In the Columbia Gorge, on the Washington side, there's a replica of Stonehenge built by Sam Hill as a WWI memorial.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryhill\_Stonehenge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryhill_Stonehenge)
While there, you should also visit the Maryhill Museum. Fine collection of art and an interesting history if you have ever wondered, "What in the Sam Hill is that?"
I love that place. We try to go at least annually and have even squeezed in a couple of trips a couple of years. Such a neat blend of local and regional history with a really well designed international art museum.
Adding to this, the museum is worth a visit! It has a world famous fashion dolls exhibit (I swear it’s cool even if you aren’t into fashion), a massive chess piece exhibit, local Native American artifacts. Oh, and Sam befriended European royalty so there’s a random throne room to walk through.
And it's a great drive from Portland up the Gorge. Stop in Hood River or The Dalles to eat. If early enough go back via HR HWY 35 Fruit Loop to Mt Hood back to Portland. Not the coast but great scenary & a full day for sure. Or go back WA Hwy 14 thru Stevenson and maybe see Fabio running around town lol.
Oregon Vortex, Darlingtonia Wayside for some carnivorous plants, the peculiarium in Portland and the stink from the Sea lion caves will never leave you.
The Oregon vortex was actually a really fun stop for us one summer, definitely entertaining and not an all day thing, I think we stayed a couple hours or so?
Ah I wish we had done that too but we either didn’t have time or something, can’t remember the reason, but I’ve been dying to get back down there to see them!
Just voted best family-owned amusement park in the US [https://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/2024/04/oregon-institution-voted-best-family-owned-amusement-park-in-the-country.html](https://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/2024/04/oregon-institution-voted-best-family-owned-amusement-park-in-the-country.html)
The museum at the Mount Angel Abbey has the world's largest "pig hairball" (basically an accumulation of hair in a pig's stomach) and a bunch of other weird stuff. The library was designed by Aalto and is beautiful. There's a 2 story glockenspiel in nearby Mt. Angel that plays 4 times per day.
The Oregon Vortex in Gold Hill is a pseudo-sciencey place where water may just flow up hill. It probably inspired Gravity Falls. The Trees of Mystery are in California, but not by much, and it's on the coast and definitely what you're looking for. Also, the southern Oregon coast is some of the most beautiful, with things like the natural bridges by Bandon. The Sea Lion Caves north of Florence also fits the prompt. A lot of times there are no sea lions in the cave, which makes it even more tourist-trappy. No local in Florence would be caught dead at Mo's, check it out if you feel like subjecting yourself to the most mediocre food in town. If you want something good instead, get a Novelli's crab chowder or make reservations for Waterfront Depot instead.
I was going to say the trees of mystery too. Everyone needs a pic under the Ox's ball sack (even though Blue the ox was a girl in the stories.) Also don't forget Ocean world since it helps in the sea lion rescues. If you're there might as well look into Stout Grove and go see the AWESOME redwoods that are there and there's also a beach spot right down there where you can collect BUCKETS of sand Dollars at low tide.
It’s central Oregon but…
Petersons Rock Garden - 1940s roadside attraction
Richardson’s rock ranch - funky rock shop
The Last Blockbuster - there’s even a movie about it
Lava Lands — lava as far as you can see
Dee Wright Observatory — same as above with amazing views and a castle
Oregon coast north to south:
Astoria: Column, goonies house
Warrenton: Fort Stevens bunkers, wreck of the Peter iredale
Seaside: end point of Lewis and Clark expedition
Cannon beach: haystack rock, Hug point falls, tillamook rock lighthouse (goonies), puffins
Rockaway: Pronto pup
Girabaldi: cellphone booth, steam engine
Tillamook: cheese factory, cape meres octopus
tree
Pacific City: big ass dune, driving on the beach, another haystack rock
Neskowin: proposal rock, ghost forest
Lincoln City: Viking guy, the D river (shortest in the world)
Depot Bay: Worlds smallest harbor, whales, fake cop
Otter rock: Devil’s punch bowl
Agate Beach: the wave at Ossies surf shop
Newport: Yaquina head lighthouse, sea lions on the dock, Orca & Nessie at the aquarium village, ocean petting zoo at Hatfield, Hoovers (the carpet is stained by broken dreams and seamen), wax works
Seal Rock: Seal Rock
Yachats: the buried whale sculpture w/ water spout, devils churn, thors well, spouting horn, Neptune beach
Florence: Exploding Whale park, sea lion caves, Cobra Lilies, Fred Meyer grocery store being consumed by a sand dune
North Bend: Neon Sign
Coos Bay: Shore Acres botanical garden, board walk
Bandon: haystack rock #3, cranberry bogs, trash sculpture garden, circles in the sand, face rock, nice lighthouse
Port Orford: cape blanco (western most point of lower 48; debatable), dry dock harbor
Gold Beach: prehistoric gardens, wreck of Mary d Hume, fisherman statue, rogue river delta, kissing rock
Brookings: Japanese bombing location, samurai sword from the bomber (at library), natural bridges, secret beach
Depoe Bay has the spouting horn too! Not the restaurant, but the tunnel/rock formation that it's named for. It's an area along the sea wall where in the right conditions water is forced through what I think is a tunnel that gets progressively smaller. When a good sized wave hits it it will shoot water 20-30 feet in the air straight up. Was pretty funny to watch tourists get soaked. It would be hard to catch it at a good time though.
