Plan an Exhilarating Adventure

Guaranteed Thrills

Plunge Over the Edge

South of Florence, Oregon is a vast playground of sand - North America's largest coastal dunes. Ever-shifting and towering as high as 500 feet, these rolling sand mountains create some pretty thrilling opportunities for hard core adventurers. Rent an ATV or book tour on a sand rail (the fastest dune buggy option) for a day of high-speed adventures. 

Or plunge down the slopes on a sandboard! This novel sport is based on the same premise of snowboarding. Rent a board or sign up for instruction at Sand Master Park.

During winter, take the downhill plunge on the Cascade Mountain slopes with black diamond snowboarding and skiing at Willamette Pass. You can also rev your motors on snowmobile trails around the pristine Waldo Lake.

Charge the Rapids

Three mighty rivers course through the Eugene, Cascades & Coast landscape offering rabid white water rafters plenty of action. Enjoy the wild and scenic stretches of the popular McKenzie River with its mix of class II and class III rapids. Experienced river guides scout the river each spring and then shuttle groups on wild rafting trips.  Add in an afternoon of fly fishing for a different kind of thrill.

Race Downhill

Singletrack mountain biking is abundant here. Oakridge is dubbed the "Mountain Biking Capital of the Northwest" with its many challenging mountain biking trails. Dedicated volunteers keep the trails maintained, and local outfitters provide shuttle service to trail heads. 

Explore local BMX opportunities too, with several regional pump tracks and Eugene's WJ Skatepark, the largest covered and illuminated skatepark in the country, which is fun for trick riding.

Roar with the Crowd

Grip the edge of your seat as the engines race, the mud flies and the hot rods scream around the track. Cottage Grove Speedway hosts everything from karts to modifieds to monster trucks on their one fourth mile dirt track. Just twenty minutes from downtown Eugene, find fast-paced entertainment, cold beer and curly cheese fries. Bring your safety glasses and ear plugs!

Relish more speed and excitement on Dexter Reservoir during the Columbia drag racing events. Lunch at Rattlesnake BBQ, the check out the competition on the water.

Another crowd pleasing event is the annual Eugene Pro Rodeo with its high energy bronco riding, bull riding, team roping and barrel racing. Don a cowboy hat (two great places to pick up one up: Northwest Hat Company and Dawn + Dusk Hat Bar) and head out to west Eugene.  

Shoot Guns & Throw Axes

Get in the game with precision aim. Creswell Clay Target Sports is a premier shotgun range covering almost 50 acres of lush countryside with trap and skeet shooting stands. Sharpen your target skills with axe throwing at a Springfield axe lounge. And as a warm-up, visit PLAY to toss darts in their lounge (along with their batting cage and virtual golf games). Shattering that clay or hitting the bullseye gets the celebratory toast!

Scale to the Top

Climbing is always a quiet rush. There are multiple bouldering gyms on the edge of downtown Eugene. Practice your climbing skills there, then head to The Columns at Skinner Butte. Along with rock climbing, climb trees! Tree Climbing Eugene offers the chance to climb high into old growth canopies. Or combine artistic movement with shimming up aerial silks at one of the local gymnastic gyms. 

If the thrill is the panoramic view, hike to the highest local peaks with sweeping views. Some of our best include Skinner Butte, Spencer Butte, Mount Pisgah, Bohemia Mountain, Dee Wright Observatory and Cape Perpetua.

Behold Dazzling Natural Phenomena

Stand in awe of nature with expeditions that reveal breathtaking sights. In the mountains above Cottage Grove, hike approximately 3 miles to walk behind a waterfall. Or hike out into the middle of the Cascade Mountain's lava fields, now all black obsidian rock, beneath the Dee Wright Observatory. On the Oregon Coast witness Thor's Well, where ocean waves spout and then are sucked dramatically down into the rocky hole along the ocean's edge, or watch Devil's Churn as monstrous waves roll in, exploding against the rocks with sheer drama.

Scare Yourself Silly

Flirting with the dark side is a way to get your heart racing. While the Eugene, Cascades & Coast region is not a particularly spooky place, local lore does claim some haunted sites. Add to a macabre-themed adventure with patronizing businesses catering to chills, thrills and all things "creepy". The Crypt in Springfield is a punk and goth thrift store filled with horror and cult memorabilia. Sink your teeth into Hobbit Pie or an Orc's Belly at the Sparrow & Serpent pub, home to goth, burlesque, drag and magic shows. Check the Art House for classic horror films with the added bonus of watching them in a former mortuary now turned movie theater! Around Halloween there are haunted houses, Thriller flash mobs and downtown costume parades.

Guidance for Thrill Seekers

It may give you a charge and rev your engines, but please remember that any thrill is not worth doing if you could end up hurt or harm others in the process. Guided adventures with experienced local professionals are safest. Please always let someone know your plans and where you are going, follow all safety precautions and use the right equipment, check the weather and roads before heading out and use common sense. Do not jump off rocks or bridges into pools and do not float rivers without the proper equipment and knowledge.  

Westfir Lodge

Oakridge - Westfir

Stay in the Westfir Lodge adjacent popular trailheads for hiking and biking, the Aufderheide Scenic Bikeway (an extreme graveling route) and beside the North Fork of the Middle Fork of the Willamette River.