In and around Eugene
 

We will be in Eugene in early August, looking for suggestions on place to go, nearby beach areas & hotels (beach and in Eugene). Also how close is Eugene to the wine area?

thanks

The Oregon beaches although beautiful or not really what you would imagine a beach to be like. They are very cold, windy and depending on where your'e at can have a lot of natural debri (ie. seaweed, petrified wood).

The nearest beach town that I would recommend is Newport. They have the Oregon Coast Aquarium which is a must and also a great tourist area with shops, restaurants and museums. There is also a great Brewery just a few miles away from there. I would recommend eating at Moe's which is ridiculously famous there. From the pictures on the walls it seems even former presidents have eaten there. There are many B&B's there but I would recommend just staying at the La Quinta. It is a comfortable stay and has beautiful views. It's also close to all the fun stuff to do.

As far as wine country. It's an hour and a half drive north on I-5. Just before you get to Salem is where all of the most notorius wine makers are.

And if you've never been to Portland I would highly recommend going there at least for a day trip. It's about 2 1/2 hours away from Eugene, maximum. It's very beautiful and there are an abundance of fun things to do there.

We were just in Portland this past Sun. and enjoyed walking the waterfront and dinner at Lucier. In Eugene, check out the King Estate Winery, great food and wine here! ***kim*** ((*))

It's not that far from Eugene to Florence on the coast and the nearby dunes, and Yachats.

Although it was a few years ago, we really enjoyed our stay at the Campbell House in Eugene.
http://www.campbellhouse.com/main/

If I was going north to the wine country, I wouldn't miss the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville.
http://www.sprucegoose.org/

The closest beach town to Eugene is Florence- its a cute town with a lot to do in the area.

In Eugene the 1st choice hotel would be Valley River Inn - right on the river with walking paths on both sides of the river - nice deck overlooking the river.
Second choice would be Marriott Residence Inn - its across the street from the river - close to park and walking and biking paths.

Give me some ideas of what you would like to do- I live in Eugene so am pretty familiar with what there is.

King Estate is a fabulous winery outside of Eugene - they also have a restaurant- open for lunch and dinner. Highly recommended
There are several other wineries close by- Hinman, Sylvan Ridge Noble Estates , Iris Hill -
http://www.kingestate.com/
Noble Estate has some great wines .

There is a lot to see and do -
I highly recommend the dune buggy rides over by Florence, a drive up the McKenzie River, a raft trip

What are you interested in?

Chateau Lorane is another nice place to wine taste in the area. They have some good fruit wines and there is a lake there which is pretty. ***kim*** ((f))

My thanks to everyone for your responses. Sunbum, this is our first trip to Oregon, we generally like the beach and natural sites. We will be meeting 3 young people (early 20's) and would also like to do some fun things with them...casual resturants, comedy, dune buggy's sound fun, at least for some of us! Any other suggestions are welcomed.

You will love the dune buggy rides

http://www.sandland.com/
I prefer the smaller one- holds 4 or 5 people and the driver- he takes you flying over the dunes- great fun.

Also the 20 yr olds might like trying sandboarding in Florence - there is a sandboarding park

http://www.sandmasterpark.com/

Around Eugene there are lots of easy hikes - river rafting companies on the McKenzie, bike paths connecting city - bike rental available through several bike shops.
There is a great hike up the McKenzie River starting at Sahalie Falls - takes you past a couple of nice waterfalls and along a very scenic part of the McKenzie

The Northbank Restaurant is a nice casual restaurant - has a big deck overlooking the river -

also Roaring Rapids is a nice place for Pizza- also with a big deck overlooking the river.

What else do you want to know?