GRISWOLDDAD
Parenting, Entertainment, and Travel Tips
Things to Do in Oregon
*For Oregon's top yearly events, click here.
The land of Bigfoot and the Goonies, Oregon has quite a diversity. One side, there is the famous Oregon rocky coastline, the other side, there's a desert, and giant trees are everywhere in between. With that kind of variety, Oregon is quite a beautiful state. Just, be aware, if you're driving near or through the High Desert on the eastern half of Oregon, have a full tank of gas. Gas stations are very few and very far between.
Astoria
As you're aware by now, I like to include movie stops when a beloved movie has anchors in real places. Astoria is home to one of the most beloved movies of all time: Goonies. If you have NOT seen it, stop reading this, and go watch it. I'll wait....
Now, aren't you glad you saw it? Join the rest of the world in loving the Goonies.
With that said, Astoria is also home of Kindergarten Cop, Short Circuit, and Free Willy. There are a number of landmarks around town from all of the movies. You can see Mikey's house (368 -38th St, Astoria, OR 97103) from The Goonies, LC Bowl where Chunk spilled his milkshake, Flavel House (the museum where their dad worked), and Cannon Beach, where the Fratelli's joined the beach race to blend in and disappear in their county jailbreak getaway, which you can also see the jail. Out on Cannon Beach, you can see Haystack Rock. Not only is this a famous Oregon landmark in general, it's also what the Goonies use to match the "key to One-Eyed Willy" that they found in their attic, which points them to the restaurant where the Fratellis are hiding out.
Luckily, most of these places are public places that can be visited as there is no official Goonies tour. The exception is the Goonies house. Goonies fandom over the years has become irritating to the homeowners. So, no doing truffle shuffles in front of the house. Instead, you can get a great picture of the house from the adjoining road. The old jail that one of the Fratellis escapes from at the beginning of the movie is now the Oregon Movie Museum. Mostly devoted to the Goonies, of course, the museum has plenty to see. They also have a really neat, creative part of the museum in which you get to film yourself doing scenes from famous movies filmed in Oregon. Keep in mind, while on your Goonies tour, that Cannon Beach is about 30 miles away from Astoria. While there, be sure to find sand dollars on the beach while enjoying the tide pools and the view.
Goonies House
Haystack Rock
Flavel House Museum
Old Astoria County Jail
While still in Astoria, the NON Goonie movies have a couple of spots to see. Kindergarten Cop has the school Ah-nold taught at, John Jacob Astor Elementary School (3550 Franklin Avenue, Astoria), and the hotel where his character stayed, room #5 in the Bay View Cottages (783 West Marine Drive, Astoria). Short Circuit proves harder to find, but "Number 5 comes alive" at 197 Hume Ave., Stephanie's house, with the Astoria-Megler bridge in the background. Lastly, in the shoreline of Astoria, you'll notice the rock wall that Willy jumped over the kid at the end of the movie Free Willy which made the now iconic image used for the poster.
Astoria-Megler Bridge
Bay View Cottages
John Jacob Astor Elementary
Short Circuit House
Free Willy's Escape
After you're done reliving your movie childhood, and possibly scarring your children with your truffle shuffle rendition and bad Schwarzenegger impressions, another interesting landmark to see in Astoria is the Astoria Column. "Modeled after the Trojan Column in Rome, the Astoria Column features a hand-painted spiral frieze that would stretch more than 500 feet if unwound" and offers amazing views of the city, the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean when you venture to the top. Also, the Lewis and Clark National Historic Park is in Astoria and commemorates United States' most famous explorers with a focus on their history and lives along with a recreation of their Fort Clatsop.
Fort Clatsop
Astoria Column
Baker City
Depending on your age, you'll fondly remember an old game called Oregon Trail. Now, while most of the time you died of dysentery or typhoid fever before getting to the finish of the game, Oregon of course was the intended destination. The Oregon Trail Interpretive Center is a museum filled with exhibits on the history of the Oregon Trail.
Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
Cave Junction (or more specifically, Takilma)
Looking for a "different" place to stay? Look no further than the Out'n'About Treesort! This is a treehouse resort described by the owners as a "bed and breakfast in the trees". Besides getting to stay in what amounts to an Ewok Village, they have live music and entertainment, arts and crafts, zip lines, and horseback riding. The small cabins amidst the trees have a summer camp feel, but the slow-paced peacefulness is something you won't easily find elsewhere.
