Trip Planners

1859’s Trip Planners are your source for exploring the great state of Oregon. Whether you are a local looking for a weekend family getaway or just visiting, each article is an insider’s guide to the best trips in Oregon.

Not merely wonderful dairy, the Tillamook Coast has some of the most scenic hikes on the Oregon Coast.

Tillamook Coast

This coastal region is a watery, culinary, cheesy—and collaborative—wonderland written by James Sinks | photography by Tillamook Coast Visitors Association Prior to statehood, there was no easy overland route to Tillamook Bay. So, before refrigeration was a thing, settlers had to rely on faster seafaring shippers to transport dairy and farm products to market in more populous Astoria and Portland. Thus, when traders said in the 1850s they’d no longer make the treacherous trek into the bay, it could have been disastrous. Cranky and motivated, the community came together and built its own boat, milling local lumber and scrounging metal and sails from nearby shipwrecks. Local tribal members even aided in the construction of what became the state’s first christened ship, and the Morning Star of Tillamook made its maiden voyage in 1855. It stands as an example of an apt oxymoron—independent cooperation—that still defines the Tillamook Coast. In 1909,…

The Crook County Courthouse in downtown Prineville was built in 1909 and still has its original crank system, which is wound once per week.

Prineville and Crook County

Your itinerary for searching for, climbing up and digging into the center of Oregon written by James Sinks In the middle of it all, you can get away from it all. Draw two diagonal lines across a map of Oregon, from corner-to-corner, and the lines will cross on private land near Post, a sneeze-and-you’ll-miss-it hamlet with a general store and not much else, a half-hour’s drive southeast of Prineville. At first blush, there’s little to see, although the store sells pretty good milkshakes. Behind a locked gate, a small metal marker designates the state’s geographic center. Yet it’s out of sight, at 3,383 feet of elevation near two-lane State Highway 380, and across a sea of grass. Ironically enough, there’s no post. And yet, it’s an inspiration. If you feel stressed or askew, meditation gurus suggest balancing your spiritual equilibrium. Find your center, they say. In Prineville and the heart…

Dubbed the Covered Bridge Capital of the West, Cottage Grove is the place for romance and nostalgia.

Cottage Grove

When it’s time for romance, plant a kiss in Cottage Grove written by James Sinks In yesteryear, covered bridges also were known as kissing bridges. Some say it’s because the seclusion offered a seductive smooching opportunity. Or, because horses slowed to a walking gait to pass through, it became much easier to wink and lean into a lip-lock. And for the superstitious, a kiss represented a wish for luck, as covered bridges were known to sometimes house bats and other scary critters. Whatever the reason, or the season, the spans remain a perfect place to practice your pucker. And in Oregon, you’ll find opportunities aplenty surrounding the hamlet of Cottage Grove, dubbed the Covered Bridge Capital of the West. So if you’re hoping for some kissing on Valentine’s Day—or any day, really—the town just might be the mood enhancer you’re looking for. “If you are a city nightlife person, then…

Spirit of Halloweentown festivities transform the town of St. Helens in the fall.

Autumn in St. Helens, Vernonia and Sauvie Island

The path less trodden to adventures in fall written by James Sinks Fittingly, for a movie about off-duty Halloween monsters, Disney producers scouted for a ghost town. They found a perfect backdrop in northwest Oregon’s St. Helens. The mills were long gone, but the once-busy downtown boasted a picturesque public square, a classic courthouse and a stunning view of its namesake, Mount St. Helens, 39 miles away across the Columbia. Filmed a quarter century ago, Halloweentown became a cult classic and even spawned several sequels. Soon after, cameras returned for the vampire-teen romance mashup Twilight, in which St. Helens stood in for another timber town, Forks, Washington. Now, each autumn when Mother Nature readies her technicolor picture show, St. Helens unpacks the nostalgia, costumes and cash registers. For six weeks, downtown and the central plaza—where usually you can trace Lewis and Clark’s voyage on stepping stones—are transformed into the “Spirit…

Recreational opportunities abound in the Klamath area.

