It's a big state with a lot to see. :) I'll just make a few comments on what you listed...

RE: Columbia River -- there are some beautiful drives/hikes in the Columbia Gorge near Multnomah Falls. http://www.travelportland.com/article/two-days-columbia-river-gorge/

That web site has good recommendations for that area. The scenic drive (that runs parallel to interstate 84) that roughly connects the Vista House to Multnomah Falls is beautiful. There are also numerous hikes along that drive. In that vicinity (on I84) is the Bridge of the Gods, which has nice views and is well-known. It is a toll bridge, though. The city of Hood River might be too far east for your adventures, but it has a cute (small) downtown with nice shops and restaurants.

RE: Crater Lake... I've never stayed the night there. It was always just a day trip for us. Two nights there might be too much, unless you have specific hikes in mind that I don't know about. If I was in that part of the world, I would be inclined to venture towards Bend/Sunriver and tour the various lava flows and high desert scenery. Bend is between Crater Lake and Portland, depending upon the route you take. That eastern Oregon area might be really HOT that time of year, though.

RE: the coast... the coast highway is gorgeous with endless vistas. There are a number of towns (particularly in the northern half of the state) that are worth a visit.... for example, Cannon Beach and Seaside area..

If you want more specific info, feel free to message me or reply.

Thanks for that link, it is exactly the type of information we're looking for and one of the parts of Oregon we want to visit and hike. The over-achiever in me wants to see it all, especially since we're traveling across the country from the SE to the NW.

We definitely will want to see mostly the north part of the coast and Cannon Beach and Seaside were on my list as is maybe Newport. Should we go further south than that? And what is the best route to take? Should Crater Lake and points in that direction be after the Mt Hood area or after the coast drive?

I appreciate the offer to message you and will probably do that. We're having dinner with our friend Saturday night to talk about our itinerary and will talk about some plans. If you have some inns or hotels along the coast to recommend, would appreciate that info.

If you've never been whitewater rafting, rafting on the Deschutes River north of Bend is fun and not dangerous. I think you can raft on the Rogue in southern Oregon if you need more of a thrill.

Rafting

Cannon Beach is nice and touristy thanks to the crowds of Portlanders who escape there during summer heat waves (late July - August) in Portland Metro. Keep in mind that highways from the Cannon Beach area to Portland can be congested on Sunday afternoons/evenings, as people return after the weekend on the coast.

We do camping on the Oregon coast every summer. Of all the places we've visited, Beverly Beach State Park is my favorite. It's basically next to the beach but also sheltered from whipping ocean winds in a forest behind a tall highway bank. The beach is splendid and Newport is a short drive south. We stayed in a yurt several times there. However, the spots at the park fill up quickly. We typically do campground reservations for summer in the fall or winter. If you don't get a reservation, the beach is still a great spot to make a rest stop during a long drive. Beverly Beach State Park - TripAdvisor

Yachats, a small town south of Newport, is wonderful too. Our favorite place to stay is Ocean Cove Inn. Try to get a room in the upper building so you'll have an access to the open terrace with a view of the bay. There are several small seafood restaurants and grocery shop, all of them within a walking distance. In the room they provided a complimentary bottle of local wine, two wineglasses and a corkscrew. Although the inn has a sea view, it's sheltered from the winds because it's inside a bay, not right on the ocean front. Last time my DH and I had a lovely time sitting on the terrace after dark and enjoying the view of the moonlit bay and the quaint town's life going on beneath the terrace. Ocean Cove Inn - Trip Advisor

Shore Acres has a beautiful garden, and there are scenic Cape Arago rocks nearby. Well worth a visit during a drive along the coast. Shore Acres State Park

Depending on what kind of experience you want, my recommendation would be to follow mayflower's suggestions. But add in one day at Crater Lake. It's worth the drive. I really hate the northern coast scene in the summer. The coast is beautiful everywhere, but tourist trappy and SO CROWDED! Seaside and Cannon Beach...ugh. I love driving north from Bandon, it's long and slow but gorgeous and much less crowded. If you golf, there are world class Links style golf courses in Bandon that are a huge draw. Here is one site - I'm not a golfer, so maybe there are others/better ones. Golf in Bandon I also like her suggestion to head over to McMinville and skip the further northern coast areas in summer. There are many good wineries and restaurants in that area.

