Oregon

Oregon has a single national park, Crater Lake, which had 632,242 recreation visits in 2025. Most of the other sights in this guide are state parks, a national monument or national forest land. They include the north coast at Cannon Beach, the Columbia River Gorge, Mount Hood, Smith Rock and the Painted Hills.

None of Oregon's national park units charges the $100 surcharge for visitors from abroad, but the state parks charge their own parking fee. We checked the figures below on 27 October 2026 on the National Park Service's pages, Oregon State Parks', the state's revenue and transport departments', Portland International's and NOAA's normals.

Is Crater Lake the only national park in Oregon?

Crater Lake is the only site in Oregon that the Park Service lists as a national park. Its other Oregon units include John Day Fossil Beds National Monument and Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve. Lewis and Clark National Historical Park runs from Long Beach in Washington to Cannon Beach.

Crater Lake's count is concentrated in summer: 75% of its 2025 visits came in July, August and September. Two adults from abroad pay $30 at Crater Lake and nothing at the Painted Hills, so the $250 non-resident annual pass does not pay off on a trip that stays in Oregon.

What is open at Crater Lake after the 26 October closure?

Crater Lake National Park went into winter on 26 October 2026. On 27 October the park's alert said the North Entrance Road, most of Rim Drive, Cloudcap and Pinnacles Road were closed to cars. The West and South Entrances on Highway 62 stay open all year, and so does the road up to Rim Village.

Crater Lake is not on the 2026 list of eleven parks with a $100 surcharge, so a car pays what Americans pay. That is $20 for seven days from 1 November to 21 May, the winter rate, and $30 from 22 May to 31 October. The park takes cards only. Our guide to national park fees for international visitors lists the parks that do charge the surcharge.

The Cleetwood Cove Trail, the only legal way down to the water, is closed for a rebuild expected to take three summers. The Park Service's project page says there will be no public boat tours in 2026, 2027 and 2028, though its other pages give different years. There is no petrol in the park now, and every vehicle must carry chains or traction tyres in winter.

Why does an Oregon State Parks permit cost a visitor $12?

Oregon State Parks charge $12 a day per car for a day-use parking permit to anyone from outside the state, against $10 for residents. The permit is valid all day at every park that charges. Yellow machines sell it, and so do a QR code and the parks' website.

The America the Beautiful pass and the Northwest Forest Pass are not valid in Oregon State Parks. A twelve-month permit costs $75 for non-residents. Walkers, cyclists, bus passengers and anyone dropped off pay nothing.

Twenty-two more parks began charging on 30 March 2026, among them Bridal Veil Falls and Latourell Falls. On 27 October the parking page flagged 70 of its 191 parks as charging, two more than the February announcement counted. Ecola, Tolovana Beach, Oswald West, Fort Stevens, Heceta Head Lighthouse, Shore Acres, Silver Falls, Smith Rock and Vista House all charge. Hug Point, Cape Kiwanda and Samuel H. Boardman do not.

When can you walk out to Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach?

Haystack Rock, which rises 235 feet above the shoreline at Cannon Beach, can be walked up to at low tide. The basalt rock is about 17 million years old. It belongs to the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, whose 1,853 rocks, reefs and islands are all designated wilderness.

Tufted puffins are among the refuge's birds, and whales pass from December to March. The Haystack Rock Awareness Program runs from February to late October. Tolovana Beach, in Cannon Beach, charges the state-park parking fee.

Ecola State Park covers 9 miles of coast around Tillamook Head, between Seaside and Cannon Beach. Its viewpoint looks south over the sea stacks, and an 8-mile stretch of the Oregon Coast Trail crosses the park. The west section of the Clatsop Loop is closed by an active landslide, and motorhomes and trailers are not recommended on the access road.

Do you need a permit for Multnomah Falls?

Multnomah Falls needed a Forest Service timed-use permit from 22 May to 7 September 2026, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. The permit applied only to the car park at Exit 31 of Interstate 84, and the season has ended. The Oregon Department of Transportation says details for 2027 will be posted later.

Recreation.gov released 870 permits a day in nine hourly slots, 14 days ahead and again 2 days ahead at 7 a.m. On 1 and 2 August all but one were taken. One permit covers one vehicle, and it does not guarantee a space. Neither Recreation.gov page printed a price.

No permit was needed on the Historic Columbia River Highway in 2026, where a small private paid car park is the only parking. The transport department calls transit "the most reliable way" to see the falls. The Columbia Gorge Express bus runs from Portland's Gateway Transit Center to Multnomah Falls, Cascade Locks and Hood River. The falls draw more than 1.3 million visitors a year, and their flow is highest in winter and spring.

Vista House, which opened in 1918 on Crown Point, marks the start of the Historic Highway's corridor of eight waterfalls. From 30 October 2026 it opens Friday to Monday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and it closes in winds of 50 mph or more. Its car park needs the state-park permit.

Why are the Painted Hills free when Smith Rock charges for parking?

The Painted Hills are part of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, which charges no entrance fee. Smith Rock is a state park, so it needs the $12 day-use permit. Both lie east of the Cascades: Smith Rock about 26 miles from Bend and the Painted Hills about 86.

