Oregon, the Beaver State: [11] Recreational Resources

Oregon has various recreational activities available to its residents. Oregon is an environmentally friendly and conscious state, so there are many outdoor activities to engage in. One can mountainbike, windsurf, hike, camp, ski, swim, etc. Oregon is home to 222 beautiful waterfalls. Click on this link to locate them!

There are also many urban destinations. In the Portland metro area alone, recreational activities range from gardens, museums, waterfalls, outdoor markets, a zoo, parks, sports, and performing arts. Not far away is Mt Hood and the Columbia River Gorge.

Portland's gardens include:
- The International Rose Test Garden : This is the most famous of Portland's gardens which has numerous roses in different colors and varieties. It was founded in 1917.
- The Japanese Garden : It is the most authentic garden found outside Japan. It includes a pond garden, a natural setting garden, a sand and stone garden, a flat garden and traditional tea garden.
-The Classical Chinese Garden : It was built as an authentic Suzhou-style garden
- The Peninsula Park Rose Garden
- Crystal Spring Rhododendron Gardens
- The Portland Memory Garden
- Leach Botanical Gardens
- Mill's End Park

Chinese Garden (Top) & Japanese Garden (Bottom)

Oregon has over 200 museums! The Oregon Museums Association has compiled a list of museums across the state and in which areas they could be found. The city of Portland, alone, has 14 musuems (34 total in the metro area ).

Portland Art Museum (Top) & Oregon Musuem of Science & Industry (Bottom)

Along Oregon's rivers, one can kayak, whitewater rafting, fish, or hike along its path. Along the coast, one can drive up and enjoy the scenery the coastline has to offer. Oregon is home to the Devil's Punchbowl (below), a state park open year round which has a unique rock formation that ocean waves churn in.

Oregon is famous for its many lighthouses along its coast. These are monuments to Oregon's maritime heritage and are accessable links to the past. They serve as excellent wildlife viewpoints, storm watching destinations, and posts for whale lookouts. The NPS registers 9 historic lighthouses and they are :

Cape Meares Lighthouse CAPE ARAGO (CAPE GREGORY) LIGHT (1934)
Location: Gregory Point/SW of Coos Bay entrance
Current Use: None

CAPE BLANCO LIGHT (1870)
Location: Southernmost Oregon Coast
Current Use: Active aid to navigation

CAPE MEARES LIGHT (1890)
Location: Southern entrance to Tillamook Bay
Current Use: State park/National Wildlife Refuge *top right*

COQUILLE RIVER (BANDON) LIGHT (1896)
Location: Entrance to Coquille River
Current Use: State park
*bottom right*

HECETA HEAD LIGHT (1894)
Location: North of Siuslaw River
Current Use: Active aid to navigation /Community College Program

Coquille River (Bandon) Lighthouse TILLAMOOK ROCK LIGHT (1881)
Location: Off Tillamook Head
Current Use: Columbarium in National Wildlife Refuge

UMPQUA RIVER LIGHT (1894)
Location: Umpqua River above entrance to Winchester Bay
Current Use: Active aid to navigation /Museum

YAQUINA BAY LIGHT (OLD) (1871)
Location: Yaquina Bay State Park
Current Use: Museum in state park/Private aid to navigation

YAQUINA HEAD LIGHT (1873)
Location: 3 miles north of Yaquina Bay entrance
Current Use: Active aid to navigation

Oregon's National Forests are:

· Deschutes National Forest
· Fremont National Forest
· Malheur National Forest
· Mt. Hood National Forest
· Ochoco National Forest
· Rogue River National Forest
· Siskiyou National Forest
· Siuslaw National Forest
· Umatilla National Forest
· Umpqua National Forest
· Wallowa-Whitman National Forest
· Willamette National Forest
· Winema National Forest

Oregon has 6 National Natural Landmarks (from North to South). These are public and private biological and geological features protected through conservation.

-Crown Point

-Willamette Floodplain

-Lawrence Memorial Grassland Preserve

-Hoprse Ridge Natural Area

-Newberry Crater

-Fort Rock State Monument