It’s summertime and that means that many are hitting the roads in search of adventure. If you are planning on visiting Lane County or live nearby, here is a list of the Top Ten Places to visit while in Lane County (in no particular order). If you have any other suggestions to add to the list, please let us know.
Hendricks Park
Hendricks Park is Eugene’s oldest city park. Its 78 acres include a mature forest, a world-renowned rhododendron garden, and now a new native plant garden. Laced with trails, the park is a haven for hikers, birders, and others who enjoy retreating to the tranquility of nature. Without leaving the city, visitors can walk among Douglas fir trees two hundred years old, ferns, and wildflowers, such as trilliums and irises, and over six thousand varieties of rhododendrons and other ornamental plants.
Wine Country
From trendy downtown tasting rooms to grand, Tuscan-inspired chateaus, sip and savor your way through Lane County’s wine country. Just a short drive from the Eugene metro area, you’ll find more than a dozen distinct, award-winning wineries tucked in the scenic, rolling landscape of the southern Willamette Valley.
Saturday Market
Every Saturday, rain or shine, between April and Thanksgiving, vendors display their handmade or home-grown products in a park in downtown Eugene, Oregon, The sellers arrive early in the morning and set up their own individual booths. Buyers start to come around 10am, and from then on throughout the day the Market is alive with activity: browsing, buying, selling, trading, exchanging information, meeting friends, eating lunch, listening to and playing music. All these and more activities are going on simultaneously. Children and older people alike enjoy the selling and visiting at the Market. There is a true mixture of ages, incomes and lifestyles meeting with ease and pleasure.
Covered Bridges
Lane County was the first Oregon County to build covered bridges on a large scale and with 20 bridges, still maintains more than any other county west of the Mississippi. Sixteen of these bridges are listed in the National Register of Historic Places and fourteen are still open to traffic. Lane’s covered bridges attract many tourists to the area each year.
Oregon Coast
This unique landscape from the lush forests of the coastal mountains to the unique Oregon Dunes and on into the beaches of the Pacific Ocean, visitors have a stunning choice of opportunities. One can find activities to suit every taste, from hiking up to spectacular mountain views to beach combing, from whale watching to exploring the forest or dunes, the Oregon Coast offers something for everyone.
Cascade Mountains
The crest of the Cascade Mountains marks the eastern most boundary of Lane County where year-round the hilltops sparkle with azure-blue mountain lakes, a feast for the eyes whether seen from your ride up a chairlift or from the coziness of your campsite. Willamette Pass offers summer and winter activities you can enjoy skiing, riding, hiking biking or soaking up the amazing views.
McKenzie River Valley
Located less than an hour from Eugene-Springfield, the McKenzie River Valley’s communities of Leaburg, Blue River and McKenzie Bridge are blessed with old-growth forest, as well as many miles of riverfront hiking and mountain biking trails. When you’re in the McKenzie River Valley, you’re in first class fishing and river rafting territory.
University of Oregon
Eugene’s University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research university offering a broad spectrum of opportunities for learning. The 250 acre campus has architecturally pleasing buildings, some dating back to the 1870s, shady, tree-lined footpaths and beautiful landscaping. There are several museums to visit. The Museum of Art with an excellent collection of Asian art, African art, Russian icon paintings, Rodin sculptures and changing exhibits, and the Museum of Natural History focusing on Oregon’s ancient people and animals, as well as changing exhibits on other cultures.
Hayward Field
Hayward Field at University of Oregon is one of the best-known historic track and field stadiums in the United States. As host to 3 Olympic Trials, 9 NCAA Championships and 6 USA Championships - the most of any venue in recent history in each category, Hayward Field looms as one of the world’s most famous track and field venues. Hayward Field’s historic, covered grandstands are comparable to many famous European venues. The ‘Carnegie Hall’ for American track and field plays host annually to the nation’s finest single-day track and field contest, the Prefontaine Classic, which features the top mix of national and international talent on American soil each year.
Hult Center for the Performing Arts
Located in downtown Eugene, surrounded by wonderful galleries and restaurants, the Hult Center’s impressive theaters host world-class performances and conferences. The award-winning gallery and studio offer truly unique spaces for receptions and meetings. Built by the citizens of Eugene, the Hult Center has quite an impressive history and has been charming audiences and popular performers alike with its stunning architectural and acoustical features. The Hult Center is truly a great arts facility.
Did you know that it is a big myth that that houses do not sell during the winter months? Sellers who wait until spring to list their homes become another property on the market to choose from. Let’s highlight a few reasons why we encourage sellers to list their homes or keep them on the market through the Holidays and the winter months, and not wait until spring.