Salem (Oregon)

Salem, the capital of Oregon, is located in the Willamette Valley between Portland and Eugene. It is also the county seat of Marion County.

Salem was established in the early 1800s as a farming community. The town grew during the years of the California gold rush. Salem became the capital of Oregon in 1851 after it was moved from Oregon City. The capital was then briefly moved to Corvallis in 1855, but in that same year was permanently moved back to Salem. The first two Oregon State Capitol buildings tragically burned down. The third and current building was completed in 1938, complete with its distinctive gold-plated pioneer statue, the "Gold Man," perched atop.

Besides being the seat of state government, Salem is also a major agricultural center in one of the most fertile regions in the world.

Understand
Salemites are often defensive about the sleepy reputation the city has, often being overshadowed by its hipster rivals, Portland and Eugene. But lately its citizens have begun to realize the value of what their city offers: an interesting and walkable downtown with a waterfront park, a serious arts scene, and a central location in the Willamette Valley that combines the amenities of a city with the accessibility of a town. Salem shares a city boundary with its neighbor to the north, Keizer, largely a residential community.

By car
Salem is located in the mid-Willamette Valley, about halfway between Portland to the north and Eugene to the south; it's about a one-hour drive from either city on Interstate 5. If you are coming from east of the Cascades, Hwy. 22 will take you right into Salem.

By train

 * Routes stopping in Salem:
 * Amtrak Cascades operates between Vancouver, BC and Eugene via Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Everett, Edmonds, Seattle, Tukwila, Tacoma, Lacey (Olympia), Centralia, Kelso (Longview), 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.

By bus
The bus station for Greyhound and Oregon Point is the same as Amtrak trains at the at 500 13th Ave SE (see above), while the central bus station for  is at Chemeketa St between High St & Church St behind the building at 555 Court St NE, a couple blocks NW of the state capitol complex in downtown. Take any Cherriots bus (Rt #8 or 18) going north along 13 Ave NE to get to the downtown transfer station from the Salem Station:
 * 1x Salem-Wilsonville co-operated by both Cherriots and SMART as an express bus to/from Wilsonville (nearest point to the Portland Metropolitan area) via I-5 . Passengers transfer to the WES Train to continue up towards Beaverton via Tualatin and Tigard. Passengers transfer to the Tri-Met MAX trains from Beaverton or the #12 bus from Tigard to continue into downtown Portland.
 * 10x Salem-Woodburn goes up to Woodburn along Hwy 99E. Passengers can transfer to Woodburn Transit to get around locally by bus in Woodburn or continue north towards Oregon City via Canby on Canby Area Transit (CAT) Rt #99 at the Woodburn Bi-Mart. Faster way to get to the Portland Metro Area is by 1x bus, Oregon Point, Greyhound or Amtrak (See Above).
 * 20x Salem-Silverton-Mt Angel ... in north Marion County along SR-213 & 214.
 * 30x Salem-Santiam Salem, Turner, Slayton & Mill City at foothills of the Cascades.
 * 40x Polk County Express One of two routes to Dallas in Polk County, only the route detours south towards Monmouth.
 * 50x Dallas Express Goes straight out to Dallas on Hwy 22. The other option is to take is the 40x (see above) which detours down towards Monmouth.
 * 80x to Wilsonville from Keizer via Woodburn.
 * 40x Polk County Express One of two routes to Dallas in Polk County, only the route detours south towards Monmouth.
 * 50x Dallas Express Goes straight out to Dallas on Hwy 22. The other option is to take is the 40x (see above) which detours down towards Monmouth.
 * 80x to Wilsonville from Keizer via Woodburn.



By plane


Commercial flights with additional airlines are at Portland International Airport, an hour's drive from the north. To get to Salem from Portland Airport, follow I-205 south to its connection to I-5 in Tualatin and continue on I-5 south. Groome Transportation offers hourly shuttles to PDX from Holiday Inn Salem at 3301 Market St NE (see below under 'Sleep', see linked website(s)).

By bicycle
Salem has a fairly flat terrain, especially towards the north and east parts of the city, making bicycling easy. Bike routes are not as well marked, however, as in some Oregon cities. The farmland surrounding Salem is wonderful cycling country.

By car
The area's roads are designed more or less around a grid system, where most roads are numbered based on their distance from the city center. Addresses also conform to the numbering of the roads around them. Nearly all streets run with the compass directions. State Street goes east and west from downtown to HWY 213 twelve miles east of town. State Street divides northeast from southeast. All addresses on the west side of the Willamette River, in west Salem are all in the "Northwest" part of town.West Salem is in Polk County, The rest of Salem is in Marion County.

Parking for automobiles in the downtown core is free for visitors and shoppers. There is a two-hour maximum for street parking, but three large parking structures are available for all-day parking. Once you have disposed of your car, downtown is very walkable.

By bus
The Cherriots bus system is city wide taking you from the suburbs to downtown and into Keizer, Oregon, and has central transit center in downtown Salem where all the buses arrive and depart. They also have express buses going further out to Wilsonville (1X)(nearest point towards Portland), Woodburn (10X), Dallas (40X, 50X) and Santiam at the edge of the Cascades (30x).

Eat
Salem is not known for its expensive, fine dining, but that doesn't mean you can't find a good meal without breaking the bank. Besides the listings below, there are several fine Mexican restaurants in town, reflecting the city's growing Hispanic population.



Hotels and motels
Salem has many moderately priced accommodations outside the downtown core. The exception is the Phoenix Grand, which is somewhat more pricey, but puts you in the center of the city.

Go next

 * Cascade Mountains (highway #22 east) - some of the best hiking terrain in the Pacific Northwest
 * Silverton (15 minutes east on highway 213) - murals and creekside dining in a cozy town in the foothills of the Cascades
 * Mt. Angel (30 minutes north-east) - Bavaria in the US! - a cute German village famous for its Oktoberfest held every September
 * Sisters (highway 22 east, ~1.5 hours) - a fun little town with the look of an old western village complete with wooden sidewalks, small boutique shops and restaurants
 * Oregon Wine Tour Salem is minutes away from some of the finest wine country in the world. Renowned for Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, Oregon has become a destination for wine connoisseurs everywhere.