Feel like immersing yourself in the fascinating culture and heritage of Oregon’s capital city? Salem’s scene is exciting, diverse and offers something for visitors of all ages, interests and abilities. Whether you’d like to dive into stories from the Oregon Trail, spark your kids’ imagination with adaptive educational experiences, or celebrate global cultures through art, food and music, you’re sure to learn something new at one of these city hot spots or events.
1. Willamette Heritage Center
Come for the culture, stay for the cute knitting shops, art galleries and cafe. The 5-acre Willamette Heritage Center covers the gamut of Salem heritage with 14 historic structures and changing exhibits that visitors can peruse at their own pace. Learn about the Kalapuya Tribe, the Euro-American missionaries who settled the area in the 1840s and what it was like to work in what was once Oregon’s leading textile factory.
2. Bush House Museum at Bush’s Pasture Park
As the original 1878 home of Asahel Bush, founding editor of the Oregon Statesman, the Bush House Museum preserves and celebrates the cultural diversity of Salem’s history. A guided tour allows visitors to see many of the Bush family’s original furnishings, from wallpaper to original photographs. The upstairs America Waldo Bogle Gallery displays art exhibits, such as the recent “Reenvisioned: Contemporary Portraits of our Black Ancestors.”
3. Deepwood Museum & Gardens
Just next door, Deepwood Museum & Gardens is more than a historic-house museum. The 1894 Queen Anne Victorian is located in a 5-acre public park with formal gardens, nature trails with native blooms, a greenhouse and an original carriage house. Take a guided home tour (reservations are best to make sure there’s space) and then hike the half-mile Rita Steiner Frye Nature Trail, which leads to Pringle Creek. Bring the whole family — most of the garden spaces are accessible to mobility devices via winding paths.
4. Women-Designed Gardens at Gaiety Hollow
Across from Bush’s Pasture Park, Gaiety Hollow’s 1932 Colonial Revival house and gardens belonged to Elizabeth Lord and Edith Schryver, the first women in the Pacific Northwest to own and operate a landscape-architecture firm. Lord and Schryver designed over 200 gardens in the region between 1929 and 1969, and a self-guided tour of their restored personal gardens during spring and summer is a must if you love camellias and roses.
5. The Oregon State Hospital Museum of Mental Health
This building may be best known as the filming location of the 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest — celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2025 — but more importantly, the Oregon State Hospital Museum of Mental Health tells the stories of the people who have worked and lived at the 142-year-old hospital through a variety of fascinating artifacts, documents, photographs and audio recordings. Catch one of the special exhibits for a closer look at what life was like in the building, and look for the Oregon Film Trail sign outside.
6. Salem’s Riverfront Carousel
Bring the kiddos to Salem’s Riverfront Park for a ride on the Riverfront Carousel. The ornately carved and hand-painted horses and other animals are a throwback to simpler times. The first Monday of each month has a special Sensory Hour, when kids can ride without the music and lights. People with disabilities always ride for free, although they need to be able to transition from their mobility aids to the carousel, as the wheelchair ramp is currently unavailable.
7. Gilbert House Children’s Museum
Connected to Riverfront Park, the Gilbert House Children’s Museum offers 20 hands-on exhibits, such as Airflow Alley and Fortopia, plus a fun-for-all outdoor play space and loads of imagination-sparking experiences for kids in five historical buildings. In addition to the first level of each house being wheelchair-accessible, the quieter Sensory Portal room lets kids interact with all sorts of tactile sensory-play features.
8. Salem Multicultural Institute and World Beat Festival
The Salem Multicultural Institute hosts events and exhibits around Salem that celebrate the diverse heritage of Salem. World Beat Gallery gives local communities a space to express their heritage through art. In addition, the World Beat Festival, typically held in June, is Oregon’s largest multicultural event. Don’t miss this weekend-long celebration of 60 cultures, where visitors can enjoy traditional dance and music, international food and a dragon-boat race along the Willamette River.
9. Salem Art Fair and Bush Barn Art Center
The Salem Art Association hosts free galleries at Bush Barn Art Center in Bush’s Pasture Park that exhibit thought-provoking fine art from the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The park also hosts the annual Salem Art Fair, which has been going strong for over 75 years. It’s a weekend filled with live music and performances, hands-on activities for kids, and pop-up shops with artists selling everything from one-of-a-kind jewelry to ceramics.
Ready to dive in? Salem’s lodging options are just as welcoming and diverse as its cultural scene, so book the perfect stay and start experiencing the city.
