Tillamook Forest Center

Excellent interactive exhibit for children and adults! Much time and effort went in to the design and planning of this educational center. Definitely worth a visit!

If you’re on your way to or from Tillamook, or looking for a nice day-​trip destination, this is a great, and absolutely free option! My 11 year old LOVED climbing the lookout tower and taking photo’s. Apparently, you can’t camp in this one, but they do have a book that features fire lookout towers that you CAN climb up into and camp in!
The lookout tower and an old truck are the first things you come to when you arrive at the Tillamook Forest Center. Inside there’s a mini museum and a ton of information the history, and historical fires in Tillamook Forest.
The bathrooms are very nice, clean, accessible, flushing and provide a place to diaper babies for both men and women. There are different ‘events’ everyday and a movie that begins every 30 minutes.
Outside there are family friendly walking trails, a picnic area on a suspension bridge, and snack machines. There are no other food options, so if you’re planning to eat here, you’ll want to pack a basket.
Everything here is free, outside of the gift shop, but there is an opportunity to leave a donation.

We had seen the signs for the Tillamook Forest Center a few times heading back and forth to the beach, and we finally planned to make a stop. Check the website if you’re planning on stopping by for a visit as the hours and days open vary through different times of the year.
Free admission, but there is a $ 5 recommended donation. It looks like they gave out little wood circles with a picture of the Tillamook Forest Center burned into them if you did do the recommended donation. Additionally, if you want to get fancy, it looked like if you donated $ 75, you could get your name on a little metal tree that is permanently affixed to the metal walls out in front of the center.
The inside of the forest center definitely has bathrooms (I’m guessing most people stop into this place as a rest stop) and local brochures /​maps, but the majority of the building is taken up by a museum. The targeted demographic is children, but the displays are something that people of all ages could enjoy.
The exhibits and layout were very high quality. I was even more impressed with how nice it was considering the fact that it was free to the public. There were interactive exhibits for kids where they placed magnetized pictures on different circles as a game, auditory exhibits where you could listen to people gives their accounts of different aspects of the Tillamook Forest history, drawers you could pull out, signs you could read, buttons you could press, a video about the Tillamook Burn, an interactive computer game on how to care for a forest, and more. You could easily spend an hour or two inside of the building with young kids if you go through everything.
Out front there is a tower that you can climb. It is an example of a forest fire watch tower with a mock-​up of living quarters at the top, complete with a cot, cookware, written accounts of people who worked the job, and an insulated stool that the people who lived there would stand on in the event of an electrical storm to prevent electrocution.
Behind the forest center is a suspension bridge over a river. There is access down to the river if you want to go play around the stone outcroppings. Additionally, there are a few 2 – 3 mile hikes that signage points to out back. Between the building and the bridge, there are tables you could eat a packed lunch at, and there were also a few vending machines.
There is a gift shop located indoors as well.
Overall, I was just impressed with this facility. If you’re thinking about making a stop here on the drive to the beach, do it. You won’t be disappointed.

This place was great! Not a huge museum, but the exhibits are well maintained and fun! Hands-​on and great for kids, even my 2 year old. There are ADA trails around the building, access to the river bed, and a tower to climb up. Highly recommend!

Wow! If you are driving from Portland to the coast, even if you aren’t headed to Tillamook, you should take the most scenic route possible through the Tillamook State Forest. Amazing scenery as you drive through the area. The Forest Center is a good place to stop, too. There are plenty of trails and the Wilson River is right there as well.

One more free thing to do when you’re in Tillamook. