Tag Archives: willamette Valley

Oregon Trail

The Historic Oregon Trail turns 177 in 2020. Time for you to hit the highway, inspire your own pioneer spirit, stand in the actual wagon ruts pioneers left behind, and visit the numerous interpretive sites, monuments and cultural centers along the way.

The Oregon Trail traversed 2,170 miles of what today is Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon. Travel the Oregon National Historic Trail through Oregon, from Idaho, along the Columbia River and around Mt Hood.

There are several trail sights from the Idaho border to Baker City, the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center offers living history demonstrations, interpretive programs, exhibits, multi-media presentations, special events, and more than four miles of interpretive trails.  From the top of Flagstaff Hill you can still see the trail running out across the plains.

This last week we traveled the Old Emigrant Hill Road, just north of La Grande, caching over 25 hides along the way while visiting some Oregon Trail sites. The cemeteries along the route toward Portland reveal so many Oregon Trail stories: where the emigrants came from, how they lived, and died, as they headed for Oregon and the awaited promises.

The last hurdle for emigrants on the Oregon Trail was the Cascade Range. Early pioneers either had to barge down the treacherous Columbia River, make their home in The Dalles, or travel the Barlow Road through the Cascades along the south side of Mt Hood. Lodging option on Mt Hood: Old Parkdale Inn Bed and Breakfast 

The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Museum reveals the cataclysmic floods that helped shape the Columbia River Gorge. Here also you’ll experience interactive exhibits of the Lewis and Clark expedition, The Oregon Trail and 10,000 years of Native American life in the Gorge.  Lodging: Hood River Bed and Breakfasts

At the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center and Historic Site in Oregon City, visitors can learn about the journey, discover what it was like to be a pioneer and what life was like for those who reached Oregon Territory.  Lodging options: Willamette Valley Bed and Breakfasts

“On such a journey as this, there is much to interest and amuse one who is fond of picturesque scenery, and of wild life.” – Randolph Marcy, 1859

Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild is ready to share Oregon with you: it’s environment, culture, and heritage. Combine gracious hospitality with ambiance at an inspected and approved Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild member Inn. Hospitality Update: Oregon is one of the top states where it looks like social distancing is working. Our inns have been proactively doing everything in our power to keep you safe, welcome you back, as travel restrictions are being lifted. Not sure if your favorite inn is open? Give them a call as they just might be. We’re all looking to that day when this pandemic is behind us.

A'Tuscan Estate

A’Tuscan Estate offers beautiful accommodations in the Heart of Oregon’s Wine Country

A’Tuscan Estate offers beautiful accommodations and wonderful cuisine in the heart of Oregon’s Wine Country. A’Tuscan Estate is a 1928 Colonial Style Home with a decidedly European Flair a mere five blocks from downtown McMinnville with great restaurants, shops and wine tasting rooms.

All of our guest rooms are decorated with an appreciation for a bygone era with the enhancement of today’s comforts.  Our accommodations all have private baths en-suite, TV, DVD, free Wireless Internet, air conditioning, iron and ironing board, premium soaps, lotions and shampoo, toothpaste and hairdryers, wine and water glasses, robes, down or down substitute pillows and comforters.

Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild is ready to share Oregon with you: it’s environment, culture, and heritage. Combine gracious hospitality with ambiance at an inspected and approved Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild member Inn. Hospitality Update: Oregon is one of the top states where it looks like social distancing is working. Our inns have been proactively doing everything in our power to keep you safe, welcome you back, as travel restrictions are being lifted. Not sure if your favorite inn is open? Give them a call as they just might be. We’re all looking to that day when this pandemic is behind us.

WildSpring Guest Habitat

Contemplating travel right now is confusing and frankly quite frightening. Peruse the web and you’ll oodles of advice from experts on how to navigate the changing landscape. According to an ongoing survey taken by the U.S. Travel Association Americans Feel Safer In Their Cars and they’ll be traveling up to 300 miles. If you live in Oregon, or Southern Washington, Northern California, Idaho, you need not drive even that far for a much deserved get-away.

Here’s a idea for you: A staycation at an Oregon Bed and Breakfast

Sensational Staycation Ideas for a break from the household grind and the fretful health warnings surrounding us. When you’re on a real vacation, you don’t cook, clean, do chores or fret. Do as much as you want. As little as you want

It’s obvious the innkeepers of the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild work in the travel industry and cleanliness has always been a high priority for our guests, our innkeepers and our employees. Our inns are inspected regularly by the State Health Departments and we inspect ourselves to make sure we’re following the guidelines presented by them. Food handler cards are a must and we’ve always taken pride in our cleanliness. Most all of us have instituted some new protocols in our inns, going above the practices we have in place.

