Welcome to 2025, the year for traveling to new places or revisiting the ones you love. Oregon is the place for both, and we’re here to help. Whether you’re looking to gaze up in wonder at some of the darkest skies in the country or learn to taste wine like a pro, the list of fun trips to take this year could fill a book. To make it easy, here are 25 of the best ways to make 2025 stand out.
Get Outside and Enjoy Oregon’s Public Lands
1. Make the most of your beach trip by cruising along the sand in a fat-tire bike or a beach wheelchair.
2. Set off on a scenic bike ride in the Willamette Valley countryside to experience Oregon’s historic covered bridges, which are as pretty as a postcard or an Instagram reel.
3. Launch your own epic overland adventure, heading out into Oregon’s wide-open public land for camping, stunning landscapes and awesome dirt roads that access it all.
4. The Columbia River Gorge attracts millions of visitors per year, but you can have some solitude with a backpacking trip on a route that’s good for everyone from beginners to experts.
5. Paddle the quiet waters among the lilies of the Upper Klamath Lake looking for the 300 species of birds that call this area home, then zoom through the trees on a thrilling zip line near Crater Lake.
6. Watch Oregon’s magnificent salmon swim upstream to spawn in fall, all while taking a hike along the Rogue River.
Sample Local Cuisine on an Oregon Culinary Adventure
7. Take a crash course in the art of distilling in Portland’s West End — and the many faces and cultures behind it — at the Multnomah Whiskey Library, a welcoming space with more than 2,000 bottles of spirits.
8. The Columbia Gorge is one of the few places where you can buy freshly caught salmon directly from tribal fishers.
9. Add some potential pie to your future with a trip to one of the many U-pick farms along Oregon’s food trails, where you can gather your fill of some of the sweetest, juiciest berries around.
10. Learn to taste wine like a pro while visiting Oregon’s wine country in the Willamette Valley, Southern Oregon, the Mt. Hood & Columbia River Gorge region and Eastern Oregon.
11. Add a stop back in time on your next Oregon road trip with a burger, fries and a shake at one of these classic drive-in diners.
Take a Journey Into the Arts and Culture of Oregon
12. Spend a few days soaking in thermal springs, floating down a natural lazy river or hiking near Warm Springs at the newly renovated and reopened Kah-Nee-Ta Resort, where you can also stay in a tepee.
13. In John Day River country, Spray’s renovated General Store is an arts hub; head there for live music or an art exhibit before rockhounding or watching the local rodeo.
14. “All the town’s a stage” at the Sisters Folk Festival, where dozens of musical acts come to perform each year at this frontier-style town set on the eastern slope of the Cascades.
15. Hilariously funny, colorful and inclusive, drag shows in Oregon celebrate glitz and glam and the art of performance — with bingo and brunch to boot.
16. Take a fall trip to the University of Oregon in Eugene and Oregon State University in Corvallis to join college-football fans as they cheer on their teams.
17. Enjoy colorful and delicious cultural events with the Latin community in Southern Oregon, or tantalize your taste buds with Oregon’s Mexican street-snack shops.
Ponder the Universe Under the Darkest Skies of Oregon
18. Gaze up in wonder at the Milky Way, the galaxies and the static blast of stars over Prineville Reservoir State Park, where you’ll find some of the darkest skies in the populated world.
19. Go mine for the strikingly gorgeous Oregon sunstone or kayak the Warner Wetlands by day, then bask under the heavens in the Oregon Outback on a road trip to Plush.
20. What’s better than spending time under a sky full of stars? Why, relaxing in the hot springs of Southeastern Oregon while doing it, of course.
Let an Expert Guide You on Oregon Adventures
21. Spend the best starry night of your life high in the canopy of an ancient tree in Silver Falls State Park, where an expert climber shows you the way.
22. Hop aboard a locomotive tour in Hood River for a vintage train ride complete with a parlor car and stops at a winery and orchard for tastings and picnics.
23. Take a walk with expert foraging guides through Portland neighborhoods or along the Coast to hunt for all the delicious, healthy wild foods that grow right under our noses.
24. Unplug and float deep into the soaring beauty of Eastern Oregon on the guided river trip that’s right for you.
25. Let a guide show you Bend’s awesome mountain biking trails and golf courses on an accessible outdoor adventure designed for people of all mobilities.
