Oregon is a one of a kind state. It’s known for having some of the most beautiful outdoor seasons nature has to offer, but also has just about everything anyone would want to do when they go there to visit. The food scene in Portland, Oregon is very unique and within a couple hours you can be at the Oregon Coast enjoying the beach or enjoying the spring blooms at a famous tulip farm! Our four day Oregon Travel Itinerary will help you plan your next trip in the spring time!
I honestly never thought about traveling to Portland, Oregon until my friends ended up moving there. Little did I know that Oregon receives actual seasons unlike the weather in California which only consists of spring and summer.
Full disclosure: On this travel guide I will reference separate websites I used for my trip through different travel agencies. I have not been paid or sponsored to post this content. The content below is purely based off my experience during my time there and using the services.
Pre-Trip Essentials
Before you embark on a trip to Oregon you’ll want to make sure you are able to secure a car rental. Public transportation is very limited to downtown Portland so I would suggest renting a car especially since you’ll have the freedom to go to far and unique places that Oregon has to offer!
Car Rental: For this trip we rented a car from Enterprise Car Rental at the Portland International Airport (PDX)
**Note: If you’re from a different country renting a car you’ll need an International Driving Permit (IDP) from your home country. Each country has different processes in attaining a IDP, but if you have a local license from your country of residence and an IDP you’ll be able to easily rent a car in the states.
Housing: For this trip we opted to do an Airbnb in Beaverton, Oregon. The area basically has a bunch of Asian food options and other various cuisines. Beaverton is somewhat in the middle with regards to the different parts of Oregon we’d be driving to so it was the perfect choice!
Connectivity: If your phone supports e-SIM you can purchase from these two providers and load the sim card in your home country and turn them on once you get to Oregon if you’re flying from out of country
Currency: USD ($)
Types of Payment Options: Cash, Card
Most places in Oregon will take both options. People try not to carry too much cash nowadays in hand.
Apps: USA uses a wide variety of apps but below is a list of apps you might want to download just so you can maximize the road trip experience!
- Google Maps ( iOS / Android )
I would also suggest downloading “offline maps” for areas in Oregon where cell coverage is spotty. That way you can still use Google Maps without the need to connect to the internet.
Day 1: Early Morning 5am Sunrise to Catch Tulip Farm
One of the first things we did on Day 1 was grab sunrise tickets for the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm! Our group woke up super early around 4am and drove about 45 minutes from Beaverton to SilverTickets require reservations ahead of time based upon the day you want to attend. Keep in mind that tickets are usually very scarce during the weekends so it might be best to go on a weekday.
Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm
One of the first things we did on Day 1 was grab sunrise tickets for the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm! Tickets require reservations ahead of time based upon the day you want to attend. Keep in mind that tickets are usually very scarce during the weekends so it might be best to go on a weekday.
Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm
Address: 33814 S Meridian Rd. Woodburn, OR 97071
Google Maps
We bought:
- Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm 5am Sunrise Ticket $25 + $2.50 Convenience Fee = $27.50 per person
- Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm Sunrise Drone Pass $10 add on
We purchased one of the sunrise drone pass because I wanted to fly my drone in the fields and there’s a limited amount of tickets slotted for that day.
One of the things that was really nice about waking up early was the fact that we got to see all the hot air balloon rides depart from the fields. It’s not everyday that you get to see a hot air balloon is in person. We spent a good chunk of our morning here and by the time we were ready to leave it was almost time for lunch time. We opted to find a lunch spot that was on the way to the next location so that we wouldn’t waste much time.
Silver Falls State Park – South Falls
Immediately after the festivities in the morning we drove 45 minutes from the Tulip Farm to Silver Falls State Park. Silver Falls has been recommended to me the numerous times I’ve visited Oregon as a “must see”. I wasn’t too sure what the hype was about, but as I descended down the parking lot to the falls its very apparent why this place was so popular.
Getting to Silver Falls – South Falls
Address: Silver Falls State Park – South Falls Day Use Area, Silverton, OR 97381 | Google Maps
Parking Permit Fee: $5 for a Day Use
Also note that cell service is very spotty or minimal so it’s a good idea to just download the Google Offline Maps of the area before you head out.
Once we arrived we proceeded to pay for parking. The parking fees are used to help maintain the park so that future generations may enjoy it. The fee wasn’t too expensive.
Once you start walking towards the trail you’ll hike downwards towards the waterfall. You might not see it at first, but since you’re starting from the top you get some amazing views of the bottom! Here you can see quite a few people out and about hiking the trail below us! We were even so lucky to spot a small rainbow due to all the mist being released from the waterfall.
Be careful as you descend down towards the waterfall area because the ground will be muddy and slippery. There’s guardrails to prevent people from sliding down the cliff. I honestly should have brought a rain coat for this but since this was my first time I had no idea it would be so mossy and slippery.
