I got my first taste of the Pacific Northwest when I worked with a youth branch of Americore called Northwest Youth Corps (NYC) a little over 2 years ago. I camped every night alongside a group of 7 other 16-18 year olds right smack in the center of the Wenatchee and Mount Hood wilderness areas in Washington and Oregon. By far, one of the best experiences of my life (and I’d totally recommend! Check out the website…there are jobs/internships for college-aged students too). Upon returning home, I knew immediately I needed to live out there hopefully for college and most certainly whenever I look for a job and settle down.

I somehow was able to convince my dad to take me out west to “visit colleges” during my high school spring break Junior year. Although I didn’t get to hike and camp everywhere on my Northwest bucket list, I saw some pretty cool things definitely worth mentioning. In this post, I’ll talk about my experiences in Oregon with both Northwest Youth Corps and my dad (the next post will be about Washington).

1. Finding the Perfect Flight

Because my dad and I wanted to cover quite a bit of distance but only had about a week and a half to do so, we booked a one-way flight from Philadelphia to Portland, OR and then another one way from Seattle, WA to Philadelphia. Although it was slightly more expensive than the bargain roundtrip tickets we usually book, it was worth it because it allowed us to spend more time outside rather than in the car. If you book the ticket through Spirit or Frontier airlines (given neither of them went under due to COVID), tickets regardless are cheap, so you would be saving money no matter what. We also rented a pick up truck (we had never driven in one before, so why not try it in a place where forest service roads tend to be more popular than highways?) Having a 4×4 is definitely encouraged.

2. Portland

Once you get to Portland, there are a lot of different things to see. My dad and I didn’t have enough time to visit the city itself, but if you have time, I heard it’s worth the stop; Portland is known for having all kinds of markets with artisans as well as lots of great places to thrift. It’s a very hipster and environmentally friendly place.

3. Willamette National Forest

About 2 hours from Portland directly west of Eugene lies a mossy, old growth forest. In reality, Oregon is filled with these mossy, rainforest feel old growths, but we chose to camp in one near Blue River in the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest. On their website, they list the adventure highlights and even offer a virtual tour of the Old Growth trail for people who want to learn about the ecology of old growth forests. My dad and I camped in the Slide Creek Campground, which was really peaceful and not crowded at all. Because we camped in the beginning of April, there was still a little bit of snow (and this goes for all the places we camped on this trip), so I would definitely recommend bringing an actual tent instead of a hammock. As for hiking, the Lookout Creek Old Growth Trail is worth a stop, as it features several 500+ year old trees and is where modern foresters conduct research on old growth ecology.

4. Columbia River Gorge

In 2017, a 15-year-old by set off fireworks into the Gorge with his friends. The air is very dry in the west, so these fireworks ignited a fire that burned for over three months, destroying about 50,000 acres of forest. Much of the Gorge was closed down, along with areas around it, for years afterwards. In 2018 when I worked for NYC, I actually got to work in a burn zone for a little bit. I remember in some parts, the fire was still burning underground; we would often walk around areas where smoke was rising from the dirt. Although the fires destroyed countless ecosystems murdering lots of lifeforms, there was something peaceful about being in the burn zone. The good news: some trails have opened up again. According to my friends that live in various places throughout Oregon, the Gorge is their absolute favorite place to hike, so I would definitely recommend checking out the different hiking opportunities.

5. Mount Hood Wilderness

I got to spend two out of the five weeks backpacking in the Mount Hood Wilderness with NYC, and I have to say, this was my favorite part of the whole summer. Mount hood is a gorgeous snow-capped volcano that is surrounded by pristine wilderness, and guess what, more old growth forests! We backpacked along the PCT to do work on the lesser known trails that stem off of the PCT.

If you are into backpacking, I would definitely recommend this portion (from about route 26 to the Hood River area intersection with route 84, right on the Columbia River). Check out the PCT map to plan the backpacking trip to fit how much time you have. Just a quick fact: you usually don’t need a permit to camp in state and national forests as long as you don’t camp in the same spot for more than one night.

For example, if you only have one car and don’t want to go through the trouble of taking a bus back to the point on the PCT you started your backpacking trip, you can find a nice long loop hike or make a loop by looking at the trails in the area and how they connect (I usually download the gpx files from AllTrails and upload them to GIA GPS on my phone for offline maps), then you can just camp right off the trail wherever you want as long as you follow the backpacking guidelines for that national forest or state forest (here is an example of the guidelines for the White Mountain National Forest…rules vary from forest to forest. Be especially careful out west because usually they don’t allow for campfires).

6. Oregon Coast

I didn’t get to visit the Oregon coast, unfortunately, but from what I heard, it is the most beautiful coastline in the entire country. I’ve heard great things about the Neahkahnie Trail, the Clapsop Loop Hike, and the Floras Lake Waterfall Hike.

There are obviously so many more places to visit in Oregon, but these were at the top of my list when I was visiting (and some of them still are!) If you are making a trip out and have a significant amount of time, I would definitely recommend searching on Pinterest to find more hidden jems. I usually use phrases like, “best hikes, OR” or “blue water swimming holes.” Something along those lines always yields very exciting results.