Winter Getaways
The Basics Within a Day’s Drive
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Newport
Distance from Eugene: 101 miles
Snark factor: Low at Yaquina Head; high near the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not
Round-trip gas: 4.5 gallons for a Prius, 8.8 gallons for a Dodge Caravan
Highlights:
• Cobble beach and tidepools at Yaquina Head
• Food at Canyon Way Restaurant
• Crabbing off the docks
• Whalewatching in nearby Depoe Bay
• The brew at Rogue Ale’s Public House
• The otters at Oregon Coast Aquarium
• The Vistor Center at the Hatfield Marine Science Center
Bend
Distance from Eugene: 141 miles
Snark factor: High, now that development has imploded
Round-trip gas: 6.3 gallons for a Prius, 11.3 for a Subaru Outback
Highlights:
•High Desert Museum
• Sun
• Skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, running
• McMenamins Old St. Francis School and its soaking pool
• Newberry National Volcanic Monument (Lava! Woot!)
• Smith Rock State Park for the climb-happy
• Deschutes Brewery
John Day
Distance from Eugene: 261 miles
Snark factor: Low (unless you’re a Creationist and fossils amuse your sensibilities; or unless you like to laugh at Creationists and use fossils to back yourself up)
Round-trip gas: 11.6 gallons for a Prius, 22 for a Honda Accord
Highlights:
• John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
• Camping, horseback riding, snowshoeing, skiing and hiking in the Malheur National Forest (be sure to wear orange gear during hunting seasons!)
Corvallis
Distance from Eugene: 49 miles
Snark factor: Low except for Civil War games
Round-trip gas: 2.2 gallons for a Prius; 3 for a Camry; 7 for an Expedition
Highlights:
• OSU sports, theater, lectures and superb enviro reading series
• Corvallis High School theater
• Grassroots Books & Music
• Crazy cute downtown — with no pits!
• Peavey Arboretum/McDonald Research Forest
• New restaurants, wine bar and boutiques along the waterfront
Portland
Distance from Eugene: 112 miles
Snark factor: High in the trendy NW and Pearl; low, though trending up, in N and NE
Round-trip gas: .47 gallons for Amtrak, per passenger; 5 for a Prius; 5.8 for a diesel Jetta
Highlights:
• Sports fun: Pilots soccer (NCAAs coming up!) and of course the Blazers!
• Public transportation joy: The MAX! The streetcar! The tram!
• Hikes: Forest Park has a mountain of trails
• Eats: One of our new faves is Toro Bravo on NE Russell, but there are oh, so many tasty places for chow in PDX
Winter Getaways:
Sunrise of the Gods
The downlow on getting to Machu Picchu
Welcome To a Mexican Beach!
Now go straight to hell
A Year in the “City of Happiness”
Rotary Youth Exchange for South student
The Basics Within a Day’s Drive
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519