by Charlotte Bellamy

Created on: July 08, 2008   Last Updated: April 18, 2011

What makes an excellent holiday or vacation for a toddler? Hours spent with family, wide open beaches for sand castle building, rivers to paddle and pretend fish in, camp fires, fun family activities and adventures; the Oregon coast offers all of these, and is just waiting to be explored.

An excellent way to see as much as possible of this fantastic coastline is by Camper van or Recreational Vehicle (RV). Travelling this way offers flexibility, but also stability for toddlers (most of whom) crave some kind of routine and familiarity during the daily life, regardless of where they are. Travelling by RV allows the flexibility for stops for the night whenever you feel the day is done, allows the option of eating out or catering for yourself, and provides a familiar environment day and night with space to sleep and play for your toddler. We have learnt by our previous mistakes on road trips, altering our son's bed every night, not offering enough down time' and trying to travel to great a distance in a day did not make for a happy vacation for our toddler or the rest of the family. Our recent RV trip around Oregon however was a great hit with all family members.

Oregon has so much to offer; the scenery includes windswept beaches, mountain ranges, volcanoes (active and craters), Valley's and gorges, whilst the outdoor activities are too numerous to mention. Catering for all types of visitors, accommodation ranges from basic state camp grounds through luxury inns and 5 star hotels. Transportation around Oregon could be by any form of motorised transport or via any of the well documented cycle or hiking paths. With so much choice, the state is your oyster!

A great place to start any travels in Oregon is Portland; a city located near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers. With an estimated population of 568,380 it is not one of the largest cities to visit, however, this adds to its charm and you will find yourself quickly exploring the many tree lined streets and its numerous micro breweries (most of which are very family friendly)! Portland has been named the greenest city in the United States, and second greenest in the world and it is easy to see why. Just west of downtown Washington Park is worthy of a visit with toddlers. Home to the Oregon Zoo, the Portland Japanese Garden, and the International Rose Test Garden, you can easily spend a day or two exploring these attractions.

The Oregon coast is a very accessible part of Oregon. Located only an hour

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