Ashland, Oregon – Vacation Back In Time

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Where is Ashland Oregon?

Ashland is a city in southern Oregon, known for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Southwest of downtown, leafy Lithia Park surrounds Ashland Creek and features trails, duck ponds and a rose garden. To the northeast, North Mountain Park has a nature center and themed gardens, like the butterfly and herb gardens. At the ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum, kids can build and experiment in the Da Vinci’s Garage space.

Ashland’s beauty will first capture you with the unique geographic setting of being nestled at the base of the convergence of the Siskiyou and Cascade mountain ranges at nearly 2,000 feet in elevation.

Ashland Oregon History

Ashland, originally called Ashland Mills, was named after Ashland County, Ohio, the original home of founder Abel Helman, and secondarily forAshland, Kentucky, where other founders had family connections. Ashland has a mayor-council government assisted by citizen committees. Historically, its liberal politics have differed, often sharply, with much of the rest of southwest Oregon.

If you can go check out the Depot Hotel. The south wing of the Depot Hotel, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is all that remains of the city’s railway heritage

Ashland Climate 

Ashland lies within Oregon’s southwest interior climate zone, in which all but the higher-elevation sites are in the rain shadow of the Oregon Coast Range to the west. The coolest month is December, with an average high temperature of 47 °F or 8.3 °C, and the warmest month is July, with an average high of about 88 °F or 31.1 °C. Being from Wisconsin I would love winters where it only gets to 47, that is like short weather for me. Not a bad option if you want to travel in the winter but don’t want to go to an ocean or somewhere super cold.

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Hotel – Where to stay in Ashland Oregon

Do yourself a favor and stay in the Ashland Hills Hotel & Suites. I’ve stayed in hotels around the entire country and this one takes the cake for best views. Ashland Hills Hotel & Suites is located in Oregon in the middle of the mountains, giving you access to 360 degree views of nothing but mountain range. 14 acre property includes the luna cafe, an outdoor pool and hot tub, and bike rental on the property.

Ashland Hills Hotel & Suites is Off I-5, 4 miles from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, 5 miles from Lithia Park and 2 miles from the Schneider Museum of Art.Located at the base of the Siskiyou mountains, 14 miles north of the border with California, off the I-5, we’re a short drive to downtown Ashland, and offer easy access to all the attractions of Southern Oregon, including wine country, the world-renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival, world-class dining, quick access to the great outdoors with the mountain lakes, the Siskiyou bike path, Mount Ashland ski resort, and Emigrant Lake and its water slide just minutes away.

 

When you walk into the hotel you immediately notice the retro-modern decor. Beautiful 70’s retro pieces are matched with up to date colors and accents. Front desk staff greets you with a warm welcome and are beyond friendly. It’s the top-notch customer service you get at a ritzy hotel. Makes you feel extra special without having to pay out your whole bank account to stay one night.

Once the basic check-in causalities are taken care of they provide you with a map of the property and show you exactly how to get to your room. Most rooms come with some type of patio or balcony. Beds are some of the most comfortable I’ve ever laid in. Each bed comes with extra pillows and a down feather comforter.  In the rooms you will also notice the retro decor touches, including some super groovy lights.

Love that they kept the retro color of the bathroom pale yellow, and updated the fixtures to current day standards. A sick with vanity can be found inside the shower room as well as a second one outside. This is helpful for familes or those traveling with large groups.

Extra bonus to this place is the parking. It has an overflow lot so if you are traveling in a bigger vehicle or pulling a trailer this spot would still be ideal for you. I travel in a 15 passenger van with a 8×12 trailer and we had plenty of room to park.

Hotel is ideal for those of you who bike. During my stay they had a company outside that would tune up your bike for you. With so many winding roads up and down the mountain you can get a great workout and see some spectacular views.

 

 

 

 

 

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Food- Where to eat in Ashland Oregon

My first suggestion on where to eat is going to be related on my suggestion of where to stay. Ashland Hills Hotel & Suites has a cafe located in their main building called Luna Cafe + Mercantile. This cafe is a scratch kitchen, farm focused which serves lunch, dinner and brunch on weekends. Daily food specials are offered along with a bar area.

When you enter the cafe you are going to go up to he counter, order your food and sit down. They give you a number to place on your table and deliver your food to you. Across from where you order the food you will notice a utensil station. Grab your utensils, condiments, basil infused water and take a seat.

Have leftovers? You can find various size to go boxes, along with lids for the sauces at the utensil station.

If you are looking for dessert to round out your meal you have come to the right place. Luna Cafe + Mercantile has ice cream and a large assortment of bakery items. 

Their sides are big enough to be a meal and if you have kids I suggest looking there. If you don’t see anything your child would like, they do offer a kids menu as well.

One of my favorite things was their home made pickles. They cone on the side with any sandwich you order. Pickles have a even balance of dill, sweet and salty.

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