Experience luxury lodges, glamping tents and even gathering eggs at these rural havens.
Want to truly embrace the culinary bounty of Southern Oregon? Spend the night on a farm, ranch or winery. There’s no better way to get a true sense of where your food and wine comes from, or to experience the region’s warm hospitality and breathtaking landscape. Here are some extraordinary stays where you can experience the sights and sounds of rural life. For even more options, check out Farm Stay USA or Harvest Hosts — an RV camping membership that pairs visitors with farms, ranches, wineries and breweries that have cool spots to camp — and plan to stop for local provisions along one of Southern Oregon’s food trails.
Feed the Flock at Lane Creek Reserve
About 9 miles northwest of Medford, Lane Creek Reserve is a family-owned farm dedicated to regenerative agricultural practices that give back to the land. Annual and perennial crops like potatoes, fava beans, peonies and daisies grow together using a centuries-old technique of long rows hilled up with mounded organic matter.
Book a glamping tent, complete with mini porches and Adirondack chairs, or reserve a campsite and bring your own gear. With advance notice, visitors can even help feed some of the 90 animals that live on the farm, including cattle, pigs, sheep and chickens.
Ride With the Cowboys in Bly
Looking to truly get away from it all? Head to Aspen Ridge Resort in tiny Bly, located about 60 miles east of Klamath Falls near the Southern Oregon Outback. This 15,000-acre working cattle ranch offers year-round overnight accommodations in log cabins or a rustic-elegant lodge. Rooms come equipped with everything you need (cozy woodstoves, expansive views from every window) and nothing you don’t (TVs or phones).
Spend your days hiking, playing tennis or fishing in the area’s many lakes, or accompany the ranch’s staff on morning rides to check on the cattle. Then return to the lodge for a hearty Western meal each evening, often featuring beef raised on-site.
Catch a Trophy on the Williamson River
Always wanted to fish the Williamson River but weren’t sure where to start? Make a reservation at Yamsi Fly Fishing, a working cattle ranch at the headwaters of the Williamson northeast of Upper Klamath Lake. Co-owner and guide John Hyde is a legendary fly-fishing guide, equally as adept at introducing newbies to the sport for the very first time as he is at helping experienced pros catch a trophy brook trout.
Stay in one of the seven bedrooms in the historic Main House, built in 1928, or reserve the homey freestanding cabin for larger groups or families. All stays include homemade breakfast and dinner, served family-style, plus packed lunches for the river. Fishing season runs from mid-April to the end of October.
Gambol with Goats Near Ashland
Whatever flavor of farm stay you fancy — camping, glamping, a cozy studio or an entire three-bedroom house — Willow-Witt Ranch has you covered. This 445-acre property in the Cascade mountains, about 15 miles northeast of Ashland, is entirely off-grid and includes forest, wetlands and a goat dairy along with a small organic farm.
Take a self-guided tour of the property, or arrange to help milk goats, gather eggs or work in the vegetable garden. In the evening, stroll around the wetlands to look for western pond turtles, then settle in for stargazing. You might even hear the deep, throaty hoot of a resident great grey owl. The studio and home are available to rent year-round. Tent camping and glamping are available from Memorial Day weekend through October, depending on weather.
Wind Down at a Winery
Wake up among the vines at one of Southern Oregon’s many wineries that offer overnight accommodations. Biodynamic-certified Troon Vineyard in the Applegate Valley has a three-bedroom Vineyard House ideal for small groups to retire after wine tasting. Rellik Winery in Jacksonville offers three suites at its Rellik House overlooking its 15-acre vineyard and farm. Not only does it have robust reds, it also has fifteen alpacas, a llama and an outdoor swimming pool with hot tub. Or stay at the Vineyard Cottage at Weisinger Family Winery just south of Ashland in the Rogue Valley, where every stay comes with a complimentary bottle of wine made on the premises.