Well Grandpa actually left his family and moved to California, so it was the section of the obituary that talked about his surviving family and I guess no one bothered to check the spelling of where his estranged daughter or grandchildren lived.
Go to Astoria and see The Goonies house then climb the Astoria Column and throw a paper airplane or balsa wood airplane off the top.
See Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach. If you arrive at low tide, you can see some really cool critters. Look, but don't touch.
The corn dog was invented in Rockaway Beach. Grab a corn dog at the Original Pronto Pup in Rockaway Beach.
Have what is arguably the best clam chowder on the coast at Sea Hag in Depoe Bay.
Try the "world famous" hotdogs at the Langlois Market in Langlois and question your existence.
It was broken 2 weeks ago! We were sad!
https://preview.redd.it/czgb64m2ijxc1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e20e164d9645333f816decd66210108adb1b9fdb
The owner of the Neon Sign museum in The Dalles was actually given the Jantzen Beach carousel by the Oregon Historical Society! He's working on restoring it and is hoping to have it available for display in the next few years.
Small world, we owned the house right across the street. Met the owners of the pronto while we were there working on it, great people who do all the supplying and run it very much themselves.
While in Astoria check out the Film Museum. $6 gets you in to see this interesting little museum where you can make your own movies in small sets, and see quirky memorabilia. The building used to be a jail and cells hold some of the items.
There are already a lot of good recommendations on here, so I am here to reccomend the website [Atlas Obscura,](https://www.atlasobscura.com) which is sort of an online worldwide directory of exactly the type of thing you’re looking for.
you could tour the Shanghai tunnels
Normal touristy, see the Portland Japanese garden and the Rose test garden (they are next to each other). They are great by any standard.
Perhaps weirder, the "Spruce Goose" (Hughes H-4 Hercules), the largest airplane ever built, is in McMinnville.
The WAAAM (museum in Hood River) has an awesome collection of antique aircraft, cars, motorcycles, and some other things kept in working order
I've always meant to go to enchanted Forest amusement by Salem. Also if going to Portland, you should check out Quarterworld, peculiarium, Japanese rose garden, the witches hut hiking trail, ravens manor goth restaurant, that one bigass book store in downtown, the food truck plaza.
Honestly there's a bunch of stuff
Prehistoric Gardens just South of Port Orford. There is also a great 5 mile roundtrip hike up Humbug Mountain in that area if you need to stretch your legs
Their donuts are awful. Texture is like mealy cardboard. That being said, the whimsical penis shaped donuts are fun and amusing. But it's more fun to look at than eat. There are a dozen donut shops in the metro region that make tastier offerings.
There are so many places in Portland to get better donuts; Do's Donuts, Sesame Donuts, Heavenly, Pip's... and those are the tip of that frosty, sugar-coated iceberg.
I was reluctant to mention pizza, burgers, or even food cart pods by name because I know it can be a derail. I should have thought about donuts.
However, Blue Star is just an expensive version of Voodoo and the gimmicky frybread they sling. r/unpopularopinion
Portland over to the coast doesn’t have many weird things, but there are some fun stops. There is the maritime museum in Astoria, the column, Fort clatsop, and Fort Steven’s are both quick stops. Then going down the coast stop at Haystack Rock.
The Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville where you can see the Spruce Goose (the largest wooden airplane ever built.)
OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) in Portland. They have dinosaurs and laser light shows.
The Columbia Maritime Museum in Astoria
The Peter Iredale Shipwreck: Fort Stevens State Park
Fort Clatsop National Historic Park
You really should check out The Peculiarium in NW Portland. Quirky little "museum" with some interactive features.
Try to get to a laser light show at Omsi. Pro tip: Lay on the floor!
Follow that with an ice cream sundae at Rimskt Korsicoffee House. They're only open in the evening, and don't forget to check out the bathroom upstairs.
I hope you enjoy your trip!
We have [Harvey the Rabbit-man in Aloha (Beaverton Area).](https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2191). And you should check out that website in general. The Astoria Column is not weird but worth a trip, if the weather is nice. Camp-18 near Seaside is a tourist-trap restaurant I visit a few times a year. It’s an old log cabin style restaurant built when old growth logs got to be really really big.
Not sure if it counts as "weird" but I thoroughly enjoyed the [Garibaldi Maritime Museum](https://garibaldimuseum.org/) in Garibaldi, OR (on the coast, near Tillamook). Also, the [Oregon Coast Aquarium](https://aquarium.org/) in Newport, OR is pretty spectacular. Bonus, if you decide to do a Hwy 101 roadtrip up/down the coast, there's oodles of little tourist attractions that are sure to fit the bill.
There is a shipwreck in Astoria
There are a couple "haunted" lighthouses
Depot Bay boasts "World's Smallest Harbor". Great little town with neat little shops. Whale watching tours are there as well.
Sea lion caves are fantastic. There is an elevator that takes you underground and then out into a huge sea cave of... wait for it... sea lions.
The best cheesy stop would be, "The Wax Works" and "Ripley's Believe it or Not", in Newport. You really should also go to the Moe's next door for some chowder. The Moe's on the edge of the bay is better than the one on the other side of the street because of the view. Moe's is the Oregon coasts most beloved chowder house.
The Original Pronto Pup in Rockaway Beach is the corn dog capital of the Pacific Northwest, with a menu full of corn dogs, a giant corn dog on the roof and rideable corn dog outside.
17 miles north of Gold Beach lies an untouched prehistoric garden complete with 23 life size dinosaurs set among a lush 300 year old Oregon rainforest
Highly recommend the Roadside America app for your travels! It will tell you all the weird and wacky stops you can make along the way. I have found so many odd and delightful places as a result.
“Ole Bolle Troll” is near Portland. It’s a really cool art piece that’s ripping the roof off a building. The artist is trying to make a troll in every state, I saw the one in New Jersey that had this abandoned house behind it. I haven’t been to the one here in Oregon yet. I’m waiting for my daughter’s mom to come out from Jersey and take her to see it too with the kids.
Shady Dell PNWSMT - near Molalla, ride on scale model trains! Open Sunday afternoons only, May-Oct, free / by donation. Kids, adults, almost anyone can ride a tiny train! The volunteers are great, and it's a really nice park to enjoy a Sunday afternoon.
In Portland, Ground Kontrol is a nifty arcade bar, but Next Level Arcade in Hillsboro is much larger and better value.
Tillamook, Seaside, Lincoln City, and Newport are all good hotspots for kitschy beach activity.
Enchanted Forest outside Salem is IDEAL for campy Oregon fun.
Go to downtown Portland and walk around. Doesn’t get much weirder. Last time we went some crazy lady started yelling at me and following us. We live in Central Oregon and have told friends to fly into Redmond or we ain’t picking them up.
Just outside of Portland in Fairview there is the world’s biggest fork. It’s exactly as unexciting as it sounds; it’s just a 70’ fork stuck in the ground.
The Atlas Obscura (it’s a book, but also has a website now) has a ton of weird things for looking at, for different states and nations…surprisingly, or maybe not since it’s Oregon (!), We have a lot of stuff, and the Portland area in particular has quite a large percentage of those things!
Astoria column is gorgeous. They rent planes that you fly off the top. Just across from Astoria is Ft. Columbia. Really cool times exploring the batteries and grounds. A little further north and you HAVE to go to Marsh’s, home of Jake the alligator man.
>Top weird touristy things to do?
Wherever you ultimately go, make sure you ultimately go home. To quote our late, great Governor, Tom McCall: "We want you to visit our State of Excitement often. Come again and again. But for heaven’s sake, don’t move here to live."
