Explore Oregon

Wines Going Rogue: The Gateway to Southern Oregon Wine

The Gateway to Southern Oregon Wine sponsored content provided by Travel Medford Medford is the perfect starting point to explore Southern Oregon’s famous wine. Known for a distinctive climate and soil that create perfect growing conditions, Southern Oregon Wine Country has been named a Top 12 global wine destination by Forbes and a Top 10 travel wine destination worldwide by Wine Enthusiast. Three wine trails around the region highlight this special place. The Applegate Wine Trail features seventeen wineries and vineyards nestled into the hills of the Applegate Valley along Highway 238. Check out biodynamic winemaking at Troon Vineyard and Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden, or taste American Bordeaux at Cricket Hill Winery. The Bear Creek Wine Trail runs from Medford along Highway 99 to Ashland. With eleven wineries to choose from, the trail features wine made in the southernmost part of the Rogue Valley AVA. Grab a Bear Creek Wine…

A Perfect Pair – Theater and Dining In Downtown Medford

A Perfect Pair – Theater and Dining In Downtown Medford sponsored content provided by Travel Medford Downtown Medford is a mecca for theater-lovers and foodies. Feed your mind, body and soul, and experience the thrills of downtown — all within walking distance! Great performances are a cornerstone of Medford’s downtown core. The Craterian Theater is the Rogue Valley’s premier live performance venue. Enjoy everything from ballet, to professional acrobatics, the local symphony and performances from famous musicians. As a cultural focal point of downtown Medford, every performance will amaze you. We guarantee you’ll return for an encore. But the fun doesn’t end there for theater fans. The Randall Theatre Company has a jam-packed season of stage plays and musicals. If you make a last-minute decision to see a show, the Randall Theatre allows you to pay what you want at the door for seats that remain unsold 30 minutes before showtime….

Southern Oregon Fall Harvest Activities

Favorite Fall and Harvest Activities in Southern Oregon sponsored content provided by Travel Medford Family, Farmers Markets, Fruit & Vegetable Stands, Outdoor Activities, Outdoor Adventure, Things to Do Harvest in Southern Oregon is the epitome of fall fun. The aroma of autumn is carried through the Rogue Valley, across apple orchards, whistling through corn mazes and rustling the orange, red and yellow leaves falling from the trees. With numerous harvest festivals every weekend, freshly picked food and family-friendly activities, there’s no better time to visit Southern Oregon than in the fall. There’s so much to do in Medford and the Rogue Valley this fall. To help plan your autumn adventure, we have compiled a snapshot of our favorite fall activities. Fall Festival Fun The entire family will enjoy sampling food, meeting local vendors and farmers, listening to live music and playing among the fall leaves. There are several festivals throughout…

Bend Trip Planner

Turns out, Bend is a year-round kind of town written by Kevin Max Bend in fall, once a vacuum between summer mountain biking and ski season, is now one built around culture, the absence of crowds and top-to-bottom blue skies in the waning fire season. When kids go back to school and the floating battalion of protein in Crocs and flip-flops ops their way back south, Bend comes alive in a more subtle way. Fall brings the BendFilm festival, Oktoberfest, uncrowded trails, relatively open tables and the final bounty from area farms. As we witness the ravages of global warming, with hotter summers leading to more and bigger wildfires, summer is the nexus of hot, smoky and grey. As temperatures cool and wildfires recede, hiking and biking trails in Bend transform from temptation to reality. Much like Christmas, BendFilm Festival comes but once a year—setting cultural gifts under the learning tree…

Oregon Events and Product Highlights for Sept/Oct

Our picks for Oregon events to attend and products we think you’ll want to try written by Kelly Rogers Lincoln City Fall Kite Festival The Lincoln City Fall Kite Festival takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., October 6 and 7 on the beach in the center town, on the D-River Wayside. Kids can make their own kites, and everyone can enjoy seeing some of the largest kites in the world being flown while you watch the running of the bols—a race to see who can run fastest into the wind while harnessed to a doughnut-shaped kite. oregoncoast.org/lincoln-city- fall-kite-festival Botanical Bug Off Spray Summer may be almost over, but for those who still plan to hit the trails this fall, Suzi’s Bug-Off Spray is a must-have. It’s free of chemicals, like DEET, that you find in many commercial bug sprays, but still super effective, so that you and your…

