Day 1: Portland – Rose Garden

The tour leader and driver will meet the group at the hotel lobby in Portland at 4:30pm. We then drive to the famous Portland International Test Rose Garden for a visit. Later we will eat dinner on the banks of the Willamette River. The tour guides will share some important information on the upcoming tour and hand out travel documentation.

Day 2: Columbia River Highway – Multnomah Falls – Umatilla

Our journey begins in earnest along the scenic historic Columbia River Highway where we will stop for our first hike, the Columbia River State Trail featuring magnificent views of the mighty Columbia River. Later we will take a walk at Multnomah Falls for some photo shots. Hike and picnic at Trillium Lake near majestic Mount Hood. We’ll visit the Mary Hill Museum in Washington State before reaching Umatilla for a night on the banks of the Columbia.

Day 3: Umatilla – Pendleton – Joseph

Stop in Pendleton for a guided tour through a historic wool mill. Then, visit a native American center on the way to Joseph, a small town with wonderful art galleries. Evening hike at the scenic Wallowa Lake. Night in Enterprise.

Day 4: Wallowa Mountains – Sumpter

Our hike will lead through the Eagle Cap Wilderness along the Chief Joseph Trail. The area boasts beautiful wild flowers, mountain creeks and views over Wallowa Lake and the Wallowa Mountains. Alternatively, you can visit “little Switzerland” on top of the 7500 ft. high Mount Howard, reached by aerial tramway. Enjoy the views and mountain flora. Next, we stop at the impressive National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center before taking a walking tour to see the historic wagon ruts of the Oregon trail, preserved for over 150 years. In McEwen we board a historic steam train (if running) and travel to Sumpter, a tiny gold town featuring a monstrous gold dredge. Evening in the tiny gold mining town of Sumpter.

Day 5: Sumpter – John Day Fossil Beds NM

Bend In John Day we stop for a tour through the Kam Wah Chung Museum of Chinese pioneer history. The highlight today is the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument where we will take several shorter hikes to see fossils and the famous Painted Hills of Oregon. Here we are surrounded by a surreal landscape of colored hills. We travel on to Bend, the largest settlement of Central Oregon, for a two night’s stay at a lodge with hiking trails to beautiful Deschutes river right outside your motel doors.

Day 6: Day tour to Newberry National Monument – High Desert Museum

Bend Today, we hike through the fantastic Newberry National Monument, home of the region’s largest volcano. Trails follow an interpretive site leading to a very rare volcanic Obsidian flow. Hike around beautiful, sparkling Paulina Lake. After the picnic we visit the famous High Desert Museum in Bend featuring a great display of natural and cultural history of the Pacific Northwest. The evening we will spend in Bend with its galleries and good restaurants.

Day 7: Bend – Cascade Mountains – Yachats, Pacific Coast

Our journey leads westwards over the volcanic Cascade Range with snow covered mountain peaks as high as 10000 feet. We hike along a picturesque mountain lake fed by the springs of McKenzie River, over lava flows and along beautiful waterfalls. In the evening we arrive at the Pacific Coast and stay for 2 nights at a seaside resort with great sunset viewing.