Klamath Basin Trip Planner

Boxes get checked with ziplines, world-class bird watching, the pristine Crater Lake and a destination resort written by James Sinks Boy, was I mistaken. Growing up in Klamath Falls, I’d routinely complain there was nothing to do. A teenager thing, sure, but sort of ridiculous in retrospect when—as an adult—you’re attempting to narrow lengthy lists of potential adventure ideas. Adrenaline-fueled bouncing on the Klamath River and soaring among treetops on ziplines. Golfing the state’s only Arnold Palmer-designed links. Paddling creeks and among otters. Exploring conflict-laden history. Disappearing into volcanic caves. Fishing on more than sixty lakes. Getting a people’s-eye view of migratory birds. And that doesn’t even count the region’s crown jewel: Crater Lake, where you can easily lose an entire day, and then some. Turns out, there’s almost too much to do. (Mom was right.) While officially a high desert at 4,200 feet, the Klamath Basin—straddling the Oregon-California border…

Oregon Caves National Monument in Southern Oregon is a fascinating tour of the unexepected underworld.

Cave Junction Trip Planner

A town built around a dog’s discovery written by James Sinks Is it southwest Oregon’s Redwood Highway into Cave Junction, or are you following the yellow brick road? Maybe both. The ribbon of asphalt meanders through odd foliage to whimsical art and mystical creatures (and real lions), to where houses float above the ground, to fields of intoxicating flowers, and to where you can gain plenty of courage (at least, the liquid sort). No munchkins—true—but plenty to munch on. And while you won’t find Toto, Dorothy’s trusty companion in The Wizard of Oz, the community owes much to a different famous dog, Bruno. In 1874, Bruno and a hunter named Elijah Davidson were tracking a bear when the dog disappeared behind underbrush. Davidson followed and found himself in the stunning crystallized caverns that now anchor the Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve. Today tens of thousands of visitors annually roam…

Marys Peak, the highest in the Coastal Range, sits above Corvallis, the heart of the valley.

Corvallis Trip Planner

The heart and the brains of the valley written by James Sinks It’s entirely possible that somebody stuffed the ballot box. Corvallis—the home of Oregon State University, with miles of tree-lined bike and walking paths, a scenic Willamette riverfront, a downtown that’s straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting, and smiles on pretty much everybody—was voted the second-friendliest college town in the United States, according to the folks at CollegeDeals.net. The winner, allegedly? Ithaca, New York. And, well, as anybody who’s tried to drive a car in New York state will tell you, that survey result sort of stretches credulity. The CollegeDeals folks also include Corvallis in their national ranking of the smartest college towns, thanks to a high rate of locals with degrees. The upshot of it all: The city is livable, nerdy and nice. How nice? The staff is even uncommonly friendly at the Angry Beaver Grill, according…

Domaine Serene is one of the area wineries with a Tuscan experience and gorgeous rows of pinot noir grapes.

McMinnville

Once the middle of nowhere, this locale is now the heart of Oregon wine country written by James Sinks Fifty years ago, the editors of Sunset Books published an eighty-page Travel Guide to Oregon, chockablock with maps, photos, and lists of the Beaver State’s can’t-miss destinations, from the coast to Timberline to Hells Canyon. In it, there’s no mention of anything in McMinnville. Not even a suggestion to tap the brakes. What a difference a half century, and a few hundred wineries, can make. Today, McMinnville is the epicenter of Oregon’s wine world, and the home to 34,466 people now is a leading fixture on recommended tourist itineraries, including international bucket list destinations for aficionados. Head into the rolling countryside in any direction and you’ll find vineyards next to vineyards, and vintners ready with stories, appetizers and cuvées. The city hosts the ritzy International Pinot Noir Celebration every summer. And…

Wooden drift boats were the only and early form of transportation along the challenging McKenzie River.

McKenzie River Valley

Finding Blue Pool and other epiphanies in this wooded wonderland written by James Sinks In the McKenzie River Valley, it’s almost like Mother Nature saves the best for last. From the start of the snowmelt, the picturesque pocket in the central Cascades—home to dramatic waterfalls, crystalline lakes, and moonscape lava fields—attracts flocks of visitors to bike, hike, fish, paddle, soak and exhale. President Herbert Hoover, a frequent vacationer and angler here, was likely referring to the McKenzie when he wrote of Oregon in his memoirs. “Within these woods,” he said, “are never-ending journeys of discovery.” With so much to do and so much to see, you’d think it couldn’t possibly get more breathtaking. Then autumn arrives. As crowds thin, nature’s picture show begins. Like deciduous peacocks, hardwoods jockey to show off their best colors. Reds. Yellows. Oranges. In fall, you can still experience the expected and unexpected joys of the…