Things to Do in Jacksonville, Oregon

Britt started in 1963 on a makeshift plywood stage on the former estate of Peter Britt, a Swiss-born pioneer photographer. Today its outdoor amphitheater draws national pop, country, folk and jazz acts, and the Britt Festival Orchestra plays under the stars. The main season runs June to September, with a few events the rest of the year.

★ Good to know On non-show days the Britt hill is a free public park, with the Lower Britt Gardens below the pavilion and a trail into the Woodlands past Gate 3 at the top of Fir Street.

More than 100 buildings from the 1850s through the 1880s line California and Oregon streets, and the district was called the best surviving mid-19th-century inland commercial town. The easiest overview is the 45-minute narrated trolley tour. It departs from the Visitor Information Center at 185 N. Oregon St.

★ Good to know The trolley runs on set days from May through October and on December weekends, so check the chamber’s trolley page before you plan around it.

The 1863 Beekman Bank, at the corner of California and 3rd, has been preserved intact since Cornelius Beekman locked the doors in 1915. More than $40 million in gold crossed its counters during the boom. The 1873 Beekman House, a few blocks east, is still furnished with the family’s own belongings.

★ Good to know Historic Jacksonville, Inc. runs tours of both on a monthly schedule with changing topics, so check its calendar before you go.

Residents saved these hillsides around town, and the Woodlands Association now cares for more than 16 miles of trails through old gold diggings. The Sarah Zigler Trail, about two-thirds of a mile, is one of the oldest and most popular. A native plant arboretum sits behind the Beekman House, where several trails start.

★ Good to know Horses aren’t allowed on Woodlands trails, and spring brings shooting stars and trilliums.

About a mile from downtown off Reservoir Road, the city’s Forest Park covers about 1,100 acres. Trails pass old gold mine sites and the town’s original reservoir, and interpretive markers explain what you’re looking at. It’s open to hiking and mountain biking.

★ Good to know Pick up a trail map before you go, since the network is big enough to get turned around in.

Established in 1860, this 32-acre cemetery on the hill above town is one of Oregon’s oldest and largest. It has separate sections for religious and fraternal groups, and pioneer graves from Southern Oregon’s earliest days. It’s still an active cemetery and part of the landmark district.

★ Good to know It’s free and open daily from morning until dusk.

Jacksonville is the gateway to the Applegate Valley, whose wine trail lists 15 wineries, including Quady North, Red Lily Vineyards and Valley View Winery. Closer in, Daisy Creek Vineyard sits on the town’s eastern edge on an old slurry-mine site. The Jacksonville Wine Trolley makes a loop to nearby wineries from the downtown depot.

★ Good to know The Wine Trolley runs Friday through Sunday from May through October, which saves you a designated driver.

Crews of up to 400 workers, many of them Chinese laborers, dug the 26.5-mile Sterling Mine Ditch in 1877 to feed hydraulic gold mining. The BLM trail along it has seven trailheads and a strong spring wildflower show. The 5.6-mile East Applegate Ridge Trail starts about 5 miles south of town and follows the ridgetops.

★ Good to know Neither trail has water or restrooms, so carry your own, and watch for ticks, poison oak and rattlesnakes.