Things To Do
Crater Lake National Park
This is a 48-mile drive from Eagle Point and a must see for your first visit to Southern Oregon. It's an easy drive through giant forests with many waterfalls to explore along the way. Day passes start at about $20. Crater Lake is a sleeping volcano that errupted 7.7K years ago at a force 42 times stronger than Mount St. Helens. Over hundreds of years, rain and snow filled the caldera, making it the deepest lake in the United States - and the ninth in the world. On your way up the 62, stop at Beckie's and have a slice of pie or some other treat. In Anna's first year visiting Oregon, she visited Crater Lake 5 times. (Pictured is Shelley, Anna & Tim)
Waterfalls along the 138 N
The drive along HWY 138 makes for an incredible day trip, with several breathtaking waterfalls to view. The 1st one is 87-miles from Eagle Point, but then you'll hit one after the other as you continue up the road. Take 62 N, which turns into 230 (stay straight), dead ends at 138, head North (left). You can also take in Crater Lake, and then head straight to 138, via Rim Drive. You'll see signs for the waterfalls all along the 138. There are 10 falls along the stretch back to I-5 South, ( about a two hour drive) but 4 noteworthy ones in the first 20 miles. Our favorites are Clearwater Falls, Whitehorse Falls, Watson Falls and Toketee Falls. Some of the falls are easier to hike to than others. Some are less than a 100' from parking, Watson is a bit of a hike, but nothing a novice with good shoes couldn't do, and well worth the effort. (Pictured is Anna & Tim at Watson Falls)
Red Lily Vineyards
Lovely winery along the Applegate River. You can put your chairs and toes in the water! Explore the MANY awesome wineries in Southern Oregon and make this stop a must on your journey. We've brought nearly every visitor here to relax with a glass of wine along the river. This is 28 miles from our house - with several others along the route. Tim's family grew up less than 5 miles from here. Its a gorgeous part of our country - the Applegate Valley! (Pictured, Christi is serving Tim and TJ)
Schmidt Family Vineyards
Beautiful drive to this hidden gem. Just ask for an ice bucket, a bottle of Moscato, and lounge in a comfy chair or walk through the gardens. We could literally spend the entire day between Schmidt and Red Lily. This is 38 miles from our house, with many scenic vistas and other wineries along the way. (Pictured is Anna, Tim, Bob & Becci)
Raft Rite Rentals
Our favorite summer activity! Rent a raft and cruise down the Rogue River at your leisure - without a guide! This operator has been in business forever so we love supporting him. They're hippies in hippy vans on a hippy schedule. Pretty sure they don't have a website, but they know the river, have reliable rafts, and are located next to Dorene's neighborhood in Shady Cove. Bring a picnic and spend the day rafting, stopping off on the banks, peeing in the water, and having the best day. The landing/pick up spot is directly across from Miguel's Mexican Restaurant. Our tradition is to have a margarita there after every float. There are other raft rentals in Shady Cove so feel free to use them, too. (Pictured is Tim, Anna & Elijah)
Rogue Jet Boat Adventures
Only 10 minutes from our house and such a fun outing. Jet boat operators spin & splash you while showing you wildlife, famous people's homes, and telling cool historical stories. We love taking the tour that brings you to the 'adventure island' for a food break - bring snacks or buy them there. Some days they have great outdoor concerts, too! (Pictured is Tim and our niece Lily, we've never seen her smile so big!)
Hellgate Jetboat Excursions
About 40 minutes up the I-5 is Hellgate Jetboat Excursions in Grants Pass. Larger boats than Rogue Jet Boats but a similar experience, just on a different part of the river. If your tour includes brunch/lunch/dinner, you are in for a treat! Totally worth it. We really tried to figure out a way to get married here because we love it so much, but the logistics just didn't work. (Pictured is Anna & Elijah getting doused in river water)
Eagle Point
Eagle Point is our cute little town along Little Butte Creek with an old covered bridge and a historic working mill (Jim Belushi helped rebuild it after it burnt down a few years ago). They honor veterans that are family-members of residents on light pole flags along Main Street, Linn Way, and Stevens Road - all year long. Anna's dad (Bob), Tim's dad (Vic), and Anna's stepdad (Jim) are each proudly featured on one of these flags. Tim's dad, Vic, is resting in the Eagle Point National Cemetery in the hills above town. There are a handful of little restaurants in our neighborhood but we recommend Crackin' & Stackin' for breakfast/lunch (walking distance from the golf course), Pizza Schmizza (great bar too, tell the owner, Shayne, you're here for our wedding) or Comal Mexican Restaurant for lunch/dinner, and Main Event for a late night, hole-in-the-wall bar experience - Karaoke on Fridays by our wedding DJ, Alan! (Pictured is Tim's dad's flag on Stevens Rd.)
