Wallow Park - Eastern Oregon
Say “Cheese” to Oregon and sample cow, sheep, and goat cheese at the Oregon Cheese Festival in Central Point, Southern Oregon on March 17. Work off and wash down all that decadent cheese with a run or two down Mt. Hood and an Oregon microbrew at Suds on the Slope Beer & Spirits on March 24. Beer isn’t your thing? Head to Hood River for Columbia Gorge Passport Weekend on April 13-15 and sip wines straight from the barrel at the wineries of the Gorge! Finally, head to the coast and delight in fresh Oregon seafood and jazz at the Southcoast Clambake in North Bend on March 9-11.
If you are looking for a special St. Patrick’s Day celebration, take part in the 30th annual “A Wee Bit O’ Ireland” in Heppner, Oregon on March 15-18. Located southwest of Hermiston, Heppner doesn’t look like the Old Country, but the Irish spirit will be alive and well at the March 15-18 event. Enjoy food, drink, music, arts and crafts, sheep dog trials and amateur boxing. “The Gothard Sisters,” a popular Pacific Northwest fiddle and dance trio, will perform Saturday night. Visitors will enjoy the welly toss, the Great Green parade and road bowling.
Spotlight on Eastern Oregon
Whether you’re snowboarding fluffy dry powder on the Elkhorn Ridge of the Blue Mountains or rafting Class IV and V rapids on the Owyhee River, Eastern Oregon is paradise for adrenaline junkies. John Day River, one of the longest undammed rivers in the U.S., provides scenic fishing, camping and birding.
Hells Canyon, North America’s deepest river gorge, encompasses a vast and remote region with dramatic changes in elevation, terrain, climate and vegetation. Carved by the great Snake River, Hells Canyon plunges more than a mile below Oregon’s west rim, and 8,000 feet below snowcapped He Devil Peak of Idaho’s Seven Devils Mountains. Hells Canyon National Recreation Area offers 900 miles of picturesque hiking and extreme white-water rafting, jet-boating and kayaking on the Snake River.
In the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, take your mountain bike up the gondola to the 8,256-foot summit of Mount Howard for breathtaking views and one heck of a downhill ride.
For prime wildlife watching, catch more than 225 species of migratory birds at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge or watch Pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, mule deer, and more at Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge.
Speak Your Mind