This was my recommendation in an earlier thread last August on a suggestion for a trip itinerary to the Willamette Valley. Hope this helps some of you with your planning!
"My wife and I took a trip to the Willamette Valley back in the Fall of 2016. It was a fantastic and very memorable vacation. We stayed in McMinnville which for us was a perfect place to stay in the Valley, very centrally located and a good town for walking, etc…
We did the City/Coast/Valley tour…We flew in to Portland and stayed there for two nights. It was our first time visiting Portland and there were lots of great bars and restaurants to try. It’s a cool city and I am glad we stayed a few nights there. We then drove out to the Oregon Coast to Cannon Beach for two days. Other than you, I have not seen many board members comment on this side trip (as most are focused on the wine scene), but it shouldn’t be missed. Incredibly spectacular scenery, very wild and pristine coastline, huge rock formations in the surf that you can walk out to at low tide, etc…and it’s only like a 2-hour drive from Portland. We then drove from the coast to McMinnville (another only 2-hour drive), and spent three days there visiting wineries and tasting, eating, and just generally enjoying the valley. We visited Biggio Hamina, Goodfellow, White Rose, and many others along the way. A good time for sure. Then we ended our trip by driving back to Portland via the Columbia Gorge route, which was also beautiful scenery.
We found that the mix of city, coast, and wine country was a perfect scenario for our trip. A little bit of everything kept us fresh and invigorated. If it is your first time in that part of the country, you can’t go wrong. I can’t wait to go back…"