Hi we are planning a trip to Mount St Helens in July. We are coming in from Calgary with two tough girls aged 9 and 11. We will be very close to Oregon, and was wondering what fun things are there to do in Oregon? We had fun last year on the Hiawatha Trail in Idaho. I heard there were volcanoes near the coast? What fun ideas are there for a family visiting Oregon? – Jason W.

I think your girls would really enjoy spending some time hiking a few of the waterfalls along the Historic Highway in the Columbia River Gorge. I spend a lot of time there with my girls (5 and 11). We also enjoy visiting Bonneville Dam and feeding the trout at the fish hatchery there.

Further out of the way, but really an adventure my family enjoys, is visiting the Painted Hills and John Day Fossil Beds in Eastern Oregon. It might be worth going out of your way on your return trip to visit. The kids can even dig for their own fossils behind the high school in the town of Fossil, then head over to the ghost town of Shaniko.

April 20, 2012
Cari Gesch