12 Great Places You've Never Heard Of

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La Grande, Oregon

La Grande is a lovely town near some of the most spectacular mountain wilderness in the West, offering exceptional outdoor opportunities. The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest includes 60 campgrounds and more than 1,700 miles of trails. Whitewater rafting is thrilling on the Grande Ronde River. Lehman Hot Springs is one of the biggest hot springs in the West, with a 9,000 square foot pool and temperatures ranging from 85 to 116 degrees. La Grande was a stop on the Oregon Trail — emigrants combined teams here to ascend the steep valley walls to the west. Birnie Park in town and the Oregon Trail Interpretive Park, 12 miles outside of town, commemorate the pioneers’ journey.

Today La Grande is home to Eastern Oregon University, which brings the energy of learning, plus the usual benefits of arts, music, coffee shops and bookstores.

Population: 12,371
County: Union
Climate: mild, cool and dry year-round
Cost of living index: 90.6
Median home price: $150,300
Alternative energy: net metering and incentives for renewable energy and energy efficiency
Don’t miss: Oregon Trail Interpretive Park

Grants Pass, Oregon

Southwestern Oregon is a great place to live, with amazing scenery, a mild climate, recreational opportunities at every turn and a high level of support for sustainability. Ashland and Medford — just north of the California border — are wonderful places, but real estate prices there may be too expensive for many people. A better bet is Grants Pass — about 60 miles north of California — which is more affordable while offering many of the same benefits.

“Grants Pass is about 20 percent lower priced than most of the Ashland area, and about 5 percent to 8 percent lower than the Medford area,” says local real estate agent Don Eaton. “Property taxes are also lower in Grants Pass. The most affordable areas in southern Oregon are in the Illinois River Valley, southwest of Grants Pass and north of Grants Pass between Sunny Valley and Roseburg.”

Grants Pass is a small city surrounded by big, beautiful wilderness. There are numerous parks that make the Rogue River accessible for float trips and fly fishing, as well as hiking the many riverside trails. Oregon Caves National Monument is just 20 miles east of town; there you can go down into the caves or hike the many trails, some of which ascend to 5,500 feet.

The local Growers’ Market is the largest open-air market in Oregon, and is open Saturday mornings from March until Thanksgiving. The area is also famous for its pears, with more than 10,000 acres of orchards.

The arts thrive in Grants Pass — there’s a Museum of Art, the Rogue Music Theatre, a professional theater group and several amateur and youth theater groups.

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