January 18th, 2012 by Sylke Neal-Finnegan
Tualatin Hills Nature Park and Interpretive Center, located in the heart of Beaverton, is one of several attractions in this growing city.
Oregon’s Washington County encompasses 727 square miles and boasts 10 cities. Each month, we’ll be spotlighting each city and highlighting its various attractions. This month the featured city is Beaverton.
Beaverton is Washington County’s second-largest city, with a population of more than 90,000. Apparel giants Nike and Columbia Sportswear, Reser Foods, optical scope maker Leupold & Stevens, and makers of test and measurement equipment, Tetronix, are just some of the major companies that call this city home.
Nestled in the heart of the Tualatin Valley, Beaverton is surrounded by farm lands and natural resources, and boasts 30 miles of hiking trails and a 25-mile network of bike paths. It is home to a diverse array of attractions, dining and family entertainment centers, plus tens of miles of hiking trails and bike paths. Beaverton also is home to two wineries, which earn the acclaim of being the closest wineries to Portland.
Shop
Bibliophiles rejoice! Beaverton boasts a smaller version of the infamous independent bookseller Powell’s City of Books at Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills Crossing (3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton; 800-878-7323). With more than half-a-million used, new, rare and hard-to-find titles, it’s easy to spend half a day browsing the aisles of this iconic bookstore. See more shopping options in Beaverton.
Dine
Fresh Italian cuisine, prepared with locally sourced ingredients makes up the ever-changing menu of decarli restaurant (4545 SW Watson Ave., Beaverton; 503-641-3223). Inventive and delicious cocktails, diverse wine list, warm and inviting dining room, and hopping happy hour make decarli a must while in Oregon’s Washington County. Also in Beaverton is the venerable Hall St. Grill, which specializes in traditional American dishes prepared with a distinctive Northwest flair. For more dining options in Beaverton, and throughout Washington County, visit our dining page.
Play
Beaverton is home to two nationally-recognized wineries, Ponzi Vineyards (14665 SW Winery Ln., Beaverton) and Cooper Mountain Vineyards (9480 SW Grabhorn Rd., Beaverton), both noted for their exceptional wine and commitment to sustainable farming practices.
For those under the age of 21, Beaverton offers myriad family-friendly activities, from batting cages and laser tag to indoor rock climbing and bingo. See the complete list of attractions and activities for the entire family.
Explore
The 222-acre Tualatin Hills Nature Park and Interpretive Center features 1.5 miles of paved trail (which is ADA accessible) and four miles of secondary trails, each offering a relaxing journey through the ecologically diverse habitat that includes ponds, creeks, marshes and forests. The Interpretive Center offers programs and special events for all ages. The trails and the center are open year-round; admission is free. There are plenty of other places to explore in and around Beaverton. Check out our website for more interesting things to see in do here.
Cooper Mountain Nature Park, a 230-acre site, features 3.5 miles of trails that traverse the park and pass through a mosaic of oak and madrone woodlands, native prairies and conifer forests. The park also houses a demonstration garden and a play area for children.
Stay
The Beaverton area has two bed-and-breakfasts, Rose Cottage Bed and Breakfast (3392 SW Delaney Pl., Portland) and Enchanted Garden Suite (12035 NW West Rd., Portland), plus nearly a dozen hotels and motels.
If you’re in the Beaverton area, be sure to stop by the Washington County Visitors Association’s visitor information center (11000 SW Stratus St., Beaverton; 503-644-5555, open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., closed holidays) to pick up a visitor guide, area map, biking and recreation map and a host of additional material about Oregon’s Washington County.
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Posted in Attractions, Family Fun, Farmers Markets, Lodging, Nature, Outdoor Recreation, Recreation, Restaurants, Shopping | No Comments »
August 12th, 2011 by WCVA
Oregon’s Washington County Recreation Map Now Available
The Washington County Visitors Association just published its new Recreation Map, a sister publication to the overwhelmingly popular Bike Map.
With highlights of the area’s outdoor recreational areas, the Recreation Map provides a wealth of information about various outdoor activities, including hiking, nature walks, bird watching locations and paddling sites, including GPS coordinates, difficulty levels and contact information. Trailheads, parks, campgrounds, horse camping sites and other pertinent information are also pinpointed on the map.
In addition to recreational sites, the map includes the Vineyard and Valley Scenic Tour Route, wineries throughout Washington County, golf courses, farms and farm stores, and other attractions in the area.
