Mountain Lodges. Have you ever stayed at one of the beautiful old Northwest Mt Lodges? The style is best described as rustic elegance. They were all built in the 1910s and 20s. Paradise Inn on the southerly meadows of Mt Rainier is closed for remodeling for the next two years. Timberline lodge is located on the south side of Mt Hood in the northern Oregon Cascades. It’s a more modern lodge decorated with a blend of local building materials and Native American style. Crater Lake lodge is located on the rim of an ancient collapsed volcano, about 80 miles northeast of Medford Oregon. The lodge was totally remodeled several years ago and offers the best combination of spectacular location and comfortable lodging. Get a room on the north side facing the lake. A bright summer moon over the dark lake is mystical. Lake Quinault Lodge is the smallest, quietest and the most rustic. A nice place for a private retreat weekend. It’s located in a natural setting on the south shore of lovely Lake Quinault, near the Washington coastline. You generally have to make reservations six months to a year in advance for all of the lodges.

Secret Beach. The prettiest little ocean beach between Mexico and Canada is located on the southern Oregon coast between Brookings and Gold Beach, where the rugged Siskiyou Mts bend down to the Pacific Ocean. The locals call it Secret Beach. It sits in a remote section of Boardman State Park where US Highway 101 clings to the hillside about 300 feet above the sea. There is no parking area and the coastal trail system in this area is still primitive. Visitors park in a small turnoff and follow an over grown cat track down a steep grade to the beach. I’ve forgotten exactly where. We never saw anyone else on the beach when we were there. Dozens of small wooded off shore islands called sea stacks are populated with birds and other wildlife. An occasional pair of sea kayakers weave their way through the calmer water between the sheltered inlets, rocky peninsulas and offshore sea stacks.

Rent a vacation home for a week in Gold Beach or Pistol River that faces west over the ocean. Or just hang out at the Wildwood Hermitage where you can meditate with the resident Himit and browse his library of 3,000 books on men’s issues. If your tired of the beach you can head eastward up into the Siskiyous on one of the hiking trails. You may run into one of the northern-most groves of the giant Redwood Trees. The 101 mile stretch from Klamath California to Port Orford Oregon is known as the Wild Rivers Coast. This area is 500 miles from the big population centers around San Francisco and Seattle; so you will find some solitude.

Yamhill Valley. Did you enjoy the quiet beauty of the Napa Valley in the 50s & 60s, where you could drive narrow gravel roads back into the hills to visit tiny wineries with only one car in the parking lot. You CAN go back in time. And you only have to travel just south of Portland to do it. The Yamhill Valley is located between the Coast Range, the Willamette River, and the Chehalm Hills. It runs from Amity in the SW to Newberg in the NE. Global warming is bringing the Napa Valley of the 50s to northern Oregon. There are no hourly wine trains from the City, go cart tracks, giant amusement parks, or parking garages. Just some spectacular views over acres of grape vines flowing effortlessly along gentle ridges.

Visit Erath Vineyards above Dundee and look southward down the entire valley, or the remote Elk Cove Vineyards near Gaston and see the Coast range beyond their private ridge top. Bring a designated driver and taste some world class wines. Buy a case or two from the Bergström Winery west of Newburg. You can stay at one of the many hotels or bed and breakfast Inns which dot the valley. Before you head out for the day stop at one of the local healthy delis and buy a picnic lunch. If your sweet tooth calls stop at the Brigittine Monastery near Amity and buy one of the 8 kinds of holy fudge made with loving care by the monks.

The Naches Peak Loop Trail. If you have guests from out of town and only one day to show them “the mountain” lead them on the best short hike in the Pacific NW; the Naches Peak Loop Trail. Some maps and guidebooks say its 4 miles around. Others go up to 6. Show your visitors the 4 mile map at the beginning and give them a copy of the 6 mile map at the end for “bragging rights”. The trail circumnavigates 7,000 ft Naches Peak, located just south of the Chinook Pass highway summit southeast of Mount Rainier. Bring your camera, a picnic lunch, and some water. The best time to hike this trail is mid week from late July to early Sept. It’s a Freeway on weekends.

It’s best to take the trail clockwise, starting at the wooden bridge that goes over the highway at the top of the pass. You gain about 550 feet as you wind around little lakes through meadows filled with growing wildflowers. For the first half of the trip your heading south along the east side of the Peak. The dryer pine and fir forests of the eastern slope stretch out below as you ascend the trail. At the half way point the trail turns sharply and comes back heading north and west. Suddenly Mt Rainier appears like a giant ice cream cone right in front of your face. Every turn and dip brings a slightly different view of the mountain. Several trip albums are posted on the web.

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