One of the most unique things about this short hike was that you got to actually go below the waterfall! Which makes for some really cool photos. Behind the waterfall is damp and mossy kind of like a cave. This area in particular is very wet so I would be careful trying to pull out a nice camera to take photos or videos if you don’t mind it being a little wet.
Sellwood / Moreland – Portland Food Carts
After exploring around the park we drove back into Portland, Oregon. The car ride from Silver Falls – South Falls to Portland, Oregon was roughly a 1 hr 15 minute car ride (traffic dependent). I made the suggestion having been to many smaller cities near Portland to head over to Sellwood, Oregon. The city of Sellwood has a distinct antique vibe similar to the old days of how homes were in America. You can pretty much spend a good chunk of time walking around the many small stores and restaurants on that same street. If you come during cherry blossom season the trees look magnificent during the spring time!
Sellwood – Moreland
Address: 7953 SE 13th Ave, Portland, OR 97202
Google Maps
What’s unique is the food cart scene in Oregon. You’ll find a ton of food truck trailers and areas where food trucks will park and people can walk up and order a wide variety of foods! They’re all over the Portland, Oregon area so it’s not uncommon to find one in street corners every now and then!
From ice cream to Chinese or Japanese food it’s a really unique take on the food halls without actually having a physical building! My sister wanted some dessert so we went to this ice cream truck near all the stores in the area.
Hurry Back Ice Cream
Address: 7875 Southeast 13th Avenue Southeast 13th and, SE Lexington St, Portland, OR 97202
Google Maps
We technically did a lot in a day. A lot of walking and a lot of driving. So we ended up calling it a night and headed back to the Airbnb so we could prepare to take on the beautiful Oregon Coast in the early morning tomorrow.
Day 2: Exploring East Oregon
On Day 2 we decided to venture out into the Oregon Coast! I was told it was beautiful so we drove to Haystack Rock located at Cannon Beach. Everything done on Day 2 were a one day trip out of Portland and it was surprisingly easy to pull of a day trip to do so many things in one day! Below was the itinerary and list of things we did! The drive towards Cannon Beach / Haystack Rock from where we were staying in Beaverton, OR was around 1hr 20 minutes (if there’s no traffic). This makes a day trip out totally possible!
Haystack Rock / Cannon Beach
Probably the biggest thing on my list was visiting the giant rock formation known as Haystack Rock which is situated at Canon Beach, Oregon! The rock formation looks small on the picture but up close in person it was way bigger than expected!
Haystack Rock – Cannon Beach Oregon
Address: US-101, Cannon Beach, OR 97110
Parking: We parked on the streets further from the rock on a weekend. The cross streets we parked at was Pacific Dr and W Gower Ave. If you can’t find street parking close to the rock you’ll have to park a little into downtown and walk over like we did. There’s plenty of parking there. Make sure to read the parking restrictions in the area if you see any.
Google Maps
Coming from California and living close to the beaches the Oregon beaches has a completely different vibe! Even during the day there’s a mist of fog that engulfs the Oregon Coast! We don’t really get to see that much in California because its immediately gone by mid afternoon.
We were very lucky to come on a day when it wasn’t raining. Even the locals told us that we were really lucky to catch Oregon sunny weather. This is true. The other times I’ve been to Oregon it was always raining non-stop. This sunny beach weather was perfect for picnics.
My family enjoyed the scenery and seeing all the wildlife living in the tide pools! Definitely worth the visit. Afterwards, since it was so hot we decided to head over to Tillamook Creamery to indulge in some ice cream!
Tillamook Creamery
From Haystack Rock / Cannon Beach to Tillamook Creamery, it was approximately a 35 minute scenic drive through the Oregon coast. You pass by a bunch of small towns by the side of the pacific ocean which I would suggest you take a visit! Unfortunately we weren’t too sure how long we would spend at Tillamook Creamery so we opted to just head straight there. Tillamook Creamery is a must visit if you love anything cheese related! You get to even see how they package the cheese in their factory. If you’ve been to grocery stores in California most of the big chains carry Tillamook ice creams and cheeses!
Tillamook Creamery
Address: 4165 N Hwy 101, Tillamook, OR 97141
Google Maps
The really cool thing about Tillamook is that their museum detailing their company’s history is very interactive! Normally when you think of museums you just see pictures and a wall of text talking about the museum. This was certainly not the case here! Upon arrival at the entrance I saw a picture booth with a tillamook branded van that you can take pictures of!
As we talked around the museum I learned so much about how Tillamook takes care of their cows and the maintenance needed to make their famous cheese. My sister picked up a milk bottle to feed the cow. The cow even makes sounds! There’s even a game to see how fast you can milk a cow.
