The Dining Room is such an important program. It's hard to cook when you're homeless and to have a…read morefresh meal prepared almost every day (besides the weekend Fri-Sun) is amazing, especially with a vegetarian option

Great job in helping people like this.Its good quality food too and they treat people with…read moredignity.Really appreciated it at a time of need.

I really try hard to make sure that all of my reviews are fair and balanced. The main reason that I…read morewrite on Yelp is to try and help other people. Normally I would take off stars when things merit that, but because my overall experience here was so good and the joy I felt definitely seems to outweigh all the negatives, I just can't give the Cascades Raptor Center aything less than five stars. Let me go through the negatives with you first though because there are a few: Parking can be ... an adventure . The center sits at the top of the hill with a very small steep road leading up to a tiny parking lot. As many of the other reviews have noted, if you have anything larger than a midsized vehicle, I would not recommend attempting to use their parking lot. We tried originally and realized immediately that was a mistake, then turned around and parked at the trailhead across the street. We had to walk across a busy street and make it up that steep steep hill. I'm not going to lie, I was dying by the time I reached the entrance . But to be fair, I think most people are in better shape than I am :) so hopefully you'll be fine. They also have a very strict no dogs rule which I completely understand based on the venue. However, that means you cannot have even the smallest dog in the car or anywhere on the premises. Even the sight or sound of a dog can be stressful for the birds. So it totally makes sense to me that they're putting the animals first, but as someone who travels with her dog, it's important for you to know before coming . Lastly, I think the price is absolutely worth it. We paid $32 for two adults and I feel I got my money's worth but cost is important to a lot of people so I do feel the need to mention it. Having got all that out of the way, we had an amazing time here! We spent around an hour here at closing time and honestly I could have stayed a lot longer. Staff were very sweet and said that we could keep wandering around even after close if we wanted to because it takes them a while to get everything shut down and many of them are volunteers. There is no way I would have done that because I value people's time, but it is sweet of them to offer and they really seem to love and care for these animals deeply. I enjoyed speaking to many of them and they were all kind and informative. One of the things I appreciated most was learning about each resident and why they are there. These animals aren't on display for entertainment. They are ambassadors helping people understand and appreciate birds of prey. This organization rehabilities injured raprors, cares for many birds that to cannot be in the wild any longer and help utilize themto educate the public. The absolute sweetheart of my visit was Lethe, a turkey vulture who casually walked right up to us like we were old friends. I never expected one of my favorite interactions to be with a turkey vulture, but he absolutely stole my heart. Hans, the Eurasian eagle owl, was breathtaking. His enormous orange eyes were mesmerizing and I could have stood there watching him for hours. He is a stunning bird and to see him up close was incredible. I was also very excited to see Francis the magpie. My husband loves owls and that is why we came here, but magpies are my favorite birds so imagine my surprise when I saw her. Francis is actually not a raptor, she's a corvid, but she is a rescue and as the centers only non-rafter resident ,they also use her as an education ambassador. It was a challenge to try and get any good photos of any of the birds so although I'm attaching photos as always, you should understand that they don't do justice to actually being there. Because it was hard to get good photos and because of all of the other challenges that I have listed, if I was reviewing the raptor center completely objectively, I would probably give it three stars, maybee less honestly, but there is an element of community and learning and magic and hope and beauty here that just cannot be boiled down to an unequivocal rating. I would come here again every time, and all the time, and I highly recommend this stop if you're in the area and at all interested in birds or any kind of animal rescue and rehabilitation. .

My wife and I stopped by during the Eugene Marathon weekend. Being over 30, we understand that…read morebirds are cool. There were 31 birds with their own exhibits. Admission was $16/person, but well worth it for the experience. There are informative displays about each species and also each individual bird.

We took a very terrific kayak tour yesterday on the Yaquina bay. The tour was lead by Lily, a very…read moreknowledgeable and personal guide. We were promptly met, fully briefed, outfitted with water and safety gear and we were off. Many sightings of sea life and great talks about the local fishing industry. Highly recommended!!!

Tour was wonderful! It ended up being only our group of four and Jeremy our guide made it an…read moreamazing experience. The sea lions were out in force and incredible to see. Relaxed pace which was perfect for a first time kid kayaker!

I arranged for a friend to receive a refurbished laptop through their grant program, which he…read morereally needs but could not otherwise afford. He is really grateful for it. As for me, I donate all my old electronics to them.

The staff is very helpful and friendly. This is a perfect place to recycle your electronics. So…read moremuch better than throwing them into the landfill.