Shakespeare in Ashland

The highlight of Ashland is definitely the theaters. The most famouse of them is the Shakespearean theater, but there are others in the area as well. There's the Cabaret Theater which includes a dessert menu (I recommend the cheesecake). Lithia Park is beautiful and right downtown. It has tons of trails as well as a beautiful creek, duck ponds (you can ask local bakeries for old bread to feed the ducks), and a playground for kids. In the winter you can also try Mt. Ashland for skiing.

Quick Tips:

Buses in Ashland are free (or used to be) if taking them only around town. This is a very good idea because parking in town can be a nightmare. Eat at a restraunt called Geppettoes, which offers its famous eggplant burgers as well as more traditional food. It's right downtown as well.

Best Way To Get Around:

Like I said, the bus is the easiest way to get around since parking can be difficult in the downtown/theater areas. Taxis are almost impossible to find. Most people drive and try to get lucky on parking, though there is a new parking building you can pay for. Not too many native Ashlanders use it.

This is the greatest, cheapest, yummiest restaurant! They sell great Mexican food (though not authentic, more tex-mex) in HUGE portions, plus it's really good. It's also a good choice for vegetarians since in all the meat dishes you can substitute tofu. But all the dishes are good with or without meat - nachos, burritos, quesadillas...the whole Mexican menu.

This is the cutest little restaurant. They serve all natural organic foods. They have really good options for vegetarians, and some fish and chicken as well. If you're looking for a steak, this is not the place for you!

They have sandwiches, wraps, soups, salads--all very light and delicious. The cafe has both outdoor and indoor seating, and while the cafe is right on the main street, the outdoor tables are quite nice and quiet. This is a fairly new restaurant in Ashland, and it's very popular with locals as well as tourists.

Ballet in the Park is a free show once a week that the local ballets present. Even though Ashland is a small town a lot of effort and quality are put into these productions. Bring a blanket because the shows are in the bandshell and the benches get taken really fast, most people end up sitting on the grass. At intermission there are usually people walking around with baskets asking for donations, but it's very low pressure. If you have little kids, especially girls, I would suggest you let them dress up in ballet clothes since lots of kids dance in the grass to the side of the stage.

Lithia Park was designed by the same person who designed the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. They are both beautiful parks, but I prefer Lithia, since it's beautiful and quiet and has a small-town feel to it. The park has two duck ponds and a creek that runs through it. In the summer, you can see kids and adults playing in the creek. Lithia has fields for playing Frisbee and football, and huge trees for shade as well. There's a Japanese Garden and a traditional rose garden in the park. In the summer, you can catch performances of the city band and ballet on Monday nights. When you explore the park, you see that there's a place somewhere in the park for everyone.

Emigrant Lake is not the most beautiful lake in Southern Oregon, but it's easy to get to, fun, and has a lot going on!

There are waterslides on the side of the lake towards Ashland; it's the first Emigrant Lake exit that you'll see when driving out there. It's about $3 per car for a day pass. Besides the water slides, the boat dock and the roped-off swimming area are there.

There's a lot of waterskiing and jet boats on the lake. But if you prefer something quieter, the lake is fairly large, with lots of crooks and crannies. So if you're like me and just like to paddle around and maybe get a little bit of swimming in, you can definitely find a quiet corner.

A lot of people like to take walks around here. There are some nice places, like along the top of the dam and in the old cemetery. But there are a lot of ticks in this area in the summer, so be careful and check yourself when you get home!

The Green Show is a really fun little outdoor theater right outside the Shakespeare Festival. It's free and really fun. There are usually several different shows, so try to go a couple times a week. Sometimes they're set up in a more Elizabethan style, and other times more modern. Usually they correspond to the play that's showing that same night in the main theater. Try to arrive early though because the seats are just on a little grass hill, so it fills up fast, plus bring a blanket to sit on. A lot of people come early and bring a picnic dinner, and if you want a good seat that's the best way to do it.