"McMinnville in a nutshell" Top 5 Page for this destination McMinnville by Carmanah

McMinnville Travel Guide: 27 reviews and 93 photos

Standing next to a pegasis sculpture - McMinnville

My parents decided to plan out a family vacation along the Oregon coast in July of 1999. We spent a few days in Astoria, Seaside and Cannon Beach before driving across the state on our way back home. My father, who's a high school teacher by day, but a freelance wine educator by night, wanted to tour the local Oregon wineries... so we spent a night in McMinnville.

There was this one winery, west of McMinnville that had an incredible display of gigantic art sculptures. These sculptures were made out of scrap metal that had been twisted and bent to look like amazing creatures. The one photo is me next to a you-know-what. ;)

The climate around McMinnville reminds me of that in the Okanagan in BC. It's hot (but not humid), and almost semi-arid. A lot of farming goes on in the nearby communities, and with that are vineyards and wineries.

The town of McMinnville was tiny, but cute. It had a very quiet, small-town, close-community American feel to it. Trees lined the streets, many old historical buildings in the downtown streets had been well taken care for. Unfortunately a lot of the stores were closed by late afternoon when we were exploring the town. We were going to go to an upscale restaurant for dinner that night, but realized we weren't wearing the appropriate clothing for the occasion. So we went to a family restaurant instead.

I have photographs of the nearby wineries that I'll scan in. The geography of this area is amazing... rolling hills, vineyards, small little farms. Take the side streets through the small towns if you want to explore. The drive is relaxing, and you really get a feel for the area.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Quiet, "All American", nearby wineries, hot summers, nearby Portland
Cons:There's not a whole lot to do there
In a nutshell:A great homebase if you plan to tour the local wineries

Last visit to McMinnville: Jul 1999
Intro Updated Feb 12, 2003
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Reviews (1)

The Vineyard Inn Motel Hotels (1)

Just outside of downtown McMinnville, this hotel was simple yet comfortable, and close enough to several restaurants... more travel advice

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Comments (2)

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charlesyou Feb 23, 2004 at 5:37 PM

Hi!Robyn, it's charles from china, nice to meet you :)
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orlikins Feb 12, 2003 at 6:16 AM

sounds like a nice quiet unassuming kind of place