Oregon is an American coastal state in the northwest Pacific region popular for its diverse landscape of mountains, forests, beaches, and farms. Portland, the largest city in Oregon is known for its bizarre, avant-garde customs and houses iconic boutiques, coffee shops, microbreweries and farm to table restaurants. Historical places like the native American art, the Japanese Garden and the Lan Su Chinese garden are legendary here. Oregon’s volcanoes, dense and thick evergreen forests, abundant rivers and lakes, mixed forests and high deserts and desolate shrublands define its diverse geographic features. The places to visit in Oregon that showcases these natural wonders in the finest manner possible are numerous. Take a look at this list of all the places that you can visit on your vacation!
Top 10 Places To Visit In Oregon
Here is a list of all the top places to visit in Oregon. There is definitely something for every kind of traveler in this destination. Go through this list of all the attractions that you must visit when traveling to Oregon,
1. Crater Lake National Park, Southwest Oregon
The form of an ancient Caldera formed from an extinct volcano, the crater lake offers a view like nowhere else. The lake is located inside the crater lake national park surrounded by the cascade mountains in the southwestern region of Oregon. The extinct volcano, mount mazama’s lava cliffs rise to a height of 2000 feet around that extremely deep and intensely blue lake. Rim Drive is located just a few kilometers away from the edge of the crater lake and surrounds the lake in a clockwise way. Rim drive begins at the rim village and tourists can go around this only in the summer months. The road remains inaccessible throughout winter due to snow showers. Tourists visit this place for a weekend trip and camp at the nearby sites found at the mazama campground. The national park also offers backpacking and hiking opportunities to the tourists and magnificent trails like watchman peak offers a mesmerising view of the crater lake.
How to reach: the crater lake is about 80 miles to the northeast of Medford. It can be reached either from US route 97 is coming from the east or by highway 62 if coming from the south-west and by highway 138 on the northwest.
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2. Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area
South to the city of Florence begins the dune landscape of the dunes national recreation area, Oregon. The dune landscape stretches all along the coast of the Pacific Ocean for a distance of 40 miles before reaching the cross-bay. The dunes are massive and wind-shaped and offer a unique area to be explored on foot. There are places in between the dunes like the Umpqua dunes area at Winchester Bay and the sand master park.
The dunes are found within the Siuslaw national forest. There are other attractions to be visited like the Heceta Head lighthouse and the Cape Perpetua. The Jessie M. Memorial state park offers Amazon camping grounds beside the Oregon coast.
How to reach: Tourists can go to the Oregon dunes park from Portland by bus, car, train or plane. The cheapest mode of transportation from Portland is an almost 4-hour drive to Oregon that Costs about 1500 to 2000 rupees
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3. Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
The Columbia River Gorge national scenic area has been built on the Columbia River as it cuts through the cascade mountains. The George formed here, divides Oregon and Washington. A range of camping, hiking and biking facilities can be availed in this region. This is considered to be one of the many great destinations in the world. The Columbia River forms several waterfalls, among which the Multnomah falls is the tallest in Oregon. It is located on the Multnomah creek, between Dodson and Corbett in Oregon, America. The waterfall spans across two tiers of basalt cliffs and is 62ft in height.
How to reach: The Multnomah waterfall can be accessed from the famous Columbia river highway and interstate 84.
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4. Haystack Rocks, Cannon Beach
The cannon beach is a popular resort destination among tourists located on the northern Oregon coast. This place again offers views of wide stretches of sand and the amazing sight of the jagged coastal rocks. Haystack rock, the biggest of these monolithic structures dominates the background of this coastal beach. This place is also full of boutique shops, restaurants, and great hotels. The mesmerising Tillamook head and ecola state park lies in the northern part of cannon beach. These places offer scenic as well as historic beauty to be explored. Other historical places near the cannon park include Clark salt works and the Lewis.
How to reach: Tourists travel to cannon beach mostly from Manzanita. It takes about 19 mins to cover 21.4 km and costs about 100 to 160 rupees if you are taking a drive.
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5. Washington Park, Portland
Oregon has several delightful gardens and parks, but none of them are as beautiful and dense as the Washington Park in Portland. The global rose test garden is located inside the park premises close to the impressive Portland Japanese garden. All these parks and gardens exhibit exclusive horticultural expertise. For tourists, the park offers an array of fun explorations like best hiking trails, camping, etc near the Oregon zoo, children’s museum at Portland, Washington park, etc.
How to reach: located just 2 miles west of downtown, tourists can access this place via MAX light rail, Portland’s organised light-rail system that connects metropolitan cities to the downtown core.
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6. Mount Hood National Forest
Mount hood mountain is an important landmark in the geography of Oregon, rising to a height of 11,239 feet. On its slopes are mesmerising hiking trails like the timberline trail and offerings at mount hood ski bowl. The scenic beauty can be seen through the mount hood scenic loop. Nearby this mountain is timberline lodge and the memorial town of government camp. Surrounding this mountain range is the mount hood national forest where tourists get to see hot springs and waterfalls.
How to reach: There are public modes of transportation, personal shuttles, rideshares that make this place accessible. The Mt. Hood express transit is a public bus that operates all through the week and has bus stoppages at several places including this place. Tourists can buy tickets accordingly.
