Top Places to Visit in Oregon

Oregon's visitor attractions cover an extraordinary range — from the deep blue of Crater Lake to the Columbia River Gorge's waterfalls corridor to Portland's urban culture.

Crater Lake National Park
The centerpiece of Oregon's national park system — Crater Lake occupies the caldera of Mount Mazama, which collapsed in a catastrophic eruption 7,700 years ago. At 1,943 feet deep, it is the deepest lake in the US and one of the clearest (visibility to 134 feet). The lake's color — a blue more vivid and deep than any other natural water body in North America — is extraordinary. The Rim Drive (33 miles around the crater rim) passes Wizard Island (a cinder cone rising from the lake), Discovery Point, Phantom Ship (a volcanic island), and the Cleetwood Cove Trail (the only access to the lake's shore). The park receives 700,000+ visitors per year.

Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
The only sea-level crossing of the Cascade Range — the Columbia River Gorge between Portland and Hood River is a 80-mile canyon with more than 90 waterfalls (the highest concentration of high waterfalls in the US), dramatic basalt cliffs, and the Historic Columbia River Highway (America's first scenic highway, built 1913–1922). Multnomah Falls (620 feet) is the most visited natural attraction in Oregon. The gorge is also the premier windsurfing and kitesurfing location in the US — the wind funnel through the gorge is world-famous.

Oregon Coast
363 miles of public coastline — entirely accessible to the public by state law. Key destinations: Cannon Beach (Haystack Rock, 235 feet tall, is the most photographed rock formation in the Pacific Northwest), Tillamook (dairy and cheese), the Three Capes Scenic Route (Cape Meares, Cape Lookout, Cape Kiwanda), the Oregon Dunes (the largest temperate coastal dunes in North America — 40 miles of sand dunes between Florence and Coos Bay), Bandon (sea stack scenery), and the rugged Brookings area near the California border.

Portland
Oregon's largest city and cultural hub — Powell's Books (the world's largest new and used bookstore), the Portland Japanese Garden (considered the finest Japanese garden in North America outside Japan), the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, the Saturday Farmer's Market, the Pearl District's galleries, and an extraordinary restaurant and food cart scene make Portland one of the most compelling mid-sized cities in the US.

Mount Hood
Oregon's highest peak (11,239 ft) and the most-climbed glaciated volcano in North America after Mount Rainier. The Timberline Lodge (1937, built by FDR's WPA workers) is the finest historic mountain lodge in the Pacific Northwest. Timberline ski area operates year-round (the only US resort open in summer). The Mount Hood Loop (US-26 and OR-35) is one of Oregon's great scenic drives.