What to Know About Visiting the Oregon Farm Loop
The northern Willamette Valley is known the world over for its award-winning wines. But that's not all the region has to offer. Among the rolling hillsides and endless rows of wine grapes, you'll find countless family-run farms, eateries, markets, and other stops that are open to the public—and many of which are spotlighted along the Oregon Farm Loop.
Whether you consider yourself an experienced farmhand or are a self-avowed greenhorn, chances are good you’ll find a fun stop that showcases our agricultural acumen while offering an experience you can only enjoy in the Willamette Valley. Craft beer fans, for instance, can sample small-batch beers in the hop fields where their ingredients were grown. In spring and summer, an acclaimed tulip festival and dazzling flower farms blanket the valley in colorful blooms. And just outside of Salem, visitors can sample more than 20 varieties of honey.
For more, here's everything you need to know for exploring the Oregon Farm Loop.
What is the Oregon Farm Loop?
The Oregon Farm Loop is a self-guided tour of more than 40 farms, markets, and vineyards of the northern Willamette Valley—where growers have been producing hazelnuts, berries, wine grapes, lavender, and other popular crops for generations.
The goal is to share Oregon's agricultural roots with visitors from all walks of life, bolster access to fresh foods, and provide fun and educational opportunities along the way. Those might include picking fresh lavender in summer, touring a home-grown creamery known for its innovative offerings, or picking up a bag of roasted hazelnuts—a Willamette Valley delicacy.
How you visit the Oregon Farm Loop is up to you: Pick and choose a few stops that sound interesting, and work those into your travel plans—or make a full weekend out of it by visiting as many stops as possible. There’s no wrong way to visit the Oregon Farm Loop; just be sure to bring an appetite and, perhaps, an extra bag for goodies to bring home. Most stops are open year-round, but some may close or offer reduced hours in winter; once you know where you’d like to visit, check official websites and social media pages to confirm whether a business will be open when you arrive.
Where is the Oregon Farm Loop?
Broadly speaking, the Oregon Farm Loop encompasses stops across the northern Willamette Valley. Stops range from the likes of McMinnville and Yamhill in the west to the foothills of Mount Hood in the east—and from the Wilsonville area in the north to Salem in the south. Most sites are clustered around the communities of Salem, Wilsonville, and Canby. It is one of several farm loops and food trails in the Willamette Valley.
Driving east-west along the route takes about 90 minutes, without stopping; driving from the loop's northern edge to its southern border, meanwhile, takes about 30 minutes. With so many stops and such a compact footprint, it's easy to while away a day on the Oregon Farm Loop without spending much time in the car.
What to Do Along the Farm Loop?
With more than 40 stops, we couldn’t begin to highlight every last stop on the Oregon Farm Loop. But we’ve selected a few local favorites to help inspire your trip.
Sip IPAs, stouts, lagers, and other craft beers at TopWire Hop Project, a seasonal beer garden from Crosby Hops that’s set amidst a sprawling hop field near Woodburn. Open April to October, TopWire pours roughly a dozen beers with a unique twist: At least a portion of the hops in each beer were grown in Crosby’s fields—all within a 10-mile radius. A few food carts are on site, and occasional live music adds to the upbeat vibes.
We couldn’t pick just one flower farm or festival to highlight—so see what’s in bloom on your visit. Stop by the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival between late March and early May, Adelman Peony Gardens between April and June, Wooden Shoe’s Summer Flowers celebration between late July and late August, Wayward Winds Lavender between late June and early August, or the Swan Island Dahlia Festival in August and September.
Most of us associate tasting rooms with wine or beer—but Flying Bee Ranch is trying to change that. Flying Bee produces roughly 20 varieties of honey, all of which can be sampled in a cozy tasting room. Try spoonfuls of honey that’s produced on-site and crafted with blueberries, blackberries, fireweed, orange blossom, and other flavorful ingredients. Jars and raw honeycombs are available for purchase if you’d like to take some home.
Just outside of Canby, TMK Creamery has earned acclaim for its innovative approach to cheesemaking. Try house-made cheese curds and grilled cheese sandwiches inside TMK’s laid-back eatery—and, if you’re of age, sip vodka crafted with leftover whey from the cheesemaking process. Pair your meal with a self-guided tour of the facilities, where you can hang out with TMK’s “cowlebrities”. Behind-the-scenes tours are also available.
The Willamette Valley produces 99% of all hazelnuts grown in the United States, making it one of our region's most notable exports. Get a taste of that bounty at Ken & June’s Hazelnuts, whose farm store sells the beloved nut that’s prepared in a variety of ways—raw, roasted, salted, and even chocolate-covered. Hazelnut spreads and a handful of other fruit spreads are also available.
With so much to see, no two visits are ever quite alike at Bauman’s Farm & Garden. The year-round attraction pours homemade hard cider on draft, sells produce fresh from the farm, hosts a vibrant plant nursery, and offers a wide range of other Willamette Valley-crafted items—such as preserves and flavorful salsa. In fall, the Bauman’s Harvest Festival features u-pick pumpkins and other seasonal delights.
Where to Stay Around the Farm Loop?
Numerous overnight stays make an easy home base if you’d like to explore the broader Oregon Farm Loop. Here are a few ideas to help kickstart your planning; check out our lodging page for more inspiration.
Hilton Garden Inn Wilsonville Portland: The city of Wilsonville sits in the heart of the Oregon Farm Loop, so book a couple cozy nights at the Hilton Garden Inn Wilsonville Portland. Amenities include an indoor pool, plush bedding, and the on-site Parkway Grille Bar & Restaurant. There, chef Justin Webb prides himself on incorporating fresh, seasonal ingredients into Pacific Northwest-inspired dishes.
Whiskey Hill Store: Enjoy a slice of the Willamette Valley countryside with a night in the Mountainview Suite at the Whiskey Hill Store near Woodburn. Crafted with reclaimed Douglas-fir and outfitted with antique furnishings, the comfortable room sits above a Craftsman bungalow that dates back to 1926. Today, the store sells trinkets and locally made goods—and dishes sandwiches for breakfast and lunch, as well as a variety of coffee drinks.
Champoeg State Heritage Area: Just outside Newberg and Wilsonville, Champoeg State Heritage Area hosts more than 75 tent and RV sites, as well as six yurts and six cabins (some of which are pet-friendly), near the Willamette River. Amenities at the well-maintained campground include restrooms, showers, and firewood and ice for sale. Walking paths crisscross the park, which sits where emigrants voted to form Oregon's first provisional government in 1843.
