Green Tourism Corvallis!

This Sunday, May 30, sign up for the 4th annual Run for the Hills race! It begins and ends at the Benton County Fairgrounds south parking lot (110 SW 53rd St.) and includes an 8k Trail Run,  a 2mi Run/Walk  and a 1/4 mile Kids Run.

There is a race for you no matter what shape you are in. The  8k trail run consists of challenging hills and flat stretches in Bald Hill Park, with about 1.4 miles of paved path and 3.6 miles of dirt trails, and there may be a musical surprise at the top of the hill! The noncompetitive 2mi run/walk will be entirely on paved paths and the ¼ mi. kids run is paved.

In participating in the event, you are helping fund the Greenbelt Land Trust Trail Fund, which helps purchase raw materials and equipment used for trail construction and maintenance by the volunteers who keep our trails safe and passable. Visit the Run for the Hills website for times, directions, and online registration forms.

The weather is finally starting to become more and more sunny, so why not celebrate it with a bike ride? Or, better yet, a bike ride to some of Benton County’s best wineries? The Art of the Valley Wine trail is about 30 miles round-trip and one hour driving time, ranging from the heart of downtown Corvallis to the small town of Wren. Best of all, most wineries offer special Memorial Day events, so consider riding this trail as a way to celebrate the holiday weekend!

The trail features Tyee Winery, The Wine Vault (Pheasant Court Winery‘s official tasting room) Belle Vallee, Enoteca Wine Bar and Harris Bridge Vineyard. If that sounds a litte too ambitious for you, just stay in town and  bike to Belle Vallee and Enoteca! Regardless of how far you make it on the trail, each winery offers great wine options and art to gaze at. Click here to get a detailed map along with descriptions about the wineries.

“Old is the New Green” this May, and in celebration of Oregon’s Historic Preservation Month, the Corvallis and Benton County historic resources commissions are teaming up with PreservationWORKS to offer free tours, awards and special events throughout this month.

At 4,097 feet, Marys peak is famous for being the highest point in Oregon’s Coast Range and the most prominent peak to the west of Corvallis. But did you know that Mary peak also supports an diverse collection of wildflowers as well? In fact, it  has even been designated a Scenic Botanical Area because of its rich, unique scenery and plants. ”Wildflowers of Marys Peak Meadows” is a pocket guide recently written by OSU alumnus Steven E. Carpenter, Ph.D, that is a simple guide to the flowers of Marys Peak. Carpenter first visited Marys Peak  in 1969 as a freshman Botany student at OSU, and was amazed by the beautiful wildflowers that grew in the meadows. His facination eventually led him to write this guidebook, which is written for the casual walker/hiker.  The focus of the guide is on Meadow flowers and Rock Garden flowers, and covers the upper 131 acres of meadow and rock gardens above the Forest Service Campground. 

This little guide is the perfect pocket companion to a hike up Marys Peak.

Castilleja hispida, "Indian paintbrush"

 Not only will it open your eyes to diverse collection of wildflowers and rock flowers that grow on the mountain, but it will also provide the chance for you to take a break during your hike/walk and make you truly appreciate the wonder of nature.  For directions to get to Marys Peak and road/trail conditions, click here. Pick up your copy of the book at Grassroots Bookstore, Oregon State University Bookstore or Shonnard’s Nursery in Corvallis. In Philomath, copies can be purchased at Gathering Together Farms, Greengable Farms and Java Connection, but hurry! These little guides are selling fast!

April 17 marks the official end the Corvallis Indoor Winter Market. 

 Now, the Corvallis Farmers’ Market will be held regularly on Saturdays from 9 am to 1 pm April 17-Nov. 20, 2010.

The Starkers (from left to right): Barte, T.J., Bruce, and Bond

The Starker Lecture Series are free, open lectures that take inspiration from the Starker Family’s history of supporting  forestry and communities through scientifically grounded education and positive, sustained action. The 2010 series will feature “Ecosystems Services from Forests and Farms, and will examine Ecosystems Services from a philosophical as well as practical perspective.

The series started on March 4, and the next session is Tuesday, April 6 from 3:30 to 5 pm at OSU’s Richardson Hall, room 107. The focus for the session is “Markets for Ecosystems Services.” For more information, click here to visit the Starker Lecture Series website.

It’s a common fact that, if you are not wearing green on St. Patricks day, you will become the subject of constant poking and pinching. But, why not use St. Patricks day to wear and celebrate “green?” While you are rocking your favorite green attire, we’ve come up with some green, eco-friendly places for you to go celebrate as well!

Sampling wild ale from a Wine Barrel, photo credit Josh Gana

Block 15 is a great place to start off your green St. Patty’s day celebrations. They are participantes of Pacific Power’s Blue Sky Program and NW Natural Gas’ Smart Energy Program, and brew efficiently in order to reduce the use of water, reduce and recycle waste (even giving away ‘spent’ grains to a local farmer for feed, saving them from the landfill), use organic and regional ingredients, and participate in environmental programs. Not to mention, they’ve got a great band coming in on St. Patricks Day and will be hosting “Mill About Smartly,” a Corvallis musical group that performs Sea Shanties, Irish Bar songs and a variety of mostly acoustic folk.

Cloud 9 restaurant, photo courtesy of dinecloud9.com

If beer isn’t quite your style and you are looking for green (both in a color and environmental sense)  cocktails, walk over to Cloud 9. This funky restaurant gets the majority of its ingredients for its menu and cocktails through local suppliers, and will be blasting some high-energy celtic tunes all night.

Another great, green restaurant that will be celebrating St. Patty’s day in style is Fireworks Restaurant. Their 100% organic menu, local products and  sustainable practices have been in place since they first opened 7 years ago, even incorporating  as many recycled building materials as possible into the building itself.  For St. Patricks day, they will have drink specials all day and traditional Irish fare! Fireworks will also be hosting The Nettles, who have been playing Irish and Oldtime music in the Willamette Valley for over a decade (visit the Nettles online at www.TheNettles.com). If you are planning on going to Fireworks, reservations are recommended so call (541)754-6958 to secure a table.

View from Marys Peak

Thanks to a rather mild winter (one of the nice side effects of El Nino), the upper trails at Marys Peak are now accessible to the public.

The upper gate at milepost eight on Marys Peak opened Tuesday, and people can now can access popular points, such as the Meadowedge trailhead, Observation Point and Marys Peak Campground.

However, even though this winter has been mild, even if you can reach a trailhead, trail access may be limited by snow as you hike farther and higher. Be sure to check weather conditions before taking off and be prepared for winter weather. To check current road conditions and find directions, click here.