A late flight into Portland to spend a weekend on the Oregon coast was a bit of a whirlwind but trip for the books. Our first morning in Portland we picked up a camper van that we rented through Outdoorsy and stopped by Green Zebra Grocery to stock up on healthy food to cook while we camped. We headed toward the coast with a quick stop to hike in the Tillamook forest

Pacific City

After hiking in the forest, we headed towards Pacific City which is a slow, surfer city on the Oregon coast.

We walked around the beach and hiked up a huge sand due to some rocks where we sat and watched a mama grey whale and her two babies.

Van Camping on the Beach

Not too far from Pacific City was a beach where a lot of people hang out all night and camp.

This is where we cooked dinner and spent the night. You definitely have to pay attention to the tides if you plan on doing this.

There was a cool haystack rock that looked a lot like the famous one at Cannon Beach.

Trillium Lake & Mt. Hood

After grabbing some coffee in Pacific City we headed towards Mt. Hood and Trillium Lake. We wished we could have had a whole day to spend here because it was the most peaceful and crystal clear lake.

There were lots of kayakers, dogs and the most beautiful view of Mt. Hood.

Portland

We tried to check out Multnomah Falls but the parking lot was full and we had to head into Portland a little earlier than expected. It actually worked out great because we were ready to brush our teeth and shower at the hotel and do some sight seeing around Portland.

Eat

Portland is known for its foodie restaurants and I was honestly in heaven. It was hard to pick which spot to try but we settled on Cultured Caveman. They are a paleo friendly restaurant and also sell a lot of cookbooks and products right in their restaurant. I had the carnitas tacos and they were so good!

Portland is known for its foodie restaurants and I was honestly in heaven. It was hard to pick which spot to try but we settled on Cultured Caveman. They are a paleo friendly restaurant and also sell a lot of cookbooks and products right in their restaurant. I had the carnitas tacos and they were so good!

For dessert we waiting in a long line at the ever popular Salt & Straw for ice cream and it was well worth the wait. You can sample any of the flavors before you decide. I had their gluten free carrot cake which was a seasonal flavor and Kyle had chocolate (shocker).

Powell’s Bookstore

Powell’s is a super iconic stop while visiting Portland. There are a million shelves just full of all kinds of books. It was fun to walk around and check some of them out.

A few other iconic stops in Portland for some cool Instagram shots are the Keep Portland Weird mural, Voodoo Donuts, one of their many coffee shops and their bridge.

I can now understand why the Pioneers wanted to migrate to Oregon. It’s absolutely gorgeous and 48 hours wasn’t long enough!