These are the places you DO NOT want to miss.
As a kid, my desert imagination was basically a Sahara screensaver: endless dunes, heat-haze mirages, and a sky so blue it looked aggressive. If there were camels and pyramids, even better. Deserts felt far away—exotic, overseas, and definitely made of sand. Then I grew up and realized the American West has deserts too… and most…
There is a reason people call this the “crown jewel” of state parks. At 9,200 acres, it is Oregon’s largest and most diverse state park. To my knowledge, no other state park has a total of ten unique waterfalls, some of which you can actually walk around the back of! It’s one of my favorite…
**This post was updated December 22, 2025** Crater Lake is absolutely ridiculous — in the best way. The first time I saw it a decade ago, I thought someone had turned the saturation slider way up on real life. My breath caught in my throat. “Woooowwww,” was the only thing I could utter for a…
I’ve been lucky enough to call Oregon home for most of my life, and let me tell you—this state doesn’t skimp on jaw-dropping beauty. Oregon has a surprising diverse range of ecosystems and climates, and I’ve had the immense pleasure of exploring it all. From high desert landscapes and volcanic peaks to lush rainforests and…
It was just after sunrise when I stepped barefoot onto the cool sand of Manzanita Beach. The fog clung to the tree-lined cliffs, and a dog chased seagulls in the distance as the town slowly woke up behind me. That quiet, golden moment made me fall in love with Oregon’s coast — a place where…
**Updated November 23, 2025** Look — Oregon has a lot going for it. Pine-scented forests, towering waterfalls, craft beer that’ll knock your hiking socks off. But nothing beats sinking into a natural hot spring while mist curls off the water and your worries melt like marshmallows in a campfire. If you’ve been googling “hot springs…