Eugene



Eugene (population 173,000 in 2019) is a city in Oregon at the southern end of the Willamette Valley near the confluence of the Mckenzie and Willamette rivers. It is best known for being the home of the University of Oregon.

Understand
Citizens of Eugene are environmentally aware people who love their coffee and their microbrews. Residents range from arch-conservative Republicans to militant anarchists. However, overall the population is typical Pacific Northwest, i.e., leaning toward a greater degree of social responsibility, respect for nature, and diminished consumerism. Eugene is home to the University of Oregon, aka "The Fighting Ducks". Eugene was the second home to the rock band the Grateful Dead, and author Ken Kesey, a U of O grad, lived in nearby Springfield, leading some to see this city as a "hippie Mecca".

Along with neighboring Springfield and surrounding towns, Eugene forms part of the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area.

Saturday Market has been continuously in operation since 1970, rain or shine and claims to be the oldest open-air market of its type in the United States.

By plane

 * Avelo : (Burbank)
 * American Airlines and Skywest dba American Eagle: Dallas/Ft Worth and Phoenix Sky Harbor. Flights from Portland and Seattle are operated by Alaska Airlines as a codeshare partner).
 * Alaska Airlines: (Seattle-Tacoma, Los Angeles and San Diego)
 * Allegiant': (Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Oakland, Phoenix/Mesa and Santa Ana, CA. Seasonally from Los Angeles and San Diego)
 * Compass Air dba Delta Connection: (Salt Lake City & Seattle-Tacoma)
 * Southwest Airlines (Burbank, Denver, Las Vegas, Oakland, San Jose CA and seasonally from San Diego)
 * United Airlines & Skywest dba United Express: (Denver and San Francisco)
 * United Airlines & Skywest dba United Express: (Denver and San Francisco)

Additional domestic & international connections are made in Chicago O'Hare, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City depending on the airlines you choose.

There is no public transportation (Lane Transit District (LTD) buses) to/from the airport, so you'll have to hire a cab, shuttle, or rent a car. The nearest public transit available is the 95-Junction City bus line which has a stop from the terminal at the intersection of Airport Rd. and Highway 99.

Portland International Airport, is the next closest airport with commercial service, located north. It is common for travelers to fly into Portland at a more competitive airfare and rent a car to drive to Eugene. If you do not plan to rent a car, Groome Transportation offers regularly scheduled shuttles from Portland International Airport into town (See By bus in the below).

By train

 * Routes stopping in Eugene:
 * Amtrak Cascades operates between Vancouver, BC and Eugene via Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Everett, Edmonds, Seattle, Tukwila, Tacoma, Lacey (Olympia), Centralia, Kelso (Longview), and Vancouver, WA, Portland, Oregon City, Salem, and Albany.  There are two round trips daily along the portion between Vancouver and Seattle, four round trips daily along the portion between Seattle and Portland, and two round trips daily along the portion between Portland and Eugene.  No train departures travel the whole length of the route. Additional service between Vancouver and Seattle, and between Portland to Eugene are provided on the Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach.
 * Coast Starlight operates daily between Seattle and Los Angeles. Stops include Tacoma, Portland, Eugene, Klamath Falls, Dunsmuir, Redding, Chico, Sacramento, Davis, Martinez, San Francisco (Emeryville), Oakland, San Jose, Salinas, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Van Nuys, and Burbank. Between Seattle and Eugene, it makes the same stops as the Amtrak Cascades, except it skips Tukwila and Oregon City.
 * Coast Starlight operates daily between Seattle and Los Angeles. Stops include Tacoma, Portland, Eugene, Klamath Falls, Dunsmuir, Redding, Chico, Sacramento, Davis, Martinez, San Francisco (Emeryville), Oakland, San Jose, Salinas, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Van Nuys, and Burbank. Between Seattle and Eugene, it makes the same stops as the Amtrak Cascades, except it skips Tukwila and Oregon City.

Travel time by destination and route:
 * I-5.svg I-105.svg From Interstate 5 (I-5) Eugene and Springfield are accessed from exits #189 ("30th Ave South Eugene") through #196 ("Randy Pape Beltline SR-569 Eugene-Springfield") along I-5. To get to downtown Eugene from the north, exit at #194 and go west on Interstate 105 or go east on SR-126 to Springfield from the same exit. From the south, downtown can be reached via Franklin Blvd (Hwy 99) at Exit #192. There are five exits along I-5 to reach Eugene and Springfield.
 * Portland, OR (via I-5 for ): 2 hours
 * Seattle, WA (via I-5 for ): 5 hours
 * Medford, OR (via I-5 for ): 3 hours
 * Sacramento, CA (via I-5) for ): 7½ hours
 * San Francisco, CA (via I-5, 505 & I-80 for ): 9 hours
 * OR 126.svg OR-Hwy 126 passes through Eugene as W 11th/10th Ave and through Springfield as Main St/'A' St. A bypass highway of OR Hwy 126 bypasses around Springfield in the north from Main & Pioneer Pkwy east of Springfield, becomes I-105 west of the I-5 junction at Exit #194 and continues into W 7th & Jefferson west of downtown Eugene as Interstate 105.
 * Florence, OR (via Hwy 126 for ): 1 hour
 * Bend, OR (via Hwy 126 for ): 3-4 hours
 * Boise, ID (via I-84, US 20, and Hwy 126 for 446 miles (718 km))ː 7.5-8 hours
 * OR 99.svg OR-Hwy 99 goes from I-5 at Exit 192 and passes along the north side of the University of Oregon as Franklin Blvd, across downtown as 6th / 7th Ave and continues northwest as "Hwy 99" to Junction City  where it splits between OR 99E.svg & OR 99W.svg. Going south SR-99 goes along I-5 to Exit #188 ("SR-58 Oakridge Klamath Falls"), through Goshen as Franklin Blvd and runs parallel along I-5 as a separate road for  through Creswell and Cottage Grove and merges back into I-5 at Exit #170 in Veatch.


