Outdoors

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Wildflower gallery

We found photographers who were able to capture the beauty and diversity of Oregon wildflowers, from the well-known lupine to the more elusive mariposa lily, in the different regions they grow – high alpine meadows and ghostly burn areas to desert plateaus and coastal cliffs.

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McKenzie River

If heaven exists on earth, surely the McKenzie River National Recreation Trail would qualify. The 26-mile trail winds through old growth forests, tumbling waterfalls, a lake so clear you can see 100 feet to its bottom, a pool so mysteriously blue it defies explanation, ancient lava flows, hot springs and handmade log bridges. Best of all, it’s easily reachable off Highway 126 between Sisters and Eugene.

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Leslie Gulch

An amazingly different place from the rest of state. That’s how Brent Fenty, executive director of the Oregon Natural Desert Association, describes Leslie Gulch in the Owyhee Canyonlands. People fascinated with the American Southwest will find Leslie Gulch remarkably similar, he said.