Adventures in Willamette Valley Lavender

Oregon has a great climate for growing lavender; the rain nourishes the ground throughout the fall, winter and spring, and then dries out in time for the lavender to bloom.

The peak lavender bloom season is usually between mid June through August, but this year, things are happening a little late. We had such a wet beginning to the summer and it is just now starting to dry out. The lavender started blooming toward the end of June and is absolutely stunning right now in Mid-July!

Over the last few weeks, we've been making the rounds to various lavender farms and festivals and I want to share our lavender highlights!

Durant at Red Ridge Farms

We visited this farm in Dayton, OR with family friends. Combined, we have 6 children, so whenever we go somewhere together it really warms our hearts to be welcomed by staff; we understand that so many kids can be overwhelming for staff sometimes. The setting was immaculate and beautiful, and we felt very welcomed right when we first arrived.

This farm has many attractions. They offer wine tastings, olive oil tastings, a gift shop and nursery, beautiful scenic fields, and a nature trail that takes you all over the farm.

The nature trail is what appealed to us, and it did not disappoint!

The beginning of the trail is right past the olive oil production facility. The kids were amazed with all the machinery used to make their precious oils. The trail heads into a forest, but not before this majestic view:

We walked on a well maintained trail through a forest on the farm's property, and then open up into olive groves.

The trail leads you through old growth forest, vineyards, sheep pasture, and lavender fields. I couldn't get too many pictures of the rest of the hike because Stella's legs stopped working early on.

We ended the hike in the lavender fields where they were growing many varieties of lavender.

 We ended our little hike in the gift shop with lavender shortbread cookies! This was definitely a great farm tour experience.

We also visited two lavender festivals; the Clackamas County Lavender Festival the last week of June, and the Willamette Valley Lavender Festival.

The Clackamas County Lavender Festival was so much fun! This one is hosted at a huge U-Pick lavender farm in Oregon City.

After parking, we walked through rows and rows of blooming lavender to reach the festival grounds. At the festival, we visited vendors, drank lavender lemonade, ate lavender ice cream, and made a lavender wreath.

The property is beautifil and has a manmade river and splash pad, so we were able to cool off in the water during the 95+ degree day.

 We even found a Willamette Valley Lavender Soap growing in its natural habitat ;)

 The second week of July, we visited the Willamette Valley Lavender Festival in Newberg, OR. This festival is right in the middle of the town at the Chehalem Cultural Center. Even though it doesn't take place at a lavender farm, lavender growers are heavily represented!

It was actually a fantastic way to visit multiple farms in the same day; like a farmer's market but for LAVENDER! Of course there were other types of vendors there as well, with bath and body goods, jewelry and clothes, but the lavender farms were the main attraction.

I took the girls with me to this one, and we left with a pretty decent haul of lavender goods. We bought a few lavender bouquets, lavender & rose tea herbal tea, lavender lemonade mix, embroidered lavender sachets, and of course some bath bombs.

We hope to make it to a few more U-Pick lavender farms this year, but so far I'm happy with our lavender bloom celebration!

If you can't make it out to any lavender farms yourself, check out our Willamette Valley Lavender collection! Each one is infused with Oregon-grown lavender and will transport you to your own lavender oasis.

Have you visited an Oregon Lavender farm? What's your favorite?

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