Portland Day Trip Ideas: 9 Places to Visit

You’ll love the Columbia River Maritime Museum if you’re someone who enjoys appreciating the past. Besides featuring a vast collection of maritime artifacts, it also showcases the events that passed.

One of the things you’ll see here is a map of the “Graveyard of the Pacific.” Shipwrecks in the Columbia River since 1792 amounts to a total of 2000, and the map there marks the spots where the ships have fallen.

Alternatively, you can stroll around and marvel at the U.S.S. shark cannons or wander the Brix Maritime Hall. All of the exhibits here showcase Oregon’s rich maritime history, so you’ll have plenty of things to keep you busy.

The Columbia River Maritime Museum is an almost two-hour drive from Portland, but it’s worth taking the trip if you’re in love with historic things. It’s open everyday from 9:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. except on Christmas and Thanksgiving. The current admission fee for children 6 years old and above is $5, while adults are charged $14, and seniors need to pay $12.

Columbia River Highway State Trail

If you’re already in Columbia River, visit the historic highway state trail. It’s a long road without any cars; just bikes, skateboards, or joggers and walkers.

Columbia River Trail offers everyone a chance to have a peaceful, scenic day. Here, you can just go on and on as you take in the marvelous sights before you.

Astoria and the Surrounding Area

Just northwest of the Columbia River lies Astoria. It’s a two-hour drive from Portland, Oregon as well, but it’s worth the drive if you’re aiming to experience and witness more historical things.

Astoria is among the oldest American settlements in the U.S., and it features quite a number of well-preserved Craftsmand and Victorian homes. Likewise, forested views, numerous parks, hiking trails, and art galleries surround the area. Hence, you can do pretty much most of anything in Astoria depending on your mood.

Sea Lion Caves

You haven’t fully enjoyed Oregon until you’ve been to the Sea Lion Caves. It’s a three-hour drive from Portland, but your efforts will prove to be fruitful once you see the sea lions.

The sea lions here are free and wild, and they consider this cave as one of their safe shelters. The best time to visit the Sea Lion Caves is during winter, where hundreds of sea lions are present. Then, from spring to summer, you’ll find the sea lions by the rocky areas in front of the cave.

Brigham Fish Market

Now, if you’re in Oregon in search for fresh seafood, Brigham Fish Market is hands-down the best place you can pick. It’s a 45-minute drive from Portland, and it’s worth the trip.

You’ll know you made the right choice as soon as you spot the stout, cozy building that houses this restaurant. It’s run by a local family of fishermen, so they stand by the quality of the food they serve.

Bringham Fish Market’s main highlights are fresh fish cooked for you, market fish, and world-class service. Its best sellers are smoked fish, chowders, quesadillas, and fish and chips. However, they also sell fresh vegetables.

Willamette Valley

There’s no other well-known wine place in Oregon besides Willamette Valley. If you’re aiming to spend a relaxing day with your partner, try travelling around this valley to taste its wine offerings.

Willamette Valley is riddled with wineries, so anywhere you go will prove to be fruitful. Likewise, the roads to the valley itself are quite a sight to behold. Besides spoiling your tongue with excellent wine, you’ll spoil your eyes with great views, too.

Mount Hood

If you’re up for an adventure, you can opt to hike Mount Hood. Alternatively, you can come there just to see the scenic views it offers from various angles.

You can go for a relaxed walk by Mount Hood’s foot, hike its foothills and forests, meditate by its rivers, or hop around the restaurants surrounding it. Likewise, you can ski its snow-capped peaks during winter.

From here, you can also head to the Mount Hood National Forest, Timberline Lodge, Multnomah Falls, Hood River, Bagby Hot Springs, and Trillium Lake.

Bagby Hot Springs

If you’re already in Mount Hood, check out Bagby Hot Springs. It’s inside Mount Hood National Forest, and you need to pay $5 to enter.