 * Corvallis, OR (via SR-99 & 99W for ): 55 minutes

By bus
Intercity buses stop in front of the University of Oregon School of Law, across street from Hayward Field, at 1515 Agate St and/or the Amtrak Station on 433 Willamette St. Some may have additional bus stops in other parts of the city to or in Springfield. Check schedules and tickets:


 * Cascades Point/Amtrak Cascades Thruway goes up to Portland via Woodburn, Salem & Albany. Additional stop at the Hayward Field (1515 Agate St) on the University of Oregon campus
 * Cascades Point/Amtrak Cascades Thruway goes up to Portland via Woodburn, Salem & Albany. Additional stop at the Hayward Field (1515 Agate St) on the University of Oregon campus
 * Cascades Point/Amtrak Cascades Thruway goes up to Portland via Woodburn, Salem & Albany. Additional stop at the Hayward Field (1515 Agate St) on the University of Oregon campus
 * Cascades Point/Amtrak Cascades Thruway goes up to Portland via Woodburn, Salem & Albany. Additional stop at the Hayward Field (1515 Agate St) on the University of Oregon campus
 * Cascades Point/Amtrak Cascades Thruway goes up to Portland via Woodburn, Salem & Albany. Additional stop at the Hayward Field (1515 Agate St) on the University of Oregon campus

By bike
Eugene has an excellent system of bike routes, and has bike friendly streets, and its bike paths allow you to ride along rivers, mountain trails and through covered bridges.
 * Bicycle rentals are available from Bicycle Way of Life.

See

 * Autzen Stadium at night.jpg
 * First or Last Friday Artwalk. Popular art walk in downtown with all the local galleries participating. Free
 * First or Last Friday Artwalk. Popular art walk in downtown with all the local galleries participating. Free
 * First or Last Friday Artwalk. Popular art walk in downtown with all the local galleries participating. Free
 * First or Last Friday Artwalk. Popular art walk in downtown with all the local galleries participating. Free
 * First or Last Friday Artwalk. Popular art walk in downtown with all the local galleries participating. Free
 * First or Last Friday Artwalk. Popular art walk in downtown with all the local galleries participating. Free
 * First or Last Friday Artwalk. Popular art walk in downtown with all the local galleries participating. Free
 * First or Last Friday Artwalk. Popular art walk in downtown with all the local galleries participating. Free

Do




Outdoors
Eugene is a great city for outdoors enthusiasts and cyclists. There are many well-maintained hiking trails, and there are bike lanes on most major roads.



Events
Eugene Weekly is a good source for 'what's happening' in the area.



Bars
Eugene's main bar scene is centered around Broadway and Olive St (the "barmuda triangle") in downtown. Alternatives can be found in the Whiteaker neighborhood (Blair Blvd), which is experiencing a brewery renaissance of sorts, and around the UO campus. Expect crowds every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, especially during the school year when college students fill the streets.



Breweries
Eugene has a thriving brewery scene, largely in the Whiteaker neighborhood, northwest of downtown.



Coffeeshops & teahouses
Eugene has an excellent variety of coffeeshops.



Wineries
The wineries of the Willamette Valley pride themselves in offering a relaxing and inviting experience for guests from downtown Eugene tasting rooms to vast countryside vineyards.



By telephone
The area codes for Eugene and Springfield are 458 and 541. 10-digit dialing is required throughout the region, i.e., the 541- or 458- area codes must be dialed with all numbers.

Sleep
The Eugene Hotel, whose large sign is a prominent feature of Eugene's skyline, is actually a retirement community.

Go next

 * The Central Oregon Coast and Florence are just one hour west on OR-126.
 * Bend is a 2.5-hour drive east of Eugene using OR-126 to get to US-20.

Outdoor recreational areas
If you have access to a car, there are different outdoor recreational opportunities available within an hour's drive from town.


 * and Meditation Pool (Wall Creek), take highway 58 to Oakridge, left on Union St, right on 1st, or so to a left turn on Forest Service Road 1934. Meditation Pool is on your left after about  (trailhead, about  walk to the pool), Blair lake is all the way at the top. Be sure to detour near the top when you see a road going off to the left marked by a trail marker (picture of two people hiking) for a spectacular view. Blair lake has campsites and hiking, Meditation Pool is a warm spring.
 * and Meditation Pool (Wall Creek), take highway 58 to Oakridge, left on Union St, right on 1st, or so to a left turn on Forest Service Road 1934. Meditation Pool is on your left after about  (trailhead, about  walk to the pool), Blair lake is all the way at the top. Be sure to detour near the top when you see a road going off to the left marked by a trail marker (picture of two people hiking) for a spectacular view. Blair lake has campsites and hiking, Meditation Pool is a warm spring.
 * and Meditation Pool (Wall Creek), take highway 58 to Oakridge, left on Union St, right on 1st, or so to a left turn on Forest Service Road 1934. Meditation Pool is on your left after about  (trailhead, about  walk to the pool), Blair lake is all the way at the top. Be sure to detour near the top when you see a road going off to the left marked by a trail marker (picture of two people hiking) for a spectacular view. Blair lake has campsites and hiking, Meditation Pool is a warm spring.