and pool.

Here more activities for your time in Bend;

• Picnic at Drake Park
• Cascade Lakes Highway: (open seasonally) stop by some gorgeous alpine lakes.
• Stop by at one of Bens Breweries.
• Take a Day Trip to Sisters: It is the perfect launch pad for any adventure activities you want to do in the mountains.
• Go hiking: Broken Top Hike(longer one), South Sister Summit: third highest mountain in Oregon, Green Lakes Trail,
• Visit some Falls: Koosah Falls, Tumalo Falls, Tamolitch Falls, Proxy Falls, and Linton Falls.

Finale Protland & Seaside

Then we went to Portland. There is not that much extraordinary in Portland; The Grotto is a park with sculptures, the Japanese Garden and the Tom McCall Waterfrontgarden, as well as the Portland Children Museum are pretty nice. You should also treat yourself to a Voodoo Doughnut. Portland is also a good starting point to the River Gorgewith many waterfalls and hiking opportunities – see map. Last but not least we spent 2 days in SeaSide at Oregon Coast, with sandcastles building and beach walks.

Entrance Fee

Oregons State Parks fee: 3$ per day or 30$ for a year. There in not a fee in all state park.

National Park Entrance fee: Seven day entrance passes cost $35 per car and $20 per hiker. If you plan on visiting multiple USA national parks, it’s best to get an America the Beautiful Pass.

Tours with stops in Oregon:

Oregon Coast – Sunsets – Lighthouses
22-days road trip from Seattle to San Francisco

More USA tours

Aloha Oahu – Summer fun
Utah RV Road Trip
Greetings from North Pole – 7-day Alaska Road Trip

My Maps Oregon 7 Wonders

How to get the most out of the interactive map:

Option 1: Click on the rectangle at the top right and save the complete map with the highlights & tips in Google Maps. With a click on the star the map is saved as a favourite.
Option 2: Click on individual sights, then a drop-down menu opens on the left. You can use this to “open in Google Maps” the sight and save it there as a favorite.

USA Road Trips

Oregon Coast – Sunsets – Lighthouses
Aloha Oahu – Summer fun
Utah RV Road Trip
Greetings from North Pole – 7-day Alaska Road Trip