Jennifer Burns Bright

It’s always taco time on the Oregon Coast. For a quick meal before an afternoon hiking the cliffs, a stop on a long-distance cycling tour or a budget-friendly family dinner, someone has the perfect taco for you. Here’s a guide to restaurants and food carts that would make any tortilla proud.

Fish tacos and the Coast are a natural match, thanks to Oregon’s bustling fishing industry. To support the local fleet and healthy oceans, c...

Home of the vibrant and culture-rich capital city of Victoria, wild and evergreen Vancouver Island is well worth exploring. Stretching nearly 300 miles from north to south and 60 miles east to west, the island sits on British Columbia’s western coast, with miles of beaches, temperate rainforests, peaceful lakes, and laid-back outposts to overnight at after a day of hiking, biking, or surfing.

On a rocky point overlooking the Pacific Ocean, about 55 miles south of San Francisco, Año Nuevo State Park offers miles of sandy beaches and wonderfully windswept hikes. What sets the park apart from other Northern California coastal locations, however, is the large population of northern elephant seals who live on a 4,000-acre protected reserve within the park boundaries.

With vast reaches of land, wildlife galore, towering mountain ranges, and old-growth evergreen groves that run down rocky cliffs to pristine beaches, Western Canada’s national parks are destinations worthy of a bucket-list trip—or many repeat visits. Several are located in Alberta and British Columbia provinces with easy access through Washington, Montana, or Idaho.

Laid-back vibes and outdoor fun await you in Kalispell, a town frozen in time, tucked between Montana’s Swan and Salish mountain ranges. Here, you can feel at home spending a morning casting your line for rainbow trout, then relaxing with a burger and brew or a craft cocktail after a tour of a perfectly preserved historic mansion or art gallery.

Native chef brings a unique culinary experience to a luxury resort in Willamette Valley wine country. Growing up on the banks of the Siletz River in Oregon’s Central Coast town of Siletz, chef Jack Strong learned traditional foodways as part of his Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians upbringing. When the executive chef and cookbook author took the helm at renowned JORY Restaurant at The Allison Inn & Spa in Newberg in October 2022, he found heritage foods ready...

A sweeping journey from the Canadian Rockies to the Pacific Ocean.

Of the many treasures washed to shore on Oregon’s North Coast — a stretch of cliffs and sand known as the “Graveyard of the Pacific” for its shipwrecks — one created quite a buzz in 2022. No, not the gold and jewelry discovered on the lost ship in “The Goonies.” We’re talking beeswax, and a ship carrying a load of it in its cargo hold that wrecked in 1693.
In June 2022, a team of investigators uncovered even more about the origins — ...

With a vibrant arts scene, beach walks, and tide pools, Cannon Beach is great for a North Coast getaway. While the sun doesn’t always shine, and the water isn’t always warm (okay, it’s never warm), the town takes pride in its laid-back vibe and excellent eats. You’ll find a surprising number of bakeries and coffee shops to fuel up for a day on the beach, and cocktail lounges and breweries to hit afterward.

When spring dawns and the sun’s rays begin to thaw frozen landscapes, you can be certain of one thing: mud. While some might wait to resume outdoor activities until drier conditions prevail and the main roads open, the mud season can be a great time to explore Yellowstone National Park with alternative modes of transportation.

With a backdrop of snowy mountains and the rushing Wenatchee River, Leavenworth, located about 120 miles east of Seattle along a winding road through the Cascades foothills, promises festive winter vistas. During the holiday season, the town decks its halls—and trees and hedges and inns and shops—with more than a half a million lights that twinkle nightly. [This article appeared in Via/OR-ID's print edition in Nov. 2022.]

Shoreline ramblings and rural backroads a short drive from Seattle.

Just a quick jaunt from Gig Harbor across Henderson Bay on Highway 302, the Key Peninsula awaits the weekender for laid-back shoreside fun. Its English name comes from the elongated key-like shape of the peninsula, an arm of land stretching southward from the larger Kitsap Peninsula about 16 miles into the South Sound.

Nothing beats freshly caught seafood on the Oregon coast, but without knowing which restaurants support local fishermen and farmers, diners may be surprised that dinner has traveled farther than they have. Although the last year of the coronavirus pandemic has impacted business along the coast, several restaurants, bars, and breweries continue to serve Pacific-Northwestern-caught seafood to locals and day-trippers. This guide highlights 15 outstanding restaurants along coastal Highway 101 fro...

Sample the best oysters -- influenced by their habitats and cultivation methods -- in Oregon and Washington.

Spending the day at Sue-meg State Park in Trinidad, California, located about 30 miles north of Eureka, allows visitors to experience massive redwoods at refreshingly cool and foggy days on the Trinidad Coast, as well as to explore up close a cherished cultural site for local Yurok community.