Going to be in Portland for a conference in late September. The wife is going to meet me at the end and we are going to stay a few more nights. Looking to get out of the city and maybe head to the Mount Hood area. Neither of us have ever been to the area and we are looking for suggestions on where to go, stay, eat ect... We like the outdoors and look to do some hiking and sight seeing. Any suggestion are greatly appreciated!

Stop at Multnomah falls also. It's cool spot not too far away. I don't where to stay out towards hood because it's always a day trip for me. But there are some great hikes. I'll see if I can find a couple names of trails.

Check out The Resort At The Mountain.
Have stayed there before, it's nice and clean, has Golf, nice restaurant, pool and hot tub.

http://www.theresort.com/

Hit

Timberline Lodge


Multnomah Falls


Cannon Beach




Enjoy your stay!


 

Thanks all! That gives us something to work with. I appreciate it.

Little Crater Lake is a good drive in the woods...from there you can go N,S,E,W and see the hills in and around Mt. Hood...(see avatar)

On the way to/from Multnomah Falls, there are several places to stop at on I-84 (Fish Hatchery/Sturgeon Center, Bonneville Dam, Vista House). I'll take guests to the falls then drive the Historic Columbia Hwy on the way back. If you make it out to Hood River, I recommend taking the Full Sail brewery tour. Mount Saint Helens is only a few hours away.

Timberline Lodge up on Mt. Hood is also worth the drive.

Depending on how the weather goes, I think the late-Sep through Oct is the best time to drive to the mountains from the valley.  The deciduous trees are turning orange and gold while the conifers are still a dark green  It makes for fairly nice scenery.  

There are also a ton of things to do up and down the coast.  Being Oregon we don't exactly see the ocean around here as a place to swim in like in warmer climes to the south, so the fact that it's not swimming season has little impact on the coast for us.  Depending on where you go there are tons of hole in the wall restaurants that serve amazing fresh seafood.