Our Trip to Hood River, Oregon

We recently returned from a trip to Hood River, Oregon. Now that we’re a family of three, it’s funny to see how much our criteria for evaluating travel destinations has changed. While good food and beautiful scenery are still high on our list of priorities, we now have other things to consider, like how close is the nearest park? We were thrilled to discover that Hood River is incredibly family-friendly, with tons of activities—from picture-perfect picnicking to picking berries—that we could all enjoy. Here are some of the highlights.

Our first stop was The Gorge White House, a pick-your-own berry farm on the region’s famed Fruit Loop. This was a huge hit with Will. He loves berries, and it didn’t take long for him to discover that he could simply walk up to the vines and help himself to blueberry after blueberry. It was so sweet to witness.

There’s beautiful hiking in the area, and we loved the easy hike around Horsetail Falls. Will just learned how to sign water and showed off his new word every time we saw the waterfall. He also pointed out every “woo woo” (dog) we passed on the trail.

In addition to fruit, you can also find pick-your-own flower farms. The wonderfully fragrant Hood River Lavender was the perfect spot for a picnic. There were rows of lavender and flowers, a stunning view of snow-capped Mount Hood, and best of all, bubble makers for little visitors.

Going from sunshine to snow, we took a scenic drive up to Mount Hood mainly so Will could nap (the car is a sure bet). We had lunch at a ski lodge—in June!—and let Will touch snow for the first time (he was intrigued until he realized it was cold).  It was also a good excuse to bundle him up in his cute Patagonia gear before he grows out of it.

We made another stop on the Fruit Loop to meet the goats at Draper Girls Country Farm.

We had a blast at Waterfront Park, which is right on the Columbia River. There were dogs galore, creative play structures, and this slide, which Will wanted to go down over and over and over again. It made for the perfect place to play before having dinner at the brewery across the street.

Before flying home from Portland, we made like tourists and stopped at Voodoo Doughnut and Powell’s Books.

P.S. Here’s our first baby-friendly vacation.