Plan Your Visit

Ashland, Oregon is a popular destination for a high quality experience in a small town atmosphere: All-season outdoor sports, professional stage theater, spa retreats and engaging activities for each member of your family.  Lithia Park is Ashland’s crown jewel, a 93-acre vista of emerald lawns, a lovely creek, children’s playground, Japanese and rose gardens, duck ponds and miles of hiking trails.

Year round attractions:

• Oregon Shakespeare Festival is a professional theater with 11 plays (4 Shakespeare and 7 classic/contemporary) on 3 stages that runs from February to early November
• Oregon Cabaret Theater offers delightful family-friendly productions
• Lithia Park, 93-acres of beautifully maintained gardens and trails, includes tennis courts, play structures and an outdoor theater
• Natural hot springs, eclectic classes and spa services at Jackson Wellsprings
• Scienceworks Childrens Museum
• Art Galleries, farm-to-table restaurants: Smithfields and  Larks; and local Breweries: Caldera Brewing Co. and Standing Stone Brewery
• YMCA, Yoga Studios and Walking Tours
• Tours and tasting at Ashland’s wineries: Weisingers and Grizzly Peak Winery

Summertime

• The Green Show is a free 30-minute, outdoor performance ‘on the bricks’ at OSF every evening (except Mondays) at 6:45pm, from June through October.  Performances are eclectic, diverse and highly entertaining.
• Rafting and Kayaking on the Rogue River: The Rogue has white water rapids for all levels.  We recommend renting an 8-person raft at Galice Resort ($95 for raft and river shuttle, no guide necessary) to enjoy 7 to 14 miles of light rapids and beautiful scenery
• Boating, wake-boarding and water slides at Emigrant Lake
• Fly Fishing on trout streams and Angling on mountain lakes
• Mountain Biking down Mt Ashland:  Local shops rent high suspension bikes, protective gear and shuttle
• Outdoor camps for children through Scienceworks, YMCA, Southern Oregon University, Coyote Trails, Waldorf-inspired camps, and many others

Winter Activities

• Snow boarding and skiing at Mt Ashland
• Miles of groomed trails for Cross country skiing, rent your gear at Ashland Outdoor Store
• Sledding at Table Mountain Winter Play Area
• Ice Skating in Lithia Park

Make it a Health Retreat!

• Hot yoga by a crackling fire
• Fresh wheatgrass and veg juice at Ashland Food Co-op
• Colon Hydrotherapy, hot/cold plunges and herbal body wraps at Hidden Springs Wellness Center
• Spa services at The Blue Giraffe and Glow
• Chozu, Japanese-style bath house and tea garden
• Sunday morning “Dance Church” at the DanceSpace, also offers NIA, Hula and English Country Dancing

Worthwhile day trips

• The quaint, historic town of Jacksonville (25 min): Britt Festival!, trolley tour
• Climb to the peak of Mt McLoughlin (1 hr drive to base)
• Ski or snowboard at Mt Shasta Ski Park (1 1/2 hrs)
• Willow Witt Ranch tour (45 min), overnights available in the Farmhouse Studio
• Hyatt Lake, Howard Prairie Lake, Lake of the Woods and Applegate Lake
• Oregon Coast, 2 hours, overnight stay recommended
• Crater Lake, 2 hours
• Lava Beds National Monument has extensive, amazing caves, 3 hour drive from Ashland, campground for overnight stay

Transportation

Ashland is nestled in the Rogue Valley between the Cascade and Siskiyou mountains, 15 miles from the California border, just off the 5 freeway between San Francisco and Portland.  The drive from the Bay Area is about 6 hours, 4 hours from Portland and 2 hours to the Oregon Coast.  The Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport (MFR) is 20 minutes from Ashland and offers non-stop flights from Los Angeles (check Allegiant Airlines for budget fares), Seattle and Portland (Alaska) and San Francisco (United.)  If you would like a car-free vacation, simply take a cab from the airport to Ashland for $40.  You can walk or bike (bicycles and strollers available) to all of the local attractions but a car is convenient during the cold and wet seasons, and necessary to enjoy the many adventures in the greater Rogue Valley.