Family Vacations in Oregon
By: the Editors of Mobil Travel Guide
Perched on the coast of the Pacific, Oregon boasts one of the most diverse terrains of any state in the country. The region’s parks and cities offer a range of exciting activities that are sure to make memorable family vacations.
In the following pages, you’ll find profiles of some of the state’s attractions, from national parks to historic beaches to city festivals. You’ll also find contact information to help with your trip planning, as well as photographs of each destination. Here’s a preview:
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Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area
This site, filled with wind-sculpted dunes that stretch 47 miles along the Oregon coast, is a popular spot for families who enjoy hiking, fishing, canoeing, horseback riding, and camping.
This historic coastal town, which is both a national landmark and the endpoint of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, has been a favorite family destination since the 1800s.
This bridge, which spans the 4-mile-wide mouth of the Columbia River, connects Astoria, Oregon, to Point Ellice, Washington and is the last link in a highway system connecting Canada to Mexico.
The Columbia River Gorge and Multnomah Falls
This gorge is framed by dramatic cliffs and has the highest concentration of waterfalls in the Pacific Northwest.
Portland Rose Festival and Rose Gardens
This historic festival has hundreds of family-friendly activities and performances, including a children’s stage complete with clowns, jugglers, magicians, and musicians.
The square, which has been transformed from schoolhouse to to a hotel to a parking garage, is now an active public common area that plays host to special events year-round.
This volcano mountain offers plenty of outdoor recreation, including hiking and backpacking. Shrouded in snow all year long, skiing is not only a winter activity but sometimes a summer one, too.
Newberry National Volcanic Monument
In the midst of the Deschutes National Forest, expanses of lava exist next to alpine lakes and a breathtaking waterfall.
Ancient Multnomah Falls is a sight to behold. Cascading from its origin on Larch Mountain, it highlights the picturesque Columbia River Gorge in central Oregon. At 620 feet, some claim it’s the second-tallest year-round waterfall in the nation.
Not only is Oregon a great vacation spot, but it is also one of the best sandboarding destinations in North America. Check out the sandboarding article, video and images at Discovery’s Fearless Planet to learn more.
Continue reading to find out about the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.
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This glorious national recreation area is filled with wind-sculpted dunes that tower nearly 500 feet above sea level and stretch 47 miles along the Oregon coast. It’s a popular spot for families who enjoy hiking, fishing, canoeing, horseback riding, and camping.
A major lure that attracts many families is the chance to go roaring across the dunes in all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area contains some of the best ATV and dune buggy areas in the United States. A number of rental locations can be found along the coast, from Florence to North Bend.
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Since ATVs and hiking don’t mix, three ATV areas for riders of all experience levels have been designated in locations separate from the areas for camping and other outdoor activities. The area also has several large lakes that are perfect for waterskiing and swimming.
Continue reading to learn about Oregon’s Seaside.
Address: Along Highway 101 between Reedsport and Tillamook, OR
Telephone: 541/750-7000
Hours of Operation: Dawn – Dusk
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Seaside is a family favorite first discovered by vacationers in the mid-1800s. This coastal town in Oregon offers a wide, smooth beach dotted with playgrounds and volleyball nets. Its boardwalk has an aquarium and a classic amusement park with bumper cars and saltwater taffy. Seaside is a national landmark and marks the end of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. The town has a statue commemorating the explorers.
Many find the ocean water a little too cold for swimming. Because the average temperature of the water is about 55 degrees, a wet suit is a practical idea. Many children amuse themselves by splashing at the water’s edge, collecting driftwood, and playing in the sand. The ocean waves are excellent for surfing and boogie boarding. Rentals are available.
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Kite flying and bike riding are popular pastimes here as well, and a number of shops rent bikes, in-line skates, four-wheeled surreys, and three-wheeled FunCycles designed for pedaling on the packed sand during low tide. The quaint village is filled with intriguing shops, cafes, a carousel, and movie theaters.
Read more to find out about the Astoria-Megler Bridge in Oregon.
Address: Downtown at Broadway St. and N. Columbia St., Seaside, OR
Telephone: 503/738-3097; 888/306-2326
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Critics call it “The Bridge to Nowhere,” and the Astoria-Megler Bridge in northwestern Oregon often appears as just that: a bridge snaking into a soggy fogbank, with miles of water on all sides. It spans four miles across the mouth of the Columbia near where it empties into the Pacific Ocean. The bridge connects Astoria, Oregon, to Point Ellice, Washington.
Constructed in 1966, it replaced the congested ferry system that had previously linked the communities. Despite the “Bridge to Nowhere” nickname, the Astoria-Megler Bridge has been a success. It carried a quarter-million vehicles in its first full year and was the last link in US Highway 101 connecting Mexico to Canada.
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The Astoria-Megler Bridge is the world’s longest continuous truss bridge. It was built to withstand some of the most treacherous conditions on the Pacific Coast. The concrete piers that support the bridge can survive wind gusts up to 150 miles per hour and raging floodwaters that can uproot trees and reach a velocity of nine miles per hour.
Continue reading to learn about the Columbia River Gorge and Multnomah Falls.
