Farmers Market
Season Closing Soon

Whether you're a localvore sourcing fresh, locally grown foods or a visitor who loves to find unique gifts to take home, Southwest Washington's farmers' markets are a great place to shop for seasonal produce, flowers, crafted and prepared foods and hand made gifts. The area's markets are still in full swing for a few more weeks so get out and enjoy them while you can. For a list of markets and hours of operation,
» click here.

Special Hotel Packages in Southwest Washington!

Looking for the perfect weekend getaway?  You’ll want to check out our special hotel packages that will make it fun and affordable to plan that special vacation or weekend getaway. 

Harvest Time Brings Festivals and Fall Bounty
Fall has arrived and even though we hate to say goodbye to our sunny days of summer, we revel in the fact that we now have the flavorful bounty of harvest time in Southwest Washington to look forward to. Here you will find that U-pick farms, organic produce, farmers markets and wineries are plentiful.  And there is no better way to get out and explore your surroundings than to scout out the area’s farms for fresh picked corn, apples, u-pick berries and other fall favorites.  It’s a great way to spend the day, enjoy the region’s incredible scenery, sample new things and take home your freshly gathered finds.

The area also offers great fall festivals and events. Here is just a sampling of the upcoming Fall events. For a more complete listing and additional information, visit our online Calendar of Events.

September
26        Harvest Fun Days at Clark County Historical Museum
26        Old Fashioned Dutch Oven Baking & Butter Churning
at Cedar Creek Grist Mill
26        StompFest

October
3          Old Apple Tree Celebration
3-4       Pumpkin Festival at Pomeroy Living History Farm
3-25     Harvest Festival & Pumplin Patch at Bi-Zi Farms
10        Chestnut Festival
10-11   BirdFest & Bluegrass
24-25   Headless Horseman Halloween Train
31        Apple Cider Pressing at Cedar Creek Grist Mill

November
7 & 21  Lantern Tours at Fort Vancouver
27-19   Harvest Wine Tour

Visit Vancouver's Museums on FREE Museum Day!

September 26 is Free Museum Day sponsored by Smithsonian Magazine.  Enjoy free museum admission to both Pearson Air Museum and Clark County Historical Museum for the day.  It is also Harvest Fun Day at the CCHM from 10 am to 4 pm, so enjoy the festivities while you are there.

Pearson Air Museum
1115 East 5th Street
Vancouver, WA 98661
Hours: 10 am – 5 pm

Clark County Historical
Museum
1511 Main St.
Vancouver, WA 98660
Hours: 10 am – 4 pm

U.S. Travel Intentions
Looking Good

The travel intensions of Americans are on the rise according to a recent TravelHorizons survey.  Almost two-thirds (63 percent) of U.S. adults expect to take at least one trip for leisure purposes between August 2009 and January 2010, up from 61% who expressed the same intention in July 2008.   According to the national survey, the average number of overnight trips planned has also increased to 2.8 from 2.6 in July 2008.

Amtrak Adds New Vancouver to Vancouver Train

Amtrak Cascades started a second daily train from Vancouver B.C. last week. This new train provides same day service to and from Vancouver, Washington and Vancouver B.C. that was not previously available making tourism to both destinations more feasible. The Canadian government waived border clearance service fees to accommodate the second train as a pilot project until after the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympics Winter Games in February. WSDOT and Amtrak will evaluate the service to determine if traffic levels justify the cost of ongoing customs services.

The southbound train departs Vancouver B.C. daily at 6:40 a.m. and arrives in Vancouver, WA at 2:24 p.m. The northbound train departs Vancouver, WA at 3:05 p.m. and arrives in Vancouver B.C. at 10:45 p.m.

To plan your next visit to Southwest Washington, visit our website to request a visitor guide, check out your transportation options, and book a room.  It’s that easy!