Want to support struggling local businesses while limiting social contact? Now’s a great time to purchase Gift Certificates from the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild. They can be redeemed at every Oregon Bed & Breakfast Guild member inn across the state

So Keep Calm and Stay with Us!  And here, I’ll put in a little jingle about Book Direct. As small business owners we are already starting to feel the ripple effect of this health scare. Our innkeepers truly appreciate your direct bookings. When you commit to booking direct, you will enjoy many perks and amenities that you would not have access to when booking through a travel agency. Not to mention, you will almost always pay less and stay in some very sanitized inns.

We’re sure, after months of quarantine you’re starting the feel the travel bug. We’re doing everything in our power to make sure you don’t catch The Bad Travel Bugs. Thank you for your trust in the inns of the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild. We will continue to provide the relaxing, comfortable, and immaculately clean solitude our guests expect and appreciate.

Hospitality Update: Oregon is one of the top states where it looks like social distancing is working. Our inns have been proactively doing everything in our power to keep you safe, welcome you back, as travel restrictions are being lifted. Not sure if your favorite inn is open? Give them a call as they just might be. We’re all looking to that day when this pandemic is behind us.

Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild is ready to share Oregon with you: it’s environment, culture, and heritage. Combine gracious hospitality with ambiance at an inspected and approved Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild member Inn.

bella Collina

Situated on a hillside with views of vineyards, farmlands, and the Coast Range, Bella Collina Bed and Breakfast offers an ideal venue for a romantic getaway, friends retreat, and wine tasting adventures.

The seven luxurious guest rooms at Bella Collina have been designed to maximize the pleasure of visiting the beautiful Willamette Valley.  Custom built with complete guests comfort and privacy in mind, as shown by features such as private decks, double-headed, tiled showers, heated tile floors, wet bar with sink and many more amenities.

Bella Collina Bed and Breakfast features a large great room with floor to ceiling glass and a large common deck that opens to the panoramic vistas.

Let Bella Collina be your home base when visiting over 100 wineries and tasting rooms in the Willamette Valley wine country.  Day trips from the inn could include the Oregon coast, beautiful Silver Falls State Park, Portland, Oregon, and the Columbia Gorge River.

Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild is ready to share Oregon with you: it’s environment, culture, and heritage. Combine gracious hospitality with ambiance at an inspected and approved Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild member Inn.

OBBG FOOd

Chehalem Ridge Bed and Breakfast shares their Crustless Apple Pie today, National Apple Pie Day

Chehalem Ridge Bed and Breakfast serves this Baked Apple as part of their three-course gourmet breakfast, typically with a more savory entrée because it is a bit sweet. Pairing the brown sugar and warm spices with a tart Granny Smith apple is the trick to achieving a good balance in the dish. To make the filling just a bit more Oregonian, we use hazelnuts, but you could use walnuts if you can’t find hazelnuts.  Fun fact: Oregon produces 99% of US hazelnuts, most of it in the Willamette Valley. You’ll see hazelnut orchards everywhere while you are out wine tasting.

They serve the Baked Apple with vanilla yogurt, because, you know, breakfast. But if you choose to put some other vanilla dairy product on it (maybe something from the freezer?), you won’t be judged.  Enjoy safe at home, and start making plans to joins us for breakfast soon!

Crustless Apple Pie (aka Baked Apple)

Servings: 4

  • Yield: 4 apples
  • 4 small Granny Smith apples
  • 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon clove, ground
  • 1/4 cup hazelnuts, chopped
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon butter, cut into 1/2″ cubes
  • 4 tablespoons vanilla yogurt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut just a little off the bottom of each apple so that it sits upright and stable. Core each apple with apple corer or melon baller, leaving the bottom 1/4″ intact. Peel upper third of apple to prevent from splitting.

In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, spices, nuts and dried cranberries. Fill each apple equally with filling and pack it down into the cavity. Put in baking dish. Dot each apple with a small cube of butter. Bake until tender when pierced with a fork, about 30 to 35 minutes. Serve warm with yogurt over top.

