To get a handle on the Beaver State, you first have to realize that it’s actually two states in one. The north-south Cascade Mountains run down the middle, with an arid, unrelenting scrub desert to the east and fertile, green valleys to the west.
History
Americans have been making the journey to Oregon ever since Meriwether Lewis and William Clark showed them the way with their Corps of Discovery in 1804. A replica of Fort Clatsop, built by the explorers to winter on the Pacific Coast, is maintained by the National Park Service. The Oregon Trail was America’s longest overland tentacle into the West, and it is estimated over 400,000 settlers traveled the 2,000 miles by wagon into the Oregon Territory.
Situated on the Columbia River at the mouth of the Willamette River, along which most Oregonians live, Portland’s success as a town was guaranteed. Its nickname, the City of Roses, stems from the cool, moist winters and hot, dry summers that are ideal for growing the ornamental flowers. Opened in 1917, the International Rose Test Garden is the oldest public rose test garden in America and now features 7,000 plants from over 550 cultivars.
Planning a visit? Stay at one of Oregon’s Good Sam Parks.
Salem has been Oregon’s capital from the beginning and has steadily grown into the state’s second largest metropolis. The current statehouse, dressed in white Danby Vermont marble, is dominated by a fluted cylindrical dome. The capitol is surmounted by a 23-foot bronze statue sheathed in gold leaf called the Oregon Pioneer, a work by Ulric Ellerhusen.
Eugene, at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, is home to the University of Oregon and known for its abundance of recreational activities. Medford in southern Oregon is the hub of the Beaver State’s famed fruit growing region; Ashland sets the stage for the nationally feted Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Bend is a four-season vacation destination in central Oregon.
The Great Outdoors
The Oregon coast is 363 miles of photo opportunities, and it is all public. There are over 80 state parks and recreation areas designated along the coastal highway. Highlights include Cannon Beach, where 235-foot-high Haystack Rock is one of the largest freestanding monoliths in the world, and the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, where mountains of sand extend inland for almost three miles.
Inland from the coast, Oregon’s tall Douglas firs and Western hemlocks flourish. Here, old-growth specimens exceed 320 feet. One of the best places to see these arboreal wonders is in Silver Falls State Park, the state’s largest, where the marquee Trail of 10 Falls visits 10 waterfalls on a seven-mile loop.
The Columbia River Gorge that separates Oregon from Washington was designated America’s first National Scenic Area in 1986. By that time, drivers had been marveling at the gorge for 70 years as they tooled along the two-lane Columbia River Highway that had been hacked out of the cliffs. The roadway twists past 77 named waterfalls that tumble over sheer walls, including 620-foot Multnomah Falls, which is America’s second highest plunge.
Mount Hood, only 50 miles southeast of Portland, is Oregon’s highest and most prominent peak. Although only a little over 11,000 feet high, there are no hiking trails to the summit on the active volcano. Here, you’ll find 12 named glaciers. There is no chance of eruption from Crater Lake in south-central Oregon. The extinct volcano is filled with deep blue water almost 2,000 feet deep, deeper than any lake in America.
Desert-like eastern Oregon is best experienced in the John Day Fossil Beds, where the mute passage of time is marked on red and gold clay stone hills. The Carroll Rim Trail in the Painted Hills Unit purchases panoramic views of the entire national monument. By some counts, Oregon has the most ghost towns of any state, and eastern Oregon is where to find them.
People
The state is often seen as a pacemaker in lawmaking, but there is no ready label to stamp on Oregon voters. Oregon has legalized assisted suicide, but voters have also failed to approve same-sex marriage. Oregon is one of only five states with no sales tax, but you can’t pump your own gas in the state. Analysis of recent presidential elections has led researchers to conclude that Oregon is one of the most politically polarized states in America. No wonder there is a seal on both sides of the flag.