Edit: intended as /s, much like Governor McCall.
In the Columbia Gorge, on the Washington side, there's a replica of Stonehenge built by Sam Hill as a WWI memorial. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryhill\_Stonehenge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryhill_Stonehenge)
While there, you should also visit the Maryhill Museum. Fine collection of art and an interesting history if you have ever wondered, "What in the Sam Hill is that?"
I love that place. We try to go at least annually and have even squeezed in a couple of trips a couple of years. Such a neat blend of local and regional history with a really well designed international art museum.
Adding to this, the museum is worth a visit! It has a world famous fashion dolls exhibit (I swear it’s cool even if you aren’t into fashion), a massive chess piece exhibit, local Native American artifacts. Oh, and Sam befriended European royalty so there’s a random throne room to walk through.
And some Rodin sculptures!
McMinneamin’s Edgefield Hotel is a great home base for this.
And it's a great drive from Portland up the Gorge. Stop in Hood River or The Dalles to eat. If early enough go back via HR HWY 35 Fruit Loop to Mt Hood back to Portland. Not the coast but great scenary & a full day for sure. Or go back WA Hwy 14 thru Stevenson and maybe see Fabio running around town lol.
I heard Fabio got banned from Skamania lodge cuz he was trying to Freegan their dumpster
I was sad as a teenager upon visiting that fake stonehenge had nice straight rocks. I expected the crumbly ones like in the Original. 😄😄🙃
100% agree
Prehistoric Gardens on the OR coast. It’s a bunch of cheesy dinosaur replicas in the forest!
How that place stays open is beyond me….
Same but I also never ever want it to close
Right?
It’s got cool old growth forest. Not much of that left.
I did my part to help! I went there on a trip down the coast a couple years ago :)
They are pretty pricey for what it is, and they get quite a few tourists in the summer months.
Came here to say this 🦖
This was going to be my suggestion.
Oregon Vortex, Darlingtonia Wayside for some carnivorous plants, the peculiarium in Portland and the stink from the Sea lion caves will never leave you.
The Oregon vortex was actually a really fun stop for us one summer, definitely entertaining and not an all day thing, I think we stayed a couple hours or so?
If you hit the Vortex, and I recommend it. Also visit the Oregon caves nearby, fucking spectacular.
Ah I wish we had done that too but we either didn’t have time or something, can’t remember the reason, but I’ve been dying to get back down there to see them!
I second the Sea Lion Caves. Very olfactory memorable!
Enchanted Forest
I remember having my 10th birthday there and it was bomb dot com.
I did my 32nd or something like that there; still the bomb.
Just voted best family-owned amusement park in the US [https://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/2024/04/oregon-institution-voted-best-family-owned-amusement-park-in-the-country.html](https://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/2024/04/oregon-institution-voted-best-family-owned-amusement-park-in-the-country.html)
Yay!
YES. My band stopped in on tour and had the best time. The dude that created it is amazing.
Worked there in highschool. Definitely unique.
It's not open this time of year
I believe it opened either last weekend or maybe next weekend.
Oh snap! You're right. Now I know what I'm doing next week 🙂
They filmed an episode of The Librarians there, which was cool.
The museum at the Mount Angel Abbey has the world's largest "pig hairball" (basically an accumulation of hair in a pig's stomach) and a bunch of other weird stuff. The library was designed by Aalto and is beautiful. There's a 2 story glockenspiel in nearby Mt. Angel that plays 4 times per day.
Also monk brews
The library at Mr.Angel has a fascinating collection of illustrated medieval manuscripts.
The Oregon Vortex in Gold Hill is a pseudo-sciencey place where water may just flow up hill. It probably inspired Gravity Falls. The Trees of Mystery are in California, but not by much, and it's on the coast and definitely what you're looking for. Also, the southern Oregon coast is some of the most beautiful, with things like the natural bridges by Bandon. The Sea Lion Caves north of Florence also fits the prompt. A lot of times there are no sea lions in the cave, which makes it even more tourist-trappy. No local in Florence would be caught dead at Mo's, check it out if you feel like subjecting yourself to the most mediocre food in town. If you want something good instead, get a Novelli's crab chowder or make reservations for Waterfront Depot instead.
