Looking for a fun day trip from Portland, OR? Well this little day trip will take you East of the city through a beautiful scenic loop. You can either start North and continue the loop South or vice versa. But be prepared for some epic nature and even a great stop to grab a drink or food! You can even add some of our honorable mention activities below to make it a whole fun weekend. Let’s dive into this epic day trip from Portland to Mt. Hood & Hood River.
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Map Of The Day Trip From Portland to Mt. Hood & Hood River
Follow this map to all the best stops on a Portland Day Trip to Mt. Hood Area.
Trillium Lake:
Trillium Lake is a famous spot to get the reflection of Mt. Hood over the lake. It’s best to view either right at sunrise or sunset when the water tends to be calmer. But do remember you are in the PNW where the coastal fog could ruin the view pretty easily. So be sure to check the weather and maybe plan on visiting more than once to get the perfect photo.
If you travel with a portable kayak, canoe, paddleboard, etc. it can be a great place to enjoy the stunning views from the water. Or there are various picnic areas to stop for a nice lunch or a quick snack.
And if you want a little exercise there is a short 2 mile hike around the lake. But for the stunning view of Mt. Hood over the lake, you don’t have to walk too far, as you can see it just a short walk from the Trillium Dam Parking Lot.
I highly recommend starting your trip here in the morning or evening so you can experience some calm water and hopefully get an epic reflection on the water.
Tamanawas Falls Trail:
Next on the day trip from Portland to Mt. Hood & Hood River is Tamanawas Falls. Tamanawas Falls is an awesome trail to a beautiful waterfall. The hike to the falls is 3.4 miles with 580 ft elevation change. There is a steady climb toward the end, but the view of the falls will all be worth it.
The parking lot is right off Highway 35 and starts by crossing a bridge over the East Fork Hood River. The trail parallels the highway to start, so it can be a bit noisy, but the views are still stunning. And quickly the trail will turn a corner and you will experience more solitude.
The trail is well maintained and easy to follow for most of the route. There will be one rock slide section that has little coverage from the sun and does require a little more coordination. But there is plenty of foot traffic that has flattened out the path, but take your time as it can be easy to lose your footing if you aren’t watching where you step.
Once you pass the rock slide section you are almost there and will be blessed with the beautiful 100 foot Tamanawas Falls. There was a decent amount of spray coming off the falls, so be careful with expensive electronics around the area. But also, the spray on those hot summer days can be super nice for cooling off.
Lavender Valley:
If you enjoy the beautiful aroma of lavender or are looking for an awesome place to have a photoshoot, then when in Mt. Hood you gotta stop at Lavender Valley. Lavender Valley is open seasonally from May to September. Their hours of operation are generally 10am-5pm, but hours can change during peak season.
Whether you want to pick your own lavender for $15 a bundle, want to book an epic photoshoot with a professional photographer or visit their shop for some essential goods, Lavender Valley has you covered.
There is a $5 fee to get in, but you can get a $3 discount on any purchase you make in their farm store with paying the admission fee. They don’t take advanced reservations, and run on a first-come, first-serve basis.
If you are looking for a professional photographer package, contact the Photography Program for more details. You can also take your own photos or provide your own photographer in the field if that suits your style better. If you wish to do a photoshoot before or after hours for a nice sunrise or sunset session, reach out to the photography program to set up a time that works for both of you. But nonetheless you will absolutely want to snap a photo of this stunning view!
Interesting facts about lavender:
Lavender Valley Harvests 11 different types of lavender. Also, lavender is known to be a medicinal herb. The oil from the plant is not only healing and antiseptic, the fragrance is calming and grounding. And simply just the beautiful sight of Lavender Valley with Mt. Hood in the distance is a humbling experience. If you love lavender, don’t forget to pick up a goody from their shop.
Gorge White House:
The Gorge White House was a unique experience when we were on our day trip from Portlands to Mt. Hood & Hood River. It has such a cool vibe and offers hard ciders, wines, farm-fresh food, fruit, flowers, & more. And not to mention a rich history of how this farm came about and is operated and owned by a fourth-generation family since 1908.
If you are like Jake and I and get ‘fomo’ when choosing between which cider, wine or beer to get, Gorge White House has you covered with some great flight options. Therefore, we first shared a wine flight and got to experience many different wines from whites, to roses and reds that they make from their farm. This way we found out which ones were our favorites in case we wanted to buy one to have at a later date.
Next, we shared a cider flight which comes with 8 different ciders that they also make for their farm. There was a whole array of different ciders flavors, such as cherry, blueberry, apple, lavender and even watermelon.
And if wine or cider isn’t your thing, they do have some local beers to choose from. Or a farm-fresh food cart that sources their products either from their own farm or from other local farmers. Plus they make many of their bread fresh every morning, so you know you are getting some quality food out of this food card.
