Discovering Southern Oregon – February 2024
WINTER IS THE TIME TO ENJOY skiing on snow-covered mountains, ice fishing on frozen alpine lakes, fly fishing on rushing rivers, storm watching on the wild coastline or sipping wine by a warm fireplace. Southern Oregon provides winter activities for everyone and here are some of our favorites.
Skiing—With majestic views of the surrounding natural beauty, Mt Ashland provides terrain for skiers and riders of every ability. Offering fun steep terrain, tree glades, 44 runs, five lifts, night skiing and 240 acres of skiable terrain. Full rental shop, retail store, ski school, lounge, and several dining options. www.mtashland.com
Fly Fishing—The Applegate River is one of the best-kept secrets in Southern Oregon, it’s 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 1-Mar 1. 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 and Figure Skating lessons offered. www.ashland.or.us
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 and offers guided snowshoe tours 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. Check the website for weather conditions before you go. https://www.nps.gov/crla/planyourvisit/vistingwinter.htm
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 plus fuel. www.diamondlake.net
Kite Festival—Every Valentine’s Day weekend you can experience a kite festival on Lake of the Woods. Walk out onto the ice under the huge professional colorful kites as they take to the skies. Kites are often made to look like giant animals, cars or spinning wheels. Check the cameras on the resorts website to make sure the weather is clear enough to fly the kites. 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 and blasting the heater. The best time to visit is in the months of February and March. This is one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring winter landscapes in Southern Oregon so don’t miss it. https://www.fws.gov/refuge/upper-klamath
Live Music—Jacksonville is the hub for the Southern Oregon Music Scene. Known mainly for the summer Britt Festival, live music continues all year long. Top places for live music are the Bella Union where on Thursday nights you can hear live music with Oysters & Ales, then live music on Friday and Saturday nights. South Stage Cellars offers dinner with live music in a cozy atmosphere with a warm fireplace on Wednesday nights, then live music again on Friday and Saturday. New this year is world-class Chamber Music concert series upstairs at the Jacksonville City Hall. See their website for concerts in January, February, and March. www.bellau.com, www.southstagecellers.com, www.jorfcm.org
Ice Fishing—Winter brings frozen Alpine Lakes and ice fishing. The best place to fish is Lake of the Woods, where the resort rents everything you need including an ice tent to keep you warm. You can rent an auger to drill the hole in the ice, or they will drill it for you. www.lakeofthewoodsresort.com
Scenic Coast Drive—There’s something truly magical about the Oregon Coast during the 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 State Scenic Corridor which hugs the coast for 12 miles north from Brookings. This stretch of highway features one turnoff after another, each with access to picnic areas, viewpoints and trailheads that connect an 18-mile segment of the Oregon Coast. www.stateparks.oregon.gov
Sledding/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. This is fun for all ages. www.diamondlake.net
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 landscape while enjoying a glass of wine, great food, and often live music. It’s not about the wine, it’s about the total experience, and being able to enjoy an afternoon at some of the most beautiful locations imaginable. Our favorites are DANCIN for the atmosphere, best wine, great food, and stunning vistas of the west hills. Red Lily Vineyards for its location along the majestic Applegate River, Spanish wines, and good appetizers. Parkhurst Cellers for its one of a kind 5-star appetizers. Belle Fiore Winery for its opulent, Napa-style facility, great food and views of its vineyards and chateau. Dos Mariposas Vineyards for its family-friendly atmosphere and its lavender farm. Rellik Winery for its great food, Alpaca farm and live music. Hummingbird Estate for the beautiful estate it’s located in, and the amazing views of the Rogue Valley. Woolridge Creek Winery & Creamery with its quaint location, house-made artisan cheese and unparalleled mountain views. Lastly, RoxyAnn Winery, which is located in East Medford on 200 acres in the 1900’s Hillcrest Orchard Estate, offers a family-friendly environment and live music every Friday and Sunday.
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, RoxyAnn, Table Rocks, Forest Park, and the East Art Trail off Sterling Creek. You will find fewer hikers on the trails in the winter and the loss of the Oak and Maple leaves provide for many sweeping views.
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. They offer entertainment all year long and currently they are playing “Clue,” based on the 1985 movie. 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—currently on-stage is a spotlight on Sonny & Cher.
The most well-known and impressive theaters are the three that house the Oregon Shakespeare Festival which begins its new season in March and ends in November. www.oregoncabaret.com, www.camelottheatre.org, www.osf.org