This day-use site is located along the Wallowa River and is a popular fishing and wildlife viewing area. Steelhead fishing is good during the spring and fall. The canyon rises steeply on both sides of the road and is frequented by deer, elk and bear. The slopes of the canyon are forested primarily with pine. Flowers are abundant in the spring. The Wallowa River is clear, cold and popular with fly fishing enthusiasts because it can be waded in many locations.

If you're interested in a campground surrounded on three sides by 9,000' tall snow-capped mountains and a large, clear lake, this is the area for you. The lake is a popular fishing and boating site. Around the Wallowa Lake area, you can enjoy hiking wilderness trails, horseback riding, bumper boats, canoeing, miniature golf or ride a tramway to the top of one of the mountains (a rise of 4,000'). Wildlife is abundant in the area (check out our downloadable bird list (564k); Acrobat required).

This rest area is located in a canyon alongside the Wallowa River. Fishing is the activity of choice in the clear, cool medium-sized river. There is abundant wildlife on the pine and fir tree-laden slopes above the river. Flowers are abundant in the spring and add to the beauty of the river as it rushes ever downward.

Resting on the border between Lane and Benton Counties, this wayside makes a great picnic spot (especially if you've decided to travel through the Willamette Valley along Hwy 99W instead of the interstate). This is a well-shaded park thanks to the Douglas fir trees.

W.B. Nelson provides a small freshwater lake and fishing dock. Bass and stocked pan-sized trout are the most common fish. The area is known for abundant waterfowl. Adjacent to the Alsea River, there's a scenic wetland area. A free fishing day is held every year in May.

Located along the seawall in Depoe Bay, the Whale Watching Center is dedicated to sharing information about whales. The center is home to the Whale Watching Spoken Here program, which sponsors the winter and spring break whale watching weeks. Gray whales migrate past the Oregon Coast on their way to and from the waters off Alaska and Mexico.

One of Oregon's secret hideaways is located just east of Tygh Valley along Highway 216. The White River plunges 90' over a basalt shelf. The park offers excellent viewpoints of the White River falls. A rugged quarter-mile trail takes hikers down deep within the canyon to the historic hydroelectric power plant at the base of the raw, churning power of the falls. The power plant supplied electricity to Wasco and Sherman Counties from 1910 until the completion of The Dalles Dam in 1960.

Willamette Mission is one of the most significant and beautiful historic sites in the Willamette Valley. The park occupies land where the first mission for American Indians was founded in 1834 by the Reverend Jason Lee. Members of the Methodist Mission were later active in the formation of Oregon government. A monument is located in the park providing information on this settlement. The original mission buildings are represented by framed outlines called ghost structures. A landing for the Wheatland Ferry -- the first to carry the covered wagon across the Willamette River in 1844 -- is in the park.

With the exception of portions of the eastern United States and Texas, the United States is divided into a grid of six-mile squares called Townships and Ranges, commonly known as the rectangular survey system. The Willamette Meridian is one of 37 Principal Meridians in the United States, each of which is named, that define the rectangular survey system.

Despite its close proximity to Highway 101, Tugman State Park is relatively unknown -- a private hideaway on the wondrous south coast. Situated on Eel Lake near the community of Lakeside, Tugman offers 94 campsites with electric/water hookups tucked away in a mature stand of shore pines. The day-use area has a restroom and gazebo-style shelter surrounded by broad green lawns.

Winchuck provides parking area and access to the Winchuck River and ocean beach for fishing, exploring, clamming, strolling, photographing seascapes and observing marine life.

Imagine yourself as a traveler along a section of the Applegate Trail in the late 1800s. You have just arrived by stage coach at the Wolf Creek Inn. This is a long-sought-after refuge from a not-so-comfortable portage over mountains and across valleys. After paying 75 cents for a room, bath, and meals, you're ready to relax. You sit down to a good meal and some easy conversation with the innkeepers. Afterward, the men sidle off to the tap room for some quaffs of beer while the ladies adjourn to the parlor. The conversation drifts from tales of inspirational beauty to frightful experiences of the trail.

The Wygant trail -- six miles west of Hood River -- was a gift to Oregon honoring the memory of the Wygant family. This park adjoins two other state parks near Mitchell Point 5 miles west of Hood River on Interstate 84. A trail strikes through the park in a dense, hilly wilderness area that was once the old Oregon Trail and later the Historic Columbia River Highway. The first mile of this trail is on pavement that hasn't had an automobile on it for 50 years (it still has the yellow divider stripe). As it moves into the wilderness, Wygant trail penetrates a dense forest hillside along a gurgling creek. It is an ideal spot for backpackers who are looking for a little solitude.

South of Yachats, the road makes a one-mile loop, exposing one of the most scenic viewpoints on the coast: the Yachats Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Park along the loop and enjoy access to the beach, tidepools, blowholes, summer sunsets and whale watching.

In the heart of Yachats, turn west on 2nd Street. The road makes a small loop, offering a serene view of the Yachats river as it meets the Pacific Ocean. Park and see the wild waves and gray whale migration. Rock and salmon fishing and tidepools bring people back to this park again and again. Plenty of resting benches and picnic tables.

Yaquina Bay State Park is located in Newport at the north end of Yaquina Bay near its outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The bluff is forested with spruce and pine, but the real star is the historic lighthouse. The lighthouse -- later used as a Coast Guard Lifeboat Station -- has been restored and is open to the public. Attractions nearby include the historic Newport bayfront, Hatfield Marine Science Center and the Oregon Coast Aquarium.