Located about 40 miles south of Portland, the abbey sits on a hilltop above the town of Mt. Angel. The serene setting provides a stunning view of four volcanoes, the foothills of the Cascades, and a great chunk of verdant, Willamette Valley farmland. Wide lawns, sturdy Romanesque brick buildings, grand old trees, and black-robed monks strolling across campus contribute to the site's special ambiance.
Attractions
The state's only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house originally occupied a scenic setting on the south side of the Willamette River, near the Charbonneau development in Wilsonville. Completed in 1964 for Conrad and Evelyn Gordon, the house was an example of Wright's efforts to design affordable housing for families earning modest incomes. He called the style Usonian, an acronym for United States of North America, and it was characterized by use of inexpensive, mass-produced, local materials and an open floor plan that encouraged social gatherings. Only 60 of them were ever built.
City: Silverton
Region: Willamette Valley
Whether you are looking for a quick day trip, to hold a conference or an extended camping trip, Silver Falls State Park offers something for any length of stay.
City: Silverton
Region: Willamette Valley
So who should I run into in downtown Eugene but Ken Kesey, the great Oregon novelist who wrote “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest?” Kesey passed away in 2001 and no, the late author’s presence wasn’t the ultimate prank
City: Eugene
Region: Willamette Valley
The Signature Oak at The Oregon Garden is the oldest and largest tree in a grove of Oregon white oaks that predates settlement of the Willamette Valley by European immigrants and their descendents.
City: Silverton
Region: Willamette Valley
This giant sequoia was found as a seedling tree along the railroad tracks by Sister Protasia Schindler in 1893. She planted it in front of the Queen of Angels Monastery to give some life to the grounds.
City: Mt. Angel
Region: Willamette Valley
Judge William Waldo, the son of an 1842 pioneer, planted this sequoia in 1872. Waldo made efforts during his lifetime to preserve the tree and over time others have saved it from the encroaching street system.
City: Salem
Region: Willamette Valley
This Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir was raised from a seed carried to the moon by Apollo 14 astronaut Stuart Roosa in 1971. Although Roosa was a native of Oklahoma, he was no stranger to Oregon.
City: Salem
Region: Willamette Valley
Presented by the class of 1942 to Willamette University on its 100th anniversary, these five giant Sequoias include the tallest of its kind on any college or university campus in the country.
City: Salem
Region: Willamette Valley
This pear tree is one of the oldest and largest in Oregon. It is the lone survivor of an orchard planted by the Munkre family, later known as Hager's Grove.
City: Salem
Region: Willamette Valley