Discovering Southern Oregon – Dec 2024/Jan 2025

WINTER IN SOUTHERN OREGON is the time to enjoy holiday celebrations, skiing on snow-covered mountains, ice fishing on frozen alpine lakes, storm watching on the wild coastline or sipping wine by a warm fire. In addition to Victorian Christmas here in Jacksonville, Southern Oregon provides winter activities for everyone…here are some of our favorites.

CHRISTMAS TREE HUNTING—There’s nothing quite like the experience of driving up into the snow-covered Cascade or Siskiyou mountains to hunt for your family’s Christmas tree. It’s a fun family tradition that provides excitement, fresh air, and an appreciation for nature, and the best part is you only need a saw and a $5 permit. You can purchase a permit online from the U.S. Forestry Service, BLM or in person at Blackbird or the store at Lake of the Woods Resort. With the permit, you receive a map of areas to go, and because 24% of Oregon is National Forest, you’ll have lots of choices. Make a day of it and go explore the mountains in the winter. Go to https:/www.blm.gov or http:/www.fs.usda.gov for details and to buy a permit online.

SKIING—With majestic winter views and natural beauty, Mt. Ashland provides terrain for skiers and riders of every ability. It offers fun, steep terrain, tree glades, 44 runs, five lifts, night skiing and 240 acres of skiable terrain. There’s a cozy Alpine lodge with a rental shop, retail store, ski school, lounge, and several dining options. Make it a weekend getaway and stay at Callahan’s Mountain lodge, only a few minutes away, with rooms with decks, tubs, views, fireplaces, along with live music and a great restaurant. For the more adventurous, you can cat ski Mt. Bailey from Diamond Lake Lodge with an impressive average yearly snowfall of 600 inches and some of the lightest and driest snow on the west coast. Cat Ski Mt. Bailey operates on 6,000 acres of varied terrain ranging from glades, bowls, steep chutes, and everything in between. www.mtashland.com,  www.callahanslodge.com, www.catskimtbailey.com

FLY FISHING—The Applegate River is one of the best kept secrets in Southern Oregon, with a 51-mile-long tributary of the Rogue River, 8 miles from Jacksonville and easily accessible with the best parks being Cantrall Buckley County Park, Applegate Lake, and Jackson Campground. Open for hatchery steelhead fishing Jan 1ST – Mar 1ST. Use of bait allowed. No angling from a floating device. https://jacksoncountyor.gov/departments/parks/index.php

ICE SKATING—Ashland Rotary Centennial Ice Rink, located in Lithia Park, delivers frozen fun for all. Ice skating & figure skating lessons offered. www.ashland.or.us. Or you can skate at the outdoor Olympic-sized Bill Coller Ice Arena in the Running-Y resort in Klamath Falls. www.runningy.com. For those who prefer skating indoors there is always The RRRink in Medford. Check schedules at www.therrrink.com.

ICE HOCKEY—If you enjoy watching hockey, we have a premier hockey league right here in our small valley! The Rogue Valley Royals Junior Hockey team plays inside The RRRink as well. These young men range from 16-21 years old and are great fun to watch. At the Friday and Saturday home games, there is a beer garden. For schedules and tickets go to
www.roguevalleyroyals.com/tickets.

SNOWSHOEING/CROSS COUNTY SKIING—Crater Lake is most popular during the Summer, but in the Winter, it is magical. It’s known as one of the snowiest, inhabited places in North America, receiving an average of 43 feet of snow per year. With stunning views of the lake, and 183,224 acres of backcountry to explore, this is one of the top destinations for winter explorers. You can take a guided snowshoe tour every Saturday and Sunday, November through April. The snowshoe hike is 1-2 miles off trail on moderate to strenuous terrain and is open to ages 8 and up with or without snowshoe experience. If you’re more adventurous, you can even camp in the snow along the rim with a valid permit. Mt. Ashland is another great place for snowshoeing/cross country skiing. Drive just past the Ski resort to the final parking lot where the road ends (Hwy 20), park in that lot and you’ll see the beginning of the trail. Check the weather conditions before you go at https://www.nps.gov/crla/planyourvisit/vistingwinter.htm or for a ski adventure at Diamond Lake check their website www.diamondlake.net.

SNOWMOBILING—There is no faster way to explore the winter landscape of the Cascades than snowmobiling, and Diamond Lake Resort is one of the few resorts that rents them. There are miles and miles of groomed trails, and you can ride all the way to Crater Lake National Park. Rates run from $300 per machine for two hours to $575 for all day + fuel. www.diamondlake.net

KITE FESTIVAL—Usually held around Super Bowl weekend, you can experience a kite festival at Lake of the Woods. Walk out onto the frozen lake and under the huge professional colorful kites as they take to the skies. Kites are made to look like giant animals, cars or spinning wheels. Don’t worry, if you’re a football fan there is a giant screen set up outside the resort, next to a warm firepit as well as screens inside the resort. Before you go, make sure you check the L.O.W. resort website for weather conditions, as it can be too stormy for the kites to fly. www.lakeofthewoodsresort.com

BIRDWATCHING—Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge is part of a complex of six National Wildlife Refuges in the Klamath Basin whose combined mission is to protect what remains of what once was the largest wetlands area west of the Mississippi River. This amazing scenic refuge plays host to up to 1.8 million birds at a time. Many of those are waterfowl migrating on the Pacific Flyway such as geese, swans, and ducks, but the refuge also plays host to large birds of prey such as hundreds of bald eagles, red tailed hawks, and rough-legged hawks. Other birds frequently seen in winter and early spring are white-faced ibis, sandhill cranes, herons, egrets, cormorants, grebes, white pelicans, quail, and pheasant.

