3 Best Sights in The Willamette Valley and Wine Country, Oregon

It's a thrill to be on campus on game day, when students are a sea of orange and black cheering on their beloved Beavers. This 400-acre campus, west of the city center, was established as a land-grant institution in 1868. OSU has more than 27,000 students, many of them studying the university's nationally recognized programs in conservation biology, agricultural sciences, nuclear engineering, forestry, fisheries and wildlife management, community health, pharmacy, and zoology.

The true heart of Eugene lies southeast of the city center at its university. Several fine old buildings can be seen on the 250-acre campus; Deady Hall, built in 1876, is the oldest. More than 400 varieties of trees grace the bucolic grounds, along with outdoor sculptures that include The Pioneer and The Pioneer Mother. The two bronze figures by Alexander Phimster Proctor were dedicated to the men and women who settled the Oregon Territory and less than a generation later founded the university.

Behind the Capitol, across State Street but half a world away, are the brick buildings and grounds of Willamette University, the oldest college in the West. Founded in 1842, Willamette has long been a breeding ground for aspiring politicians. Hatfield Library, built in 1986 on the banks of Mill Stream, is a handsome brick-and-glass building with a striking campanile; tall, prim Waller Hall, built in 1867, is one of the oldest buildings in the Pacific Northwest. It's also home to the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, the third-largest art museum in the state.