Hi Betty,

Just south of Portland, you can exit the main freeway and get on to 99W.  I would suggest you do this and then sit back and enjoy the ride!  You will be soon be entering the Willamette Valley and I will suggest some stops along your route.

One of the first stops should be McMinnville, Oregon where you will find a sweet town filled with shops, restaurants and wine!  You will also find the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. This is a great stop and depending on time, you could actually spend several hours there if you wish.  From this area, you will be surrounded by our Willamette Valley wine country.  If you are wine drinkers, you will most surely want to stop at many of our wineriess.  We have hundreds so pace yourselves and enjoy!  A few of my favorite stops for tasting are as follows: Adelsheim, Sokol Blosser, Cubanisimo, and Van Duzer.

If you plan to spend a few days traveling, you could certainly check out some B & B’s in wine country as well:  www.obbg.org will give you a nice list and be sure to utilize the interactive map to find one to suit your specific area.

If you are into seeing some waterfalls, check out Silver Creek Falls along the way. You can choose to just sight see a bit or take an easy or difficult hike depending on what you want to do.  Also a great place for a pic nic too!  It’s not too far from Salem, OR however on the east side of I 5 but totally worth the stop!

Also, check out the covered bridges in Linn and Lane counties. I love the covered bridge routes… romantic and picturesque!

From the area of Lane County, you will be heading south toward Ashland.  You can choose when you’d like to jump on I-5 and make it to Central Point.  There you will want to visit Rogue Creamery and Lillie Belle Chocolates.

And if you have time… you will not want to miss seeing our Crater Lake!