Destination overview

With a magnificent coastline, volcanic mountains, crystal-clear lakes and deserts that stretch as far as the eye can see, Oregon is a place of beauty. In Oregon, there’s always something to do. You can play world-class golf, cycle along hundreds of miles of designated bike lanes, take road-trips to wine country, hunt for fossils or enjoy a brilliant play at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Oregon is on the West Coast, right between Washington and California and has the ocean, mountains, valleys, high desert, cities, small towns and almost everything in between.

Oregon is a big place. It stretches 400 miles across and is over 360 miles long and you could squeeze a whole lot of smaller states inside it. Oregon is divided into seven diverse regions – Greater Portland, Central Oregon, Eastern Oregon, Mt Hood/The Gorge, Oregon Coast, Southern Oregon, and Willamette Valley.

Salem, the capital city of Oregon and its second largest city, lies in the centre of the lush Willamette River Valley, 47 miles from Portland.

Greater Portland

Portland has been described as America’s most European city. It’s a great walking city with good public transportation, a progressive atmosphere that celebrates the arts, a culture of great food, artisan coffee, beer and wine and neighbourhoods full of shops selling handmade clothes, crafts and furniture. It’s also an easy city to base yourself and travel to the mountains, waterfalls, wine country and other assorted outdoor attractions that Oregon is so famous for, as they are all only a short drive away.

Explore a wealth of history in Oregon City, the original capital of the Oregon Territory. The city is home to numerous historical museums such as The End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center and the Museum of the Oregon Territory. While close in vicinity to Portland, it seems like a world away.

Central Oregon

Central Oregon averages 300 sunny days every year, and if you’re into mountain biking, horse riding, golfing, fly-fishing, skiing, caving, rock climbing or any other outdoor activity, then you’re in the right place.

La Pine State Park is great for fishing, swimming, picnicking, hiking and boating. Lakes are brimming with trout and there is exceptional skiing during the winter months. Abundant wildlife and beautiful vistas are also what make this park one-of-a-kind. The park is also home to Oregon’s largest ponderosa pine. Nicknamed “Big Red”, the tree is 162 feet tall, 28.9 feet in diameter and is probably in excess of 500 years old.

Mt Bachelor is one of the Pacific Northwest’s largest ski areas. Only 20 minutes form Bend and Sunriver, Mt Bachelor is a 9,065-foot volcanic cone, offering world-class skiing and snowboarding from November through to May. With 3,683 acres of terrain served by a network of ten lifts, seven of which are high-speed quads, there’s room for every interest and ability.

Eastern Oregon

Eastern Oregon takes up almost half the state. Geographically, Eastern Oregon ranges from alpine mountaintops and raging rivers to endless desert with ghosts towns, bustling towns and painted hills of ancient fossil beds in between.

The Malheur National Forest has 502 miles of designated snowmobile trails and 6.5 miles of cross-country ski trails. It encompasses 1,460,000 acres of the Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon. The diverse and beautiful scenery of the forest includes high desert grasslands, sage and juniper, pine, fir and other tree species, and the hidden gems of alpine lakes and meadows. Elevations vary from about 4,000 feet to the 9,038-foot top of Strawberry Mountain. The Strawberry Mountain range extends east to west through the centre of the Forest.

The Malheur National Forest offers a full range of outdoor recreation opportunities in an uncrowded region. Here you can picnic and go fishing, horse riding, hunting, four-wheel driving, motorcycle and ATV riding, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling.

Mt Hood/The Gorge

Mt Hood is the highest point in Oregon and is not so much a mountain as an active volcano and the crown jewel of the Columbia River Gorge. Mt Hood’s slopes are just waiting to be climbed, skied, snowboarded and hiked. Its many lakes and rivers provide some wonderful canoeing, swimming and fishing, while its foothills offer orchards, farms full of fresh ingredients and exotic wildflowers.

The Milo McIver State Park is certainly worth a visit while you’re in this region as it is a little-known gem where you can spend a day or a week exploring the river, forest and fields. There are lots of recreational opportunities including boating, hiking, fishing, wildlife and bird watching, horse riding and biking. You can also go rafting, canoeing or kayaking on the picturesque Clackamas River, but it does sometimes become wild. There’s also an 18-hole golf course, while the town of Estacada is only four miles away.

Oregon Coast

The Oregon Coast goes on for 363 miles and its beaches are high and wide sandy dunes, while other parts of the coast are covered by the docks of working ports, host to fishing boats bringing fresh sustainable seafood to market. There are more beaches atop sheer cliffs rising straight out of the ocean and topped with hiking trails, lighthouses and some of the finest golf courses in the world.

South Beach State Park and the surrounding areas offer a variety of recreational opportunities including fishing, crabbing, boating, windsurfing, hiking, picnicking, biking, beachcombing and simply viewing the magnificent scenery.

Adjacent to South Beach State Park, South Jetty has horse access to the beach. One of the most exciting services offered at South Beach is kayak tours where you will spend two hours exploring the fascinating Beaver Creek area with a guide.

Other attractions nearby include the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, marine life exhibits at the Hatfield Marine Science Center and the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

Southern Oregon

Southern Oregon offers some of the state’s most refined and rugged adventures. On the one hand there’s the Tony-Award winning Shakespeare Festival in Ashland and visits to nearby vineyards, chocolatiers and cheese makers, and of course, the fine restaurants that serve the fruits of their labour.

But Southern Oregon is also home to Crater Lake, the deepest and possibly bluest lake in the country, the Oregon Caves National Monument, and the raging Rogue River.

A wide variety of recreation opportunities are available in the Rogue River National Forest which encompasses approximately 400 miles of trails for hiking, mountain biking and horse riding. As well, the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail runs the entire length of the Forest, through the remote back country of the Sky Lakes Wilderness along the spine of the High Cascades and extends westward along the crest of the Siskiyou Mountains.

Willamette Valley

The Willamette Valley is known for its award-winning, world-renowned wine, and there are over 200 vineyards producing some of the best Pinot Gris, Riesling and Pinot Noir wine you will find. Organic livestock is also raised here and local produce is sold at farmers’ markets that dot the historic towns and sides of the roads that you can either bike or drive. These roads are connected by covered bridges and back roads that lead to the college towns of Eugene and Corvallis which are filled with cafes, bookstores, sports arenas and, of course, wine shops and wine bars.