Not only the charming town itself, but the surrounding countryside is truly sublime.

Folks, it’s high time I spent a little time highlighting one of the very cool places I’ve discovered while on the road living the #NomadLifestyle, so welcome to this first installment of Very Cool Places I’ve Discovered While On the Road (still workshopping that one…)

Silverton, Oregon is a small town of some ten thousand souls nestled on the eastern edge of the Willamette Valley where it starts to turn into the western side of the Cascade Mountains. It’s about an hour’s drive southeast from Portland, and less than a half-hour away from the state capital of Salem.

Now I’d been there once or twice in the past and certainly came away impressed, but it’s one thing to stop randomly at a town for a bite to eat while you’re heading somewhere else, and it’s another thing entirely to go to a place and spend significant time there.

Silverton is, simply put, one of the most lovely spots in all of Oregon—lovely in the sense that nearly everywhere you walk you feel like you are looking at gardens. It should come as no surprise that “The Oregon Garden” is literally a Silverton destination, an 80-acre botanical garden which I didn’t go to because I’m a cheapskate and didn’t buy admission. But did I need to?

A winding path along Silver Creek towards the library

Another ways along the path with the library ahead

A view out of the library window towards the creek

Left: Another library window view
Right: A mural for Roth's Fresh Markets, a local grocery chain in the area and founded in Silverton

A bench where you can sit and admire Silver Creek

Left: I took these photos in April, so yay for spring blossoms!
Right: Gotta love a red fire hydrant with googly-eyes

A nearby park provided me with a much needed respite from my travels

Left: Crossing the creek from the library to the park
Right: Ahhh, nothing like touching grass

Silverton is also noteworthy for its incredible story about Bobbie, the Wonder Dog

Silverton’s city center is small but very quaint, with a number of cute shops, cafés, dinner establishments, and an awesome food cart pod (try the pizza, it’s delish!). In addition, Silverton is the gateway town to get to Silver Falls, which apparently is the largest state park in Oregon. I went there in 2019 and was blown away by the setting and the photos I was able to take, like this one and this one.

You can also make your way up towards the town of Molalla and take the road east along the Molalla River (itself quite scenic in spots) into the Table Rock Wilderness, one of my absolute favorite places in the Cascades outside of the major peaks themselves. This is an area managed by BLM (Bureau of Land Management) and feels truly remote after only a short drive in.

The first time I came here in 2021, my jaw hit the ground

I will go on record that not every corner of the Willamette Valley is visually all that impressive. Some areas are just flat and mainly consist of farms or rural industry. Some of the small towns certainly won’t knock your socks off (sorry Lebanon!). But Silverton is high on my list of must-see destinations in this region. And if you take the very vibe-y drive between Silverton and Sublimity, at a certain time of year you might just get treated to a view like this:

There are no words… 🙌

I hope you enjoyed this first installment of Very Cool Places I’ve Discovered While On the Road. And I promise the third installment of my official Travel(b)logue is in the works! (Here’s Part I and Part II)

#oregonexplored #nomadlifestyle