Was going to chime in with Hood River. Only 45 minutes from Portland. The coast of Portland is also beautiful if totally different. We did a ten day trip - 3 days in Hood River, 3 in Bend and 3 in Manzinta. Little bit of everything.

Anonymous wrote:Staying in Hood River, OR would be great. The Columbia river gorge is beautiful and Hood River is a cute town with a beach. It's particularly known for wind surfing. It's near Mt. Hood and about 45 minutes from Portland. It's also close to a lot of fruit orchards and berry farms.

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This is where we stayed when we took a trip out west a few years ago. Stayed in Portland for a day and night, then rented a car and drove out to Hood River. Beautiful! From there, we went to Wallowa Lake, which was just stunning.

Staying in Hood River, OR would be great. The Columbia river gorge is beautiful and Hood River is a cute town with a beach. It's particularly known for wind surfing. It's near Mt. Hood and about 45 minutes from Portland. It's also close to a lot of fruit orchards and berry farms.

what do you consider "nature" and what do you consider "city"? If you mean real hiking in real mountains, that can be a day trip from either but likely more than an hour's drive given traffic in both cities. (Which can be terrible). OTOH, if you don't need to stay IN the downtown area, I think either would work.

I’m no expert, but we had a great trip to Seattle when our kids were young. We rented a house in the Green Lake neighborhood a couple of blocks from the lake. We could walk to the path around the lake in just a few minutes, and the kids loved walking and picking the wild blackberries (we made a cobbler, too, yum). We had a rental car and could easily get to lots of nature trails, and also my kids loved the little library in the neighborhood, seeing salmon swim around us through the tunnel (I forget what this place is called), taking the ferry to Bainbridge Island, and the children’s science museum was fantastic. It was also an easy shot downtown if you want to go to top of Soace Needle or a Mariners game. We were there for a family wedding but could have easily found lots more to do including many many hikes within easy drive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How close is "near"? One hour drive? 30 minutes? How about locations in the city itself (like near the big parks in Portland)?

Are you going to stay close to both cities? Or choose one?

I wrote above - 30 min for short excursions, 1 hour for day trips. We would like to choose one city and stay there for the entire time.

Okay, then I personally think Portland would work better. There are some great trails and hills/mountains right in the city, and other great nature areas easily within an hour, like Multnomah Falls/Columbia River Gorge. Stay near Forest Park and you will be within walking distance of the trailheads, or 5 minute drive. The neighborhood Willamette Heights would be perfect - although probably expensive and difficult to find many rentals- expensive residential area, maybe similar to Cleveland Park in DC.

Seattle is great also in the summer, but not as much "pure" nature within an hour or so. But if you want swimming and water play, the beaches along Lake Washington are nice and the water will be swimmable then

Thank you so much! Really appreciate your advice!

In either city I'd consider the availability of A/C in your rental. It's uncommon in the Pacific NW, especially in individual homes. But with global warming there have been much more common heat waves with 90+ and a few times 100+ days. Chances are low any individual week will get that hot, but if it does while you are there, it will be unpleasant sleeping for sure.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How close is "near"? One hour drive? 30 minutes? How about locations in the city itself (like near the big parks in Portland)?

Are you going to stay close to both cities? Or choose one?

I wrote above - 30 min for short excursions, 1 hour for day trips. We would like to choose one city and stay there for the entire time.

Okay, then I personally think Portland would work better. There are some great trails and hills/mountains right in the city, and other great nature areas easily within an hour, like Multnomah Falls/Columbia River Gorge. Stay near Forest Park and you will be within walking distance of the trailheads, or 5 minute drive. The neighborhood Willamette Heights would be perfect - although probably expensive and difficult to find many rentals- expensive residential area, maybe similar to Cleveland Park in DC.

Seattle is great also in the summer, but not as much "pure" nature within an hour or so. But if you want swimming and water play, the beaches along Lake Washington are nice and the water will be swimmable then

Thank you so much! Really appreciate your advice!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How close is "near"? One hour drive? 30 minutes? How about locations in the city itself (like near the big parks in Portland)?

Are you going to stay close to both cities? Or choose one?

I wrote above - 30 min for short excursions, 1 hour for day trips. We would like to choose one city and stay there for the entire time.

Okay, then I personally think Portland would work better. There are some great trails and hills/mountains right in the city, and other great nature areas easily within an hour, like Multnomah Falls/Columbia River Gorge. Stay near Forest Park and you will be within walking distance of the trailheads, or 5 minute drive. The neighborhood Willamette Heights would be perfect - although probably expensive and difficult to find many rentals- expensive residential area, maybe similar to Cleveland Park in DC.

Seattle is great also in the summer, but not as much "pure" nature within an hour or so. But if you want swimming and water play, the beaches along Lake Washington are nice and the water will be swimmable then

Anonymous wrote:How close is "near"? One hour drive? 30 minutes? How about locations in the city itself (like near the big parks in Portland)?

Are you going to stay close to both cities? Or choose one?

I wrote above - 30 min for short excursions, 1 hour for day trips. We would like to choose one city and stay there for the entire time.

olympia. cute walkable downtown & https://www.hocm.org/

How close is "near"? One hour drive? 30 minutes? How about locations in the city itself (like near the big parks in Portland)?

Are you going to stay close to both cities? Or choose one?

- 10 days in late August (our schools don’t start until Labor Day)

- Area with great nature, hikeable trails for a 3-8 year olds

- We want an AirBnb, not hotel

- Kid-friendly excursions like playgrounds, museums within 30 min drive

- Longer day-trip excursions with 1 hour drive is fine

We want to spend 90% of our waking time outdoors if possible

Thank you!!