Travel Guide: What to Do in the Willamette Valley
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Where we stayed - AtTheJoy
Voodoo Donuts
Wine Tasting at Elizabeth Chambers
Left Coast Cellars
Food pairing at the Left Coast Cellars Cafe
Exploring Silver Falls
Lunch at Gather in Silverton
Making pizzas at AtTheJoy
Dinner at The Joel Palmer House
Sights at Cannon Beach
Back at AtTheJoy
More wine tasting at Domaine Serene, near Dundee
Aerie Real Soft Graphic Tee | Aerie Boxer | Ugg Scuffette II Slippers | White Porcelain Mug | White Porcelain Tub
I can't believe our trip to Oregon was only a MONTH ago! It feels like just yesterday we were arriving at PDX. If you're new to my Oregon series, this is actually my second to last blog post (I think...may or may not be trying to work up a BA video!), but you can catch up on all my other posts about/shot in Oregon!
Where to Wine Taste in the Willamette Valley
Where to Stay in the Willamette Valley
Is Cannon Beach Worth the Drive
Tips for Washing your Hair the Least Amount Possible
Instagram Round-Up and Weekend Sales
Okay so anyway, what the heck did we do?! Oregon is so big and there's a lot to cover, so you just need to go ahead and get it in your head that you're not going to be able to do everythinggggg. Multnomah Falls was that for me. It was something I was hoping to see, but just didn't happen this trip. I have no fears though, because I will definitely be back! Before I get into the details, I wanted to set the scene for our trip.
-We went specifically in August, because that is peak Pinot Noir season
-We flew into PDX, but stayed in Salem
-We rented a car, because we were doing a ton of stuff outside of the city and the overall renting cost is way less than trying to get an Uber everywhere
-We went with 6 other couples, so it was a GINORMOUS group
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Here's our itinerary from a high level:
Thursday: We arrived! We ate lunch in Portland, then headed to the Nike Employee Store to stock up on shoes and such. After that we drove straight to AtTheJoy (the house we stayed at), so I could get footage before the sunset. We then went out to eat at a place near Salem, as most of our friends had arrived and we wanted a stress free / non-cooking evening.
Friday: This day was dedicated to wine tasting. Nick and I could probably go all day, but we just did 3 to make sure the group actually enjoyed it;) We just went to three Oregon wineries - Momtazi, Left Coast Cellars, and Elizabeth Chambers. (click the hyperlink above to learn more about them! That night we came back and made personal pizzas and ate s'mores! It was the perfect night.
Saturday: HIKE DAY. (Said like HUMP DAY). We hiked Silver Falls and the sights were astounding. See more places to hike in Oregon here. We then stopped for lunch at Gather in Silverton. They used fresh ingredients and had veggie options. Then we went back to the house and swam/chilled/relaxed after a tiring morning! That night we got dressed up and went to The Joel Palmer House for dinner. This was the last night everyone was here together, so it was great for a send off. The restaurant was so pretty and the food was good! The specialize in mushrooms and truffles, but don't worry if you don't like them. They had other things you would like!
Sunday: Nick and I got up around 7:00 to leave at 7:30 to head to Cannon Beach. It was quite the drive, but so worth it! See all of our Oregon Coast pics here. We had lunch at the Wayfarer, then headed out to Dundee to try a couple other little wineries. For dinner, we just grilled out at our perfect little house and enjoyed our last night.
Monday: Last morning :( We got up and headed to the airport and traveled back to sleep in our bed and see our kitties!
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If you don't like to read my ramblings, here's everything in bullet form!
WHERE TO STAY
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WHERE TO EAT
Bamboo Sushi (Portland)
Olympia Provisions (Portland)
Pine Street Market (Portland)
Teardrop Lounge (Portland)
Salt and Straw (Portland)
Gather (Silverton)
The Joel Palmer House (Salem)
Wayfarer (Cannon Beach)
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WHAT TO DO
Silver Falls
Multnomah Falls
Cannon Beach
Wine Tasting in the Willamette Valley
Cascade Head
Opal Creek
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Besides Multnomah, the only other "regret" ("regret" because I had an amazing trip and nothing to be sorry about!), is that I didn't get to see much of Portland, specifically the food scene. Oregon has so much to offer, I could have easily spent two weeks there and probably still not have done everything I wanted to. I feel the same way with San Francisco. Have you been to Salem/The Willamette Valley? Did I leave off any of your favorite things? Let me know! Also leave me your recs for Portland, because I WILL BE BACK.
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