Visit

Downtown, the campus, the sequoias and the theatre are all a walk from the Visitor Center.

Calendar Where to eat

Start here The chamber office and Visitor Center, 2417 Pacific Avenue, Forest Grove, OR 97116, 503-357-3006.
The center of town Pacific Avenue at Main Street.

The corner storefront of an antiques shop in a white painted clapboard building, with a hanging Antiques sign and the number 2019 above the door.

A Main Street storefront. The historic downtown core runs one block north along Main Street and several blocks along Pacific Avenue.

A Place Where Families and Businesses Thrive

Much of the brick downtown went up in the 1890s, and the campus runs straight into it.

A stroll around the campus and downtown takes you past many of the state's oldest giant sequoias.

Forest Grove sits in the foothills of the Coast Range, 35 to 40 minutes west of the Portland metro area.

The downtown is undesignated as a historic district and looks like one anyway. Much of the brick went up in the 1890s, after the late-1880s boom brought land speculators, electricity and water. Antiques, artists and artisans occupy the storefronts on and around Main Street.

Historic sites in detail

What is here

On foot, a short drive, or worth the whole day.

On foot from the Visitor Center

Historic Downtown Pacific Avenue at Main Street
Pacific University campus Tree-filled grounds, open to a walk
Old College Hall and the museum Built 1850, on the National Historic Register since 1974
The giant sequoias 1651 Hawthorne, and B Street at Pacific Avenue
Theatre in the Grove Local productions
Seasonal farmers market Weekly in season, run by Adelante Mujeres

A short drive

David Hill Winery Tasting room in an 1883 farmhouse
SakeOne Tasting and tour
Fernhill Wetlands Bird watching, on the Audubon map
McMenamins Grand Lodge Disc golf

Worth the day

Hagg Lake Park Mountain biking, boat rental, paddling, fishing and kayaking
Tillamook State Forest ATV riding and camping
Vineyard and Valley Scenic Tour Route A fifty-mile cycling challenge through the hills

Things to do, with links

Around town

A muralist on a paint-spattered ladder brushing detail into a large pastel mural on a downtown wall, holding a palette. — A mural going up on a downtown wall.Christopher Oertell

A hand holding a glass of white wine and a bunch of oxeye daisies in front of out-of-focus rows of vines. — In the vines outside Forest Grove. Wineries is a category in the member directory.

Marsh Hall at Pacific University, a red brick building with steep gables and a blue metal roof, a dark wooden sign reading Welcome to Pacific Marsh Hall in front of it. — Marsh Hall. The original Pacific University campus adjoins historic downtown Forest Grove.

A restored wetland: a still pond edged with boulders and young plantings, a line of firs on the horizon and a clear blue sky. — Fernhill Wetlands. Bird watching, on the Portland Audubon birding map.Washington County Visitors Association

While you are here

The next dates in Forest Grove.

And every year, on a fixed weekend

Corn RoastThe third Saturday in September, on College Way at 21st Avenue, since 1964.
Spring Wine WalkWineries pouring inside downtown storefronts, on foot.
Restaurant MonthThrough March, in both towns.
Holiday Tree LightingIn November, at the tree where College Way meets 21st Avenue.

The full calendar

From here

Where to eat The printed dining guide, grouped by what they serve. Where to stay Which members have rooms, and what to ask for. Cornelius East along the TV Highway, with the farms and the parks.