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Pacific Northwest

A weekend instead of a day. Four regions worth the drive, each with landscapes Washington cannot give you.

Browse the regions Start planning

Anything on this page is planned as a Signature Adventure. Travel days get built into the timeline and the investment, and we will always tell you honestly whether the drive earns itself.

Four hours south

The Oregon coast

Cannon Beach, Ecola, Oswald West, Samuel H. Boardman and the sea-stack coves below Brookings. Longer beaches than Washington, better light at the end of the day, and far more places you can legally stand with thirty people.

  • Getting there3.5 to 7 hours from Seattle; a two-night trip minimum
  • Best monthsMay to October; the storms of January are their own kind of beautiful
  • GuestsTwo to 40 depending on the beach
  • PermitsOregon State Parks special-use permit for groups and any setup
Couple kissing on a wide beach
Couple standing in front of a tall waterfall

Three hours south

The Columbia Gorge

Waterfalls that fall eight hundred feet, basalt cliffs, wind, and a road built in 1915 that was designed to be beautiful. Latourell, Wahclella, Bridal Veil and the viewpoints above Hood River. It is the single easiest place in the region to get an extraordinary photograph within ten minutes of a car park.

  • Getting there3 hours from Seattle; doable in a long day, better as two
  • Best monthsApril to June for full water, October for colour
  • GuestsTwo to 20; the popular falls get crowded by 10am
  • PermitsForest Service or Oregon State Parks depending on the site

Six hours south-east

Central Oregon and the high desert

Smith Rock, the Painted Hills, Bend’s volcanic lakes, Alvord Desert and the junipers of the Ochocos. Dry, warm, orange and almost never rained out — which makes it the reliable answer for couples who do not want to gamble on Northwest weather.

  • Getting there6 to 9 hours, or fly into Redmond and drive an hour
  • Best monthsApril to June and September to October; July heat is serious
  • GuestsTwo to 30
  • PermitsBLM or state park permit; the Alvord requires real preparation
Couple in warm golden-hour light in open country
Couple in a misty forest

North of the border

British Columbia and the Idaho panhandle

Squamish and the Sea to Sky, Joffre Lakes, Whistler in the shoulder season, the Okanagan in September, and the quiet chain of lakes around Sandpoint and Coeur d’Alene. Big water, big granite, and far fewer people than the equivalent view in Washington.

  • Getting there2.5 hours to Vancouver, 5 to Sandpoint; passports for BC
  • Best monthsJuly to September in the mountains, September in the Okanagan
  • GuestsTwo to 25
  • PermitsBC Parks or provincial permits; cross-border paperwork handled in advance

Worth saying out loud

Travel changes three things.

  1. Guest list

    Every hour of driving thins the list. That is usually a feature, but decide it on purpose rather than by accident.

  2. Timeline

    A two-day trip means two chances at good light and a real plan B. A single day means everything hangs on one forecast.

  3. Investment

    Travel and lodging for Tess are quoted up front as a flat line, never as a surprise on the final invoice.

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