Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It features rugged rocky coastlines, dense forests, fun cities, mountains, deep canyons, and desert in the southeastern part of the state.

Regions of Oregon

Oregon's regional makeup is largely defined by its impressive natural features; most importantly its mountain ranges which not only provide convenient dividing lines, but which even create a distinct climate in each of the state's regions. Travellers who cover several regions during their stay will find the differences between regions stark and remarkable in that by travelling throughout the state a great variety of experiences may be gained.

Oregon is primarily in the Pacific Time Zone (UTC−8 standard time, UTC−7 daylight time). But Ontario and most of Malheur County, a large but rural county with stronger economic ties to Boise and southern Idaho than to Portland, is in the Mountain Time Zone (UTC−7 standard, UTC−6 daylight).

Map of Oregon's travel regions, its main destinations and roads

Portland Metropolitan Area The cultural and economic center of the state and home to about half the state's population.

Central Oregon With broad vistas of the Cascades to the west and the High Desert to the east, offering year-round outdoor activities.

Mt. Hood and Columbia Gorge High waterfalls, steep precipices and high winds along the Columbia River make the Gorge a destination for sightseers and windsurfers alike.

Eastern Oregon Sparsely populated desert plains and rugged mountain ranges offer remote solitude with some unique surprises for intrepid explorers.

Oregon Coast The state's spectacular rugged coastline is lined with plentiful public beaches and cozy coastal towns ideal for beach-combers and curio shoppers.

Southern Oregon Old-growth forests, world-class fishing, breath-taking waterfalls, and an emerging region are some of this region's diverse attractions.

Willamette Valley Metro centers offer artistic, musical, and cultural diversions, while open farmland and numerous Cafes provide ample tasting opportunities for food connoisseurs.

}}

Cities

43.810|-120.784|width=|align=}}

• Salem (Oregon) | Salem GPS: 44.930833,-123.028889 — the state's capital and third-largest city, located in the middle of the Willamette Valley, one of the finest agricultural regions in the world as well as home for Willamette University.
• Ashland (Oregon) | Ashland GPS: 42.191389,-122.700833 — home of the annual Oregon Shakespeare Festival
• Astoria GPS: 46.188889,-123.821111 — a historic fishing town at the mouth of the Columbia River, boasting many shipwrecks in the area
• Bend GPS: 44.05,-121.3 — high desert gateway with scenic vistas to several Cascade peaks
• Corvallis (Oregon) | Corvallis GPS: 44.566667,-123.283333 — home to Oregon State University on the western side of the Willamette Valley
• Eugene GPS: 44.051944,-123.086667 — home to the University of Oregon and the state's second largest city is known for being very socially and environmentally conscious
• Hood River GPS: 45.706667,-121.521667 — nestled in the Columbia Gorge and subject to strong winds and the town is a windsurfer's haven
• Newport (Oregon) | Newport GPS: 44.6,-124.05 — centrally located on the Oregon Coast, with an aquarium and marine center, attracting those with an interest in learning more about the coast and sea
• Portland GPS: 45.52,-122.681944 — the state's largest city and cultural capital has one of the nation's most livable urban centers and many distinct neighborhoods. It offers a wide range of educational opportunities at Lewis & Clark College, Reed College, University of Portland, Portland State University (PSU), Oregon Health Sciences University (medical, nursing and dental school & teaching hospital); and Portland Community College (the state's largest community college).

More Destinations

Mount Hood reflected in Mirror Lake, Oregon - Mount Hood reflected in Mirror Lake

• Crater Lake National Park GPS: 42.91183,-122.14807 — deepest lake in the world above sea level, Oregon's only national park
• Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail|Lewis and Clark National Monument — 12 park sites located on a 40-mile stretch of the Pacific coast located at the western end of the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
• Mount Bachelor GPS: 43.979416,-121.688508 — volcano that offers skiing and snowboarding (November through May)
• Oregon Caves National Monument GPS: 42.095556,-123.405833 — A marble cave complex that has been a tourist attraction since the late 1800s.
• Oregon National Historical Trail — as the harbinger of America's westward expansion and the Oregon Trail was the pathway to the Pacific for fur traders, Gold seekers, missionaries and others
• John Day Fossil Beds National Monument|Painted Hills GPS: 44.555833,-119.645278 — part of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, 75 miles east of Bend, roughly 1000 ha, 3132 acres, one of the most photographed areas in Oregon. Colors change as the sun moves in the sky, making an extended visit quite worthwhile. Brilliant yellow wildflowers bloom in rivers of color down the "valleys" of the hillsides in late April/early May.
• Willamette National Forest GPS: 43.2225,-122.254167 — offering numerous outdoor recreation activities including hiking, sailing, and camping at Waldo Lake.
• Wallowa Lake GPS: 45.308889,-117.210556 — one of Oregon's finest lakes. Beautiful scenery, camping, boating, fishing, hiking, eating, and lodging in the quiet town of Joseph.

