Visit Central Oregon

Trip Guide

Weekend Escape: Depoe Bay on the Oregon Coast

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  Forget sandy beaches. This wild stretch of the Oregon coast is all about frothy waves crashing into basalt headlands, and passing grey whales. The small town of Depoe Bay sits between two Oregon Coast hotspots–Lincoln City to the north and Newport to the south, which may be why it’s often overlooked by travelers to […]

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STAY & PLAY: Mount Baker

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There are two kinds of Northwesterners – those who know about the awesomeness of Mount Baker, and those who don’t (yet). I’m about to put you in the first camp, and once you visit Baker for the first time you will go back, again and again. The Mount Baker Highway (Hwy 542) is a spur route that […]

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Trip Guide: John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

This sunny Central Oregon treasure is the perfect spring escape for hikers and rockhounds. At first glance, you see a stunning landscape with multicolored badlands and eroded pinnacles. And you think, this looks like Utah, or maybe even another planet. But it’s right here in the Pacific Northwest. The John Day River cuts trenches through […]

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Quick Escape: Soak at Harrison Hot Springs

The thermally-active Pacific Northwest is home to many natural hot springs rumored to hold therapeutic powers to cure what ails you–or at least warm up your achy muscles after a winter hike. Yes, winter hike… or summer, or fall, or whenever a dip strikes your fancy. That’s the wonderful thing about natural hot springs–you can soak year-round, but in […]

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Guidebook: Autumn Escapes in the Pacific Northwest

Welcome to fall! If you ask me, this is the best season for Northwest weekend getaways for a number of reasons. That’s why I’ve written a book on it! Autumn offers unique, colorful and delicious opportunities to explore the Pacific Northwest. Get inspired to spend your fall weekends combing rocky beaches, savoring the harvest, and […]

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Quick Escape: Bend, Oregon

Bend is a sophisticated, outdoorsy town tucked in the eastern Cascade foothills, surrounding by some of the finest hiking trails, ski runs and fishing streams the Northwest has to offer. With more than 250 days of sun per year, you can visit Bend year-round, but autumn is particularly nice. Hike among fall foliage through late October, […]

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Quick Escape: Salt Spring Island

Between Vancouver Island and the mainland lies the Strait of Georgia, where a string of islands are strewn like emeralds. One of these gems is Salt Spring Island. Part of the beautiful and idyllic southern Gulf Islands, Salt Spring Island is placed perfectly within a sun-dappled rain shadow. British Columbia’s Gulf Islands are, geologically speaking, […]

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Quick Escape: Lake Crescent

People come to glacially-carved Lake Crescent to see its crystal clear waters ringed with fragrant conifers. They stay for an enchanting hike to a waterfall and a night at the historic lakeside lodge. Thousands of years ago, massive sheets of ice carved this long, deep lake through the Olympic mountains. And deep it is–the second deepest […]

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TRIP GUIDE: Walla Walla Wine Country

Ask a local wine lover which Northwest region is producing the most complex, interesting reds right now, and Walla Walla will probably top their list. And while not all great wine regions are necessarily great travel destinations, you’re in luck. Walla Walla is both. And it’s much closer than you think. We visited Walla Walla […]

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Trip Guide: Tofino on Vancouver Island

Catch a winter storm or get a head start on summer crowds – both are great reasons for an off-season escape to Tofino on the dramatically wild western edge of Vancouver Island. Well off the beaten path, Tofino sits on a narrow spit that juts into Clayoquot Sound, surrounded on three sides by saltwater and […]

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