7 Quirkiest Oregon Towns To Visit In 2025

The Beaver State is dam quirky, but some towns are quirkier than others. To be among the quirkier communities, they must have irregular landforms, museums, businesses, or other static oddities. Yet to compete as the quirkiest Oregon communities to visit in 2025, they must not simply have oddities you can view year-round, but those you can see specifically in 2025. As such, each of the following settlements has a 2025-specific event that makes it among the quirkiest 2025-specific destinations. Keep reading to learn where and when to go.

Brownsville

In 1986, Stand by Me premiered in theaters and forever changed the identity of Brownsville, Oregon. Much of that beloved film was shot in this small city, which functions 40 years later as a Stand by Me shrine. Sure, old timers may not see it that way, but thousands of tourists do. They come for photo ops at filming locations like Carlson's Hardware and the Calapooia River Bridge, especially in late July during Stand By Me Day, an annual festival featuring tours, games, vendors, and a pie-eating contest reminiscent of—but not as messy as—the one in the film. That scene was shot in Brownsville with dozens of blueberry pies and vats of filling sourced from a local bakery. Bring your appetite but forget your castor oil on Saturday, July 26, 2025.

Rogue River

If visiting Rogue River in late June, you are bound to hear a lot of "cock a doodle doos"—from roosters and humans alike. Ever since 1953, when Beetlebaum crowed 109 times and was crowned the inaugural cock-of-the-rock, this riverside settlement has annually drawn thousands of avian and non-avian squawkers for the Rogue River National Rooster Crow. It now spans a whole weekend and, besides the Human Crowing Contest and the National Rooster Crowing Contest, involves vendors, live music, a car show, and a parade. 2025's edition (motto: Plenty of Pluck) is to run from Friday, June 27 to Sunday, June 29. Whether or not you can make it in time, check out Rogue River's other unique attractions like the Bee Gee's Diner and the Rogue River itself.

Veneta

Though the Oregon Country Fair sounds like a corndog-filled fest you would find in any town, this could not be further from the truth. Held in a 500ish-acre forest outside Veneta, the fair is a "wonderland of free expression and imagination for all to enjoy." Around 45,000 people spend three July days enjoying 500-plus performers of puppetry, aerial acts, belly dancing, and eclectic music; 300-plus artisans in a "magical fairy marketplace" that winds around trees, streams, and meadows; and 85-plus gourmet chefs serving everything from Ethiopian sambusas to tofu burgers. The fair is not a complete free-for-all, though. Nudity is banned, as are drugs and alcohol. If you would like to imbibe outside the fairgrounds, visit the Willamette Valley Wineries or Veneta's Long Tom Bar & Grill.

North Plains

North Plains is one of the smelliest communities in northern Oregon—if only during the second weekend of August. Under the motto "fun stinks," the North Plains Elephant Garlic Festival has been attracting droves with cloves for over 25 years. It was conceived by a local farmer who grew elephant garlic and wanted to distinguish the fest from California's Gilroy Garlic Festival. Using elephant images alongside elephant garlic smells and tastes, the organizer accomplished that goal.

To prime yourself for Garlicfest, visit nearby Portland two weeks earlier during the PDX World Naked Bike Ride, where body and body odor are freed for a Tour nay Pants. Public nudity as protest is protected by Oregon’s constitution, so the event raises awareness for oil dependency and cyclist vulnerability while celebrating bodily autonomy. 2025's ride is scheduled for Saturday, July 26, but the route stays hidden—even from riders—till race day.

Florence

Florence sounds like it should smell nice, especially during May's Florence Rhododendron Festival, but its best fest derives from one of the stinkiest explosions in state history. On November 12, 1970, officials detonated dynamite around a dead beached whale in hopes that the carcass would disintegrate and animals would scavenge any remaining pieces. Instead, the blast scared off scavengers and blanketed Florence with tons of rotting blubber. So it is never repeated, this gaffe is remembered with the Exploding Whale Memorial Park, an exhibit at the Siuslaw Pioneer Museum, and a festival on its anniversary. Stay tuned for the 55th anniversary schedule.

Tualatin

Another offbeat community near peculiar Portland, Tualatin, combines pumpkins and paddling in a festival that defies explanation. In 2004, the Pacific Giant Vegetable Growers decided to hold an end-of-season event. Naturally, they chose to hollow out 1,000-pound pumpkins, plop them in a lake, put paddlers inside them, and have them race . . .

Against all odds, the West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta remains above water after two decades. Tens of thousands of spectators come from across the nation. Since it happens around Halloween (2025's edition is set for Sunday, October 19), competitors wear wacky costumes. They also attend pre-regatta events like the 5K Regatta Run/Walk and Pumpkins and Pints, the latter of which features craft beer, wood-fired pizza, and a pumpkin weigh-off at the Stickmen Brewing Company.

Tillamook

Tillamook has the Oregon Country Fair that you probably pictured in Veneta: a brash jamboree where pigging out and pig racing are encouraged. There is a twist, however. Pigs do not actually race at the Tillamook County Fair. Rather, humans race in Model T Fords while carrying pigs. Called the Pig-N-Ford Races, they are a Tillamook tradition dating to 1925. One hundred years of Pig-N-Ford are to be celebrated at the fair from August 6 to 9, 2025.

If you would rather not watch pigs get petrified—and perhaps injured—for no good reason, see such tranquil Tillamook oddities as the Octopus Tree, a Sitka spruce shaped like Ursula, and the Tillamook Creamery, a rural dairy hub that offers daily tours.

Events elevate quirky year-round Oregon destinations to the quirkiest 2025 Oregon destinations. Cases in point: Brownsville's Stand By Me Day, Rogue River's National Rooster Crow, Veneta's Oregon Country Fair, North Plains's Elephant Garlic Festival, Florence's Exploding Whale Festival, Tualatin's West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta, and Tillamook's County Fair. Thanks to those attractions, their host communities scale the peak of Oregonian quirkiness from June to November. Climb beside them in 2025.