Oregon Halal Explorer

In the mid-19th century, tens of thousands of settlers embarked on a months-long journey across plains, deserts, and mountains to reach the fertile farming land of the Willamette Valley at the end of the Oregon Trail. Traveling by foot with covered wagons and they braved heat, dusty conditions, disease, exhaustion, and starvation. As a modern-day traveler to Oregon, you will have a much easier time, taking only a few hours from most areas of the United States by plane, and in a few days at most by car. But once you set foot in Oregon, you'll start to understand what led the original explorers and settlers to endure such hardship to get there.

History

Humans have inhabited present-day Oregon since about 13,000 years ago, and by the time of European exploration in the 1500s there were many established Native American tribes. The earliest explorers came by sea to the west coast of North America in search of the Northwest Passage, and later by land, but they largely ignored many areas of present-day Oregon.

Although numerous sea expeditions explored the coast of Oregon, it wasn't until 1792 when American captain Robert Gray first entered what would become known as the Columbia River, followed soon afterward by British captain George Vancouver. By land, American explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led an expedition across the Louisiana Purchase to the mouth of the Columbia, arriving at the Pacific Coast in 1805. An expedition financed by John Jacob Astor later established a fort at what is now Astoria.

From 1818 to 1846 and the Oregon Country (which also included present-day Washington state and British Columbia) was jointly occupied by the U.S. and the United Kingdom. At that time, most settlers were involved in fur trading. A group of early American settlers eventually established a provisional government in 1843 at Champoeg. As more American settlers followed the Oregon Trail and settled in the Oregon Country, a boundary dispute with the United Kingdom was settled in the Oregon Treaty of 1846, which drew the boundary line at the 49th parallel and the present-day boundary between the United States and Canada.

The Oregon Territory was organized in 1848, and Oregon became a state on February 14, 1859.

In the 1880s and the transcontinental railroads greatly helped bring Oregon's wheat and lumber to markets in the east, as well as further population growth in its cities. Industrial production began in the 1930s with the construction of the Bonneville Dam in the Columbia River Gorge.

How is the Climate in Oregon

The Cascade Range forms a dividing line between two climate zones in Oregon. Moisture from the Pacific Ocean meets a barrier at the Cascade Range, resulting in abundant rainfall in western Oregon during the fall, winter, and spring, and milder temperatures overall. East of the Cascades, however and the climate is semi-arid and much drier, with a wider range of temperatures during the year. Snow falls abundantly in the Cascade mountains during the winter.

Culture & Tradition of Oregon

Today, Oregon is a study in contrast and diversity. Oregon was one of the first states to give citizens the power to pass legislation via initiative and referendum. Ballot measures in the state run the gamut from very conservative to very liberal, displaying a wide variety of opinions. The Cascade mountain range forms both a geographical and cultural dividing line between west and east. West of the Cascades in the Willamette Valley, progressive opinions such as environmentalism prevail, while in eastern Oregon political thought tends to be rather conservative.

Oregon, however, has a reputation for innovation. Besides being the first state to allow initiative and referendum, it was the first state to establish a beverage container deposit law (commonly called a bottle bill) and the first to legalize physician-assisted suicide, one of the first to legalize medical marijuana. A measure to legalize recreational use of marijuana in Oregon was approved on November 4, 2014.

The name of the state is invariably pronounced "OR-uh-gun" by its residents. If you pronounce it "or-ee-GONE," most residents will reflexively correct you, as they are unable to abide this particular faux pas. Also and the Willamette River and the main river in Western Oregon that runs north from Eugene through Salem to Portland, is pronounced "wil-LAM Monday - it" (damn it!), with the accent on the second syllable.

Public Holidays in Oregon

Oregon observes all the United States#Holidays|federal holidays, except Columbus Day, and adds Election Day (always on a Tuesday, from November 2nd to 8th). However and there may not be an election on an odd-numbered year, and local and preliminary ("primary") elections throughout the year are not holidays. Also, some cities and towns that have a large population of federal workers or military personnel might observe Columbus Day anyway.

Travel to Oregon

HawthorneBridge-Pano - The Hawthorne Bridge in Portland

Buy a Flight ticket to and from Oregon

The vast majority of air travel into Oregon is done through Portland International Airport GPS 45.588611,-122.5975 (IATA Flight Code: PDX), located on the north side of the city along the Columbia River. The airport has won several awards for traveler satisfaction and offers relatively quick ingress and egress due to its moderate size and lack of hub services. Quick access to ground transportation of all types is readily available. National services are provided by all major United States airlines, with direct connecting flights available from most western airports. International service is limited with direct connecting flights available from Vancouver, Amsterdam, and Tokyo plus seasonal Flights from some resort cities in Mexico.

