See Oregon with the Experts: Amazing Tours and Experiences

Explore the Columbia River Gorge on a full-day driving tour with Wildwood Adventures. You’ll see breathtaking views from Crown Point Vista House and chase waterfalls, including Oregon’s tallest, Multnomah Falls. You’ll stop in charming Hood River for lunch and sightseeing before the scenic drive up Mount Hood, Oregon’s tallest peak, to historic Timberline Lodge. From here, appreciate views of the Cascade Mountains and take a short hike to the Pacific Crest Trail.

Drink in the verdant sights and flavorful sips of Oregon’s Willamette Valley wine country with A Great Oregon Wine Tour. They’ll do the driving while you handle the tasting at several vineyard and winery stops. Sample pinot noirs, chardonnays and other varietals, and learn all about the terroir from your guide and driver.

Sign up with Mt. Hood Outfitters to paddle the pristine mountain waters of Trillium Lake, which offers magnificent views of Mount Hood – a mere 12 kilometers in the distance. If you’d rather to tour the rugged Oregon Coast in the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, South Coast Tours is the only guide service that can run tours there.

Walking is one of the best ways to explore Oregon’s largest city. Sample the offerings of its legendary craft beer scene while also getting the inside scoop on local lore with BeerQuest Walking Tours. You can opt for a jaunt to award-winning local breweries or a haunted pub tour in the historic Old Town District.

If you always wanted to try out backpacking in true wilderness, plan a trip to Eastern Oregon and learn the fundamentals of backcountry trekking from Go Wild: American Adventures. Choose from rough and rugged trips with naturalist guides or high-end experiences featuring craft cocktails and personal chefs – all accented by the backdrop of the Blue or Wallowa mountain ranges.

Oregon’s rich soil and mild climate make it a wonderful place to cultivate flora, and you’ll find many colorful gardens across the state. Whether you’re looking for a more meaningful look at the famed International Rose Test Garden in Portland to looking to go behind the gates of private gardens, you can enlist the help of Gardens Dot Tours, which has connections to more than 130 gardens.

Enjoy a relaxing day of fly-fishing for trout on one of 63 secluded, unspoiled kilometers of the Lower Deschutes River on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation (home to the Warm Springs, Wasco and Paiute tribes). Led by Littleleaf Guide Service, which is owned by tribal members, you’ll get expert tutelage and access to the best spots.

Proof that Oregon has it all: 229 kilometers southeast of Portland in Central Oregon, you can mount horses and travel the high desert with Smith Rock Trail Guides. Follow your guide on a small group tour (typically four people or fewer) of Crooked River Canyon and the otherworldly formations of Smith Rock State Park.

Live like the pioneers and explorers on the Oregon Trail – sort of – in a cabin or campsite at Horse Creek Lodge & Outfitters along the McKenzie River. About an hour east of Eugene in the Willamette National Forest, Horse Creek also provides access to guided rafting tours, stand-up paddleboard rentals and mountain biking excursions.

Portland International Airport (PDX) is the state’s largest airport, offering many nonstop flights to Portland from various destinations. From there, travelers can rent a car or fly to smaller airports, including Eugene (EUG), Medford (MFR) and Redmond (RDM).