You’re sure to enjoy sweet treats such as these at the inns of the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild. Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild is proactively taking steps to welcome you back when traveling restrictions have been lifted. Our member inns have always engaged in exemplary cleaning practices, and typically we hold ourselves to even higher standards than the guidelines provided by our health agencies. We’re taking it up a notch so as to provide the very safest environments for you, our employees and ourselves. We’re ready to share Oregon with you: it’s environment, culture, and heritage. Combine gracious hospitality with ambiance at an inspected and approved Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild member Inn

Yamhill Vineyards

Yamhill Vineyards Bed and Breakfast

Yamhill Vineyards Bed & Breakfast is a little known gem located in the heart of the Willamette Valley wine country.  The Inn is surrounded by vineyards, spectacular views and has two large guest rooms, each with private baths,  a loft  and deck area, offering a relaxed country retreat.  The Oregon Bounty breakfast features one of five varieties of vineyard grape juice and local produce.

Yamhill Vineyards Bed and Breakfast offers guests a quiet country setting with spectacular views, sunsets, and star gazing. Each of the two large guest rooms has a queen bed, table, chairs, and private bath.

You’re sure to enjoy sweet treats such as these at the inns of the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild. Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild is proactively taking steps to welcome you back when traveling restrictions have been lifted. Our member inns have always engaged in exemplary cleaning practices, and typically we hold ourselves to even higher standards than the guidelines provided by our health agencies. We’re taking it up a notch so as to provide the very safest environments for you, our employees and ourselves. We’re ready to share Oregon with you: it’s environment, culture, and heritage. Combine gracious hospitality with ambiance at an inspected and approved Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild member Inn

Strawberry Rhubarb

The innkeeper at Yamhill Vineyards Bed and Breakfast shared her Lemon Blueberry Biscuits awhile back.Today she mixes it up a bit using Oregon strawberries and rhubarb that are in season.

We innkeepers love to bake. Most every breakfast includes a delectable treat made with local and fresh fruits and vegetables. Whether that dish is an main course or a side, something sweet is always included, using what’s seasonally available.
Enjoy

Strawberry Rhubarb Biscuit or Scone
Yield: 12-18

Ingredients:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2 Cups all-purpose flour
½ Cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 Cup vanilla yogurt
1 Large egg at room temperature
¼ Cup melted butter
½ Cup chopped strawberries
¾ Cup diced rhubarb

In a large bowl whisk the first 5 ingredients. Add egg, yogurt and melted butter. Stir until moistened. Fold in strawberries and rhubarb.
If you’re making biscuits you’ll drop about 1/3 cupful onto a greased baking sheet. For scones little bigger scoop. She also likes to line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Shorter time for strawberry rhubarb biscuits, a little longer for the bigger scone.

Glaze:
½ Cup confectioners’ sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla
Enough milk or water to make the glaze drip off the spoon.
Mix glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over warm biscuit/scone.

Wake to freshly brewed coffee and a creative, healthy, delicious breakfast at Yamhill Vineyards Bed and Breakfast. I’ll let you in on a little secret too: The signature dish for Yamhill Vineyards Bed & Breakfast is not a dish but “Wine before its time”. A variety of grape juice from the vineyard served with every breakfast.

Yamhill Vineyards Bed & Breakfast is a little known gem located in the heart of the Willamette Valley wine country. The Inn is surrounded by vineyards, spectacular views and has two large guest rooms, each with private baths offering a relaxed country retreat.

You’re sure to enjoy sweet treats such as these at the inns of the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild. Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild is proactively taking steps to welcome you back when traveling restrictions have been lifted. Our member inns have always engaged in exemplary cleaning practices, and typically we hold ourselves to even higher standards than the guidelines provided by our health agencies. We’re taking it up a notch so as to provide the very safest environments for you, our employees and ourselves. We’re ready to share Oregon with you: it’s environment, culture, and heritage. Combine gracious hospitality with ambiance at an inspected and approved Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild member Inn

MaMere's Guest House

MaMere’s Guest House in the Heart of Oregon’s Wine Country

MaMere’s Guest House is located in the heart of wine county, and is the perfect place to call home while you explore the surrounding wineries or visiting Western Oregon University.  The property is on the National Register of Historic Places and is only a block from WOU and Monmouth’s Main Street.

MaMere’s Guest House is charming, unique and colorful inside and out! Built in 1891 as a boarding house for female students, it has since housed hundreds and continues to do so today in its present form as a Bed and Breakfast Guest House.  From the Inn tour local vineyards, visit the coast, or just relax and enjoy a glass of wine amongst the beautiful flowers, while listening to music from the Monmouth Amphitheater in Main Street Park.

