Best Hikes in Oregon
Oregon gives you waterfalls, high desert rock and open coast within a day of each other, and each works in a different season. The Gorge is best in spring, the Cascades in late summer, and the coast whenever it is not storming. These are the trails worth building a drive around.
23 trail guides and 5 ready-to-book itineraries
Ready-to-book trips
Day-by-day, with the permits and the stays already worked out.
Crater Lake Rim Trail: A 2-Day Hiking ItinerarySouthern Oregon · Cascade Range
Oregon Coast Trail: A 5-Day ItineraryNorth Oregon Coast · Pacific headlands
Smith Rock State Park: A Weekend Hiking & Climbing ItineraryCentral Oregon · High Desert
Three Sisters Wilderness Backpacking: A 4-Day Oregon ItineraryOregon Cascades · Deschutes National Forest
West Coast Road Trip: The Ultimate 14-Day Pacific Coast ItineraryPacific Coast · Oregon, California & back through the SierraDay hikes
The Best Oregon Coast Hikes, Ranked Trail by TrailA ranked, trail-by-trail guide to the best Oregon Coast hikes, from Cape Perpetua to Neahkahnie Mountain, with distance, difficult
Cape Falcon Trail, Oswald WestA complete guide to the Cape Falcon Trail in Oswald West State Park, with distance, parking, trail conditions, and the best season
Green Lakes Trail, OregonEverything you need to hike the Green Lakes Trail near Bend, Oregon, from trailhead logistics to the best campsites beneath South Where to camp
Crater Lake Camping GuideWhere to camp at Crater Lake National Park, from Mazama Campground to backcountry permits, plus reservations, season dates, and be
Short Sand Beach GuideEverything you need to know about Short Sand Beach in Oswald West State Park, from the cold-water surf and the easy beach trail to
Smith Rock Camping GuideEverything you need to know about camping at Smith Rock State Park, from the walk-in Bivouac to nearby campgrounds and lodging in More guides in this state
Crater Lake Scuba Diving: What Is Allowed, How Cold It Is and How to Get InScuba diving and snorkeling are banned everywhere in Crater Lake. Swimming is allowed near Cleetwood Cove and Wizard Island, and t
Medford to Crater Lake: 80 Miles via Highway 62Medford to Crater Lake is about 80 miles on Highway 62, about 1 hour 45 minutes without stops. It is the closest full-size airport
Seattle to Crater Lake: About 7.5 Hours on I-5, With the Stops Worth MakingSeattle to Crater Lake is about 420 miles, about 7 hours 30 minutes of driving without stops, mostly on I-5. It is a full day behi
Things to Do Near Crater Lake: Waterfalls, the Rogue River and Nearby TownsToketee and Watson Falls, the Rogue Gorge, Umpqua Hot Springs and Klamath Falls all sit within an hour or two of Crater Lake, and 
Things to Do in Manzanita, OregonSeven miles of beach with a mountain at the end of it. Neahkahnie, Nehalem Bay, the Three Capes drive south to Pacific City, and w
Oregon Road Trip Itinerary: The Classic Loop Plus San Francisco to OregonThe classic Oregon loop, the Highway 101 coast, Crater Lake, Bend and Smith Rock, the Columbia River Gorge, and the Three Sisters 
Oregon Coast Hot Springs: Where to Soak Near the CoastAn honest guide to Oregon coast hot springs, why the best natural soaks sit inland, and how to add a springs detour to a coastal r
Oregon Coast Lighthouses: A North to South Driving GuideA north to south Oregon coast lighthouses map and driving guide to all nine historic lights, which ones you can tour, and the best
Best Time to Visit Crater Lake: A Month-by-Month GuideWhen to visit Crater Lake National Park for open roads, snow-free trails, and that famous blue water, broken down month by month.
Best Time to Visit Smith Rock State ParkWhen to visit Smith Rock State Park for hiking, climbing, and fewer crowds, with a month-by-month breakdown of weather in Central 
Crater Lake Boat Tour and Wizard IslandEverything you need to take a Crater Lake boat tour, hike down Cleetwood Cove, and explore Wizard Island, including tickets, timin
Haystack Rock Tide PoolsHow to explore the Haystack Rock tide pools at Cannon Beach, including how to read the tide chart, what marine life to look for, a
Monkey Face at Smith RockA guide to Monkey Face, the towering tuff spire at Smith Rock State Park, including how to hike to viewpoints and what climbing it
Columbia River Gorge Hiking GuideThe Columbia River Gorge is one of America's great hiking corridors, dozens of trails with waterfalls, basalt cliffs, and wildflowAlmost everything here fits into one loop out of Portland or Bend. The itineraries above put these trails into a route with the drives and the stays already worked out.
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Free permit watch
You can't hike it if you can't get the permit.
The best hikes in America run on lotteries that open once a year and sell out in minutes. Every trail runs on its own calendar. Pick the ones you want and we do the watching.
The WaveCoyote Buttes North · Arizona / UtahPermitLotterybrutal odds
Half Dome CablesYosemite NP · CaliforniaPermitOpens Mar 1fair odds
Mt. WhitneyInyo NF · CaliforniaPermitOpens Feb 1tough odds
Angels LandingZion NP · UtahPermitLotterytough odds
The SubwayZion NP · UtahPermitLotterytough odds
Mount St. Helens Summit ClimbGifford Pinchot NF · WashingtonPermitReservationtough odds
How it works
- An email the morning each window opens, never the day after.
- A 14-day heads-up so you can line up your group and dates.
- Win odds and a ranked backup plan for every trail you pick.
Didn't win? We keep watching. We check recreation.gov every day for The Enchantments, Half Dome and Angels Landing, and email you the moment a sold-out date frees up. Cancellations are the second chance most people never hear about.