Recreation Map Highlights
- Bird watching sites
- Vineyard and Valley Scenic Tour Route
- Parks and natural areas
- Golf courses
- Wetlands and open spaces
- Community and recreation centers
- Vineyards and wineries
- Day-use parks
- Camping sites
- Paved and unpaved recreational trails
- Historic sites
- Paddling sites
- Mountains/buttes
Request a FREE copy of the Recreation Map online, call 800-537-3149, or send us an e-mail at info@wcva.org.
Tags: Biking, bird watching, Golf, kayaking, lakes, map, Nature, Oregon, Oregon's Washington County, outdoor, outdoor recreation, paddling, parks, parks and recreation, recreation map, rivers, Vineyard and Valley Scenic Tour Route, washington county, Wineries
Posted in Nature, Outdoor Recreation | No Comments »
June 22nd, 2010 by Sylke Neal-Finnegan
WCVA's own Allison George navigates the obstacles at Tree to Tree Adventure Park
When I first heard about a new aerial adventure park opening in Washington County, Oregon, my first reaction was, “what is an aerial adventure park”? Now that Tree to Tree Adventure Park is officially open, I now know (as well as many others who have already ventured out to sneak a peek).
Billed as the first adventure park of its kind “west of the Mississippi,” the park consists of four increasingly difficult courses of various tree-top obstacles. Rope swings, tight ropes, tunnels, bridges, and, yes, several zip lines, from tens of feet from the ground await adventurers of all skill levels. (Well, everyone except for me, who chickened out after attempting the training course, which was a mere three feet or so off the ground.)
My explanation doesn’t do this unique park justice, so take a look for yourself at the latest edition of “Grant’s Getaways,” featuring intrepid reporter Grant McOmie, as he visits Tree to Tree Adventure Park. (Video courtesy of our friends at Travel Oregon.)
Tree to Tree Adventure Park is open March-November, from 10 a.m. until two hours before dusk. Adults are $39, per person, and children are $25. It’s situated on property right near the entrance to Hagg Lake in Gaston, Oregon.
More photos from our excursion are here
Tags: aerial adventure, family activities, family friendly, gaston oregon, outdoor, outdoor recreation, park, parks, tree to tree, tree to tree adventure, washington county, washington county oregon
Posted in Family Fun, Nature, Sports | No Comments »
March 23rd, 2010 by Sylke Neal-Finnegan
Video Series is First of its Kind to be Used to Promote Tourism
With an innovative, bold new Web video campaign, Washington County, Oregon, is now allowing visitors to create their own vacation adventures with an unprecedented series of videos on the popular video sharing website YouTube.
These “Create Your Adventure” videos allow viewers to discover the many gems of Washington County. Adventurers are given the choice of three tracks, which viewers can tailor to their own interests. Each series ends with a scenic drive along the Vineyard & Valley Scenic Tour Route, which highlights Washington County’s rolling backcountry roads, farm stands and wineries.
Golf is one of several relaxing pursuits on the Create Your Adventure journey.
Each track offers nine adventures, with a total of 27 possible vacation itineraries:
- Relax: highlighting attractions such as shopping, golf, hiking, a day at the spa, and a night out on the town, among other activities
- Escape: highlighting pursuits such as disc golf, hot air balloon rides, a visit to a farmers’ market and saké tasting, among other activities
- Explore: highlighting outdoorsy attractions, such as bird watching, hiking, biking and kayaking, among other activities
“Washington County truly is a hidden gem,” said Ruthie Reinert, president and CEO of the Washington County Visitors Association (WCVA). “As a destination marketing organization, we saw a need to create a tool that provided a sample of all the ways a visitor can have an authentic travel experience in Washington County.”
Birding is one of the adventures explorers can choose
The videos were modeled after the popular “Choose Your Own Adventure” books, which were popular among school-aged children in the 1980s and ‘90s, and allowed readers to choose what happened next in the story.
“Destinations typically tell you what to do and where to go,” said Martin Stoll, CEO of Portland-based GoSeeTell Network, the production company behind the interactive “Create Your Adventure” videos. “Washington County is letting its visitors choose their own destiny. Visitors drive the story and decide where they’ll go and what they’ll do. It’s an exciting breakthrough in the often pre-packaged tourism marketing industry.”
The interactive video project, which was a joint partnership between the WCVA and the GoSeeTell Network, is the first of its kind in the tourism industry. It uses a YouTube technology, which links multiple video clips with an interactivity button that causes the next video to play. This is the first time this Web video technology is being used for tourism.
Tags: Biking, birding, Create your own Adventure, cycling, escape, explore, Golf, hiking, Interactive videos, kayaking, Nature, Oregon, outdoor, relax, sake, sport, videos, vineyard and valley, washington county, washington county oregon, wine tasting, YouTube
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