I’ve never seen cheese made and packaged before so I ventured upstairs. Peering through the windows, you can see Tillamook’s process. It makes me appreciate the cheese making process from start to finish.
Best part about Tillamook Creamery was definitely the infinite amounts of free cheese samples you can take! There were some other flavors I had never seen before but those were all taken. So I ended up taking the two most popular Tillamook cheese flavors! After a good lunch we decided to drive back to Beaverton in order to beat the traffic going back home.
Back to Beaverton – BG’s Food Cartel
Naturally since my sister is a foodie she wanted to try a major food truck hall. There was one close to our airbnb called BG’s Food Cartel! They had a wide variety of food. I only tried a couple but if you’re looking for dinner plans somewhere in the Portland or Beaverton Area this is a good spot to go! Parking wasn’t too bad. We were quite hungry from our day trip to the Oregon Coast.
BG’s Food Cartel
Address: 4250 SW Rose Biggi Ave, Beaverton, OR 97005 | Google Maps
Parking: Street Parking or Nearby Lots (check signage)
Day 3: Alpacas of Oregon and Lake Oswego
Day 3 was jam packed up until our flight that left at 4pm PST back to California. My sister wanted to do a Alpaca Farm tour so she booked the tickets for us ahead of time before our trip! The drive to Alpaca’s of Oregon from Beaverton, Oregon was around 30 minutes. The drive was scenic too the closer we got to the farm.
Alpaca’s of Oregon (Reservations Required)
Alpaca’s of Oregon has been on my sister’s bucketlist of things to do in Oregon for a while. The farm offers an opportunity to meet several Alpaca animals as well as getting to get up close and feed them!
Alpaca’s of Oregon
Address: 21345 SW Aebischer Rd, Sherwood, OR 97140
Price: $15/person (Reservations Required)
Google Maps | Website
Please note that you are required to have reservations ahead of time. You can head over to the website and select the available days and how many people are in your party. The cost will be around $15/person and gives you access to feeding the Alpaca’s, tour of the farm, and the general store (with alpaca themed merchandise on sale). As a Californian who’s never really seen animals I was very ecstatic to see all the Alpaca’s roaming around the land.
We even got the meet the dog that works at the farm! The dog’s main job is to herd the Alpaca’s. The dog was incredibly sweet and loves to play! It was such a joy to hang out with the dog!
When it comes time to feeding the owner will give you a bucket of feed and give you specific instructions on how to feed them properly and safely. Make sure to follow the instructions or you could startle the Alpaca’s and you could end up getting injured. Overall, this was such a fun experience. Something that I normally wouldn’t get to do in California!
Lake View Village – Lake Oswego
By the time we had finished the Alpaca farm it was roughly around 2pm and our flight at the airport leaves at 5pm PST. So I ended up taking my family over to Lake View Village in the city of Lake Oswego. Lake Oswego reminds me of Big Bear Lake! The homes look like mountain cabins and the vibe is different than downtown Portland.
LakeView Village – Lake Oswego
Address: 390 N State St #310, Lake Oswego, OR 97034 | Google Maps
Parking: Free | Map to Parking
Within LakeView Village there’s a ton of bakeries, ice cream stores, and restaurants. Some of the restaurants even had a nice lake view! They’re all within walking distance and its kind of cool that you can go from the top of the village and stroll down to where the lakeside restaurants are.
If you’re coming to Portland area in the Spring then you’ll catch some blossoming trees like we did! We just made it before the end of the season. You can definitely see it all over LakeView Village.
We stopped by a bakery and cafe called St. Honore in Lake Oswego! It’s right inside the Lake View Village center and we ordered a quiche. It came with salad and it was totally delicious!
St. Honoré Bakery Lake Oswego
315 1st St #103, Lake Oswego, OR 97034 | Google Maps
Parking: Free | Map to Parking
We then drove to the airport to catch our flight. But before we left there was just a couple things I needed to remember to do!
Stumptown Coffee + Portland International Airport Carpet
Before my flight left I had to get a cup of coffee from one of Portland’s most famous roasters called Stumptown Coffee. “If you never had Stumptown Coffee were you ever really in Oregon?” – what my friends would say if I came back from the trip not getting a cup of coffee. I got the cold brew and it was smooth! It’s right at the entrance after you pass TSA checkpoints for your flight!
Apparently my friend Armand was telling me that Portland International Airport’s carpet is a must see before you leave. And I’m not going to lie, when I first landed and saw the carpet I thought it was pretty unique. Little did I know that people took selfies with the carpet and it’s a quite known thing in Portland, Oregon.
Got both and can officially say I did all the Portland / Oregon things without any regrets now!
Fly Home
Goodbye Portland, Oregon! It’s always a fun time. Can’t wait to be back next time!
