The best weekend getaways from Portland share one quality: you can leave after work on Friday and be in a hot tub by dinner. Here's our honest shortlist of places under two hours from the city, including two where we happen to have homes and two where we don't.
Mt. Hood Village: 75 minutes east
The closest real getaway on this list. Take US-26 through Sandy and you're in Welches before the podcast episode ends. What you get: the Salmon River, Trillium Lake, Timberline Lodge, year-round skiing in some form, mountain biking at Sandy Ridge, and a golf course in Welches that's cheaper than anything in Portland.
What makes it a weekend rather than a day trip is the cabin. Wildwood Basecamp sits on 1.6 wooded acres with a private hot tub and a bunkhouse lounge, and sleeps eight. It's the kind of place where a group of friends splits the cost and nobody has to drive home after the second glass of wine. Fall is quiet and colorful, winter is ski season, summer is huckleberries. Check the Mt. Hood rentals page for dates.
Best for: groups, dogs, snow, people who want a fire and a soak.
Manzanita: about 2 hours west
This one flirts with the two-hour line. US-26 through the Coast Range to US-101, then a few minutes south. Manzanita is seven miles of wide, flat, dog-friendly beach with a small town at one end and Neahkahnie Mountain looming over it. Laneda Avenue has the coffee, the bakery, the bookstore, and the pub. Nehalem Bay State Park next door has kayaking and crabbing. Oswald West is 10 minutes north for surfing and the walk to Short Sand Beach.
Puffin Lane is two blocks from the sand, on the golf course, with a cedar hot tub and a yoga studio. It sleeps seven across four bedrooms, so it works for two families or a big friend group. Manzanita in winter is our favorite storm-watching town. In summer it's the best beach day in Oregon. Our Manzanita things-to-do page lists the rest.
Best for: beach walkers, dog owners, anyone who thinks Cannon Beach is too crowded (it is, and it's 20 minutes north if you change your mind).
Neskowin: about 2 hours 15 minutes southwest
Slightly over the line, and worth it. OR-99W to OR-18 to US-101, then south past Lincoln City. Neskowin is tiny. Proposal Rock sits in the surf, the Ghost Forest appears at low tide, and Cascade Head rises to the south with one of the best hikes on the coast. There's a general store, a couple of restaurants, and not much else. That's the point.
The Weekender is our small cabin here: two bedrooms, one bath, three guests, a wood-burning stove, a private hot tub, and the beach at the end of the path. It's the pick for a couple or a solo traveler with a dog who wants quiet more than options.
Best for: couples, writers, storm watchers, tide-pool people.
The Columbia River Gorge: 45 to 90 minutes east
We don't have a home here, but honesty requires including it. Hood River is 60 minutes on I-84. Waterfalls, windsurfing, breweries, fruit stands on the Fruit Loop in fall. The Gorge is a great day trip and a fine weekend. It's also the most crowded item on this list on a sunny Saturday, and the timed-entry permits for Multnomah Falls in summer are real. If you want a hot tub and quiet, you'll end up back at Mt. Hood, which is 45 minutes south of Hood River over OR-35 anyway.
How to choose
- You want snow or a mountain hike: Mt. Hood Village.
- You want the biggest, emptiest beach: Manzanita.
- You want to see almost nobody: Neskowin.
- You have half a day and want waterfalls: the Gorge.
A note on leaving Portland on Friday
US-26 west toward the coast backs up through Hillsboro from about 3pm to 6pm on summer Fridays. US-26 east toward Mt. Hood backs up in Sandy at the same hours on ski weekends. Leave at 1pm or 7pm. In between, you're sitting in traffic thinking about the hot tub you're not in yet.
Every one of these homes welcomes dogs, has a full kitchen, and can be booked directly with us. Pick the mountain or pick the beach. You can do the other one next month.