I like the response by @gardenstategal .
Bates is very outdoorsy and if that’s important to you, you’ll have an easier time getting into nature, given that Lewiston is much smaller than Portland. From Lewiston it’s really easy to get to the coast and the mountains. I know Portland, Oregon well, and Reed has a great location, but it’s not as easy to get into nature if that matters to you.
There is plenty of intellectual curiosity at both schools, but Reed is known for being academically intense. In general, I would say that Reed students are probably more intellectual overall, while Bates students value that but it’s not their main quality. Please do plenty of research on the drug issue, because Reed certainly had (has?) a reputation for hard drugs. Bates is definitely more of a beer place.
There are plenty of geeks at Bates. My daughter and her friends all fit that description, haha. There is a quite a gap in the retention rates between both schools. Bates’ is 94%, while Reed’s is 88%. The retention rate means freshmen who stay after the first year. If your plans include grad school, both have high acceptance rates. If you believe you will need better connections for jobs, I give the edge to Bates. Also consider, if you attend Reed, the connections you make there may lead to being in the PNW, while the connections at Bates might lead to being in the NE.