About Eugene

Eugene, Oregon is the second largest city in Oregon with a population of just over 150,000 people in July 2008 and is known for its adventurous and active population. The community prides itself on its focus on arts and outdoor activities in the beautiful Willamette valley near the Cascade Mountains to the south. The temperate climate combined with the beauty of the surrounding mountains, nature and wildlife create an ideal environment for the active community to be filled with people who bicycle, walk and otherwise enjoy the outdoors. The city itself is broken up by the Willamette River, the McKenzie River and the Amazon creek and bordered on three sides by beautiful dense forests of Douglas Firs. The breathtaking valley can be explored on one of the more than 250 miles of walking and biking trails.

Eugene Franklin Skinner, who built the first cabin in 1846 in a place known as Skinner's Mudhole, was the official founder of the town. The cabin later became the town's trading post and post office. The University of Oregon became a state institution in 1872 and thus the beginnings of a community based on education and the arts began. The beauty of the area, along with the cultural influence of a large number of hippies who moved to the city in the 1970s have created a community that thrives on alternative lifestyle exploration and the producing of organic products. The year round temperate climate and moist spring and fall create a thriving marketplace full of locally grown food, wines and herbs. If you explore the Eugene, Oregon yellow pages or the Eugene, Oregon business directory you will find a variety of local food co-ops and worker owned collectives.

Those who tire of the valley can explore the beautiful coast of Oregon, driving only an hour and a half to get to the neighboring town of Florence on the coast. Or take an exploration of one of the nearby national forests. Eugene, Oregon is certainly a town known most for its nature and alternative ways which make it a town worth exploring for anyone interested in expanding their knowledge of the world around them.

Written by Lyndsey Morgan