This refuge is free to visit and can be traveled by car, where you can cruise along at a few miles per hour taking in the abundance of awe-inspiring birds of prey while drinking hot coffee in the warmth of your vehicle. The best time to visit is in February and March. This is one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring winter landscapes in Southern Oregon so don’t miss it. For details see the US Fish & Wildlife website at https://www.fws.gov/refuge/upper-klamath.

LIVE MUSIC—Jacksonville is the hub of the Southern Oregon Music Scene. Known mainly for the summer Britt Festival, you can now find live music almost every day of the week throughout the year. The top venues for live music are the Bella Union, where on Thursday nights you can have live music with Oysters & Ale, then live music on Friday and Saturday nights. South Stage Cellars offer dinner with live music in a cozy atmosphere next to a warm fireplace on Wednesday nights, then live music again on Friday and Saturday. Boomtown has an open mic on Wednesday nights, and you can hear live music at the Jacksonville Wine Lounge, Miners’ Bazaar, SOMAR and more. You can even catch a classical concert upstairs above city hall January-March, brought to you by Jacksonville OR Friends of Classical music. Jacksonville is truly the hub of the Southern Oregon Music Scene! www.bellau.com, www.southstagecellers.com, www.jacksonvillewinelounge.com, www.minersbazaar.com, www.Somarfamilyvineyards.com, www.jorfcm.org

ICE FISHING—Winter brings frozen Alpine Lakes and Ice Fishing. The best place for ice fishing is Lake of the Woods, where the resort rents everything you need—from poles and bait, to an ice tent to keep you warm. You can rent an augur to drill the ice hole, or they will drill it for you. www.lakeofthewoodsresort.com

SCENIC COAST DRIVE—There’s something truly magical about the Oregon Coast during winter. For some it’s the howling sea; for others the crashing waves, or the warmer temperatures. The winter weather in Brookings is typically 10 degrees warmer than the Rogue Valley, which makes winter a great time to visit. The best place to visit is the Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor which runs 12 coast-hugging miles north from Brookings. This stretch of highway features one turnoff after another, each with access to picnic areas, viewpoints and trailheads with our favorites being Natural Bridges, Indian Sands, Whaleshead Beach and Secret Beach which can be reached from Thunder Cove turnout. www.stateparks.oregon.gov

SLEDDING/INNER TUBING—The best location to go tubing is Diamond Lake. You can rent a one or two-person custom tube but make sure you buy your tickets online. The fun starts with the ride uphill on the 470-foot-long wonder carpet conveyor to the top of the hill where you will find multiple lanes to slide down. This is fun for all ages. Other great sledding areas are Grouse Gap Sno-park past the ski resort on Mt. Ashland, Table Mountain Sno-Park by Hyatt Lake, and Farewell Bend Snow play area on Hwy 62 on the way to Crater Lake. www.diamondlake.net, www.fs.usda.gov

WINE TASTING—Southern Oregon is populated with hundreds of beautiful wineries that you can visit year-round. This is a chance to see some of the most beautiful landscapes around Southern Oregon while enjoying a glass of wine, great food, and often live music. It’s not about just the wine, it’s about the total experience, and being able to enjoy an afternoon at some of the most beautiful locations imaginable. The best way to decide how to spend your afternoon is to pick up a copy of Southern Oregon Wine Scene at visitor centers, wineries or hotels. The vineyards are grouped by locations: Rogue Valley, Upper Rogue, Applegate Valley, Illinois Valley or the town of Jacksonville. A safe way to tour the vineyards is via the Wine Hopper, where you drink, they drive. Another way to enjoy the local wines is to visit the five tasting rooms located within one block of downtown Historic Jacksonville. For vineyard tours visit www.winehoppertours.com.

HIKING—Southern Oregon has three major mountain ranges, so the hiking opportunities are unlimited. In the winter, the Rogue Valley and lower sections of the Applegate Valley are usually free of snow, allowing for great hikes. Our winter favorites are the Jacksonville Woodlands, Jacksonville Forest Park, RoxyAnn Peak, Table Rocks, and the East ART Trail off Sterling Creek. In the winter you will find fewer hikers, swollen creeks, and with the loss of the Oak and Maple leaves, the views are great.

LIVE THEATER—Southern Oregon is unusual in that it has so many live theaters for year-round entertainment. Seeing a play live is a wonderful way to enjoy a cold and rainy winter day. One of our favorites is the Oregon Cabaret Theater, located in an old church in Ashland. It’s a small dinner theater that puts on well-done plays, often musicals or comedies. The dinners are as good as the plays. The Camelot theater in Talent is also open all year providing plays that are often musically oriented. You can find what is playing at www.oregoncabaret.com, www.camelottheatre.org.