Cool summer getaways: Ashland, Oregon
If William Shakespeare, Bob Marley and Daniel Boone were planning a vacation together, they’d probably be able to agree on Ashland, Oregon. Home to world-famous rafting and hiking trails (featured in "The River Wild" and "The Wild," respectively), a hippie-college-town atmosphere and the renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the small city in Southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley is as well-rounded as it is enjoyable.
Foodies
Ashland and the surrounding Rogue Valley are in Oregon’s little-known banana belt, where a Mediterranean climate not found in the rest of the state makes for a foodie’s paradise. Gourmet cheese and wine, farm-to-table meats and produce and organic chocolate are easy to find. Throw in Ashland’s eclectic college-town vibe (it's home to Southern Oregon University), and you get a range of high-quality restaurants representing different cultures scarcely found anywhere else between Eugene and Sacramento.
Morning Glory
If you want to start your day local and fresh, try Morning Glory. Home to “friendly Oregon vibes,” as one Yelp user wrote, the breakfast restaurant has a 4.5-star rating out of nearly 600 reviews. According to the owners, Morning Glory's most-loved dishes are the lemon ricotta-stuffed French toast and shrimp cakes with poached eggs and smoked tomato chutney. That’s not the only smoked item you’ll find on the menu — the restaurant cures its own meats with an in-house smoker.
Julek's Polish Kitchen
For a taste of Eastern Europe, there’s Julek’s Polish Kitchen, just outside Ashland in the small city of Talent. The food is seasonal, almost always organic and non-GMO, and the restaurant boasts an impressive selection of Polish beer. The atmosphere is decidedly authentic — as one Yelp user put it,“You might as well be sitting in the old country.”
The Rogue Creamery and neighboring Lillie Belle Farms
Say cheese! This surprising gem tucked away on Highway 99 in the small town of Central Point — about 20 minutes from Ashland — has a world-class blue cheese (and the similar “Oregonzola”) that you’ll swear came from a quaint European village. The creamery’s cheeses have won a slew of awards — even some international ones. Bonus: right next-door is Lillie Belle farms, a gourmet chocolate shop that sells organic concoctions, including one that fuses the two niche shops: the Rogue Creamery Smokey Blue Cheese chocolate spread.
Dagoba Organic Chocolates
If you live on the West Coast, you’ve probably seen Dagoba chocolates for sale at your local grocery store. Good news — the organic chocolatier is based in Ashland, and it even sells “drinking chocolate" you can try on your Southern Oregon adventure.
Booze and brews
The city’s also home to a slew of craft breweries, while wineries are found all throughout the valley as well. Standing Stone Brewing Company and Caldera Tap House are both well-loved names right in the heart of Ashland.
On-the-go
If you’re looking for snacks to store in the hotel room or you're just trying to cut food costs one night, check out Market of Choice — a sort of Oregonian version of that famous organic grocery store — or the Ashland Food Cooperative. Both have delicious salad bars and assortment of hot dishes you can take to go.
Outdoors lovers
Caves, lakes, mystical vortexes, world-famous rafting and plateaus begging to be climbed — you can see them all in Ashland and the surrounding country.
Rafting on the Rogue
If water’s your game, you have to raft the Rogue River (where Meryl Streep shot her 1994 thriller, "The River Wild"). There are plenty of ways to book a rafting day, with or without guides, and rafting companies generally will drive you to your starting point and pick you up at the end of the stretch.
Spelunking at the Oregon Caves
If you’re more into exploring, check out the Oregon Caves just a short drive west of Ashland in the Klamath National Forest. Guided tours of the underground National Park Service site begin in late March.
Crater Lake
If you don’t mind driving about an hour and a half, check out Crater Lake, the nation’s deepest body of water and the ninth-deepest lake in the world, according to the National Park Service. It’s northeast of Ashland in the Winema National Forest.
Table Rock
Two twin plateaus just north of Ashland offer easy-yet-rewarding hikes and views. Check out upper Table Rock if you want a slightly more leisurely hike (it’s actually a bit taller than its twin, but considered an easier hike because of the way its trails are laid out) or lower Table Rock for more of a challenge. The plateaus are even home to a native flower not found anywhere else in the world — the demure, white-and-yellow woolly meadowfoam.
Lithia Park
If you want to feel the tranquility of nature without a long drive or working up a major sweat, hop on over to Ashland’s 93-acre Lithia Park. Home to gorgeous shade trees, a duck pond, playground and Japanese Garden, Lithia was named one of the 10 best public places in America by the American Planning Association in 2014. Even without seeking the park out for exercise or exploration, Lithia will probably become your go-to place to take a breather while shopping or waiting for a reservation during your stay in Ashland.
The 'Wild' Pacific Crest Trail
The Pacific Crest Trail running from the Mexican to Canadian border runs through the Ashland area and played an important role in the 2014 Reese Witherspoon hit, "The Wild" (and the memoir that inspired the film). Check it out for a day of hiking or even a night or two of camping if you want to see mountain vistas and — if you're lucky — wildflowers in bloom.
Culture buffs
Shakespeare rules in Ashland, but he's got some company in the form of quirky shops, museums, a revered annual music festival and more.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival
William Shakespeare’s influence is everywhere in Ashland (hello, Bard’s Inn). But if you want to see his works performed, you’ve come to the right place — Ashland’s Oregon Shakespeare Festival is world-renowned for its yearly productions, which includes modern offerings such as Disney’s "Beauty and the Beast" and a stage adaptation of the Academy Award-winning "Shakespeare in Love." Some of the Shakespeare productions take on a modern twist, too — like the festival’s version of "Twelfth Night" set in the 1930s.
Downtown shops
If shopping is your idea of fun, Ashland has plenty to offer. Check out Rare Earth for bohemian clothes, jewelry, accessories and toys. If you want to pick up some earthy knickknacks or costume pieces, stop over at Renaissance Rose. Paddington Station is another local favorite that features high-quality kitchen goods, clothes and a little bit of everything else. There are numerous spots to browse books, outdoor gear and music, too. If you want a more mainstream shopping experience, Medford’s Rogue Valley Mall’s your ticket — it’s the largest between Eugene and Sacramento.
The Britt
No music-lover’s stay in Southern Oregon is complete without a Britt Music & Arts Festival show in nearby Jacksonville. The summer concerts include folk artists and mainstream acts: past headliners have included Jewel, Heart, George Thorogood and The Destroyers, the Steve Miller Band, Joe Cocker and Three Dog Night. Bonus: You can bring your own food.
Jacksonville
Speaking of Jacksonville, if you like history, food and shopping, take a day trip there. The pioneer town’s quirky shops and restaurants are housed in converted saloons and other Old West buildings, and it's got several intriguing museums. Even just meandering around town to look at all the old architecture is an activity in itself.
The House of Mystery
While in Jacksonville, check out nearby Gold Hill's House of Mystery, a bizarre old home that seems to defy the laws of gravity with its standing brooms and uphill-rolling balls. Legend has it that local Native American tribes considered the spot to be forbidden even before there was a house there, and settlers’ horses refused to set foot on the property (as did most other animals). It was even featured on the SyFy reality show "Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files." Verdict: freaky and unexplained stuff does happen there, but it appears to be based on science, not the supernatural — the show theorized that magnets may be buried under the house.
Where to stay
The area’s tallest building is also one of its most historic: The Ashland Springs Hotel downtown been around since 1925. The Jacksonville Inn is another historical building that could do some serious name-dropping — former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama have stayed there. The inn also frequently sweeps local awards for its food and services. If you’re more into cost-saving than history and prestige, the area is full of chain hotels and motels, too.
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