We're trying to think of where to go for Spring Break 2024 (from Austin). Is there anything fun to do with 2 kids (8 and 10) somewhere in Oregon or Washington?

What's your jam? I live in Oregon and there's plenty to do in March.

The Coast:

• March is the start of whale season
• Tide pools will be back
• Dungeness crab will be in season; lots of u-shuck oyster places
• All our old growth is on the coast ( https://www.lucascometto.com/cascadia-oregon )
• Beautiful places like Cannon Beach / Haystrock Rock, Ecola, Shortsand beach, go-on and on
• Tillamook Cheese and Creamery
• Coast is right next to Oregon wine country (McMinnville, Dundee, Dayton, Yamhill, Carlton) if that's your thing

The Mountains:

• March is still winter, you could ski Mt. Hood, stay at Timberline, head to Bend / Bachelor
• Lot's of snowshoeing to waterfalls, Tumalo Falls in Bend or Tamanawas Falls on Hood

The Valley / Gorge:

• Silver Falls State and the Trail of Ten Waterfalls is a amazing any time of the year
• Cherry Blossoms in Portland start in March
• Tulip festival starts in March ( https://www.mthoodterritory.com/articles/tulip-festival-signals-spring )
• Hood River is fun any time of the year with lots of hiking, wind surfing, Hood River Fruit Loop, beer for mom & dad - it's right next to Mt. Hood on the Columbia.

Bend:

• My favorite place in Oregon. Sunriver is a mountain resort that's stupid popular with families and for good reason. Hiking, skiing, raft the Deschutes, surf the whitewater park, tons of golfing if that's your thing, MTB capital of Oregon, the town itself has ton's of fun stuff (and lots of beer); stuff like the Tomalitch Blue Pool ( https://www.theevolista.com/tamolitch-blue-pool-hike/ ) will actually blow your mind.

I live in the Bellingham, WA area. One thing to mention, March is still the sucky time of year here. It will be cool (~40F), overcast, and drizzly everyday. Not saying you shouldn't come, just be prepared for that. We are extremely outdoorsy people, but Feb and Mar are our least active months of the year.

Still plenty to do. Like mentioned above, it'll still be winter in the mountains. Plenty of snow to ski and snowshoe if that's your jam. It's a tad early for tulips here (bloom later than OR), but daffodils will be starting.

AggieinWA said:

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I live in the Bellingham, WA area.

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Jelly. Galbraith is my favorite place to MTB. Baker is my favorite side country to ski. North Cascade is my favorite Natty park. SR20 is my favorite pass to ride when it's bike only. The access is unreal from Belli.

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One thing to mention, March is still the sucky time of year here. It will be cool (~40F), overcast, and drizzly everyday.

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That's why I threw Bend out. You could lump Leavenworth in there. More sun than grey in March east of the Cascades. There's plenty enough to-do at each that make it worthy a destination from TX.

Yeah, we moved up here from Louisiana about 8 years ago now….I don't see us ever leaving. I'm like 15 min drive from Galbraith, so I can run world class trails whenever I want. We've spent weeks getting lost in North Cascade NP, Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Olympic NP, and Ranier NP (you should explore Alpine Lakes if you haven't…probably my favorite spot right now. Necklace Valley to Tank Lakes or Jade Lake up to Pea Soup Lake under Mt Daniel; both are amazing trips).

Plus, the coast is amazing as well. Tide pools, diversity of birds, seals/whales/otters….I don't know if another location that offers so much.

If only people up here weren't so weird.

You're down in OR I'm assuming? We've made a ton of trips down that way, I absolutely love the coast. From Tillamook down to the border, I love all the different spots that have their own unique feel. I need to spend some more time exploring the central Cascades down there….and I haven't even been to the gorge yet! So much to do and explore in this corner of the world.

We're in Portland! But I office out of Seattle and have to come up once a month or so. When I do, we typically make a weekend out of it.

I'm yet to pull an Enchantments permit. But we have a lot of foot time around Snow Lake; and I have even more ski skin time all around Alpental valley! We also love, love, love Lake 22 in Baker Nat and Colchuck when the larches are firing.

You are right about the vastness of this corner of the world. We've done so much, but so much left to do and so much we want to do again. I do make it to your neck of the woods every year, without fail, to ride SR20 before it opens to cars and Port A > Hurricane Ridge > Obstruction Point the first Sunday in August (annually closed to cars and bike only that day). It's so dumb, but seriously, it's peak Earth. There's nothing better for me. I just need more time to sneak up on Baker to ski. Hence, I'm picking up a Sprinter next week .

All OR beaches are public which is very cool. Wife loves the Gorge as her main hobbies are waterfall hikes and wine. Hood River is very dope (Post Canyon if you're into MTB; river front is great for kids + Pfriem / Ferment have to-go windows, I.e. kids play / water play while you sip a beer!). Across the river, Gifford has a lot to offer and Adam's is probably the most remote I've been in WA. Again, I love Bend. It's similar access to what you have. Bach is 20 min. Cascade Lakes Highway. Great backcountry skiing access on any of the Sisters, Broken Top, Jefferson Wilderness. Phil's MTB is connected into the town. Awesome beer, the town is clean and modern, Deschutes is beautiful, Smith Rock, Sisters, Tumalo Falls. And everything, in all directions, is Deschutes Nat - your land, enjoy all of it and disperse camp baby! And you can go from high desert to PNW dank in 45 minutes up the Santiam to Willamette Nat, which is just wild!