Okay, so I know this isn’t the time of year everyone is thinking of autumn. It’s January. If we’re daydreaming about a different season, it’s probably spring or summer. But I found some neat places nearby in the last year or two for viewing fall colors that I haven’t gotten to share yet. Besides, it’s January. The bleakest time of the year in many parts of the country and the Northern Hemisphere. My nation has a new president who is making sweeping changes, many of which are impacting people I know and populations I care about, like Afghan refugees that were promised to settle here and now can’t. I think we could all use some vibrant color right now; a bit of hope for the future. Read on for some photos and local destinations, and check back here in October or November for ideas of places to visit!
Eugene and Springfield have some beautiful places to see fall foliage, often mixed with evergreens. The sunny summit of the Mt. Baldy trail (one of the Ridgeline Trails in South Eugene) has epic views and great trees, doable for all ages with its 1/2 mile trails to the top. Willamalane Park in Springfield has a great playground, but my kids love to play below the giant sequoias and deciduous trees near the runner’s track just as much. Oakmont Park in Eugene has flowers and foliage to spare.
How many Eugenians have heard of Linslaw Park? I’d driven by it a million times on my way to the coast, but never stopped. Last fall, my Central Oregon friend Tracey treated me to an overnight trip to Florence while she was in Western Oregon for a conference. We stopped on the way for a picnic lunch at this Siuslaw River wayside in the Lane County Parks system. It had a pit toilet, a small boat ramp, a couple picnic tables, and a sign with only the last letter of the park name still on it. But I loved it! Subtle fall foliage stood under evergreens and along the river. I’d been to the coast enough that month to not have an agenda of my own this trip. After that wayside stop, I decided I’d be along for the ride to any other places Tracey suggested. It was so much fun to see places I’d never thought to stop at! This included a coffeeshop in Mapleton that had kittens on the back patio and a Mexican restaurant on the bayfront in Old Town Florence.
The next place I found with great fall colors was up the McKenzie River. The drive along the way was devastated by the 2020 fire, but fall foliage is growing underneath the burned evergreens for a stark contrast and a visual of new hope. My friend Jas and my mom came with me for that day trip. We saw some blue sky (and slackliners) over Sahalie Falls, which was beautiful. But the visual highlight of the trip was the Secret Garden at Belknap Springs, which we walked to after soaking in the pools. The autumn splendor was all around the garden, and so gorgeous! I’d never been there that time of year. It was perfect. We finished off that trip with a stop for dinner at my family’s new favorite road trip restaurant, Takoda’s in the town of Rainbow.
The last new bit of fall foliage I discovered last year was at the Eugene Japanese-American Art Memorial. This is a tiny park tucked behind the Hult Center (performance hall). I’d been there before, but not in autumn. The Japanese maple tree was in full color, and the fallen leaves of other trees blanketed the ground with gold. The memorial honors the American people who were sent to internment camps during WWII just for being Japanese immigrants or American-born of Japanese descent. I hope and pray that we are not entering that dark of a time now.
The Compass Rose Queen 