Flights into Oregon's other commercial airports is available from several neighboring states, but can be costly in comparison to flights into Portland. While several links are direct, many itineraries will involve a connection through Portland. Mahlon Sweet Field (IATA Flight Code: EUG) is the second largest commercial airport in the state and serves the Eugene–Springfield area. Rogue Valley International–Medford Airport (IATA Flight Code: MFR) in Medford (Oregon) | Medford is the primary access point for Southern Oregon, while Roberts Field (IATA Flight Code: RDM) in the Bend–Redmond (Oregon) | Redmond area serves the same role for Central and much of Eastern Oregon. For destinations in the far eastern portion of the state, it's usually better to fly to Boise Airport (IATA Flight Code: BOI) in Idaho]. Several other Oregon cities have airports capable of handling commercial traffic, including Coos Bay, Klamath Falls, Newport (Oregon) | Newport, Pendleton, and Salem (Oregon) | Salem. Service is sometimes provided by regional airlines to these destinations, but frequencies and availability are changed frequently due to the low traffic demand for these services.

Nearly all significant cities throughout the state contain a municipal airfield for general aviation, or are within a short distance of such a field. In addition several small fields exist at premier destinations such as Sunriver, allowing general aviation pilots the ability to directly fly into their chosen location. The climate of the Oregon Coast and Willamette Valley regions can lead to rapidly changeable visibility and weather, while winter weather in mountainous areas and throughout Eastern Oregon can be severe, so while there ample times suitable for VFR flight, lack of IFR capabilities may lead to scheduling problems due to unpredictable weather patterns. Several air taxi and aviation rental services are available for those without their own aircraft who wish to fly into these smaller airports.

Muslim Friendly Rail Holidays in Oregon

See also: Rail travel in the United States

Amtrak offers several ways to enter and travel throughout Oregon by train:

• The Coast Starlight, regarded by many as America's most scenic train ride, runs between Los Angeles and Seattle, with the same stops as the Cascades between Eugene and Seattle except Oregon City and Tukwila.Additional stops in Chemult & Klamath Falls before crossing into California (southbound) or arriving into Eugene (northbound).
• The Empire Builder runs between Chicago and Spokane, Washington, where it then splits, with half of the train continuing to Seattle, and the other half to Portland.
• The Amtrak Cascades]], [[Amtrak Cascades is a special service that operates between Vancouver, British Columbia and Eugene using special high-speed Talgo rolling stock. Stops include Portland, Oregon City, Salem, Albany and Eugene.

For more information, see Amtrak's website, eHalal's article "Rail travel in the United States," or the Wikipedia pages on each of these train services.

By car

Oregon has numerous roads into the state from its neighbors:

• From California and the only freeway is Interstate 5, which taken north from Shasta crosses the Siskiyou Mountains and into the upper Willamette Valley and most of the state's largest cities. If traveling to the Oregon Coast, U.S. Highway 101 is a more scenic option connecting California's northern coast with Oregon's. To the east side of the Cascades, U.S. Highways 97 and 395 offer good quality roads to access Central and Eastern Oregon.
• From Washington and the most common entry is across the Interstate 5 and Interstate 205 bridges in the Portland Metropolitan Area. There are several other crossing points along the states' shared Columbia River border for regional travelers, including the impressive causeway on U.S. Highway 101 at the mouth of the Columbia River in Astoria (Oregon) ]], [[ Astoria. Further east, if coming from Spokane or Yakima areas, Interstate 82 crosses into the state near its northeastern corner. A very scenic route also exits along the Columbia River on US Highway 12 (north end) and US Highway 730 (south end). This joins Interstate 84 in eastern Oregon.
• From Idaho, Interstate 84 is the primary way into the state, crossing the Snake River at Ontario (Oregon) ]], [[ Ontario and continuing across the Blue Mountains and through the Columbia Gorge into Portland.Additionally, U.S. Highways 20 and 26, which enter the state near Nyssa, offer routes across the middle of Eastern Oregon, cross the Cascades and Willamette Valley, and terminate at the Oregon Coast. Several smaller roads cross the border for local access.
• From Nevada and there are limited options due to the sparsely populated nature of the Great Basin region. U.S. Highway 95 is the largest road to cross the border, but is in fact primarily a route from Central Nevada into Western Idaho. To access most of Oregon by way of Highway 95, it is necessary to use Oregon Route 78 to cut over to U.S. Highway 20 or to use Nevada and Oregon Route 140 to access Southern Oregon destinations. From most of Nevada it is more convenient to use routes through California to get to Oregon.

By bus

See also: Intercity bus travel in the United States

Greyhound runs several buses into Oregon:

• From Sacramento to Portland via Interstate 5
• From Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia to Portland via Interstate 5
• From Seattle to Stanfield (near Hermiston and Pendleton) via Pasco, Washington and Interstate 82
• From Spokane to Portland via Pasco and Interstate 82
• From Boise and Salt Lake City to Portland via Interstate 84

BoltBus connects Seattle and Bellingham (Washington) ]], [[ Bellingham, Washington, and Vancouver, British Columbia with Portland, Albany (Oregon) ]]

• Central Oregon Breeze - ☎ +1 541-389-7469 - Travels between Portland and Bend via Sandy, Welches, Government Camp, Warm Springs, Madras_(Oregon) ]], [[ Madras, Terrebonne, and Redmond airport. Buses may make some listed stops only by reservation.

• Greyhound - ☎ +1 503-243-2361 +1-800-231-2222 Prices vary . Greyhound travels along the interstates. On I-5 and they serve Portland (Oregon)#By bus]]