Salem, OR Road Trips

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. 1 Travel Salem Visitors Center, 630 Center St. NE, ☏ +1 503-581-4325, [email protected]. M-F 9AM-5PM, closed weekends and major holidays. Free WiFi (updated Jan 2026)

Downtown Salem Historic District. 1 Willamette Heritage (formerly Mission Mill & Marion Historic Society), 1313 Mill St SE (Mill St between 12th & 14th, north of the Amtrak station), ☏ +1 503 585-7012. M-Sa 10AM-5PM. Oregon's historic museum located downtown. The site of the museum features working displays of the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill and several other historic Salem buildings, which have been relocated to the site. There are five buildings total that make up the Willamette Heritage Museum and all of which date back to the 1800s. Once a month the Mission hosts a Big Band night with Ballroom Dancing. The Willamette Heritage Museum was formed from a merger between the Mission Mill Museum and the Marion Historical Society. 2 State Capitol Building, 900 Court St NE, ☏ +1 503-986-1388. M-F 8AM-5PM. Oregon's Capitol is a unique art deco monument. If you are lucky enough to be in Salem on a sunny day you should go to the Capitol building and take the tour to the top of the building to see the Gold Man (The Golden Pioneer). Observation Deck tours are available to the public, on the half hour, Memorial Day through Labor Day. There are parks located all around, complete with gardens and large fountains. The fountain directly in front is a haven for kids to play and cool down in the summer time. Free. 3 Willamette University's Campus, 900 State St (69-acre (28 hectares) campus behind or south of the state capitol), ☏ +1 503-370-6300. Oldest established university on the west coast with coursework in liberal arts and postgraduate degrees in law and business management.

1 Oregon State Fair, state fairgrounds @ 2320 17th St NE (17th St NE & Silverton Rd NE in north part of town), ☏ +1 971 701-6573. late Aug-early Sep. Throughout the year there are different rodeos, swap meets, exhibitions, concerts, holiday bazaars and other events held at the state fairgrounds. The state fairgrounds is also the same location for the Marion County Fair which happens in the first week in July. See the event calendar online. 2 Salem Skate Park, downtown's Marion Square Park. This skate park has two bowls that are connected by a snake. There is also a secondary skate area, called the "streetscape," which has plenty of grind space and ramps. The skate park is open to skates, skateboards, BMX bikes, and more. 3 Bush's Pasture Park. A 90.5-acre (36.6 hectares) urban public park and botanical garden just south of the downtown area. The park is a historical site and contains many trails, playgrounds, tennis courts, picnic areas, gardens, and orchards. Willamette University has its football, track and field, and baseball stadium located in the park. Also home of the Salem Soap Box Derby. 4 Enchanted Forest, 8462 Enchanted Way, Turner (7 miles (11 km) S of Salem), ☏ +1 503-371-4242, [email protected]. A land of fairy tales where you walk through Medieval castles, down wooden sidewalks in the Wild West, or meet a ghost in the haunted mansion. This small theme park has rides for kids and adults with an Alpine Rollercoaster, bumper cars, trains and more.

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. 1 Bentley's Grill, 291 Liberty St SE, ☏ +1 503-779-1660. Northwest ingredients with fresh seasonal seafood, artfully presented salads and choice of steaks served nightly. 2 Best Little Roadhouse, 1145 Commercial St SE, ☏ +1 503-365-7225. For Salem, it actually has some ambiance. Try the Caesar salad with freshly grilled Northwest Salmon, Tri Tip sandwiches or salad. Mini-golf course just outside the building. 3 DaVinci Ristorante, 180 High St SE, ☏ +1 503-399-1413. Tu-Sa 5PM-9PM. It has Italian food, including the Pork Tenderloin Italian herbs. Also they make their own pizza in a beautiful stone oven. When you sit down they bring you fresh made warm foccacia. Popular with the martini crowd for happy hour drinks. 4 Gerry Frank's Konditorei, 310 Kearney St SE, ☏ +1 503-585-7070. M-Th 10AM-9PM, F-Sa 10AM-10PM. Try the Champagne cake with raspberry filling, quiche or sun dried tomatoes with asparagus. They have a good deal with their soup and half sandwich or quiche and a slice of cake for about $8. 5 Marco Polo Global Restaurant, 300 Liberty St SE, ☏ +1 971 720-1964. Excellent, moderately priced variety of Asian food. Vegetarian selections available, also spicy (and non) dishes. 6 The Sassy Onion Grill, 1244 State St (just east of the capitol and Willamette University), ☏ +1 503-378-9180.

1 Archive Coffee & Bar, 102 Liberty St NE. (updated Jan 2021)

Salem has many moderately priced accommodations outside the downtown core. The exception is the Grand Hotel, which is somewhat more pricey, but puts you in the center of the city. 1 Days Inn by Wyndham Black Bear, 1600 Motor Ct NE, ☏ +1 503-967-8153. indoor pool and continental breakfast. $64 (Jan 2023). 2 Grand Hotel, 201 Liberty St SE, ☏ +1 503-540-7800, toll-free: +1-877-540-7800, [email protected]. 3 Holiday Inn (formerly Red Lion Hotel), 3301 Market St NE, ☏ +1 503-370-7888, toll-free: +1-888-465-4329 (reservations), [email protected]. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM. (updated Dec 2020) 4 Shilo Inn Salem Suites, 3304 Market St NE, ☏ +1 503-581-4001, [email protected]. Check-in: 4PM, check-out: 11AM. Indoor pool, hot tub, and breakfast included. (updated Dec 2020)

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. 1 Salem station, 500 13th Ave SE (southeast of the Willamette University). (updated Sep 2022) Amtrak, ☏ +1 215-856-7924, toll-free: +1-800-872-7245. Operates train service around the United States of America. (updated Mar 2022) 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.

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. 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 12 miles (19 km) 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. 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).