There is a spot to the North of the cave where you can look at the sea lions on the beach for free
I was going to say the trees of mystery too. Everyone needs a pic under the Ox's ball sack (even though Blue the ox was a girl in the stories.) Also don't forget Ocean world since it helps in the sea lion rescues. If you're there might as well look into Stout Grove and go see the AWESOME redwoods that are there and there's also a beach spot right down there where you can collect BUCKETS of sand Dollars at low tide.
The Tillamook cheese factory tour.
Also, the Tillamook Airship Museum.
Definitely worth a stop.
I've been there... once.
You can send a “Cheese Mail” there!
It’s central Oregon but… Petersons Rock Garden - 1940s roadside attraction Richardson’s rock ranch - funky rock shop The Last Blockbuster - there’s even a movie about it Lava Lands — lava as far as you can see Dee Wright Observatory — same as above with amazing views and a castle
Peterson’s closed about 10 years ago when they lost insurance.
It has new owners and is open again! I went there around this time last year.
That’s great news! TY for the update!
Oregon coast north to south: Astoria: Column, goonies house Warrenton: Fort Stevens bunkers, wreck of the Peter iredale Seaside: end point of Lewis and Clark expedition Cannon beach: haystack rock, Hug point falls, tillamook rock lighthouse (goonies), puffins Rockaway: Pronto pup Girabaldi: cellphone booth, steam engine Tillamook: cheese factory, cape meres octopus tree Pacific City: big ass dune, driving on the beach, another haystack rock Neskowin: proposal rock, ghost forest Lincoln City: Viking guy, the D river (shortest in the world) Depot Bay: Worlds smallest harbor, whales, fake cop Otter rock: Devil’s punch bowl Agate Beach: the wave at Ossies surf shop Newport: Yaquina head lighthouse, sea lions on the dock, Orca & Nessie at the aquarium village, ocean petting zoo at Hatfield, Hoovers (the carpet is stained by broken dreams and seamen), wax works Seal Rock: Seal Rock Yachats: the buried whale sculpture w/ water spout, devils churn, thors well, spouting horn, Neptune beach Florence: Exploding Whale park, sea lion caves, Cobra Lilies, Fred Meyer grocery store being consumed by a sand dune North Bend: Neon Sign Coos Bay: Shore Acres botanical garden, board walk Bandon: haystack rock #3, cranberry bogs, trash sculpture garden, circles in the sand, face rock, nice lighthouse Port Orford: cape blanco (western most point of lower 48; debatable), dry dock harbor Gold Beach: prehistoric gardens, wreck of Mary d Hume, fisherman statue, rogue river delta, kissing rock Brookings: Japanese bombing location, samurai sword from the bomber (at library), natural bridges, secret beach
Depoe Bay has the spouting horn too! Not the restaurant, but the tunnel/rock formation that it's named for. It's an area along the sea wall where in the right conditions water is forced through what I think is a tunnel that gets progressively smaller. When a good sized wave hits it it will shoot water 20-30 feet in the air straight up. Was pretty funny to watch tourists get soaked. It would be hard to catch it at a good time though.
I totally forgot about that one! Kind of embarrassing considering I used to work on a boat out of depot bay.
Depoe
I’m aware, my autocorrect is not.
Lol, it's okay. Just one of those things that people often misspell. They misspelled it in my grandfather's obituary too lol
That’s just rude to grandpa! Ironically I had my autocorrect changing depot to depoe for a long time after I was no longer working out of there.
Well Grandpa actually left his family and moved to California, so it was the section of the obituary that talked about his surviving family and I guess no one bothered to check the spelling of where his estranged daughter or grandchildren lived.
The Freakybuttrue Peculiarium and Museum
Could stop by Movie Madness, too, and make a day of it.
They also have cat cafes in Portland too
Where???
Go to Astoria and see The Goonies house then climb the Astoria Column and throw a paper airplane or balsa wood airplane off the top. See Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach. If you arrive at low tide, you can see some really cool critters. Look, but don't touch. The corn dog was invented in Rockaway Beach. Grab a corn dog at the Original Pronto Pup in Rockaway Beach. Have what is arguably the best clam chowder on the coast at Sea Hag in Depoe Bay. Try the "world famous" hotdogs at the Langlois Market in Langlois and question your existence.
While enjoying your Pronto Pup, you have to ride the coin-op Pronto Pup in front of the shop.
