Active Pursuits

If you're a bird-watcher, the William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge (tel. 541/757-7236; www.fws.gov/willamettevalley/finley/index.html), 12 miles south of Corvallis on Ore. 99W, is a good place to add a few more to your list. This refuge has three short, easy hiking trails that provide the region's best glimpse of what the Willamette Valley looked like before the first settlers arrived.

For superb views of the valley and a moderately strenuous hike, head west 16 miles from Corvallis on Ore. 34 to 4,097-foot Mary's Peak, the highest peak in the Coast Range. A road leads to the top of the mountain, but there is also a trail that leads from the campground up through a forest of old-growth noble firs to the meadows at the summit. For more information, contact the Siuslaw National Forest, 4077 SW Research Way (P.O. Box 1148), Corvallis, OR 97339 (tel. 541/750-7000; www.fs.fed.us/r6/siuslaw).