You don’t need to travel far to relish in all of the beauty and fun Oregon has to offer. Pack your weekender bags, fill up the gas tank, and check out these fantastic locations.

Painted Hills & John Day Fossil Beds

• • About a 4 hour drive SE lay the breathtaking Painted Hills, a unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument (see photo above). They are so colorful, you’ll think you landed on a different planet! Aside from taking the sights, the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument offers tons of hiking trails. Visit the Thomas Condon Paleontology to see all of the bizarre fossils paleontologists have found in the area including short-faced bears, four-toed horses, and meat-eating creodonts (a wolflike mammal). Center Campgrounds and restaurants can be found nearby.

Crater Lake

• • A volcanic caldera filled with rain and snow melt, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the US and one of the most pristine lakes on Earth. The outdoor activities at Crater Lake are endless! You can go fishing, swimming, hiking, camping, birdwatching, etc. You can even learn more about Crater Lake by attending a Ranger Program. Crater Lake also offers walking, trolley, and boat tours. Be sure to check out Sinnott Memorial – The oldest and most popular viewpoint in the park built specifically to offer a united view of the beauty and the geologic story. Most of the hiking trails at Crater Lake are usually still covered with snow in May and June, so it might be best to wait until late Summer to visit.

Mt Hood National Park

• • Skiing season may be over, but there are plenty of other activities you can do at Mt. Hood. Hike it’s many trails, visit Timberline Lodge, grab a beer and some lunch at Mt Hood Brewing, or go down to Trillium Lake for a kayak or paddle board session. Visit in July or August to see high-elevation wildflowers.

Gearhart

• • Gearhart is one of the few Oregon coastal towns devoid of tourist trappings. This tiny beach town doesn’t have many tourist attractions, but is surrounded with natural beauty. It’s four mile long beach is ranked among the best in Oregon and is perfect for a quiet peaceful getaway. Stay at the adorable Gearhart Ocean Inn and have dinner at Pacific Way Bakery & Cafe. Want to golf? Check out Gearhart Golf Links!

Sisters

• • Sisters is an adorable quaint town just north of Bend with an “Old West” vibe. City ordinances in Sisters actually requires businesses to maintain a rustic 1880’s aesthetic! Aside from taking in the downtown life with it’s many restaurants and shops, Sisters also offers lots of outdoor activities as well. Take a boat out on Suttle Lake, hike near Metolius River or hike the Whychus Overlook for a beautiful panoramic view of The Three Sisters mountains.

Cape Arago

• • Cape Arago is worth the 4 hour drive! From it’s stunning sandstone headlands to the elegant paths of Shores Acres Botanical Gardens, Cape Arago is a must see destination. Visit at low tide to explore the tide pools at Sunset Bay State Park. Take the Shores Acres Loop Trail the take in the wild and dramatic sandstone cliffs. It’s also a great place to see sea lions and harbor seals lounging on the rocks.

Hood River

• • Often called the windsurfing capital of the world, Hood River is located at the crossroads of the Columbia River Gorge and the Cascade Range. Hood River is great for foodies, historians, hikers, bikers, beer and wine lovers – it offers a little bit of everything to everyone. Thanks to the Hood River County Fruit Loop Map, which provides directions to 36 orchards, lavender farms, roadside produce stands, and even alpaca farms, navigating the area’s 15,000 or so acres of agricultural land is easy as pie. Take the bridge over to the small but mighty town of White Salmon for some dinner and wine tasting.

Astoria

• • Best known for being the filming site of many cult classic movies like The Goonies, Kindergarten Cop, and Short Circuit, Astoria is a fishing village-meets-Victoriana port city filled with great food and tons of sight seeing. It offers multiple museums, breweries, shops and restaurants. A must see for architecture lovers is the Flavel House Museum.

McMinnville

• • Hello Wine Country! McMinnville is a historic town located in the heart of Oregon’s Wine Country. Sprinkled throughout downtown are restored, turn-of-the-century buildings reinvented as restaurants, wine bars and galleries. But even though McMinnville is famous for fine wines, it’s also a family-friendly destination, home to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum and an annual UFO festival. Stay and wine taste at the Youngberg Hill Vineyards & Inn and continue the wine tour over at the Eyrie Vineyards. Are you a foodie? McMinnville is also home to restaurant “ōkta”, opened by Michelin-star chef Matthew Lightner. ōkta offers a highly progressive tasting menu that draws inspiration from the bounty of the Willamette Valley and the cadence of its micro-seasons. Be sure to make a reservation!

Newport

• • Newport is an ideal coastal location if you want to take in the ocean views, but still have plenty of restaurants and attractions nearby. Stroll along the Historic Bayfront, where you can browse the shops, admire the boats in the harbor, enjoy Ripley’s Believe it or Not!, and visit the sea lion docks. Say hi to one of the cutest critters on the planet, the Sea Otter, at the Newport Aquarium. You must check out the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, where Yaquina Head Lighthouse stands at the end of a mile-long basaltic headland.