MaMere’s Guest House provides an unforgettable breakfast each morning. Taking advantage of Oregon’s Bountiful Central Valley, MaMere’s breakfast often include fresh fruits, baked treats, and savory home cooked meals. Offering everything from homemade waffles, and bacon to delicious quiche. Experience the delight, as you wake up to slow roasted coffee, and a specially prepared meal.

Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild is ready to share Oregon with you: it’s environment, culture, and heritage. Combine gracious hospitality with ambiance at an inspected and approved Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild member Inn.

Oregon Bird Watching

Oregon Bird Watching in the Willamette Valley

Oregon Bird Watching is amazing.  Especially this time of year when activity along the major flyways increase and the spring rituals in our habitats and backyards resume.  The Oregon Cascades Birding Trail (OCBT) is a great place to begin your birding adventure.  From there you can decide where you’d like to visit.  When you have made that decision turn to the website for the Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild and I am sure you will find an inn close by.

The Willamette Valley is known for its unique Bed and Breakfasts, fertile land with orchards, vineyards and rolling grass fields.  Nestled between the snow-capped volcanic peaks of the Cascade Mountains and the forests of the Coast Range it’s no wonder the valley offers an abundance of birds and bird habitats and the Willamette Valley Birding Trail will take you there.

The State of Oregon is a bird watcher’s paradise.  There are extensive reserves and habitats that serve as excellent nesting and brood rearing areas for waterfowl and colonial nesting birds including American white pelican and several heron species. Many of our Member Inns have habitats on their grounds or are located near land ideal for birding.  Grab your binoculars, choose an inn, and set out on your bird watching adventure.

Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild is ready to share Oregon with you: it’s environment, culture, and heritage. Combine gracious hospitality with ambiance at an inspected and approved Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild member Inn.

Oregon Birding

It’s that Time of Year again:  Time to follow the Spring Bird Migration

With the Spring Bird Migration about to begin it’s time to book your room, pack your binoculars and set out on your bird watching adventure to 7 superb Oregon Birding locations.  The state’s diverse and spectacular landscape provide varied habitats ranging from sandy beaches to verdant forests, from desert playas to alpine meadows. More than 500 species of birds call Oregon home year round or migrate through, sometimes stopping to nest.

The Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild has over 40 quality assured inns scattered throughout the state, each near a unique birding opportunity.  Our innkeepers know the most favorable viewing areas and after providing a comfy bed, hearty breakfast and useful information, will send you off on an extraordinary birding adventure.  The Guild recognizes this popular activity and has dedicated a page to Birdwatching that includes inns where innkeepers can share the best observation sites and what you might expect to see.

1. Watch surfbirds and black oystercatchers scramble over rocky headlands along the Oregon Coast.

2. Explore the alpine meadows, picturesque lakes, mountain streams, and dense conifer forests of the Cascades in search of Lewis’s woodpecker and Clark’s nutcracker.  Listen to the song of hermit warblers among majestic pines framing the snowy volcanic peaks. Mt. Jefferson, Oregon’s second highest peak.

3/4. The murmur of thousands of snow geese will mesmerize as they settle to rest in the tule marshes of the Klamath Basin and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

5. Salem, is a leader in urban forestry, with tree-lined streets and 40 city parks and is located in the heart of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River so no wonder there are many birding sites in its backyard.

6. Supporting one of the highest concentrations of breeding hawks and eagles in North America, the Zumwalt Prairie in Eastern Oregon, is also home to falcons making this a haven for birds of prey and 17 species of grassland songbirds. The nearby Wallowa Lake has a wide variation in habitat and terrain drawing a large number of species.

7. The Mt. Hood Loop of the OCBT rises from the Columbia River to Mt. Hood and combines some of the best of the region’s birding with legendary Oregon scenery.  This loop traverses the Columbia River National Scenic Area and the Mt. Hood National Forest and visits 19 birding sites.

When your journey ends, your bags are unpacked, and you’re scrolling through your vacation photos you will reminisce on memories of great accommodations, food, conversation and of course birding in Oregon.

Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild is ready to share Oregon with you: it’s environment, culture, and heritage. Combine gracious hospitality with ambiance at an inspected and approved Oregon Bed and Breakfast Guild member Inn.