Out 'n' About Treesort
Crater Lake
Crater Lake is Oregon's only national Park. The park encompasses Crater Lake, the remains of a destroyed volcano from half a million years ago, Mount Mazama. The wonderful views and scenery can be seen with a drive around the Rim Drive. You can drive yourself or take a trolley tour. You can also take boat tours on the lake.
Points of interest are the Cleetwood Cove Trail (2.1 miles round trip and moderate), the Devil's Backbone, Phantom Ship, the Pinnacles, and Wizard Island. Driving Rim road, there are plenty of pull-offs to catch these sites. Be sure to take one of the Cleetwood Cove Trail hike down to the lake, where you can get in. Be aware, though, the water is cold! Devil's backbone is a series of volcanic peaks up the mountainous shore of the lake. The Phantom Ship is a small island in the lake that looks sort of like a ship with mast and sails. The Pinnacles are fossilized fumaroles leftover from Mazama's eruption. Wizard Island is the big centerpiece island to the lake, which you're likely to see in every picture of Crater Lake. If you'd like a couple of quick and easy hikes, Sun Notch Trail and Pinnacles Trail are both only .5 miles long and are very easy hikes.
You can eat at Crater Lake Lodge Dining Room or at Annie Creek Restaurant. There are 2 gift shops, and you can stay at the Crater Lake Lodge or at the Mazama Village cabins. If you go to the Mazama Village cabins, be sure to take a cooler (because they give you a daily bag of ice to store drinks) and take a board game or cards! Nothing to do at the cabin. While there is electricity and bathrooms, there's no TV, just peacefulness and relaxation.
Crater Lake
Pinnacles
Phantom Ship
Gold Hill
The Oregon Vortex and House of Mystery have baffled visitors for more than 80 years. The optical illusions from one of the world's most famous "gravity hills" adds weirdness to the area, and people are convinced the spot is filled with paranormal activity. This site is so popular as a paranormal hot spot that reality paranormal shows like "Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files" have investigated the area, and it's even been mentioned on shows like "Supernatural."
Oregon Coastline
The Oregon coast is beautiful. You can drive the famous Pacific Coast Highway to see the rocky cliffs and bluffs. There are plenty of places to swim, hike, picnic, and see lighthouses, such as Yaquina Bay State Recreation Site or the famous Heceta Head Lighthouse, built in 1894, that has become a bed & breakfast. Attractions along the way include Sea Lion Caves, in Florence, and the Seaside Aquarium, in Seaside.
The Sea Lion Caves are a group of sea caves and caverns, including America's largest sea cave, where many wild sea lions live. They are not always there, because they're not caged in any way, so call ahead to be sure you're going at a time when the sea lions are there. Normally they stay in the cave in the winter (by the hundreds) and out on the rocky shores during the spring and summer.
In Yachats, you'll find Thor's Well, which is a hole in the rocky shore that has a connection to the waves of the ocean so that when the waves hit, they funnel upwards through that hole and majestically shoot out the top of it.
Thor's Well
Heceta Head Lighthouse
Sea Lion Caves
Portland
Now, while I do not normally include zoos or children's museums unless they are very noteworthy, because most big cities or states have them, Portland's Washington Park has many such state staples in one spot! The park is a public park that includes the Oregon State Zoo, a forestry museum, arboretum, children's museum, rose garden, Japanese garden, amphitheater, and more.
Pittock Mansion, built in 1914, is a French Renaissance-style "château" originally built as a private home for the Oregonian publisher Henry Pittock and is now open to the public for tours.
Thirty minutes outside of town, near Corbett, you can see Multnomah Falls, a 611 foot tall roaring waterfall.
Also in Portland, you'll find another oddity on the Griswold Oddity list, the world's largest Paul Bunyan statue! At the intersection of North Denver and Interstate Avenue, this 35 foot giant looms over the city with a smile!
Multnomah Falls
Paul Bunyan
Timberline Lodge
Timberline Lodge is a mountain lodge on the south side of Mount Hood used for filming the exterior scenes for the hotel in The Shining. Besides being prominently featured in one of the scariest movies of all time, it's also a ski lodge, and the views of Mt. Hood are breathtaking. Mt. Hood, the tallest mountain in Oregon, is a stratovolcano and towers over Lake Trillium below it.
Timberline Lodge
Mount Hood
Turner
Enchanted Forest is a children's theme park filled with storybook themed rides in Storybook Land and an old west land and an English village.
