[cairn builder]

We've had threads like this for Colorado and California, and during the last of them somebody suggested that Oregon would make a good subject for our next comparison. Personally I think there's no contest, but I think this should be an interesting comparison because we share a border, ecology, weather, and history. Washington was part of the Oregon territory "originally" until we got fed up with feeling underrepresented. But the question is how our states stack up for hiking and other outdoor pursuits. Be specific because I'm hoping this will get some nwhikers to explore parts of our neighbor to the south that they weren't aware of.

[markh752]

[Sore Feet]

[Sean T]

Oregon. State income tax. WA. None.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Here we go! I absolutely love both states. Washington does have way more alpine hiking terrain. Way more peaks. Way more glaciation. Nothing in OR like the North Cascades. Oregon is not hurting for mountainous terrain by any means. Hood is gorgeous. You've got Jefferson and the 3 Sisters for other 10,000+ ft. glaciated volcanoes. Some smaller volcano remnants like Washington, 3 Fingered Jack, Thielsen. I haven't checked out McLaughlin yet. The Wallowas...I've done a few trips in the northern half of the range, haven't even touched the southern part yet. GOOD stuff! I haven't made it to the southeastern corner to check out Steens Mountain or the Owyhee area. Crater Lake is completely unlike anything in Washington. Painted Hills is pretty stinking cool, don't think WA has anything like that either. The Gorge area east of Portland I will go on record as saying offers better year round snow free hiking than anything in Washington...and it's not even close. Maybe Washington has more waterfalls per a previous poster, but the Gorge is a waterfall lovers dream and I'm not aware of anywhere in Washington that has trails accessing that many falls all packed close together. Oregon Coast is way more accessible and overall way better than Washington's coast. There's no parallel for the Olympic Coastal strip in Oregon though. I love 'em both. I don't look at it as a competitive thing, both are in the Northwest and the Northwest is my home.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

[markh752]

Sore Feet, your probably more right than I am since I don't get out much. Although, I still stand by my assessment that OR has more "year round" hiking than WA. Ability and experience could be a factor regarding accessibility. But if all were equal WA has more "winter" weather that makes a lot of our terrain and waterfalls inaccessible for longer periods of the year. Just my opinion.

[markh752]

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Goat Rocks are cool, not knocking it. The guy from Oregon you talked to probably did say Jefferson Park, it's one of the more popular destinations in Oregon. It's nice. Lots of nice places in Oregon. The Wallowas are a fairly long drive from Portland, not really close to any population center. They aren't exactly a secret, but they don't get nearly as much traffic as the Gorge or Mt. Hood or Three Sisters Wilderness. I forgot to mention Smith Rocks and Newberry Crater on my list of cool places in Oregon.

[kbatku]

The Goat Rocks suck. They are way over rated - too many people, bugs, barking dogs, smog, hungry camp robbing bears, grumpy horsemen, sullen teenagers, wilted flowers... the place is bad. Don't go there - you've been warned.

[mbtigger]

Every place in Washington sucks. Don't waste your time on the permit lotteries for Enchantments and WT! And don't get me started on Oregon! The Gorge, Wallawas, - All terrible! Just stay away..

[Cyclopath]

I spent three months driving cross country, and did a lot of exploring. My girlfriend at the time fell in love with Oregon; she thought the Rogue valley was amazing, loved the coast, we both thought Crater Lake was starkly beautiful and one of the more unusual things we'd ever see, we loved Bend, we camped at Whitehorse Falls in the Umpqua and it was idyllic. But then we came through Washington and it captured my heart. We broke up in a fight over which was best. Washington has more alpine stuff, our mountains are more rugged. The North Cascades are the best place on Earth, says I. Seattle is a better city than Portland, too, for my tastes. Both states have some incredible scenery and it's nice to be able to go down pretty easily and spend some time on the Columbia or in the hills to the south.

[Conrad]

WA, of course, no contest -- until you remember the Wallowas, which have more lonely easy off-trail nontechnical meadow/forest/rock mountain roaming options than anywhere in the Cascades or Olympics that I know.

[nojack]

Sullen teens and hungry bears sounds idyllic!

[payslee]

Hi all, I've just recently started lurking here, as doing more exploring up north is one of my goals for this year. Oregon has lots of awesome hiking destinations, although admittedly some of them are in the Gifford Pinchot. I have often remarked, while standing on St. Helens or Adams or strolling along the Lewis River: God, I love living in Oregon. I know I'm not the only one guilty of mentally annexing our adjoining state for recreation purposes. To be fair, SW Washington residents have annexed Oregon border malls for tax-free shopping. In the Columbia Gorge, the Washington side has better springtime flower meadows (Coyote-Catherine, Dalles Mountain Ranch) and Petroglyphs (Horsetheif Butte). Also you have a fixed-up version of Stonehenge. The Oregon side has better waterfall trails, shade, and remaining old growth. Oregon's been doing a nice job reclaiming the original 1915 Gorge highway for hiker-biker trail. This may be subjective, but it feels like our trails are less crowded, certainly those within 2 hours of the big metro areas are less crowded. There are no fees at all for access to ODF (our equivalent to DNR) lands. Our sno-park passes are significantly less expensive, and over the last few years our sno parks have been maintained much more often. This didn't use to be the case. I miss Old Man Pass. Uniquely awesome Oregon things: * The John Day Fossil beds (painted hills and sheep rock); * Crater Lake (go in WINTER!); * Snake River Canyon (although the trail is brutal) * Alvord hot springs/ Steens Mountain * All beaches in Oregon are public Uniquely awesome Washington things: * hard to beat an active volcano, although I almost listed MSH for Oregon ;-) * Rainier is the king of northwest mountains * Your bears are way less shy. I'm on the fence if this is a plus or minus * lots of other stuff I'm hoping to experience soon? I've got some backpacks, climbs, and trail-volunteering planned this summer for farther north than I usually go... I am looking forward to the discoveries. -payslee