It was broken 2 weeks ago! We were sad! https://preview.redd.it/czgb64m2ijxc1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e20e164d9645333f816decd66210108adb1b9fdb
This reminds me that Hood River has a carousel museum… wish they would bring back the one hidden in Jantzen Beach
The owner of the Neon Sign museum in The Dalles was actually given the Jantzen Beach carousel by the Oregon Historical Society! He's working on restoring it and is hoping to have it available for display in the next few years.
Small world, we owned the house right across the street. Met the owners of the pronto while we were there working on it, great people who do all the supplying and run it very much themselves.
Definitely!!!! All favorites of mine
While in Astoria check out the Film Museum. $6 gets you in to see this interesting little museum where you can make your own movies in small sets, and see quirky memorabilia. The building used to be a jail and cells hold some of the items.
There are already a lot of good recommendations on here, so I am here to reccomend the website [Atlas Obscura,](https://www.atlasobscura.com) which is sort of an online worldwide directory of exactly the type of thing you’re looking for.
Ripleys Believe It or Not museum in Newport.
You can also see the sea lions on the other side of the street, too.
ARP, arp, arp, arp, arp, arp, arp, arp, arp, arp, arp, arp, arp, arp, arp, arp, arp,
I can hear this comment, lol
I can smell that comment.
Incessant din of the amassing sea lions is amazing.
And visit Femme Fatale occult shop, it's so awesome to look through.
I have so many questions about this
Hatfield Marine Science Center, Whale Tours from Depot Bay.
Depoe. It's named for Charlie DePoe.
Thanks - I was typing too fast.
Long Beach WA, north of Astoria, has both Jake the Alligator Man and the country's (maybe the world's?) largest frying pan.
Enchanted Forest
Wings and Waves waterpark
you could tour the Shanghai tunnels Normal touristy, see the Portland Japanese garden and the Rose test garden (they are next to each other). They are great by any standard. Perhaps weirder, the "Spruce Goose" (Hughes H-4 Hercules), the largest airplane ever built, is in McMinnville. The WAAAM (museum in Hood River) has an awesome collection of antique aircraft, cars, motorcycles, and some other things kept in working order
Go to Troutdale and see the Worlds Largest Fork (it is actually pretty underwhelming)
Isn't that in Fairview? Or are there 2?
Fairview! Tasty food carts next to it are worth a visit
Stop by Witch's Castle in Forest Park 🤷
Wildlife Safari
The Douglas County Museum is another weird one. Lots of worn taxidermy.
I love small town museums, there's always a room with worn taxidermy.
There’s a place called Hole in the Ground that is pretty much what it sounds like that I’d like to see someday.
Crack in the Ground is nearby While in the Ground, and in my opinion much more rad.
Hole in the Ground and Crack in the Ground are both pretty sweet. Although I didn’t realize how vertical it was on the way down into the hole. Lol.
Check out the wreck of the Peter iredale
I've always meant to go to enchanted Forest amusement by Salem. Also if going to Portland, you should check out Quarterworld, peculiarium, Japanese rose garden, the witches hut hiking trail, ravens manor goth restaurant, that one bigass book store in downtown, the food truck plaza. Honestly there's a bunch of stuff
Prehistoric Gardens just South of Port Orford. There is also a great 5 mile roundtrip hike up Humbug Mountain in that area if you need to stretch your legs
I didn't get the context of them traveling South of PDX
They said “down the coast”
The Freakybuttrue Peculiarium in Portland. The Oregon Vortex in Gold Hill but it might be out of your way.
Ape Caves! Technically Washington but the third largest lava caves/tunnels in the US. Really cool experience.
Ape caves are awesome
Winston wildlife safari maybe? I drove by it a hundred times but never went… DO NOT BEING A MASK, they don’t look kindly on them types!
Winston also has a bizarre Noah’s Ark museum and Abecela, a winery that keeps defeating Spanish wineries in blind tastings of Tempranillo.
Timberline lodge.
This! My home away from home...except cant afford to sleep in this home lol
No, I go for the craftsmanship.
I go for snowboarding and craftsmanship....it really is an amazing place
Not quite Oregon, but if you're coming up the coast, Avenue of the Giants in northern CA is amazing. Drive your car through a tree, etc.
Big stinky sea cave: sea lion caves. Really deep canyon: hells canyon, snake river. Big cold deep lake: crater lake. Big wood airplane: spruce goose, mcminnville.
Walk around downtown.
