Portland, OR late November

[David Aimone]

I've never been to Portland, OR, but I will be there for 4 days just before Thanksgiving. Within 1-2 hours, what locations do you recommend?

[Heroique]

When it’s time for a break from the steel and concrete, drive a little East!

The Columbia River gorge is quite a blessing for being so close. Drizzle or shine.

Remember to try secondary roads into the forests w/ cascading waterfalls…

[David Aimone]

That's number one on my list! Specific roads/drives?

How about desert and coastal areas?

Thanks!

When it’s time for a break from the steel and concrete, drive a little East!

The Columbia River gorge is quite a blessing for being so close. Drizzle or shine.

Remember to try secondary roads into the forests w/ cascading waterfalls…

[neil poulsen]

As for the coast, one can take Sunset Highway to Astoria. Back to concrete, check out Fort Stevens and Battery Russell. It's all abandoned. I've gotten some excellent photos there. If you like historic architecture, Astoria is quite something.

Driving south, there's Canon Beach and Haystack Rock. Further down, Oswald West. It's about a half-mile walk to the coast from the parking lot. But there's some nice photos on this walk. The there's a creek along most of the trail.

Driving south for more opportunities. If you make it down to Tillamook, there's a burned out Dirigible Hanger south of town. There's also a standing Hanger that houses a flight museum. The burned out hanger is nearby. It's been a while since I photographed there, so I'm not sure if it's posted. To the west of Tillamook are some nice vistas, and the three capes, one of which is Cape Lookout.

Tillamook's a good place for the return trip on Highway 6 back to Sunset Highway. This goes through the Tillamook Burn, which is a really nice forest. (Until it gets logged.) Check out the Tillamook Burn Interpretive Center. There's a trail with some nice photos just across the Wilson River from the Center.

Maybe others have suggestions along this drive?

[Pete Suttner]

If you like river shots try any of the fisherman pull outs along the Wilson, Necanicum, or Trask rivers. The crusty ole guys along the river are highly amused by a large format photographers. Just don't believe any of their fish stories! November is prime Steelhead and Salmon season.

[Kirk Keyes]

Be prepared for rain...

[Richard Wasserman]

And wind...

[Richard Wasserman]

If you go to the coast

[outabounds]

It may require snowshoes by then, but there is a spectacular view of Mt Hood with a great reflection from the south side of Trillium Lake. Moonlight, star trails, and sunset can all be great there.

There can't be many better places for waterfalls than the Columbia River Gorge. You can drive to several falls on the Historic Columbia River Highway. Multnomah Falls is the most famous. There are also dozens more that you can hike to.

If you're into that sort of thing, the bridges that cross the Willamette River downtown are very interesting. The St Johns Bridge further down the river is beautiful.

I could go on. Portland is a great place for photographers to live.