Summertime U-Pick Farms, Lavender Festivals and Country Shops in Newberg, Oregon
The rolling hills and blooming rows of lavender throughout the Willamette Valley of Oregon beckon nature lovers, far and wide, to stop and smell the flowers. Whether you are a city dweller looking for a fun summer outdoor activity or someone who just loves to forage for things, picking lavender from a farm or from a cute country herb shop is a great way to enjoy nature’s bounty. Just 25 minutes southwest of Portland, in the town of Newberg, you’ll find plenty of lavender adventures to delight your senses during the summer months. And as a Bed & Breakfast in the heart of Newberg, the innkeepers of Chehalem Ridge B&B are happy to share the best places to find lavender in the Willamette Valley.
From Farm to Fest
Walking distance from our wine country B&B, Chehalem Ridge Bed & Breakfast in Newberg, sits the picturesque U-Pick lavender farm, Wayward Winds. Throughout July, 10am – 5pm daily, guests can meander through rows of fragrant Angustifolia (English) lavender and a variety of Intermedia lavender, plus a cleverly landscaped lavender maze. Along with their U-Pick offerings, the dedicated team at Wayward Winds also makes a diverse selection of lavender household goods, personal care products and culinary treats. Don’t miss their award-winning lavender essential oil or delicious lavender syrups. They have eight(!) different variations of syrup including inventive flavors like Lavender Pear and Lavender Ginger Peach.
The farm also offers lavender wreath-making classes and lavender 101 classes. Check out their online events calendar for class times. And be sure to visit July 8-10th for the Wayward Winds Lavender + Vintage Weekend where upcycled gifts, antiques and DIY crafts will be added to the lavender fun.
The fun doesn’t stop there! A ten minute drive down the mountain from Wayward Winds will drop you in downtown Newberg at the Willamette Valley Lavender Festival and Plein Art Show. The town’s Chehalem Cultural Center is hosting the 17th annual community event this year on July 9th & 10th. This festival for the senses will be showcasing arts and crafts, culinary treats with food trucks offering lavender infused food & beverages, and will have 150 Plein Air painters showcasing this year’s lavender-inspired pieces.
Essentially Oils, and More!
Mountainside Lavender Farm is open and ready for visitors. You can choose to walk the farm’s three fields of lavender to cut your own $6 bundles or you can buy ready-made bouquets. On this family-run farm, you may also run into hard-working owners Bill and Lori Carlson. They’ll be busy harvesting, helping guests, or doing any one of the umpteen things that goes into making all the wonderful lavender products sold in their cute little cottage shop. After harvesting, double-cutting, and drying, the lavender is distilled on site for use in their lotions, sanitizers, and spritzers. “We’ve found 5 of our 25 lavender varieties to work particularly well for the oils we use in our products,” the owners share with the farm’s guests. It surely is a labor of love, turning the lavender into all the wonderful products lavender enthusiasts can take home to enjoy. Visit their Newberg farm and see it for yourself, any day, now through late July, 9 to 5.
Market, to Market
Another stop along the lavender trail is Chehalem Flats Farm Market, open Friday & Saturday 10 – 5, where you’ll find a darling Willamette Valley country store carrying all sorts of lavender infused sundries, hand-crafted kitchenware, pottery, artisan goods and delectable snacks. Outside the store, you’ll find an array of plants and herbs including beautifully landscaped fields of lavender. Newberg residents Matt and Randi Way brought their family out one rainy June afternoon and their youngest, Ellie, in her yellow rain jacket, loved sniffing all the different colored lavender. Randi raved, “It’s an inexpensive way to get outdoors with the family”. At $5 a bundle and stocked with other potted plants and veggie starts at affordable prices, it is a nice alternative to visiting the gardening section at Home Depot.
Owner Jan Ellings loves providing a farm for folks to get out of the house (or busy city life) and enjoy the beauty of nature. Keep an eye out for fun new additions to the store and for wreath-making classes on their facebook page and, in the meantime, get out to visit between now and mid-December. Once lavender season is over they also have U-Pick Figs in July and fresh veggies through the Fall.
Little Shop of Lavender!
Our last stop is in Downtown Newberg where we find the new home of the Little Lavender Shop selling lavender products grown and made from their Little Lavender Farm in Dundee, Oregon (just the next town over from us!). Newberg is delighted to add this cute little storefront to the growing list of small businesses that populate our town. When we stopped in recently, owner, farmer and lavender product maker, Pam Baker, was just finishing up a wreath made of fresh cut stems while selling her soaps, lip balms, salve and fresh and dried bouquets. She has lovely gift packs ready to make a friend’s day relaxing and soothing. The shop is open Thurs-Sun 12-5. And if you usually visit the Newberg Wednesday Market from 4-8 on Wednesday evenings (a fun, local artisan & craft fair!), they sometimes have special pop-up hours where they are open, just down the alleyway from the street market.
Stay Local to your Adventures along the Newberg Lavender Trail
Keep in mind all you foragers and nature lovers: before the apple orchards, pumpkin patches and Christmas tree farms of fall and winter there is this heavenly season of fragrant, vibrant blooms brought out by Oregon’s summer splendor. The idyllic scenery and the aromatic surroundings that a lavender-hunting road trip offers may be just what you need in your life right now. Add to that a relaxing stay at a wine country Bed & Breakfast, like our own Chehalem Ridge B&B, and you have yourself a perfect weekend getaway. Come experience Newberg. We’d love to host you and be your guide to all things lavender. Give us a call at 503-538-3474 or check us out at www.chehalemridge.com.
By Liz Bethell, Assistant Innkeeper
