Heceta Head Halloween Haunt Cancelled Due to Historic Keeper’s House Renovations
Oregonians hoping to spend Halloween night listening to ghost stories beneath the beam of Heceta Head Lighthouse will have to make other plans this year. The Heceta Head Halloween Haunt scheduled for October 31, 2026, has been cancelled due to ongoing preservation work at the historic Keeper’s House. The cancellation comes just days after we reported on the planned event here at That Oregon Life, which had generated plenty of excitement among readers looking for one of the more unusual ways to...
TRAVEL
Oregon is a beautiful destination for travelers who enjoy exploring the great outdoors. With its diverse landscape of mountains, forests, waterfalls, and coastline, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
This Remote Oregon Mine Lets You Dig for Real Sunstones and Keep What You Find
There are road trips where the destination is the whole point, and then there are those wonderfully strange Oregon adventures where simply getting there feels like part of the story. Way out in the...
More of Highway 26 Reopens as Rowe Creek Complex Reaches 84% Containment
Travel conditions are slowly improving east of Prineville as portions of U.S. Highway 26 reopen following weeks of wildfire activity from the massive Rowe Creek Complex. The highway is not fully...
Bend’s Old Cracker Barrel Is Getting a New Life as a Carhartt Store
A familiar building on Bend’s north side is getting a new tenant, and this time the name going up outside will be one that plenty of Oregonians already have hanging in their closets. Carhartt is...
FOOD & DRINK
Explore Oregon’s food and drink scene – from locally sourced ingredients to craft brews and award-winning wines. Plan your culinary adventure now!
This Historic Pendleton Steakhouse Is One Of Oregon’s Best Places To Experience The Old West
Walk through the doors at Hamley Steakhouse & Saloon and it doesn't take long to realize this isn't just another place to grab a bite to eat. Rich woodwork, handcrafted details, glowing antique...
The Seafood At This Unassuming Family Restaurant Might Ruin Every Other Oregon Coast Spot For You
Some restaurants feel connected to the place around them from the moment you walk through the door. The food makes sense for the landscape. The menu reflects what people have eaten in the region for...
Mo’s Flew 200 Pounds Of Their Famous Clam Chowder To Washington, D.C. For America’s 250th
An Oregon Coast restaurant known for steaming bowls of clam chowder recently carried a substantial taste of the Pacific Northwest all the way to the nation’s capital. Mo’s Seafood & Chowder was...
Lloyd Center Celebrates Final Day With One Last Attempted Robbery
PORTLAND, Ore. — After decades of shopping, ice skating, awkward teenage hangouts and wondering whether the mall was actually still open, Lloyd Center is reportedly marking its final day in the most Portland way possible: with one last attempted robbery. Witnesses say...
Man in Grants Pass Pistol-Whips Victim During Attempted Carjacking, Then Gets Shot by 3 Officers
An attempted carjacking in Grants Pass escalated dramatically Friday morning after police say an armed suspect pistol-whipped a victim, ran from the scene, and was later shot by three responding officers. According to a press release posted by the Grants Pass Police...
Oregon Fondly Recalls When The Most Divisive Issue In The State Was Ducks Vs. Beavers
There was a time in Oregon when the surest way to start an argument was to ask one simple question: Ducks or Beavers? Families were divided. Friend groups picked sides. Entire Saturdays in the fall revolved around green and yellow or orange and black. People could...
Portlanders Devastated by Lloyd Center Closing After Spending 15 Years Not Going There
PORTLAND, Ore. — A wave of grief swept across Portland Friday after thousands of residents received the shocking news that Lloyd Center is closing and, perhaps even more shockingly, learned that Lloyd Center had apparently still been open this entire time. The...
Klamath Falls Man Killed While Fighting Wrights Spring Fire in Southern Oregon
A dangerous shift in the Wrights Spring Fire turned deadly Friday, claiming the life of a Klamath Falls man who was operating heavy equipment as crews worked to slow the wildfire east of Chiloquin. The Klamath County Sheriff’s Office identified the man as 47-year-old...
The Oregon State Fair Returns This Month With 11 Days of Rides, Concerts and Deep-Fried Everything
There’s a point every August when Oregon starts trying to squeeze every last drop out of summer. The evenings get a little shorter, school supplies start appearing everywhere, and then the Oregon State Fair rolls into Salem with glowing carnival rides, packed...
Cleaner Air Is Coming to Western Oregon Tonight, but Wildfire Smoke Could Worsen Farther East
After several days of staring through a brown haze, people across western Oregon may finally be able to open a window and see the hills again. Wildfire smoke that settled over Portland, Salem, Eugene and much of the Willamette Valley is expected to begin thinning...
Highway 26 Remains Closed Between Prineville and Mitchell as Massive Oregon Wildfire Burns Nearby
One of Central Oregon’s most important east-west highways remains shut down as firefighters continue working along the sprawling Rowe Creek Complex. As of Thursday, August 6, U.S. Highway 26 was still closed between Prineville and Mitchell. Oregon Department of...
One of America’s Most Legendary Rodeos Returns to Oregon This September
There are a lot of great events in Oregon every year, but only a handful feel like they belong to the state’s identity. The Pendleton Round-Up is one of them. For more than a century, this iconic Eastern Oregon event has drawn crowds from across the Northwest and far...
National Media Claims Timberline Lodge Is “At Risk of Burning Down,” but the Facts Say Otherwise
Wildfires are serious. Evacuation notices are serious. And when fire officials tell Oregonians to prepare, people should pay attention. But serious situations don’t need to be exaggerated to generate clicks. A national news story published by The Independent on...