Originally Posted by Doug64

The train can get you to some of the best places to start. An option that worked out well for us was to take the train to Vancouver B.C. head north to Powell River, over to Vancouver Island, down to Washington. From there you can either take the Coast Route or the Hood Canal Route to Astoria. In Astoria you can catch the Amtrak bus back to PDX or go further down the coast if you have time. You can catch Amtrak in the Willamette Valley in many place form Eugene north to Portland. The B.C. segment is outstanding, but IMO the Washington portion was interesting, but nothing special. You have to realize that living in Oregon has spoiled me

I'm biased, but I think Oregon's coast is the best ride of the entire Pacific Coast Route. Catch the bus at the Amtrak station in Portland or ride to Astoria and head south. The rub here is return transportation. When we were doing the Pacific Coast Rout we had a family emergency and had to bail out near Crescent City. The only good option that worked for us was a rental car. When we decided to finish it we used a rental car to get back to Crescent City.