The city of Portland has much to offer for those of us who are charmed by good food and good brews. The area surrounding this big Oregon city has lots to offer, too! How about a road trip from Portland, Oregon out to the Pacific Coast?
Hop out of bed early and head west, with plans for a full day. Travel from Portland to Hillsboro, then take Highway 6 toward Tillamook. Cruise up Highway 101 for gorgeous ocean views, then take Highway 26 back into Portland. (Be sure to read more about enjoying the city of Portland here!)
Hillsboro
This is your stop for coffee. Of course there will be coffee in Portland, but I can’t stress enough that if you miss grabbing a coffee in Hillsboro, you will be forced to wait for hours until you track down a nice coffee shop on this route.
There are a couple notable spots to grab a coffee. Insomnia Coffee Co. had the best coffee, in our opinion. But the nearby La Provence offered a close second for coffee along with amazing pastries. (They also serve lunch and dinner.)
And speaking of pastries: If you happen to be a gluten free person, Blue Moon Bakery is just a couple of blocks off the main drag and totally worth a stop. The maple bar I had was delicious, and my husband – with no dietary restrictions – thought it was even better than a regular maple bar.
The town of Hillsboro shuts down the main street for farmers markets and art events during the summer months. If you plan your visit right, you can catch either the Saturday morning market or an evening art walk (do the trip in reverse if you want to catch this).
If you end up in Hillsboro in the latter part of your day, Amelia’s Rustic Mexican Restaurant serves up delicious fare. The burritos are beyond giant – you can feed 2-3 people with a single one!
We actually spent a couple of days in Hillsboro and found it to be a delightful stop. We loved seeing the front yard gardens and fruit trees that proliferate the area just outside of town. And there were plenty of craft breweries in town and its surrounds. We enjoyed some seasonal beers and ciders featuring lingonberry and marionberry that were stellar! It’s your clue to get out and try something new.
Tillamook
Tillamook is billed as a “charming coastal town,” but I’m here to say with complete honesty: it’s not that. We were on the hunt for a coffee shop (see above), and walked the main street with no luck. The town is a bit depressed and our conversation included the word “creepy” repeated more than once. The good news is, there are a couple of fun stops just outside town.
Blue Heron French Cheese Company
This stop, just a mile north of Tillamook, has a little bit of everything. Plenty of delicious cheese and charcuterie, a delicatessen, wine, and ice cream along with a gift shop for those looking for non-food items to take home. (Note: not an espresso machine in sight.) Be sure to try the Blue Heron Brie, which I really liked.
The grounds of the Blue Heron Cheese Company are very pretty and were in full bloom during our visit. There’s a burger truck and a candy store on site (both were closed when we stopped) and they even offer RV camping and a petting zoo featuring a variety of farm animals.
Tillamook Creamery
Just a few miles down the road, the Tillamook Creamery was a big hit and totally worth a stop. We were like kindergarteners on a Mr. Rogers field trip, as we watched the making and packaging of various cheeses.
Downstairs, there’s a shop that is stocked with every Tillamook product imaginable, as well as a snack bar and an ice creamery. My son had the fried cheese curds, while my husband and I went with ice cream. Delicious, in both cases.
Upstairs, there are some interactive exhibits (how fast can YOU put an automatic milker on a cow udder?) and a viewing area that overlooks the production line. The informational plaques that accompany the self-guided tour are full of interesting information.
The Coast
No trip to this part of the Pacific Northwest is complete without a visit to the coast. It’s a bit of a drive from Tillamook to the seaside; it took us about an hour to get there. Our destination was the oft-talked about Cannon Beach, but we ogled the gorgeous forests on our way to the coast, and then ogled the sea as we wound our way up Highway 101.
(For those worried about the coffee situation, we finally found a tiny little spot that had amazingly good coffee at the corner of 8th Street and Highway 101 in Nahelum.)
A local had mentioned Hug Beach to us, so we made a detour to check that out. We’re so glad we did, as we had some big nature moments. There seemed to be a jelly fish event happening, and we had our fill of looking at these washed up creatures. We also got a look at this famous sun fish that had washed up a few weeks earlier.
Now, if that doesn’t tell you we’re a bit quirky, let’s talk about Cannon Beach. It’s a beach – famous for Haystack Rock – as well as a community that caters to tourists. When I say that nothing in that community was out of place, I mean nothing. It was groomed to perfection. My son said it reminded him of something out of a Stephen King novel, just a little TOO perfect.
The beach itself was anticlimactic after enjoying our time at Hug Beach. It’s a very pretty and long swath of sand, and beautiful, but it was super crowded.
There were some fun foodie stops, like an old-fashioned candy store, brewhouses, and seafood restaurants, but this is a spot I can easily tick off as “done” and never think about again.
