Day Trip Destinations for an Oregon Spring Break

It is almost spring break time, and time to enjoy a little mini-vacation time with the kids. If you are a stay-at-home spring breaker like me, you may be looking for day trip exploration ideas to do with your kids here in the PNW. Here are a few ideas for road tripping with the kids in Spring:

Astoria area

Driving to Astoria, there are some fun things to do along the way:

1. Car Ferry: Kids love to ride the ferry. You can slow-boat ferry across the Columbia river which runs between Westport, Oregon and Cathlamet, Washington. The Wahkiakum County Ferry runs 365 days a year and at least 18 times a day.  See the route
2. Fort Clatsop – visit the site of Lewis & Clark’s fort where they spent their first winter here. The National Park Service has a good replica of the original fort. The original long decayed, but was rebuilt in 1955. That structure was severely damaged by fire and rebuilt again in 2006. Entrance free for 15/under.  Fort Clatsop National Site
3. Grays River Covered Bridge: Just off Hwy 4 on the Washington side, there is an old covered bridge which is a great little spot if your kids love to skip rocks on the gently flowing Grays River.  Grays River Covered Bridge

Mid-Willamette Valley

The key to the Mid-Willamette Valley is to get OFF of I-5 and see all there is to explore on the smaller roads. There is plenty to see in the mid-Willamette Valley including:

1. Champoeg State Heritage Area is just outside of Butteville west of I-5 includeing a visitor’s center with small museum, tours of the historic barn, and stories of the pioneers. Champoeg Historic Area
2. Car Ferry Rides: There are two options for taking a car ferry across the Willamette River. One runs on the East side of I-5 near Canby/Wilsonville and the other north of Keizer called the Wheatland Ferry.  The Canby Ferry    The Wheatland Ferry
3. Evergreen Aviation Museum and Wings & Waves Waterpark in McMinnville, Oregon. Ride an air simulator, slide out of a 747 into the pool below. Kid heaven.  Wings & Waves Waterpark  Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum

Tillamook

There is more to Tillamook than the cheese factory and cows. Have you been to these?

1. Blue Heron French Cheese Co: Fun inside for parents, fun outside for kids. Gourmet foods and wines are inside for the parents, icecream, fudge, and lunches are indoors for the kids. Outside is a petting zoo, picnic tables, and an enjoyable stop for all.  Blue Heron French Cheese Co
2. Tillamook Air Museum: Step inside the immense hangar space built in 1942 to help protect the Oregon/Washington coast. Many WW2 displays. Kids play area for young children available. Open Wed-Sun 10-4   Tillamook Air Museum
3. LaTeaDa Tea Room with a special menu for kids. Calling ahead for reservations is recommended. Kids can dress up in their supply of hats and boas if they want. Kid’s sampler tea tray $12, or individual items available too.  LaTeaDa Tea Room

Albany/Salem

1. Carousels – ride the beautifully created carousels located in both Albany and Salem.    The Historic Albany Carousel   The Salem Carousel
2. Waverly Park – a clean and family friendly park great for walking the dog or letting the children run. When weather is warm, you can rent paddle boats on the lake. Located just off of I-5  Waverly Lake Park
3. Enchanted Forest – A tradition in the Salem area for almost 50 years, the Enchanted Forest is theme park on a smaller scale with an old west town, a town right out of Grimms Fairy Tales,log boat rides, and where else can you walk into the mouth of a witch?  Enchanted Forest

Eugene

1. Camp Putt Adventure Golf Park – Everyone loves a little minature golf game! This NW natural-styled golf course is sure to please everyone.  Camp Putt Adventure Golf Park
2. Museum of Natural and Cultural History. Dinosaurs, volcanoes, and saber tooth salmon, oh my! Open Tues-Sun 11-5  Museum of Natural History
3. Northwest Ninja Park – Need to let the kids work off some energy? This indoor facility lets you work on your inner ninja at an obstacle course. Open Gym is for people over the age of 6.  NW Ninja Park

Silly Names Destinations

My children always enjoyed picking a town from the map with the silliest name and making that the destination of choice for the day. Once there, we may stop for lunch, a milkshake, or a donut (whatever was open) and just take silly pictures. Some ideas include Boring, Drain, Riddle, Zig Zag, Cornutt, Remote, Sodaville, or Friend.

So pack the car with snacks, music, road trip games, and head out to explore your own state! Encourage your kids to put away their electronics and look out the window. To encourage this, we play an Eye Spy Scavenger Hunt where everyone gets a different list of items to search for and check mark them off the list as they find one. Here are some ideas (usually the sillier the better)

You could also turn it into a Bingo game version:

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