Bagby Hot Springs was discovered in 1880, but it wasn’t open to the public until 1920. Here, you can choose to hang out in the public deck, upper deck, or private deck.

However, the main highlight of Bagby Hot Springs is the trail that leads to the hot spring and then the hot spring itself. The trail is brimming with life and great sceneries, so it’s quite worth the travel efforts even if you choose not to soak in the water.

Trillium Lake

Lastly, among our Portland day trip ideas is a picnic on Trillium Lake. The lake is on the bottom of Mount Hood, so it’s on quite a perfect location if you don’t feel like hiking.

Here, you can set up a camp or meditate, stroll around, and even swim or kayak. However, if you’re planning on swimming or kayaking, bring your own equipment since this isn’t a commercial place.

Portland Day Trips and Fishing Charters

Of course, the list wouldn’t be complete if fishing as a Portland day trip idea hadn’t been suggested. If you don’t want to go far from Portland, you always have the option to go for a fishing trip instead.

To make things smoother, book a fishing charter for your fishing adventure. 

On the other hand, if you’re trying to stay out of water for a while, use our Portland day trip ideas as a guide for places to visit and a few things to do.

Preparing Fresh Oregon Dungeness Crab

How to Cook Fresh Crab

Preparing a fresh Oregon Dungeness crab is simple. For the initial phase, all you need is a pot, some salt, and water. Mix the salt and water in your pot, and wait for it to boil. As soon as it boils, add the live crab inside. Then, boil it for some minutes. The length of the crab’s boiling time will depend on its weight. For every pound, 8 minutes of heating time needs to be allotted in cooking the crab.

A surefire way to know your seafood is done will be to look at its color. Once its shell turns bright orange, that means it’s been heated well enough and ready to be eaten.

How to Clean Boiled Crab

Once the Dungeness crab is done with the first phase of cooking, run it under cool water or soak it in cold water. You can immediately crack the crab’s shell afterwards, or place it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to eat it. If you opt for the latter, you can choose to serve it chilled or heat it up by steaming it before serving it.

If you’re serving it without shelling it first, be sure to remove the Dungeness crab’s innards and gills first. To do this, start by removing the crab’s back. Separate the crab’s back by holding onto its base with one hand and then pulling off its shell by prying it with your thumb. Note that you need to position your thumb on the middle of the shell.

Once you see the gills, remove them using your thumb or something firm enough. Then, place the crab under running water to remove its innards.

How to Shell Dungeness Crab

Cracking Dungeness crab is easy. First, twist off its legs on the part connected to the body. You’ll notice that it has pincers, and of course, they’re not edible, so simply remove those. Then, snap the crab’s large claws into two, and crack it. You can use a mallet or a nut cracker, or be creative and invent your own shell-breaker.

When you’re done with the big claws, turn your attention to the next largest piece of the crab. Those will be the leg joints. You have three choices for this part. First, you can use a mallet or a nutcracker to access the juicy meat inside this part. Second, you can decide on sucking the meat out. Third, you can pluck the meat using a fork.

Shelling the other leg parts of the Dungeness crab requires you to repeat the same process mentioned above. Likewise, you can just snap the smaller leg joints with your fingers and then suck or pick the meat out.

Lastly, breaking the crab’s body needs you to firmly grip its body with both hands and then snap it. You can then choose between repeatedly striking the crab with a mallet or something firm enough to get access to its meat, or plucking the meat with your fingers.

How to Store Cooked Crab

If you didn’t eat your freshly-prepared crab as your cracked it, you’ll need to know how to properly store it for later consumption. The best place to store cooked crab is in the refrigerator. However, make sure the crab is thoroughly covered. Likewise, remember to store it in a good container if you plan on keeping it for a few days, and ensure that no air enters the container by wrapping it in a plastic wrap or some foil.

How to Catch Oregon Crabs

There are plenty of ways to catch Dungeness crabs, but the most common instrument used are crab pots. If you want to learn more or have people guide you into catching Oregon crabs, you can contact a charter like the Newport, Oregon Fishing Charter for support.

