As beautiful as it is, Oregon is not a tourist destination. The Tour industry is still undeveloped. There are barely organized tours and no infrastructure established to facilitate tourism. It was a bit of a challenge planning a reunion tour for my college friends, but they all seemed to be impressed by the scenery here and had a good time.
Multnomah Falls is one major landmark along the Columbia River. Women’s Forum is a good spot to overlook Columbia Gorge.
Smith Rock is the place where you can spend hours hiking along the river in the canyon. It is also a great photography location. Unfortunately, we had a very short stay, and I only took a few shots at the beginning of the trail.
Snow dramatizes Three Sisters on June summer day. They are absolutely gorgeous. I can imagine the romantic look at sunrise and sunset, but I seem to always come through here during the bright sunny day.
Crater Lake is the only national park in Oregon and the most desired place for visitors. Unfortunately, we have a late summer this year, and the ground is still heavily covered with snow. Rim access is minimum. We missed out on multiple great photography locations!
I recently discovered the Yaquina nature area (Newport) on a birding trip. In addition to the well-known Peregrine Falcon family, there are numerous shorebirds and seals in the area. We even saw a few whales swimming in white water.
Thor’s Well at Cape Perpetua is one popular photography spot. There are three hiking trails in the area. St. Perpetua Trail leads you up to Whisper Spruce Loop Trail where you can overlook a range of the Oregon coast, and simply stunning coastline.
Oregon is not lacking scenic viewpoints, but bus access and qualified tour guides ought to be developed and improved.
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