Summer Fun on a Budget

Looking for fun activities to do with your family or friends this summer without breaking the bank? Staying close to home and doing small day trips is a great way to cut back on travel expenses while still enjoying new experiences. Lucky for you, Lane County is a diverse, beautiful landscape that is teeming with outdoor activities for people of all skill and fitness levels. Lane County extends from the cascades, through Eugene/Springfield and all the way to the Oregon Coast.  Here is a brief list of fun summer activities in each of Lane County’s diverse landscapes:

Cascades:

Oregon Skyway Gondola:  Willamette Pass, Ore.  Enjoy a scenic, 360 degree view of Oregon’s beautiful Cascade Mountain Range while taking a leisurely ride in a one of the only gondolas in the state.  Visitors are free to take the gondola up and back, or to enjoy a hike or bike ride back down the mountain.

Eugene/ Springfield:

Willamette/ McKenzie River Cycling Trails: Enjoy a bike ride with family and friends along the paved paths that follow both the McKenzie and Willamette Rivers in Eugene.  This free activity will take you on a tour through the scenic beauty of the Willamette Valley and provide a beautiful backdrop for your ride.

Oregon Coast:

Dune Buggy Tours: Florence, Ore.  Fly across the sand dunes of Lane County on a guided tour of the 40 mile Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.  Dune Buggies are a unique and exciting way to experience the diverse landscape of the costal region of Lane County.

For more information on these activities and other activity ideas, please visit travellanecounty.org

Photo: View of the cascades courtesy of Flickr.