McKenzie River Discovery Center — Reported Site of Holiday Event
Hikers across Oregon are being asked to keep their eyes peeled this winter: more than 350 locally crafted wooden ornaments are being tucked along forest trails from the Willamette Valley to the Cascade foothills, part of a sweepstakes-linked treasure hunt that runs from Nov. 20 through Dec. 31. Organizers call it the largest version yet of an event now in its ninth year.
The ninth annual Willamette Valley Ornament Hunt is a partnership between the Willamette Valley Visitors Association and Cascade Volunteers, according to willamettevalley.org, which describes nearly 40 trails where the ornaments will be hidden across the Willamette Valley, the Cascades and the Oregon Coast Range foothills. The full trail list is scheduled to be posted on the association’s website on Nov. 20, the day the hunt begins, per the same source. Philomath News, meanwhile, reports the hunt covering more than 25 non-wilderness trails, a figure that differs from the association’s own description of nearly 40 — a discrepancy the available reporting does not resolve…