We absolutely loved the vibe here and there were TONS of different seating options. You could either be immersed in the farm at a picnic table, under a cabana or outdoor tables right outside the Gorge White House building. Many of the seating options also provide a beautiful view of Mt. Hood in the distance with the beautiful farm views below. So we definitely suggest stopping here on your day trip from Portland to Mt. Hood & Hood River.
Multnomah Falls:
One of the must-see stops of the day trip from Portland to Mt. Hood & Hood River is Multnomah Falls. I feel this place is absolutely mesmerizing to see in person. It stands 620 feet tall, which is absolutely mind blowing. Snapping a picture is even hard because it is so massive.
It is free to visit Multnomah Falls, but finding a parking spot might be more of the challenge. We would suggest trying to get here before 8 am, but for this day trip from Portland, you would have to skip some of the other epic adventures on the road trip. So, just cross your fingers and hope that someone is moving
Hiking Options For Multnomah Falls:
The great thing about Multnomah Falls is it’s not very challenging to get an epic view because it is visible from the parking lot. But since you are there, you will probably want to check out the lower viewpoint, which is just a short .2mi walk from the parking lot. At the lower viewpoint you can see Multnomah Falls, the famous bridge and lower Multnomah Falls. In my opinion, it’s the best viewpoint in the house.
But if you are up for a little extra exercise, many people hike up to the bridge to get a closer view of the epic Multnomah Falls from the bridge.
You can continue up to the top of the falls for a roundtrip hike of 2.4 miles and 810 foot climb. So if you want a different perspective of the area, this can be a unique adventure to the top.
Latourell Falls:
Last but not least on the day trip from Portland to Mt. Hood & Hood River is Latourell Falls. There are two different ways to experience this waterfall. You can witness the beauty from a short .2mi hike or do a 2.1 mile loop hike around the falls. Since this is the last adventure on this day trip, choose your own adventure depending on how you are feeling after the day full of activities.
You can enjoy the 249 foot tall waterfall on just a short hike which will simply take your breath away, or get more rugged on a rocky & sometimes muddy trail around the falls. Personally I don’t think the hike is totally necessary, unless you are up for getting extra exercise as the main event is right from the start of the trail.
Many people have said the loop trail is rocky, sometimes muddy, overgrown, etc. Which tends to mean you might find a little extra solitude out here versus just checking out the waterfall.
Honorable Mention:
If you are looking for a few more things to do on your day trip from Portland to Mt. Hood & Hood River consider adding in these other great activities. You also could easily spend way more than a day trip visiting this area.
Consider booking a hotel with Kayak for some great deals. Or book a vacation rental home with VRBO to make yourself feel right at home.
Wahclella Falls:
Another awesome waterfall in the area is Wahclella Falls. The falls are 350 ft tall and are encompassed by mossy green canyon walls. The hike is 1.9mi with 223ft elevation change. The trail starts off flat but quickly gains elevation as you climb up to the falls.
Lost Lake:
If you really enjoyed Trillium Lake or you missed the stunning view because of the PNW fog, another great hike to see Mt. Hood over a lake is Lost Lake. You can access the road from Mt. Hood or Hood River and continue down Lost Lake Road/NF 13. You can witness the view right from the parking lot or do a 3.1 mile loop hike around the lake to get more incredible views.
Brewery Tour in Hood River:
As you know, Jake and I love brewery tours! So a fun activity to do if you choose to make this longer than a day trip from Portland is a self-guided brewery tour in Hood River.
Our favorite way to do a brewery tour is to park the van for the night, and rent bikes or walk so we can safely make it around to the breweries. But of course if you don’t have a campervan, you might want to find a good deal at Kayak on a hotel room or VRBO for a vacation home rental.
An ideal self-guided brewery tour in Hood River would consist of:
1st stop: Full Sail Brewing
2nd Stop: Double Mountain Brewery
3rd Stop: Ferment Brewing Company
4th Stop: pFriem Family Brewers
Watch the wind surfers or kite boarders on the Hood River:
A fun activity to do in Hood River is watch all the sailors or kiteboarders in the river. Unless you have experience with these two sports, I wouldn’t suggest giving it a try on the Hood River without some lessons.
Waterfront Park is a great spot to either lay down a towel or a Sand-Free Mat to either cool off in the river or watch some action take place on the river.
Takeaway | Day Trip From Portland to Mt. Hood & Hood River:
Be prepared for an epic day trip from Portland on this adventure-filled itinerary. This guide takes you to some of the coolest locations right outside the city. We had so much fun going on hikes and breaking up the trip with a flight from the White House Gorge, getting some epic views of Mt. Hood. We hope this guide helps you have a super fun day trip from Portland to Mt. Hood & Hood River.
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[…] If you have more time on this Oregon Road Trip, or you are looking for more things to do in the Mt. Hood Area, check out our day trip guide from Portland to Mt. Hood. […]