The nationally acclaimed Douglas County Museum of History and Natural History(123 Museum Dr., 541/957-7007, www.co.douglas.or.us/museum [1], 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Mon.–Fri., 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Sat., noon–5 p.m. Sun., $4 adults, $3 seniors, 17 and under free) is located at the Douglas County Fairgrounds (Exit 123 off I-5). Its four wings feature exhibits that range from a 1-million-year-old saber-toothed tiger to 19th-century steam-logging equipment. The museum also hosts children’s programming held the second Saturday of each month.
The Lotus Knight Memorial Gardens (5 a.m.–10 p.m. daily) are in Riverside Park (between Oak St. and Washington St. on the banks of the South Umpqua River). They are alight with colorful azaleas and rhododendrons in the spring.
The Winchester Fish Ladder is just off I-5 at Exit 129 on the north bank of the North Umpqua River. Visitors can watch salmon and steelhead in their native environment as they swim by the viewing window at Winchester Dam. Spring chinook and summer steelhead migrate upriver May–August, and coho, fall chinook, and more summer steelhead swim past September–November.
Winter steelhead is the primary species seen going through the fish ladders and on past the window December–May. The Umpqua River offers the largest variety of game fish in Oregon.
Links:
[1] http://www.co.douglas.or.us/museum