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7. Bend
Bend is located roughly in the middle of Oregon, defined by volcanoes, arid plains, and dense forests. The high desert museum located at Bend exhibits things related to the arid conditions of this part. Fun things to enjoy in Bend include rafting trips on the Deschutes river, going for excursions to the lava butte and Newberry national volcanic monument. Tourists take part in skiing at the mount bachelor ski area as well. Nearby famous rock climbing destination is the smith rock. In addition to hiking trails, mountain biking trails also give opportunities to tourists to explore the natural scenic beauty of this bend. Tourists often go around the cascade lakes scenic byway that encompasses the Deschutes National forest. All through the drive, they visualize mountains, lakes and eye-soothing sceneries with many camping and picnic grounds available. Tumalo Falls is a unique waterfall present just 10 miles away from the bend.
How to reach: driving from Oregon to Bend takes about 4 hrs 23 minutes and costs about 1500 rupees. Any direct bus service linking Oregon to Bend is however not available.
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8. Hood River
The hood river is situated on the banks of the Columbia River. It is popular for windsurfing and kiteboarding and also for the array of adventure sports that it offers to tourists like biking, camping, hiking, etc. Close to the hood river is the historic Columbia river scenic byway, also called the mount hood railway road where people can hop around and spend some time. This place is replete with coffee shops, live music venues, shops and restaurants, hotels and whatnot.
How to reach: people generally reach the hood river by bus or light rail services in Oregon.
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9. Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, Brookings
Situated on the south coast of Oregon, between the gold beach and Brookings is the Samuel h. Boardman state scenic corridor which is a 12-mile long park exhibiting some of the most beautiful Oceanside sceneries of Oregon. This place is defined by the Oregon coast trail, camping sites, rock formations, beaches and nature’s beauty at its best. Popular destinations around this corridor include Indian sands, arch rock, and the lone ranch beach.
How to reach: The fastest way to travel to the Hood River from Bend is to drive. It takes about 3 hours and costs anything between 1000 to 1500
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10. Smith Rock State Park, Terrebonne
An International ascending destination in halfway Oregon, Smith Rock State Park, close to Bend, has above 1,000 bolted sport paths backing a remarkable river canyon environment. It’s not only hikers who flock to this open-air playground just exterior of Bend, though; mountain bikers, climbers, and photographers can be spotted touring amidst the extended high-desert cozy weather season. Smith Rock is residence to one of the finest hiking trails nearby Bend, and notwithstanding its apprehending name, Misery Ridge at Smith Rock delivers a completely extraordinary sight of the twisted river and canyon walls.
How to reach: Tourists generally drive from Eugene to smith rock state park, and it takes about 3 hours and involves 850 to 1000 transportation costs.
Further Read: 9 Best Zoos In Oregon That’ll Make Your U.S. Trip More Funtastic & Memorable
Oregon is filled with fields, farms, parks, hiking trails, camping sites and people from the Midwest. The crater lake, haystack rock, Multnomah falls and timberline are a few of the wonderful places to visit in Oregon. It’s a place filled with tall mountains and beaches and waterfalls that are blissfully beautiful and impressive. People fall in love with the place the very first time they visit. The cities here are trendy, bizarre and ultra-modern. They offer limitless options for adventure activities. Surely add Oregon on your next itinerary of the trip to the USA!
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Frequently Asked Questions About Places to Visit in Oregon
Which are the top tourist destinations in Oregon?
Some of the best places to visit in Oregon are Crater Lake National Park, Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Haystack Rocks, Washington Park, and more.
What are the top things to do in Oregon?
Here are some of the best experiences you can enjoy in Oregon:
1. Visit Oregon Coast Aquarium
2. Enjoy a fun-filled morning at Terwilliger Hot Springs
3. Visit National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
4. Witness nature’s bliss at Crater Lake National Park
5. Visit Sea Lion Caves
Can I visit Oregon during the current Covid situation?
Yes, you can plan a visit to Oregon during the current Covid situation. However, make sure that you are completely vaccinated and always carry your vaccination certificate. Besides this, you need to follow government protocols that include wearing a mask when in public, sanitizing hands at certain intervals, and maintaining social distance.
What is Oregon best known for?
The state is well known for its fishing practices and as a leading producer of hydroelectricity. The state also has a thriving wine and agricultural base and has many gorgeous parks and gardens.
What type of weather does Oregon experience?
West Oregon roughly experiences temperate oceanic climate having cloudy skies in winters and cool summers. Eastern Oregon comparatively experiences arid climate.
When to visit Oregon?
The coasts receive more rainfall, hence wetter weather than the interior cities. The best month to visit this place can thus be between August and October. The temperature remains quite cold and rains frequently.
What are the few interesting facts about Oregon?
The following facts about Oregon are well known:
1. The 2000 feet deep crater lake in Oregon is the deepest in America.
2. The shortest river in the world, D River is also in Oregon.
3. Since mushroom hunting is so popular in Oregon, the people celebrate the Estacada Festival of the fungus dedicated to mushroom hunting.
4. Oregon doesn’t charge sales tax in any of its products Oregon state’s flag is the only flag to have two different designs on both sides of it. The golden beaver on one side and the state seal on the other.
How many days are enough for exploring Portugal?
A trip of 3-4 days would be enough to witness the best of Portugal. To enjoy your vacation, you can go sightseeing and indulge in outdoor activities.
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