It feels like it’s been ages since I’ve written one of these posts, but it’s time for us to ask for your suggestions.
Shae and I are currently in Arizona, although on the blog we’re still writing up everything that we got up to in New Mexico. We’re in Arizona for another month or so and are then planning on heading even further west.
First up will be Oregon for six weeks or so; with it being the summer, we’ll hopefully have good weather for much of our time there. It’s a state that neither Shae nor I have ever been to, but I’m looking forward to it as everything I’ve seen suggests it’s a beautiful state with a huge number of stunningly beautiful waterfalls.
Despite not having been there before, we already have a nice long list of things to do in Oregon thanks to suggestions from friends and our own research, as well as the Bucket List posts that Cassie wrote over at Sites & Bites Journal last year.
There’s no way that we’ll have time to visit all these places, but here’s what we have so far on our possible to-do list:
- Salem – state capital
- Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
- Crater Lake National Park
- Multnomah Falls
- Smith Rock State Park
- Portland Japanese Garden
- Silver Falls State Park
- Oneonta Gorge
- Upper Oneonta Falls
- Heceta Head Lighthouse
- Lost Lake
- Voodoo Doughnut – Old Town
- Cannon Beach – has been in 3 movies
- Noble Rot
- Fire on the Mountain Buffalo Wings
- Rum Club
- Newberg – wine tasting
- The Allison Inn & Spa – eat at restaurant
- Cannery Pier Hotel & Spa
- Thor’s Well
- Cooks Chasm
- Alvord Desert
- Painted Hills
- Tumalo Falls
- Enchanted Farm Sanctuary – Ronnie The Donkey
- Duchess Sanctuary
- Fido’s Sports Bar & Pizzeria – World’s first dog tap house
- Sandy River Delta – giant off-leash dog park
- Deschutes Brewery
- Mount Hood
- Hells Canyon Overlook
- Oxbow
- Bells Up Winery – meet cupcake Pomeranian from UPS Dogs (n.b. this is clearly a Shae item 😉 )
- Bandon Beach
- Sitka Sedge State Natural Area
- Hug Point State Recreation Site
- Oswald West State Park
- Trail of Ten Falls
- Fort Rock State Natural Area
- Lake Owyhee State Park
- Steens Mountain – largest fault block in the US
- National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
- Hat Rock State Park
- Pillars of Rome
- Tamastslikt Cultural Institute
- Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge
- Hells Canyon National Recreation Area – deepest river gorge in the US
- Catherine Creek State Park
- Cottonwood Canyon State Park
- Deschutes National Forest
- Newberry National Volcanic Monument – Deschutes NF
- Pilot Butte
- Bridal Veil Falls
- Dry Creek Falls
- Portland Women’s Forum State Scenic Viewpoint
- Pup Creek Waterfall
- White River Falls State Park
- Ramona Falls
- Umbrella Falls
- Sahalie Falls
- Jonsrud Viewpoint
- Proxy Falls
- Salt Creek Falls
- Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm & Vineyard – appears to be pet-friendly
- Hogan Butte Nature Park
- Canemah Bluff Nature Park
- End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
- Willamette Falls
- Powell’s City of Books – world’s largest independent bookstore
- Tom McCall Waterfront Park
- Tamanawas Falls – can walk behind the waterfalls
- Haystack Rock
As things stand, here’s a map with everything from the list above pinned on there:
I do this to help visualize where everything is as it helps me plan whereabouts we should stay in each state. The largest collection of pins in the northwest part of the state represents things to do in and around Portland. We’ll likely stay there several weeks, not only because there’s so much to do there but because we have good friends who live in Portland and so that’ll give us an opportunity to spend some time with them.
There’s a collection of pins to the east of Eugene which is Bend, so we’ll likely stay there too. We’ll probably try to stay in the northeast of the state where there’s a handful of pins, along with in the southeast part of Oregon where there’s another handful of pinned places.
Your Suggestions
Despite having such a long list of things to do in Oregon already, we’d love even more suggestions to make sure there’s nothing we’d miss out on that we’d really want to do.
That’s where you come in. Have you visited or lived in Oregon and have suggestions of places to visit, hike, eat, drink, etc.? Even if you haven’t visited Oregon, is there something there that you’ve always wanted to visit that you think we might like? If so, please let us know in the comments below and I’ll get them added to our list.
In particular, the southwestern part of the state looks a little sparse. I feel like there must be more stuff to do in and around Eugene and Medford, so any suggestions you have for there would be even more helpful, but we’ll gladly take any recommendations you have for things to do anywhere in Oregon 🙂
It would be just over the state line, but I’ve heard there’s a good wine region around Walla Walla, WA. Never been personally, so I can’t speak to it, but the region has been winning lots of awards. I would also be careful if you’re staying in downtown Portland because there’s been ongoing riots and a big homeless problem.
