Portland OR / Mt Hood advice needed

[SquarePeg]

I’m going to be in the Portland OR area late May for a photo tour. The itinerary is to visit coastal Oregon and the Redwoods for 5 days.

I'm planning to add a couple of days on at the end for solo exploring. I want to visit Mt Hood area one of the days. Looking for suggestions for a day trip from either Eugene or Portland that will get me some nice views with Mt Hood in the background. Foreground wildflowers would be ideal but not sure if the timing will be good for that. The main thing is that because I’ll be solo, and probably tired from a week of sunrises, I’m not wanting to do any hiking. Has to be a scenic drive with places to stop and shoot along the way and maybe someplace quaint to stop for lunch.

What are the other “must see” landscape or cityscape shooting spots in Portland area? I’m not interested in any street shooting.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions and advice!

 

[RAZKY]

I’m going to be in the Portland OR area late May for a photo tour. The itinerary is to visit coastal Oregon and the Redwoods for 5 days.

I'm planning to add a couple of days on at the end for solo exploring. I want to visit Mt Hood area one of the days. Looking for suggestions for a day trip from either Eugene or Portland that will get me some nice views with Mt Hood in the background. Foreground wildflowers would be ideal but not sure if the timing will be good for that. The main thing is that because I’ll be solo, and probably tired from a week of sunrises, I’m not wanting to do any hiking. Has to be a scenic drive with places to stop and shoot along the way and maybe someplace quaint to stop for lunch.

What are the other “must see” landscape or cityscape shooting spots in Portland area? I’m not interested in any street shooting.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions and advice!

A lot for you to copy here:

portland or - MT hood photo ops - Google Search

 

[Rickbb]

I’d skip Hood and make a day trip up to St. Helens.

 

[SquarePeg]

A lot for you to copy here:

portland or - MT hood photo ops - Google Search

I was hoping for personal recommendations from locals. I can google.

 

[SquarePeg]

I’d skip Hood and make a day trip up to St. Helens.

Are there easy photo ops of St Helen’s that you can recommend? Why St Helen’s over Mt Hood?

 

[RAZKY]

I was hoping for personal recommendations from locals. I can google.

Okay. You didn't say it mattered who you copied.

 

[Rickbb]

Are there easy photo ops of St Helen’s that you can recommend? Why St Helen’s over Mt Hood?

Hood is fine, just hard to get a shot that does not have Portland in it or a shopping center, etc. You'd have to go around to the east side quite a bit to find a shot with no buildings in it. At least from the parts of Portland I've been in. Having said that some people like city views with the mountain in the background. Early morning with the sun rise might be a good shot since Portland is on the west side of Hood.

St. Helens is wide open; you can see 10 miles in 200-degree directions from the parking lot at the visitor center. The entire center of the crater with the new lava dome is right in front of you, (8 miles away mind you), but facing you front on. The mountain is so big it seems like it's right there, but not. You can hike some easy trails on the ash fall with wildflowers coming back. Or if you want a challenge, you can hike the 8 miles, (one way), to the limit of where the forest service will let you go. A nice waterfall coming off the snowpack in the ash zone. I did that once, it was a loooonnggg day. lol But honestly it was very surreal hike, walking on volcanic ash, no trees, miles in every direction. I'd do it again, but you need to get there at sunrise to have enough time to make a 16-mile round trip in a day.

All depends on the weather though; May might be quite rainy and overcast. But if there are some big puffy clouds it makes the shots better.

Someone from there may have better shot ideas of Hood, but I'm way more impressed with St. Helens.

You also said you might go to Eugene, a great day trip from there is go due west on a 2-lane state highway and pick up the coast highway, turn north back to Portland. Stunning ocean views, some places are 2 or 3 hundred feet above the water and it's still right on the road. Some really neat beach towns with shops, cafes etc. There is a tourist trap called the sea lion cave, a must see at least once. You go in a sea cave and overlook the cavern that's at least 100 feet down to the ocean in the cave, sea lions hanging out on the rocks in the cave, waves coming in the ocean entrance, neat.

That part of the OR coast looks exactly like the Great Ocean Road out of Melbourne AUS. Just beautiful.

Another day trip is an hour or so south from Portland to Silver Falls State Park, 10 waterfalls over 100 feet each, really nice hiking, some quite easy and the trails to a few go behind the falls.

And of course, you have to go up the Colombia River gorge to view the most photographed waterfall in all of OR. Multnomah Falls.

Someone from there may have better shot ideas of Hood, but I'm way more impressed with St. Helens.