Whatever you decide to do, get reservations NOW. You'll never get lodging otherwise - lots of places have minimum stays in the summer. I'm quite fond of a little town in the central coast called Manzanita. Small, a tiny bit less touristy, some good restaurants and cute shops. A beautiful public beach with lots of kite surfers to watch (or do). Kite surfing

I love the Oregon Coast and feel lucky to get to go there pretty often. I love ALL of Oregon, actually!

I think the coast is ok midweek in summer, right?

Mid-week should be less crowded in many areas on the coast. In general, tourist crowds diminish as you travel south, away from Portland Metro. Some hotel rates can be a bit lower mid-week, too. Cannon Beach, Seaside and Lincoln City get lots of weekend and day visitors. I'm not fond of Lincoln City. My personal opinion is that it's a discount version of Cannon Beach, more on the tacky side. Newport can be a bit crowded too, but not as much.

In high season most campgrounds are booked full throughout the week. Hotels - not so much, but more popular ones could fill up early.

Last summer we went to Yachats mid-week on the spur of the moment. I was able to reserve a room at Ocean Cove Inn less than a week in advance. Our trip was during the last week of July. I remember that the website showed it was booked full the weekend before our travel dates and the weekend after.

There were chain hotels like Best Western that had rooms available, but they were sort of blah to me. More expensive hotels, like Driftwood Shores near Florence, are more likely to have vacancies, too.

On the other side, a high season means most businesses (shops, restaurants, galleries, museums, boat / crabbing/ fishing tour agencies, etc.) would be operating in full gear. Off-season, many businesses reduce their hours or close altogether.

If it's of any interest for you, you could sign up for an ocean boat tour or a day of crabbing/fishing with a guided group. There are agencies in Newport, and, if I remember it correctly, in Depoe Bay. You could Google them. The tours vary in length from a few hours to a full day.

There are several B&Bs too. Four years ago we stayed at Ocean House in Newport. Newport is a good base with several restaurants. We stayed in the Far East room, and it was very quiet, comfortable, and spacious, with a little bit of an ocean view. It's on a cliff facing the ocean with a walk down to a windy beach. They have a large dining room with several tables and great breakfasts. The owners also had the Tyee Lodge next door and served breakfast for both B&Bs at the Ocean House. Now I see they sold the Ocean House but reviews look good. Tyee Lodge is nice too but the rooms are tiny. It has a Native American theme, which reminds me--when you go to the Portland Art Museum, which is fantastic, save some energy to go to the top floor for the Northwest Native American section.

Ocean House

We vacationed on the Oregon coast last late-August. I was told that it was the perfect time there. We stayed at the Salishan Golf Resort, south of Lincoln City. Despite some earlier bad reviews of the place, it was fantastic! Under new management and/or owner did the job. We're hoping to get back there again this August.

DH, who's lived in the Portland area for forty years, also mentioned Salishan if you like a resort.

Oh boy! Thank you all so much for the recommendations. I especially appreciate the lodging recommendations. The Ocean House sounds lovely as does Salishan (thank you Lynn and May). Newport was on our list of possibilities so glad to know it's among your favorites. We are not golfers. Well, DH does sometimes, but that is not the focus of this trip. We definitely want to narrow down some lodging choices and make some reservations in the next week or so as we expect things would fill up on weekends.

May_flowers, I will check out those places near Bend and we may go to those. Sounds interesting. And rafting might be a possibility if we can fit it in. We love to whitewater raft! We have done several major trips...Gauley (class III thru V and probably the most thrilling and challenging of any we've done), Green River (2 nights on the river), Chattooga (yes, think 'Deliverance'), and several others.

Lana_Roma, Beverly Beach sounds like a good place to go to also, so will check it out. I love state parks, even if it ends up being a place we just drive through. I believe some friends stayed in Yachats a few years back. Will ask them as they will be at dinner with us Saturday.

We will likely try to visit the coast mid-week after the wine festival on the weekend. Sounds like we might enjoy a less-touristy visit that way.