Thanks for the heads up about that – I’ve added Walla Walla to our WA list 🙂
I just read your Albuquerque post and you stated how you hadn’t had time to hike. Oregon is colder but shouldn’t be too arthritic.
So I
Suggest seeing that green luxury plush nature that hasn’t been affected by forest fire — then as an affect taking time at some point to hike in a previously burnt vacant land.
Oregon has a luxury of being close to the coast so the ecology is SO much different than the southwest.
I desperately wish to be out of the desert and into something that can sustain the ability to grow grass.
Thus I encourage you to see what nature has to offer.
Also ensure Shae wears sunscreen. Her skin seems much more fair than yours.
Thank you, will do. Yep, Shae’s generally pretty good with wearing sunscreen, although we both neglected to do that when visiting White Sands a few weeks ago. Thankfully we didn’t end up too badly red!
We loved our 2 week trip to Oregon. You have some great options. In Portland, try to get to the Saturday farmer’s market. The biscuits that we tried at Pine Street Biscuit’s stand were epic. The Japanese gardens are beautiful but are a bit pricey. The rose test garden is nearby and is free. You also need to hit some Portland food trucks and do a taste test comparing Blue Star donuts to Voodoo. Lots of great wineries. In the Mount Hood area, Skyway Bar and Grill has great BBQ. They had live music, a fire pit, and corn hole, but that may not be in use now. The National Park Service gives a cool hotel tour at the hotel on Mount Hood but that may be on hold due to Covid. There are some nice hiking trails on the road leading to Mount Hood. I remember one having a small lake that was very pretty.
Wow, thanks so much for all those suggestions – I’ve added them all to our list.
Stephen and Shae,
I really hope you stop at Oneonta Gorge and hike thru the water back to the Falls.Would love to hear a report on that experience.A couple years back I tried the hike, the water was chest deep and I could not get over a log jam.Hope to return in 2022.Have a great time!
Ooh, that hike looks like a great adventure. I’ll definitely add that to our list – hopefully the water is warm enough in June or July.
That’s not an option. That area is closed post fire, and if you did try to sneak in the fines are substantial. It may never reopen.
We did a day of driving up the shoreline. Started with Cannon Beach, then stopped at Seaside Beach (where the Lewis and Clark Expedition ended) and then went to Fort Stevens State Park to see the Peter Iredale Shipwreck on the beach and then finally stopped in Astoria to see the seals. Also, highly recommend climbing up the trail to Multmomah Falls.
Thanks for those suggestions – I’ve added them to our list. We have quite a few places on our list that are dotted all up the coast, so a day or two driving up the coast sounds like a great idea to see them all.
Oregon garden in Silverton near Salem. Peterson Rock Garden in Bend/Redmond area. The Metolius River. Enjoy the Wings at Fire on the Mountain!
Thanks for the suggestions – those have all been added to our list 🙂
I feel like you will need more than 6 weeks in Oregon!! There is so much to see and it is such a big state. We spent last summer in Eugene, OR and a month the summer before driving down the coast.
Crater Lake NP is a must see. It makes for a long day as there are minimal places to stay out near the park unless you are camping. Also, it is not dog friendly other than the drive around the rim and a short walk near the visitor’s center.
The coast is beautiful but as a heads up it is cold and windy most days. Florence, OR has large dunes. Hobbit Beach Trail was a great little trail down to a secluded beach. On the southern coast we liked the Samuel H Boardman State Scenic Area. There are several trails there, Natural Bridge overlook is great.
There is a lot to do in Eugene although we didn’t really get to experience a lot of food or drinking spots in the city due to COVID last summer. But there are a lot of great dog friendly hikes in the area. Spencer Butte is the highest point in Eugene and there is a hike up with awesome views of the Willamette Valley and out to the Cascades. Mt Pisgah is another good one. If you like covered bridges there are are a ton and in Cottage Grove there is a route you can see several. Clear Lake is out east out near Proxy Falls and there is a hike around the lake or you could rent a kayak or paddle board. The water is crystal clear and has an underwater forest preserved from when it was formed. People really like Tamolitch Blue Pool but we never got to go because it was really busy.
Oh! and if you are there in July there are several different lavender fields! We went to on west of Portland. Lavender Valley up near Mt Hood has been on our bucketlist.
Let me know if you have any questions! We loved Oregon! We didn’t get to get any of the eastern part of the state, we were going to head over to Bend last September but a wildfire cancelled our plans.
one more thing to add on the coast- the Tillamook Creamery. Not sure how it is these days with COVID but they used to have a tour and free cheese.
Wow, thanks so much for all those suggestions! It definitely seems like more than 6 weeks is needed to see everything in Oregon.
You should see the Oregon Caves in Cave Junction, OR in the southwest corner near the CA border.
Thanks for your suggestion – I’ve added that to our list too.