Upper and Lower Table Rock Mesas
10 minutes from the wedding venue and visible from nearly anywhere in the valley are the 2 mesas, Upper & Lower Table Rock. In addition to an incredible view from the top, you can also find the Dwarf Woolly Meadowfoam flower; this is the only place in the world that it exists. Blooming is usually in late March - May. These mesas were once the bottom of the Rogue River. Remnants of a lava flow can be seen with a 125-foot-thick andesite rim that caps them. In 1853, a peace treaty between the US government and local tribes was signed at the top. The more popular hike is the Upper Table Rock, off of Modoc Road. (Pictured is Tim & Daizy, on the RoxyAnn hike looking out at Table Rock - Anna's has actually never been to the top of Table Rock, its a 2024 goal!)
RoxyAnn Winery
The best winery in town is RoxyAnn - at the base of the RoxyAnn Peak. We've been wine club members since moving here. If you want to hike the trails up the peak and then finish your day at the winery, then you've hit Rock Star status. This is 12 miles from our house - great back-roads route along Foothill Road. The Viognier & Claret are our favs, but their more affordable Honor Barn Red blend is great! Kriselle Winery is another great local one with beautiful views, only 8 miles from our house - in the opposite direction. (Pictured is Dorene, Tim, Anna & Crystal)
Oregon Redwoods/Coast & our favorite coastal spot
Our favorite weekend getaway is a 2.5-hour drive to the Oregon Coast. Our favorite spot is the straightest shot over to Brookings/Harbor. Go crabbing in their marina, hike the coastline, or just do what we do - eat/drink at Fat Irish Pub and Zola's Pizza as many times as we can. Oh, and we explore all the scenic vistas. Then we go back to Fat Irish. On the drive over, look for the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. You can drive/walk through the Redwoods. This is a northern part of the California Redwoods where Return of the Jedi was filmed. Once you hit the 101, head south to Cresent City and check out the Trees of Mystery. Or north to Brookings/Harbor for more awesomeness. The tallest bridge in Oregon is a few miles north of Brookings, Thomas Creek Bridge. There are so many incredible vistas along the Samuel Boardman Scenic Highway. (Pictured, Tim & Jordan - holding pinkies)
Stone Ridge Golf Club
Tim grew up playing all of the local courses in the Rogue Valley. He has many favorities but his top 2 are Eagle Point and Stoneridge. Stoneridge has his favorite layout, with many elevated tee boxes. Eagle Point is the best quality course (and the best place to get married!) designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. - intended for the PGA tour, but our community couldn't support it due to lack of lodging. There isn't a bad view from any place on Centennial Golf Course. Quail Point is built on a hillside and is quite challenging. Stewart Meadows is the most wide open with the easiest slope. (Pictured, Tim & Elijah on Father's Day 2018)
Lava Lanes of Medford
You want to watch sports? Bowl? Have a drink and some wings? This is the spot. We frequent this spot whenever sports is a thing - so, often. Fun for the family. Our wedding DJ, Alan, hosts karaoke here Thursday nights. Other spots in town are good for the family, like the Family Fun Center, but this is a great place to hang. (Pictured, Tim and Troy)
Mount McLoughlin Trailhead
The prominent mountain you can see from nearly everywhere in the valley is Mount McLoughlin. It is a dormant stratovolcano in the Cascade range of southern Oregon. Its last erruption was 20K-30K years ago. You can hike it - we never have, though! Elevation is 9,493 ft and the hike is about 6 miles, good luck! The Native Americans knew when salmon fishing season started by seeing the snow melt enough to create an image of an eagle on the mountain side.
Rogue Creamery
Fabulous local creamery that won 1st place for its Rogue Blue in the International World Cheese Awards. All of their cheese comes from their dairy farms and is 100% certified organic & certified humane. The blue cheese was wrapped in biodynamic grape leaves from the neighboring vineyard, Troon, that were then soaked for a year in pear liquor - because pears put the valley on the map in the 1970's (hence, Harry & David was founded here in 1910). Now, it is wine and weed! Ha! Their farm promotes biodiversity, preserves native crops ... all the good stuff. We highly recommend checking them out. And ... next door is Lily Belle Chocolates ... get the Lavender Salted Carmels - you're welcome!
Ray's Food Place
The wedding venue is 2 miles from Ray's Grocery - and less than a mile from Anna & Tim's house. They have a great wine section with lots of local wines as well as the usual favs. There is also the giant Wal-Mart across the street that you can't miss.
Eagle Point Liquor Store
Oregon is a so-called control state when it comes to alcohol. This means the state has a monopoly on the sales of all liquor. Even wines with an alcohol content of over 14% cannot be sold in grocery stores. You can only buy liquor (to take home) in stores run by the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC). This liquor store is in the same shopping center as Ray's Grocer, across the street from Wal-Mart.
Eagles Market & Gas
Our neighborhood gas station and mini mart is the Eagle Point gas station - basically right across from Wal-Mart and the turn-out before Ray's Grocery. Until last August, Oregon and New Hampshire were the only states that had a ban on self-service gas. Oregon voters changed that so now consumers have a choice. Anna became quite fond of the special service so continues to pull into that line. Just so you know, you don't tip for the service. Anna learned that the hard way on her first experience. They'll take it, don't get us wrong, but its not a thing. Oh, and sometimes, they have a great donut food truck stationed here. Just sayin'.