If you've seen the comedy "Portlandia," you know Portland, Oregon, as a bike-friendly city that's full of food carts, indie bookstores, farm-to-table restaurants and an embarrassing number of coffee shops. Most of these characterizations are pretty accurate. However, it's also a city that boasts more than 150 parks, including the largest forested park in the nation, 70 breweries (and counting) and one-of-a-kind fun things to do like the Freakybutttrue Peculiarium.
If you plan to travel in June,
Downtown Eugene, Oregon is decidedly more laid back and outdoorsy than much larger and more renowned Portland to the north. The University of Oregon's extensive in-town footprint and streets packed with local non-chain shopping make it a pedestrian haven. Strolling here especially on weekends during the warmer months envelops you in the city's music scene like a sax player belting out tunes under a cavernous overpass enhancing the acoustics and gritty blues guitarists busking on street corners.
Carrie Wynkoop loves discovering and sharing great Oregon wine. But when she began her explorations over 20 years ago, she joined one wine club after another but was unable to find any exclusively focusing on Oregon, even though the state is a top U.S. producer. Wynkoop decided to take matters into her own able hands, establishing her very own Cellar 503.
Each hand selected monthly shipment of two or four bottles showcases top crafted wine in hard-to-find spots in each of Oregon's 18 wine-grow
An oasis amid the vast sagebrush desert that rolls across much of America’s Pacific Northwest interior, Walla Walla's longstanding appeal to those seeking a better life ranging from First Nations tribes & French fur trappers to farmers & vintners is most notably evident in the literal translation of its name ("many waters"). The Walla Walla Valley's rivers and aquifers that have fed the region's agricultural bounty for generations now also provide perfect growing for more than 100 wineries that
