Eugene, Oregon sits in a valley about one hour from the beach and one hour from the mountains. After heading west to the coast on Day 5, I decided to head east through the Cascade Mountains and National Forests on Day 6 of my scouting visit. Read on to find out where I went and what I discovered!
Glenwood
GlenwoodThis low-key breakfast and lunch spot in a former Pizza Hut building was brilliant! You could tell it’s a favorite of the locals. The food and coffee were legit and everyone was super warm and friendly. In Eugene, vegetarians are not relegated to vegetarian restaurants. You can go to just about any restaurant and have several vegetarian menu items to choose from. What a luxury!
Quirky Eugene moment: On my way out of the restaurant, this young guy walks up to me holding something that looked like wind chimes – I honestly have no idea what it was – and says, “Do you want this? I don’t need it anymore.” I thanked him and declined and he walked into the restaurant to see if someone else in there wanted whatever it was.
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College Hill/Friendly Neighborhoods
I drove around the neighborhoods behind Glenwood restaurant after breakfast. I’ve never been to Eugene before but I keep getting déjà vu. It happened again here where I found a wildly cool street painting (see above photo). And in front of one of the houses, there was a “tiny art gallery” (see photo on the right) with paintings, drawings, books and art supplies inside. A lot of people in Eugene have “tiny libraries” in front of their houses too, which I love!
Koosah Falls
Koosah FallsAfter that, it was time to head east about 70 miles through the Willamette National Forest. Lisa, the proprietor of the Air B&B I’m staying at, recommended that I check out Koosah and neighboring Sahalie Falls. The first waterfall I reached was Koosah Falls. The park was not crowded, which was nice, but it was difficult to get a good angle to see the waterfalls. I made a valiant effort to take a photo anyway, which you can see here.
The park has a hiking path that leads from Koosah Falls down along the river and around and up to Sahalie Falls, but I had other sights I wanted to see. I also want to share that experience with my husband. So, I made a note to add the hike between the falls to our bucket list for when we move to Eugene!
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Sahalie Falls
Half a mile up the road from Koosah Falls was the turn out for Sahalie Falls. The park was more crowded than the other one and had a much better viewpoint overlooking the falls. Both Koosah and Sahalie waterfalls are spectacular, but I think I liked this one a little more. It’s so dramatic!
Natural Arch Hike (almost, but not quite)
I thought the Natural Arch Hike sounded pretty awesome and noticed it was not too far from Koosah and Sahalie Falls. I assumed (big mistake!) it would be like the falls where you park and walk down to an overlook. Was I wrong!
When I turned off the highway, I was suddenly on a steep gravel road. Determined, I continued; after all, the GPS voice said it would only be two miles! Two miles up the mountain, fog was swirling all around me and there was no sign of an arch.
The GPS voice then informed me that I needed to “continue on for another three miles.” What?!? The adventurous part of me wanted to keep going, but the sensible part of me knew I’d be screwed if the rental car broke down or blew a tire out there.
It’s a good thing sensible won out! When I took a closer look at the description for the Natural Arch Hike, it said it’s a 25-minute drive up on gravel road, a 20-minute steep hike down to the arch, and a difficult 30-minute hike back up. That was definitely not what I had in mind, so I turned the car around and headed back to Eugene.
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Last Day! Day 7 Field Notes Coming Tomorrow!
Find out what happens tomorrow on Day 7 – the last day of my Eugene scouting visit – here on the blog. Plus, follow along on Facebook each day during my scouting trip for real-time tips and ideas to help you find a new place to live that you love!
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