Visit Hood River Lavender Farms Near Portland, Oregon

Hood River Lavender Farms near Portland is the perfect day trip to take during the summer. Oregon is home to a number of lavender farms. Luckily, Hood River Lavender Farms is an easy drive from Portland.

When I was planning a long-weekend summer trip to Portland, I knew I wanted to escape the city for a day. As soon as I saw photos of Hood River Lavender Farms and its purple fields, I knew this was the ideal day trip for me and my camera.

2021 Hours at Hood River Lavender Farms

This post has been updated to share the 2021 visiting hours for Hood River Lavender Farms. The schedule below is listed on the farms’ official website:

• Mid-April – May: Open Thursday-Sunday
• June – September: Open 7 days a week
• November: Open Friday-Sunday

On open days at the farm, the hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and 11:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Sundays.

About Hood River Lavender Farms

Hood River Lavender Farms is a beautiful, organic lavender farm near Portland, Oregon. The farm is a popular tourist attraction and there’s no denying why once you lay your eyes on the stunning lavender fields. From the fields you also have gorgeous views of Mount Hood and Mount Adams.

In addition to acres of photogenic purple fields, Hood River Lavender Farms steam distills its lavender to produce pure essential oil. The oil then enables the production of a variety of lavender products such as soap, lotion, candles, perfume and tea, to name a few. It’s crazy to see how many ways lavender can be used—from beauty products to cooking essentials.

How to Get to Hood River Lavender Farms from Portland

Hood River Lavender Farms is 70 miles from Portland, nestled in the scenic Hood River Valley of Oregon. We decided to rent a car and enjoy a road trip to the farm. The journey is a little over an hour away by car, but the drive itself was so pleasant and the scenery is easy on the eyes.

We took Highway 30 all the way there, following along the Columbia River. The drive is beautiful and we made a few pit stops along the way to admire the views.

Pit Stop at Multnomah Falls

We made a stop at Multnomah Falls on our way to the lavender farms. You will find this stop about 30 minutes outside of Portland. It worked best to stop at Multnomah Falls before heading to the lavender farms (versus one the way back) because the parking for waterfall access gets full really quick in the morning.

Once the parking lot reaches capacity, it closes. I’d definitely recommend a stop here on the way. The waterfall is jaw dropping and so easy to get to, with no hiking involved.

Visiting Hood River Lavender Farms Near Portland

When we arrived we were able to easily snag a spot to park the car within the small lot on the property. The farm itself is relatively small, so there isn’t any long-distance walking involved to access it. We walked right into the lavender farm from the parking lot. There is no entry fee to get in.

Pick Your Own Lavender Bouquet

For a small fee, you can pick your own bundle of lavender. This is so fun! To do this, I found someone who works at the farm, paid them $5, and was immediately handed a pair of scissors and a zip tie. Only $5 to collect my own bundle of lavender to take home?! I love this.

I thought this was awesome considering I had no expectation of being able to do this when we planned our visit. I expected it to be all look and no touch, which would have been fine, as I was happy just to take photos of the beautiful scenery.  But being able to gather a lavender bundle doubled as a fun souvenir to take home from our trip to Oregon.

After I paid my $5, the kind woman from Hood River Lavender Farms took me over to the fields and gave me a quick, informative tutorial on which rows of lavender were ready to be picked. She also explained how to properly cut the lavender. This also included important information on how to avoid the bees.

Shop for Lavender Products

After my time frolicking amongst the lavender fields and taking plenty of photos, we went to browse the tiny on-site shop where the farm owners sell their lavender products. I definitely recommend checking out all of their home and beauty items that they make from the lavender at the farm.

It’s quite an impressive selection of lavender goodies and it’s a great place to buy a gift for someone who might have a celebration approaching. Or you can just buy yourself a gift for no reason at all. That works, too.

Assuming traffic is flowing smoothly, you could really make your way out to Hood River Lavender Farms and back to Portland in less than half a day. There’s plenty to see along the way, so my suggestion is to leave an entire day open for the journey out there and make a day out of it.

Bees and Lavender

Oh my, there were so many bees! I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so many bees in my life. The nice thing, though, is they are easy to dodge if you are cautious and follow instruction. We didn’t have any issues with the bees, but do be aware that they are out here if you have an allergy.

Note that this isn’t unique to this location. It is common to find bees near lavender in general. I thought it was important to note this, knowing that bee allergies are severe for some people.

Learn More About Lavender

• Lavender is an herb.
• The best condition for growing lavender in is full sun and well-drained soil.
• Lavender blooms usually peak some time between late June and August.
• There are about 40 different species of lavender.
• Lavender is native to the Mediterranean region of the world.
• The lavender season generally runs from mid-June through early August. This is when the color is vibrant and the scent is strong.