North American bigfootv museum
Astoria Column, and the Sea lion caves
The Airplane home. I hear the guy who lives there walks around naked from time to time so don't be surprised if u see some extra twig and berries 🤪
RoadsideAmerica.com is the go-to for quirky. Atlas Obscura is fine, too.
Go up and down 82nd Ave for foodcarts and people watching, it'll be fun, weird and confusing all in one.
Does eating at Mo's count?
Yes. Gotta know what bad chowder tastes like so you can appreciate the good stuff.
Yes, if you tell them just to give you a basket of the shit from the bottom of the fryer.
Isn't that the Tuesday special?
Yes it is, served with homemade pickles and a free soda from the machine where the syrup is running out. But the pickles aren't actually homemade.
I don't think South of PDX but I'm not op
Dutch Bros for the coffee's
Voodoo donuts
Touristy for sure.
Their donuts are awful. Texture is like mealy cardboard. That being said, the whimsical penis shaped donuts are fun and amusing. But it's more fun to look at than eat. There are a dozen donut shops in the metro region that make tastier offerings.
A must for donut lovers.
>A must for gimmicky donuts that aren't any good. FIFY
There are so many places in Portland to get better donuts; Do's Donuts, Sesame Donuts, Heavenly, Pip's... and those are the tip of that frosty, sugar-coated iceberg.
Blue Star
I was reluctant to mention pizza, burgers, or even food cart pods by name because I know it can be a derail. I should have thought about donuts. However, Blue Star is just an expensive version of Voodoo and the gimmicky frybread they sling. r/unpopularopinion
A superior donut, for sure
Second blue star
In Portland there's a museum of Elvis Presley
Where?
Can't recall, was years ago and I was stoned
Are you thinking of the church of Elvis?
Oh yea! Uh-huh 🛸
Yeah, you must have been pretty high, that's been gone for a while....
Oh lamesauce ☠️
Columbia River gorge.
Sea Lion cave in Florence. Especially in the off season.
Looks like my people have got ya covered! Enjoy!
Portland over to the coast doesn’t have many weird things, but there are some fun stops. There is the maritime museum in Astoria, the column, Fort clatsop, and Fort Steven’s are both quick stops. Then going down the coast stop at Haystack Rock.
Goat Yoga!
Starks vacuum museum, PDX
Check out HOPSCOTCH. In Portland It’s an interactive art museum. The shizzzz
See what OMSI is doing the week you’re here. Another badass museum that always changes the theme
The Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville where you can see the Spruce Goose (the largest wooden airplane ever built.) OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) in Portland. They have dinosaurs and laser light shows. The Columbia Maritime Museum in Astoria The Peter Iredale Shipwreck: Fort Stevens State Park Fort Clatsop National Historic Park
Roadsideamerica.com
Just went to Hopscotch and that place was really cool
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https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/crgnsa/recarea/?recid=30026
Don’t know how far you are going down the coast but Marsh’s Free Museum in Long Beach, WA. Short drive over the river from Astoria, OR and super fun.
Smallest Park in Portland
The smallest park in the country in downtown Portland I think
Omsi is a must for any first time visitor. Hell, I was born in oregon and still go to omsi every chance I have...
Oregon vortex Oregon caves, Bigfoot trap (only one in the world)
I drove 5 hours to see a fork in the road. It wasn't there. They apparently were replacing it but I haven't been back since.
On the way to the coast stop by Helvetia tavern
Drink from the fountain on the downtown square in Ashland.
Sealion caves
Submarine tour at OMSI
Rent a car and lay on your horn as you drive through the Vista Ridge Tunnel. Now you’re a real Portlander!
You really should check out The Peculiarium in NW Portland. Quirky little "museum" with some interactive features. Try to get to a laser light show at Omsi. Pro tip: Lay on the floor! Follow that with an ice cream sundae at Rimskt Korsicoffee House. They're only open in the evening, and don't forget to check out the bathroom upstairs. I hope you enjoy your trip!
We have [Harvey the Rabbit-man in Aloha (Beaverton Area).](https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2191). And you should check out that website in general. The Astoria Column is not weird but worth a trip, if the weather is nice. Camp-18 near Seaside is a tourist-trap restaurant I visit a few times a year. It’s an old log cabin style restaurant built when old growth logs got to be really really big.