John Day Fossil Beds spreads over more than 14,000 acres in three units, with fossils from 44 to 7 million years old and no dinosaurs. The Park Service says the Painted Hills are best lit for photographs in the late afternoon, and walkers must stay on the trails. There is nowhere to eat or sleep in the monument and no phone signal.

Drivers should expect to average no more than 45 mph on the roads out there. Petrol is sold in Mitchell, but stations are often closed overnight.

Smith Rock State Park has several thousand climbs, more than a thousand of them bolted. Some climbing areas close from about 15 January to 1 August for nesting golden eagles and falcons. Construction will close the overflow car park and parts of two trails from as early as December until the end of May 2027.

How much of Oregon can you see from Portland without a car?

Portland's own sights and two of its day trips can be reached by public transport. TriMet's buses and MAX light rail run from Portland International to the city, about 12 miles away.

Washington Park, 410 acres, holds the Oregon Zoo, the International Rose Test Garden and the Portland Japanese Garden. MAX Red and Blue line trains reach its station every 15 minutes, which avoids its limited paid parking. The rose garden's more than 10,000 bushes bloom from late May to October. Forest Park, next door, has more than 80 miles of trails over 5,200 acres.

Timberline Lodge, on Mount Hood's south slope at 6,000 feet, was built in 1937 by more than 500 workers in 18 months. The Mt. Hood Express bus runs there from Sandy for $2 each way, and the lodge puts the drive from Portland at just over an hour. In winter drivers need chains or traction tyres.

Amtrak Cascades trains run several times a day from Portland to Salem and Eugene, and north to Seattle and Vancouver, with new trainsets since 30 September 2026. The Coast Starlight stops daily at Portland, Salem, Eugene, Chemult and Klamath Falls on its 35-hour run from Seattle to Los Angeles.

Which nonstop flights reach Portland International from abroad?

Portland International has eight international nonstop routes. They go to London Heathrow on British Airways, Amsterdam on KLM, Guadalajara on Volaris, and seasonally Frankfurt on Condor and Reykjavík on Icelandair. Alaska flies seasonally to Cancún, Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos. There is no nonstop to Asia.

Vancouver and Calgary also have nonstops, which the airport lists as domestic because passengers clear US border checks before departure. The airport's data is not perfectly maintained, so confirm a route with the airline. Redmond, for Bend and Smith Rock, has domestic flights only. Medford is 75 miles from Crater Lake's headquarters, and the Park Service's 2022 list names five airlines there.

The distances are our own routing; the Park Service gives 75 miles from Medford to Crater Lake's headquarters. The winter route runs south on US 97 to Chiloquin and in by the South Entrance. In summer the North Entrance cuts the drive to about 249 miles from Portland and 108 from Bend.

What does Oregon's lodging tax add to a Portland hotel bill?

Oregon has no general sales tax, according to its Department of Revenue, but hotel stays are taxed. The state lodging tax is 1.5% for stays ending by 31 December 2026 and 2.75% from 1 January 2027, when a new "nature conservation fee" is added.

Portland adds a city tax of 6%, Multnomah County 5.5% and a 3% Tourism Improvement District fee, which a hotel may pass on as a "Portland Tourism Assessment". By our sum of the official rates, that makes 16% on a Portland hotel bill in 2026 and 17.25% from 2027. Short-term rentals add $4 a night. Our guide to sales tax in the USA explains the other states with no sales tax.

Oregon is on Pacific Time except most of Malheur County, in the far east, which federal rules place in the Mountain zone. None of the sights in this guide is in Malheur County. Clocks went back an hour on 1 November 2026 at 2 a.m.

Can you pump your own petrol in Oregon?

Oregon required attendants at every petrol pump from 1951 until a 2023 law allowed self-service. The rules now depend on the county, and the price is the same either way.

In 20 rural counties anyone can pump at any station at any time. They include Clatsop for Cannon Beach and Astoria, Hood River, Klamath on Crater Lake's south side, and Wheeler for the Painted Hills.

In 16 more populous counties, among them Multnomah for Portland, Deschutes for Bend, Jackson for Medford and Lane for Eugene, a station may make up to half its pumps self-serve. The rest must be attended, and self-service is allowed only while an attendant is on duty. Motorcyclists and diesel drivers may fuel themselves anywhere.

When is wildfire smoke worst in Oregon?

Oregon's smoke season historically ran from late July to early September, according to the state's environmental agency. In recent years fires have started in mid-July and lasted into early October. From 2013 to 2025 Medford had 143 days of air unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse, against 22 from 2000 to 2012. Bend had 101 against 6, and Portland 29 against 3. The 2025 season was mild.

The table gives NOAA's 1991 to 2020 average highs and lows. West of the Cascades, Oregon is wet from October to May: Portland gets 5.77 inches of rain in December and half an inch in July, and Astoria 70 inches a year. Bend, east of the mountains, gets under 11 inches a year. Medford is the hot valley, with 61 days a year over 90°F.