Address: Warrenton-Astoria Hwy. and US-101-BR, Astoria, ORTelephone: 503/325-6311 or 800/875-6807
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The Columbia River Gorge is an impressive river canyon carved by the Columbia as it flows into the Pacific Ocean. The gorge features dramatic cliffs and has the highest concentration of waterfalls in the Pacific Northwest. The combination of climate and location creates a wind tunnel effect in the gorge. As a result, it’s a favorite location of windsurfers and kite surfers. A drive through the gorge is frequently enhanced by the sight of the colorful sails and kites pulling surfers through the water at speeds up to 35 miles per hour.
It’s an easy hike to see the grand Multnomah Falls, the second highest continuous waterfall in the United States. The trail is paved and crosses a bridge before continuing to a viewpoint at the top.
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Kids love the narrated tour on Mount Hood Railroad’s excursion train. During the tour’s layover in the town of Parkdale they can browse through shops or visit a museum. An old-fashioned stern-wheeler riverboat makes frequent runs up and down the scenic river and provides a relaxing way to take in the sights.
Continue to the next page to find out about Portland’s Rose Festival and Rose Gardens.
Address: Off I-84 exit 31, Hood River, OR
Telephone: 541/308-1700
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After a busy day of sightseeing and traveling, there’s no better place to stop and smell the roses. Portland’s climate is perfect for growing the popular plant, and in 1889 local rose enthusiasts created the Portland Rose Society to encourage amateurs to cultivate the aromatic flower. A few years later, society members organized the festival and floral parade that has become an annual June tradition.
In its early years, the Rose Festival was highlighted by horse-drawn floats and fireworks. The present-day event includes the flower-festooned Grand Floral Parade. Other favorites are the evening Starlight Parade and the kids-only Junior Parade. The festival’s program of events now has hundreds of family-friendly activities and performances, which include a children’s stage complete with clowns, jugglers, magicians, and musicians. Dragon boat and milk-carton boat races and tours of naval ships are big attractions for children. Auto races, air shows, a carnival, a Wild West area, food booths, an art show, and musical performances round out the experience. In between the nonstop fun, drop by Portland’s famous Rose Gardens and enjoy the abundant colors and heavenly fragrances.
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Continue to the next page to learn about Oregon’s Pioneer Courthouse Square.
Address: 850 SW Rose Garden Way, Portland, OR
Telephone: 503/227-2681
Hours of Operation: First two weeks in June
Admission: Varies by Event
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Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland, Oregon, is nicknamed “Portland’s Living Room.” And like every good living room, the square offers entertainment and plenty of seating space. The two amphitheaters host more than 300 events each year, including concerts and cultural festivals.
Those with a flare for art enjoy the fountain, pillars, sculptures, and an astounding Weather Machine, an innovative creation with three symbols that each represent an element of Portland’s climate. There’s even a signpost that shows how far it is to places as distant as Red Square in Russia.
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The square has taken on many forms throughout history. A shoemaker named Elijah Hill bought the block for $24 and a pair of boots in 1849, two years before the city of Portland was officially established. James Field sold it to the fledgling Portland School Board less than a decade later, and they built a schoolhouse on the spot. In 1883, the schoolhouse was relocated to make way for the ritzy Portland Hotel, which remained open until 1951.
The spot became a two-level parking structure for about 30 years, until the city acquired the land and transformed it into one of the nation’s most vibrant public commons. Today, the square attracts millions of people each year to its special events, including the annual midsummer Festival of Flowers.
Continue to the next page to learn about Mount Hood in Oregon.
Address: 701 S.W. 6th Ave., Portland, OR
Telephone: 503/223-1613
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A picture-perfect mountain, Mount Hood is a visual reminder to city dwellers in Portland that the great outdoors is just a short drive away — 47 miles east, to be exact. At 11,239 feet above sea level, the peak is the fourth highest in the Cascade Range. Like all of its Cascade brethren, Mount Hood is a volcano, and an active one at that. It erupted twice in the mid-1800s and has had at least four eruptive periods in the last 15,000 years. The volcanic cone atop the mountain is dominated by snow and ice, with glaciers and snowfields shrouding it year-round.
Mount Hood is a recreational paradise, with popular ski resorts, hiking routes, and backcountry trails. The historic Timberline Lodge is perched at 6,000 feet above sea level and fills to capacity during ski season — which sometimes goes all year long.
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To find out about visiting Oregon’s Newberry National Volcanic Monument, continue reading.
Address: Mt. Hood Information Center, 65000 E. Hwy. 26, Welches, OR
Telephone: 503/622-4822, 888/622-4822
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In the heart of central Oregon’s Deschutes National Forest, Newberry National Volcanic Monument sits atop an active geothermal hotspot. The crux of this hotspot is Newberry Volcano, one of the most massive volcanoes in the United States. Newberry’s last eruption, about 1,300 years ago, created a devastatingly beautiful caldera.
Located at the summit of the volcano nearly 8,000 feet above sea level, the nearly 20-square-mile Newberry Caldera has two idyllic alpine lakes, one of which drains into a magnificent waterfall. The volcano’s flanks of hardened lava are dotted by hundreds of cinder cones and fissure vents.
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One especially massive cinder cone, Lava Butte, rises 500 feet above its surroundings and was the source of the lava that flowed over this entire area 7,000 years ago. Today, the once-red-hot landscape can be explored via the Trail of the Molten Land.
Address: 1001 S.W. Emkay Dr., Bend, OR
Telephone: 541/383-5300
Hours of Operation: Dawn – Dusk
Admission: $3 per person
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