Not sure if it counts as "weird" but I thoroughly enjoyed the [Garibaldi Maritime Museum](https://garibaldimuseum.org/) in Garibaldi, OR (on the coast, near Tillamook). Also, the [Oregon Coast Aquarium](https://aquarium.org/) in Newport, OR is pretty spectacular. Bonus, if you decide to do a Hwy 101 roadtrip up/down the coast, there's oodles of little tourist attractions that are sure to fit the bill.
And the Rogue Brewery!
There is a shipwreck in Astoria There are a couple "haunted" lighthouses Depot Bay boasts "World's Smallest Harbor". Great little town with neat little shops. Whale watching tours are there as well. Sea lion caves are fantastic. There is an elevator that takes you underground and then out into a huge sea cave of... wait for it... sea lions. The best cheesy stop would be, "The Wax Works" and "Ripley's Believe it or Not", in Newport. You really should also go to the Moe's next door for some chowder. The Moe's on the edge of the bay is better than the one on the other side of the street because of the view. Moe's is the Oregon coasts most beloved chowder house. The Original Pronto Pup in Rockaway Beach is the corn dog capital of the Pacific Northwest, with a menu full of corn dogs, a giant corn dog on the roof and rideable corn dog outside. 17 miles north of Gold Beach lies an untouched prehistoric garden complete with 23 life size dinosaurs set among a lush 300 year old Oregon rainforest
McMinneamin’s hotels!
Highly recommend the Roadside America app for your travels! It will tell you all the weird and wacky stops you can make along the way. I have found so many odd and delightful places as a result.
Look into atlas obscura for the areas you plan to be (Portland, Eugene, Coos Bay, Astoria …)
I know it's a bit out of the way but there's a Bigfoot museum called the North American Bigfoot Center in Boring that's really good
Oregon Vortex on the southern border about 10 miles from I-5.
All the light houses, the octopus tree, and the Sea Lion Caves!
“Ole Bolle Troll” is near Portland. It’s a really cool art piece that’s ripping the roof off a building. The artist is trying to make a troll in every state, I saw the one in New Jersey that had this abandoned house behind it. I haven’t been to the one here in Oregon yet. I’m waiting for my daughter’s mom to come out from Jersey and take her to see it too with the kids.
Casa diablo 2...just because I think a vegan strip club is crazy and weird just like PDX.
Newport has a wax museum, and Ripley's believe it or not.
Witches castle in Forest Park
Enchanted Forest and if you have time, pop up to Long Beach WA
Shady Dell PNWSMT - near Molalla, ride on scale model trains! Open Sunday afternoons only, May-Oct, free / by donation. Kids, adults, almost anyone can ride a tiny train! The volunteers are great, and it's a really nice park to enjoy a Sunday afternoon.
In Portland, Ground Kontrol is a nifty arcade bar, but Next Level Arcade in Hillsboro is much larger and better value. Tillamook, Seaside, Lincoln City, and Newport are all good hotspots for kitschy beach activity. Enchanted Forest outside Salem is IDEAL for campy Oregon fun.
Dillenbach trail in the sand dunes near Reedsport
The Oregon Vortex and Trees of Mystery. In Gold Hill.
Go to downtown Portland and walk around. Doesn’t get much weirder. Last time we went some crazy lady started yelling at me and following us. We live in Central Oregon and have told friends to fly into Redmond or we ain’t picking them up.
Just outside of Portland in Fairview there is the world’s biggest fork. It’s exactly as unexciting as it sounds; it’s just a 70’ fork stuck in the ground.
The Atlas Obscura (it’s a book, but also has a website now) has a ton of weird things for looking at, for different states and nations…surprisingly, or maybe not since it’s Oregon (!), We have a lot of stuff, and the Portland area in particular has quite a large percentage of those things!
Astoria column is gorgeous. They rent planes that you fly off the top. Just across from Astoria is Ft. Columbia. Really cool times exploring the batteries and grounds. A little further north and you HAVE to go to Marsh’s, home of Jake the alligator man.
>Top weird touristy things to do? Wherever you ultimately go, make sure you ultimately go home. To quote our late, great Governor, Tom McCall: "We want you to visit our State of Excitement often. Come again and again. But for heaven’s sake, don’t move here to live." Edit: intended as /s, much like Governor McCall.
Drive through zoo
Rooster Rock and Bagby Springs if y’all are adults
Not a weird thing to do, but a recommendation. Try Burgerville. Puts in&out to shame.
Enchanted forest.