Early season hiking
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My hubby & I were planning to go backpacking next week along the Wenaha River, but we've both come down with colds. He thinks he'd be up for staying in a hotel & day hiking from there, but I'm having trouble coming up with centralized areas that will be snow-free this early. We've done extensive hiking in the areas you can easily reach from Portland, plus the Santiam/Three Sisters area, but nothing other than that. I'm also not a big fan of the Coast. Anyone have any ideas out there? Is there anything in Northern California that would be accessible this time of year?
If you're ok with travelling to California, you might also want to look at the Lost Coast and Kings Range in northern California. The town of Ferndale is quite nice, and there are a few day hikes that could be done along the coast and in the mountains. I don't think the Lost Coast sees too many people.
You may also want to look at heading up to Forks or Port Angeles and doing some hikes along the Washington Coast or up some of the valleys in the Olympics.
Of the three options I've given, Dunsmuir probably has the greatest probability of having nice weather. I'm not sure of the snow situation in the Trinity Alps area and how high up in elevation you can get, so you would probably have to check with the ranger district down there to know what hiking options are available. Dunsmuir is a great little town and would make a good base also. The Cornerstone Cafe makes a great breakfast!
Forrest
Thanks for the suggestion, Forrest.
I think I dislike the Coast hikes because I probably just haven't had good experiences doing them. The traffic from Portland to most areas on the Coast is terrible, the hikes I've done have had more people than I like encountering, plus the weather has been bad every time I've gone.
PDXHiker
What is it about the coast that you don't like (depending on your answer I may have a few ideas)?
Dunsmuir in Northern California may be a good option. The town is great (small town, good scenery, restaurants and architecture), and you have the Castle Crags area, the Pacific Crest Trail, and you may be able to do some of the lower elevation areas of the Trinity Alps mountains.
Forrest