NW Destination: Sonoma County, California

A Phoenix From the Ashes Sonoma County won’t let a fire stop its spirit written by Sheila G. Miller A year ago, Sonoma County and surrounding areas were crippled by a massive wild fire. Rolling hills were blackened, vineyards were damaged, and homes destroyed, but the fires did nothing to dampen the area’s spirit. Indeed, nearly every street-facing surface in the area still features stickers that say #SonomaStrong or handmade signs thanking firefighters for their help in saving residents’ homes. There’s no better way to support this community as it gets back on its feet than by spending some tourism dollars in the region. I was happy to oblige. Glen Ellen was particularly hard-hit by the fires. But the Jack London Lodge in Glen Ellen, where I stayed on a recent weekend, was spared. This renovated motel, tucked into a lush hillside, has charm, free breakfast, and one heck of…

Plan a Trip to the Minam River Lodge

Taking the scenery at the Minam River Lodge written by Jen Stevenson Whether dropping into the Minam River Lodge via foot, horseback, or chartered flight, there are two things you’ll do immediately after being warmly greeted by manager and jack-of-all-trades Isaac Trout—sign a waiver detailing the potential wilderness perils you’ll face (snakes, bears, overheating in the wood-fired sauna), and write your name on a mason jar. After all, when you’re an 8.5-mile hike or 20-minute flight from the nearest sign of civilization, dishwashers aren’t exactly de rigueur. EAGLE CAP WILDERNESS photography by Evan Schneider minam-lodge.com HISTORY Nestled deep in the ruggedly beautiful 360,000-acre Eagle Cap Wilderness, this unique property is the result of a painstaking six-year buildout by Portland-based owner Barnes Ellis, who first stumbled upon the lodge while attending a childhood family reunion. Carefully constructing the main lodge and adjacent cabins from felled logs, reclaimed wood from former structures…

Top 3 Outdoor Thrills in Southern Oregon

Here are the top 3 outdoor thrills to experience in Southern Oregon sponsored content provided by Visit Medford Southern Oregon is an amazing place, from the moment you land in Medford, you’re surrounded by adventure on all sides. If you like the water, you can hit the rapids. Or grab your favorite hiking shoes and take to the mountains. You can also fly…On a zip line, of course. If you’re thirsty for thrills, embrace the rogue spirit and start your next Southern Oregon adventure! Zip It Good Soar across the sky on a zip line and watch the ground race by below your dangling feet. The wind snatches your breath away and it’s easy to imagine your toes touching the treetops. Tucked away in the historic gold mining hills of Southern Oregon, Rogue Valley ZipLine Adventure brings summer fun to sky-high levels. Hike It – One Step At A Time…

Experience the Britt Festival Live and Outdoors

A unique summer experience awaits you at the Britt Festival sponsored content provided by Visit Medford At the Britt Festival, you’ll find world-class music acts in a charming small-town setting. The Britt Music & Arts Festival, based in historic Jacksonville, Oregon, is the premier outdoor summer performing arts festival. The nonprofit presents dozens of summer concerts––from pop to classical and bluegrass to folk––each year. The music is great––the venue is even better. Held in a naturally formed amphitheater shadowed by ponderosa pines and madrones, you’ll watch your favorite acts perform from the hillside estate of nineteenth-century photographer Peter Britt. Visitors travel from all over the West to pack a picnic, grab a bottle of wine and relax while the music echoes through the amphitheater. The Britt is 5 miles from Medford, 15 miles north of Ashland (and its famous Oregon Shakespeare Festival), and a day’s drive from Seattle, Portland or…