Spring Break is just around the corner. This is an exciting time for many young party goers, road trippers, and those suffering from the travel bug.
Road tripping is a great way to get out and explore the country, especially if you're unable to fly to certain destinations like Mexico. There's nothing better than hitting the open road with a group of friends.
In this week's blog, we focus on the west coast for road trip adventures, as there's a lot less snow here.
Columbia River Highway
This is a beautiful scenic drive along the Columbia River, perfect for a road trip. There is said to be more than 90 waterfalls to explore along the Columbia River Highway.
If you follow the Columbia River Highway 40 minutes from Portland, you'll come across the Columbia River Gorge. This is a great scenic drive through a beautiful forest that leads to several waterfalls, the Multnomah Falls being the most popular of them all. If you go a little further down the road, you`ll find an old railway tunnel and the popular Oneonta Gorge.
During the summer, the Oneonta Gorge is a popular spot for those looking to cool off in the water. This is a hiking trail that leads to a stunning waterfall, but you hike through the creek bed that eventually turns into a deep swimming pool, before reaching the waterfall.
Road trip tip: be warned, this is a very busy place during the weekend. The first time we came here, there was a huge lineup down the narrow roadway into the falls parking lot. It was so busy, traffic was at a standstill, and so we left and came back on a weekday.
Venture up to Chanticleer Point along the Columbia River Highway for a panorama view of the Columbia River below.
Oregon Coast
Another beautiful scenic drive along the coast. Start off your road trip in Astoria, Oregon. Here you'll find an old shipwreck from the early 1900s. The ship is still perched on the beach where it crashed over 100 years ago, and is slowly deteriorating away, but still fun to see.
Follow the Oregon Coast down to Cannon Beach. This is a beautiful beach and a cute little surf town surrounding the beach. A great place to rent a cottage for your spring break.
From here, there are a few must-see points along the way. Start at the Three Capes Scenic Loop. This is where you`ll get the best scenic viewpoints along the Oregon Coast. The first cape, Cape Meares, is a great place to spot gray whales. The second cape you`ll come across is Cape Lookout. You`ll have to venture through a forest trail to get to the end of the cape. The third cape, Cape Kiwanda, is where you`ll find the giant sand dunes and the iconic Haystack Rock.
Road trip tip: We generally like to travel through Lincoln City and Newport during the night when traffic is less busy.
Vancouver to Whistler - Sea to Sky Highway
Another stunning scenic highway, perfect for a spring break road trip. We hardly ever get snow in Vancouver, but the Whistler mountain tops often have a nice snowpack around spring break.
Spend a few days exploring Vancouver before heading up to Whistler. Don`t miss venturing along the Vancouver seawall, stunning views of the surrounding mountains and city center.
The drive up to Whistler is only two hours from Vancouver; make sure to stop at the scenic viewpoints along the way. Once up in Whistler, there`s so much to see and explore. Ride the peak-to-peak gondola to the top of the mountain for an afternoon adventure in the snow.
Travel option: if you can`t make it up to Whistler, just 40 minutes from Vancouver is the town of Squamish. They`ve just recently opened up the Sea to Sky Gondola that offers amazing views of the BC coastline.
Pacific Coast Highway
This is one of the most popular west coast road trip routes, as it hugs along California's coastline, offering spectacular beach and ocean scenery. The road trip route starts in Monterey, California, and travels down along the coastline to Dana Point (but we recommend following it to the I5 and continuing down to San Diego). The views along this highway are stunning, especially along Big Sur.
Road trip tip: Watch your driving along this highway, as there are sharp corners and a sheer drop off on many parts of this roadway. You'll be driving through some mountain ranges that hug along the ocean, so stay alert while driving.
Are you heading out on a road trip this spring break?
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