 

[SquarePeg]

Hood is fine, just hard to get a shot that does not have Portland in it or a shopping center, etc. You'd have to go around to the east side quite a bit to find a shot with no buildings in it. At least from the parts of Portland I've been in. Having said that some people like city views with the mountain in the background. Early morning with the sun rise might be a good shot since Portland is on the west side of Hood.

St. Helens is wide open; you can see 10 miles in 200-degree directions from the parking lot at the visitor center. The entire center of the crater with the new lava dome is right in front of you, (8 miles away mind you), but facing you front on. The mountain is so big it seems like it's right there, but not. You can hike some easy trails on the ash fall with wildflowers coming back. Or if you want a challenge, you can hike the 8 miles, (one way), to the limit of where the forest service will let you go. A nice waterfall coming off the snowpack in the ash zone. I did that once, it was a loooonnggg day. lol But honestly it was very surreal hike, walking on volcanic ash, no trees, miles in every direction. I'd do it again, but you need to get there at sunrise to have enough time to make a 16-mile round trip in a day.

All depends on the weather though; May might be quite rainy and overcast. But if there are some big puffy clouds it makes the shots better.

Someone from there may have better shot ideas of Hood, but I'm way more impressed with St. Helens.

You also said you might go to Eugene, a great day trip from there is go due west on a 2-lane state highway and pick up the coast highway, turn north back to Portland. Stunning ocean views, some places are 2 or 3 hundred feet above the water and it's still right on the road. Some really neat beach towns with shops, cafes etc. There is a tourist trap called the sea lion cave, a must see at least once. You go in a sea cave and overlook the cavern that's at least 100 feet down to the ocean in the cave, sea lions hanging out on the rocks in the cave, waves coming in the ocean entrance, neat.

That part of the OR coast looks exactly like the Great Ocean Road out of Melbourne AUS. Just beautiful.

Another day trip is an hour or so south from Portland to Silver Falls State Park, 10 waterfalls over 100 feet each, really nice hiking, some quite easy and the trails to a few go behind the falls.

And of course, you have to go up the Colombia River gorge to view the most photographed waterfall in all of OR. Multnomah Falls.

Someone from there may have better shot ideas of Hood, but I'm way more impressed with St. Helens.

Great info thanks! The photo tour is based out of Eugene so I’ll spend some time there but flying in/out of Portland so I can get non stop flights from Boston. Someone recommended the “fruit loop” around Hood and Hood River City which I’m researching. Any thoughts on that?

St Helen’s sounds amazing. I’ll have to see if I can get there. Would love to have time and companions to hike but I’ll most likely be solo on this part of the trip and I won’t hike alone in unfamiliar territory. 16 miles is way too much for me in any conditions, regardless! If my nephew ends up joining me (he’s in Salem) then we may do a short hike somewhere. Maybe to that Silver Falls park. Thanks again!

 

[Rickbb]

Hiking the easy trails at St. Helens is right out of the parking lot at the visitor center. You can make it as long or shot as you want. Will be lots of folks around. When I traveled to Portland for work, I'd get an early start and be back in time for dinner no issue.

The drive to the falls is shorter and also as easy hiking to most of the falls. The main one is a short walk from the parking lot. Of course, Multnomah is almost in the city limits, not even a full day trip there.

I've not done the fruit loop, when I've gone to Portland it was for work and only had one day extra to travel. I've had to drive over it and around it to get to some of the job sites, but never really saw it from anywhere other than the city or some shopping center where the job was. But looking it up seems like some nice scenery from some of the orchards.

 

[Don Fischer]

Nice scenic route is stop at Multnomah Falls, on Interstate 84. I don't remember if it's before the falls or after but along US 30 is a Columbia Gorge viewing area. From there east on the interstate to US 30, I think it's called scenic route. Several nice falls along there. Back to the interstate and east to Hwy 35 south. Follow to Hwy 26. Fruit country along 35 quite a ways with orchards. At hwy 26 right takes you to Government Camp. Rest area there with good view of My Hood. Follow 26 west to Sandy. Number of good views back at Mt Hood from there. Several nice little restaurant's along there also. Wish I could remember names! From sandy continue to follow US 26 into Portland. Before you get to Portland you'll enter Gresham and about 181st ave right turn takes you back down to I84. West on 84 you'll go to I 205 North on 205 and follow signs to Portland Airport. That should about do a day for you. You can find all this in the Oregon Road and Rec map, a booklet I'd think you could find on line, it will have the entire state in it! Think it runs about $25.00. Lot of nice places to see in the cascades if you can stand getting that close to Portland. I live about 120 mi east of Portland and never go there if I can help it!