Start your day by grabbing a cup of locally-roasted coffee from The Governor’s Cup, Archive Coffee & Bar or Isaac’s. If you’re craving a freshly made, sweet treat to go with that cup o’ joe, pop in to 5 Star Donuts or Big Wig Donuts.

Next, explore Willamette Heritage Center, with fourteen historic structures on a 5-acre campus, including the 1841 Jason Lee House and Methodist Parsonage - the oldest standing wooden frame houses in the Pacific Northwest. The 1896 Thomas Kay Woolen Mill, a National Park Service-designated American Treasure, vividly tells the story of industrialization in the Mid-Willamette Valley.

While the Oregon State Capitol Building isn’t currently open to the public, The Capitol’s Willson Park offers a lovely walk of discovery, with its many statues and the World War II Memorial, a 33 ft tall pillar which lists the names of nearly 3,800 Oregonians who died in the war.

Grab lunch at one of dozens of locally-owned restaurants in downtown Salem including Taproot Café & Lounge for one of their famous bowls, Bo & Vine for outstanding salads and hearty burgers, or Venti’s Café & Taphouse, which features a robust menu of vegan and vegetarian options. As you’re exploring downtown, be sure to look up on alley walls and all around as Salem boasts a fascinating, eclectic collection of public art.

Después de comer, diríjase al Museo de Arte Hallie Ford, en el campus de la Universidad Willamette. Se trata del tercer museo de arte más grande de Oregón, con diversas colecciones de arte antiguo, europeo, nativo americano y asiático, así como destacadas exposiciones rotativas que, según dicen, no tienen nada que envidiar a las de algunos de los museos más renombrados del mundo.

Termine su día de exploración histórica y cultural en Salem visitando los históricos jardines Deepwood, diseñados por Elizabeth Lord y Edith Schryver, la primera empresa de arquitectura paisajista propiedad de una mujer en el noroeste del Pacífico.