Eugene Travel Information
Eugene is a south Willamette Valley haven nestled between the Cascade
and Coast ranges. With the blue-green Willamette River running through
its heart and Douglas fir forests bordering it on three sides, Eugene
is nicknamed "The Emerald City." Together with neighboring
Springfield, the area has become the second-largest residential area
in Oregon. Rated as one of the top 10 cycling cities in the U.S.,
Eugene has some 250 miles of biking, walking and jogging paths. A park
and greenway system borders the entire Willamette, and four
unmotorized-only bridges connect both sides of the river to provide a
loop system for walkers, runners, bikers, and in-line skaters. Other
paths traverse the city's many parks and gardens, such as Hendricks
Park. Founded in 1951, Hendricks is the oldest of Eugene's 100-plus
city parks. Its 78 trail-laced acres include a mature forest, a
world-renowned rhododendron garden, and a new native plant garden.
Area recreation also includes rafting and fishing on the McKenzie
River (which joins the Willamette north of town) and soaking in Cougar
Hot Springs. Eugene is also home to a wide array of cultural
amenities. The 250-acre campus of the University of Oregon remains
home to several handsome turn-of-the-century and early 19th-century
brick buildings, all amid tree-lined footpaths and beautiful
landscaping. But more famously, Eugene experienced an influx of
ex-hippie settlers in the 1970s, who have lent their cultural and
philosophical influences to the city ever since. Progressive
initiatives such as organic food co-ops, worker-owned collectives, and
a strong activist community can be found here, as well as cultural
events such as the Saturday Market, the oldest weekly, open-air crafts
festival in the U.S. Eugene is just west of I-5 about an hour south
of Salem. To learn more about Eugene, select a topic of interest from
the left-hand column.
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