Located in the heart of lush, green dairy country, Tillamook is famous for its cheese, but that’s not all you’ll find in this vibrant city at the head of Tillamook Bay.

It would take days to make your way through the many attractions in Tillamook, but you can get started with the famous Tillamook Cheese Visitor’s Center. The sparkling facility attracts more than a million visitors each year. A tour includes free samples of the delicious cheese and curds that you can watch being made in the viewing area. They also have a gift shop, ice cream served up in freshly baked waffle cones, and a dining area.

You can sample more of the area’s cheese just a mile south of the Tillamook Cheese Factory at the Blue Heron French Cheese Company, with its trademark Brie cheese and extensive wine selection. The wine bar offers tasting of Oregon wines for a small fee and the Brie samples and a variety of other tastes are free. They also have a gift shop brimming with treasures and a deli with fresh baked breads, sandwiches, chowders, soups and salads. On your way out stop at the petting zoo and pet something!

History buffs will be delighted to discover several museums and historic displays in this county seat.  The County Pioneer Museum has more than 35,000 artifacts and 10,000 photographs that help tell the story of this area. The Tillamook County Pioneer Museum is located at 2106 Second St.

The Tillamook Air Museum with more than 20 vintage aircraft, is housed in a World War II blimp hangar. The hangar is recorded as the world’s largest wooden structure in the Guinness Book of World Records and houses a collection of restored World War II aircraft.

If you still haven’t gotten your history fix, head to The Garibaldi Museum located in Garibaldi, Oregon. The museum is chartered to preserve the maritime heritage of the Pacific Northwest, telling the story of Captain Robert Gray and trade with the American Indians. Displays include models of the Columbia and Lady Washington and reproductions of the clothing of the seafarers.
When you are done knocking around town, get out to the 364,000 acres of mountains, forests, rivers and streams that surround Tillamook and make up the Tillamook State Forest. It will be easy to see why the native Salishan Indians named the area Tillamook, which means “land of many waters.”  The area has three major bays and seven major rivers. Take a drift boat fishing on one of the many rivers, kayak one of the sloughs, or go canoeing on the bays. The bays are also outstanding for crabbing and clamming and provide access to ocean fishing.

Tillamook Bay is one of the best spots in the state for birding from early August to March.

Sandlake is a popular area for all-terrain vehicles with its abundant sand dunes.

Cape Meares Lighthouse and Wildlife Refuge, located ten miles west of Tillamook, offers hiking, the historic 1890 Cape Meares Lighthouse, The Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge and the Octopus Tree.

If you keep heading down the coast, you will reach Cape Lookout State Park, where you can hike through lush old-growth forest to a scenic point that reaches three-fourths of a mile out to sea. There is also good access to the beach where you often can watch colorful hang gliders and paragliders soaring above.

You can find the highest waterfall on the Oregon coast just seven miles south of Tillamook. You only have to hike one-fourth of a mile to reach the base of the 266-foot Munson Falls.

Learn about the natural resources of this area at The Tillamook Forest Center, located 20 minutes east of town on Highway 6. The interpretive and exhibits center showcases the forest and the legacy of the historic Tillamook Burn. Admission is free.

The Tillamook County Dairy Parade and Festival celebrate the area’s dairy industry in June. The parade is part of the June Dairy Festival weekend, which also features the Tillamook County Rodeo.

The Tillamook County Fair in August includes live horse racing, free grandstand shows featuring national talent, and the World Famous Pig-N-Ford Races. Also in August is the popular Tillamook Bay Run held at the scenic Bayocean Spit, three miles west of Tillamook between Tillamook Bay and the Pacific Ocean.

Visit the Tillamook Area Chamber of Commerce Visitor Information Center, located at 3705 Hwy. 101 North, for more information or their website: www.tillamookchamber.org.