Alternatively, you can check out some of our pages for helpful videos and articles. You can also contact us if you’re unsure about something, or figure out more information about us.

Our goal is to make fishing fun for everyone. That includes giving you tips on preparing Oregon Dungeness crab, catching different fish species, and connecting you with the best guided fishing services in the Pacific Northwest. 

Why Charter an Experienced Fishing Guide in Newport, Oregon

Reasons for Hiring a Fishing Guide

For a smooth and enjoyable angling adventure in Newport, hiring a fishing guide will be your wisest option. This is especially true if you’re inexperienced when it comes to fishing, but it still applies to experienced fishermen as well. Among other things, you’ll highly benefit from a fishing guide’s knowledge of the place and its fish.

Fishing Guides are Knowledgeable and Experienced

When you fish with a guide, you’re more likely to bag fishes than without a guide. This is because an experienced guide already knows which spots are vacated by the fish and when. He’ll be able to tell you where you should fish based on what you want to catch, and will even be glad to go into detail about why and how he knows such things.

Remember, a local guide knows the ocean like it’s his own house. He’ll also be updated with the latest news in Newport and well-versed in its rules.

Fishing Escorts Can Give You a Short Crash Course

As mentioned earlier, a fishing guide will be more than happy to share their knowledge with you. You can ask him about the fish residing in Newport, the best baits for the fish you’re after, and the most optimal fishing times. Likewise, you may ask your escort for advice regarding water and weather observation.

More importantly, you can opt to receive feedback for your fishing process. This will be highly useful for beginner and even intermediate fishermen. Remember, when it comes to fishing, it’s best to keep improving your techniques and skills.

You may have been having trouble tying certain knots, so you can ask your guide to demonstrate for you and then check if you got it right. You may also have some problems with casting, reeling, or proper posture as you fish, so feedback from your escort will be quite useful in that instance.

Fishing Guides Have Great Equipment

With a guide, you won’t even have to invest in expensive gears. You can expect your escort to have the best gear as he helps you fish. He may lend or lease these out to you, or the use of his equipment may be part of a package. Additionally, you don’t have to worry about repairs if damages occur on your trip.

You can also rest assured that all the knots are properly tied, which increases your chances of catching the fish you want. More importantly, it’ll be a safe trip because fishing escorts know what they’re doing. They’ll make sure to check the boat before heading out and while out, analyze the weather and predict how it’ll affect your adventure, and apply necessary measures to ensure your well-being.

Fishing Escorts Guarantee Fresh Catches

Because a fishing guide had already done it a thousand times or even more, you’re guaranteed to catch a fish with his help. With the supervision of an escort, you can bring home your dream fish, and have a photo of you with the fish.

Other Things to do in Newport, Oregon

Besides fishing, a fun activity in Newport is exploration and sightseeing. If you can’t get enough of the water, you can visit Pirate’s Plunder, South Beach State Park, or Aquatic Center. They’re perfect for those who enjoy peaceful but fun getaways.

Meanwhile, if more adventures are what you’re after, try the Agate Beach Golf Course, Bike Newport, Coast Park, or Cycle Grind. They’ll get you moving and amazed.

However, if you can’t quite decide on where else to go, check out the Aquarium Village, Burrows House Museum, Oregon Coast Aquarium, Don Davis Memorial Park, Oregon Coast Glassworks, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon Oyster Farms, Newport Recreation Center, or Pacific Maritime and Heritage Center.

If you get hungry along the way, pick one of the many restaurants scattered across Newport. Also, check out our helpful videos that feature guides on fishing and preparing your fresh catches. Alternatively, you can browse our blog if you like reading better than watching.

Lastly, if you need help or have any questions, feel free to contact us. We’re quite a friendly team and would love nothing more than to help our fellow fishing enthusiasts.