Hi all, A few friends and I are going on a quick trip to the PNW. We will be flying into Portland late July 5th and flying out of Seattle July 10th. Our tentative plan is as follows July 6: Portland We now realize after booking flights DeGarde is not open on Wednesday’s but open by appointment for to go bottles. We were thinking of making the drive to pick up bottles for the rest of our trip, see the coast, and maybe grab a draft pour or two in Tillamook. If you had one full day in Portland would you allocate a few hours for this? Will there be draft pours in Tillamook. Or just stick to Portland? What is your Portland must do’s? Beer. Food. General fun things to do and see. Wake up early July 7th: Driving from Portland to Mt. Rainer. Anyone have a strong preference as their must do’s trails/sights for a day and a half here? Thinking of doing a long trail or two the 7th. Wake up early and do a hike the 8th before heading out. We will be staying in Packwood Mid day July 8th: Driving to Mt. Rainer to Seattle. Again, any must do’s. Beer. Food. General great things to see. We will be leaving July 10th. Realize we are trying to pack a lot in a short period of time but we’re just trying to make the most of our time and would love everyone’s advice.
You can find some de Garde bottles in Portland and Tillamook isn't really a happening place for finding draft (unless you want to also visit Pelican, about two blocks away from de Garde), so unless de Garde is a bucket list kind of place for you I'd probably recommend hitting up a bottle shop and staying in Portland. Right now Belmont Station has three de Garde bottles in stock (and Arch Bridge, about 20 minutes from downtown Portland, has nine), but closer to July you can check that link and see what's there. If it were me and I only had one full day in Portland and wanted beer, I wouldn't drive all the way to de Garde - depending on traffic that could take a minimum four hours out of your day.
Stay in Portland, the amount of driving required to get out to Tillamook and back would only be worth it if you had a full day reserved for Portland. Since you don't, just stay in the city and hit up breweries there. https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/visiting-portland-2022.664171/ Any of the trails that are part of the Wonderland Trail are amazing. I really like the hike through Summerland but it's on the Sunrise/Yakima side of the park. There's a couple breweries in Packwood now, as well. Check out my Visiting Seattle thread for recommendations. https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/visiting-seattle-2022.664225/
When we were out at Mt. Rainer a few years ago - our favorite day hikes were Skyline Loop (out of Paradise), and Tolmie Peak Fire Lookout which overlooks the mountain from the NW side, beautiful lake below. Random picture from the internet from Tolmie Peak below (my pictures weren't as good due to the wildfire smoke that year):
The Paradise side gets crazy busy. I rolled through the gate around 7AM on a Saturday in May, and had no problem getting a parking spot. Even had some quiet hiking on the Skyline loop (beautiful). When I arrived back at my vehicle around 11AM, there were so many cars, that some had parked illegally. The trails were loud with people. Driving down and out of the park revealed all full lots (had initially thought I'd stop and do a lower elevation hike). The line to get into the park was around 4 mins of driving the opposite direction at 25 MPH. All that to say, if you do opt to go to Rainier, show up early. But I'm partial to doing odd hikes in Colorado, or going crazy early so it's quiet. Perhaps OP's preferences differ. I've also heard other parts of the park don't get quite as busy, but Paradise and the Skyline loop are very popular.
Yeah, that's pretty standard for WA hiking inside or outside the park. If you don't get to a trailhead before 9am you're SOL for parking.
Just wanted to point it out in case OP was planning on getting to the park later in the day. But it is gorgeous up there. Driving through the park gates early in the AM with a little fog is even magical with all the different levels of foliage at the lower elevations.
You are visiting the northwest the week of July 4. Expect very heavy traffic and hordes of visitors at all attractions. For example, just to get auto access to the Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway, you would need a reservation. You would encounter heavy traffic going to Tillamook, and will likely hit a packed I-5 on the trip north from Portland. Make sure your plans are realistic. Try to travel at less busy times. For example travel to Mt. Rainier in the evening and spend the night nearby before your day on the mountain. Maybe try some alternative, less popular, destinations.
My family has had a cabin near the Paradise entrance my entire life. Those early morning drives into the park are a thing of beauty.
I'll echo everybody else... stay in Portland. DeGarde bottles are available all over in Eugene, so PDX should be easy to find them. Arch Bridge tends to have a lot of them and it is a quick stop from PDX airport if you take 205 over. There is way too much good beer in Portland to waste time doing anything else.
Going to tag onto this thread. My wife and I are driving from SF Bay Area to Portland starting tomorrow and coming back on Monday. Our main reason is to visit Hair of the Dog one last time on Saturday before they close the tap room at the end of the month. Shockingly, it's going to be a beer trip. Friday Drive from SF Bay Area and arrive mid-afternoon in Ashland. Go to Caldera for beers (Rauch Ur Bock, Hemp Seed Brown Ale, and South Side Strong depending on availability) and dinner. Saturday Drive from Ashland to Hair of the Dog. Grab lunch and spend the afternoon/day enjoying one last visit. Grab dinner at Shalom Y'All and go to Belmont Station to grab some bottles to bring home. Sunday Morning is open. Drive to Eugene early afternoon. Hit Alesong on the 5th for a beer or two (been wanting to visit Alesong for many years) and walk over to Coldfire to finish the day and possibly get dinner at food trucks. Monday Head home with bottles from Hair of the Dog, Belmont Station, and Caldera..or more if Coldfire and Alesong hit the right spots.
Really enjoyed Alesong on the 5th. Friendly service, nice location/atmosphere, and excellent beer. Even thought briefly about getting a membership (they ship to CA). Dangerous location as there is a lot of nice shops nearby (we did are part in supporting the local economy). Will return in the future. We had a mixed experience with ColdFire. Atmosphere was fun (included a musician) and good crowd. Food truck was good, but only one was open and it took awhile to order and get the food. The disappointing part was the beer. While I enjoyed their Czech Pilsner, their Doppelbock was average at best. Few too many IPAs and limited selection otherwise.
Sorry to hear that. I's unfortunate that they didn't have more selection on draft. Stephen brews amazing beer. He would agree the selection is heavy on IPA and would like to have it otherwise. Unfortunately, with COVID lock downs, many brewers were forced to brew IPAs as it was the only style they could sell. Did they still have the Alt or the Hefe?
They did have them. I was going to try the Alt, but ended up going with the Doppelbock. Not a big Hefe fan so didn't try. I'm willing to try again, but wife wasn't too interested. Will see next time we are up to Eugene area.
Give enother try. He makes great beer. The Alt is delicious. Any of his hybrid or lagers are go to. His Wit is really good too. I probably could've told you to avoid the Dopple.
Darn, just got back from Eugene for my son's graduation from U of O and didn't think to hit up Coldfire (didn't know about them). I did check out the Alesong tasting room on 5th - really just stumbled across it and was really pleasantly surprised. I hadn't heard of them before since i don't think they make it down here to So Cal. Also checked out Oakshire and caught a bit of the fest at Ninkasi. Unfortunately, now that my son graduated, I don't think I'll have any reason to get back up there. I love that town.
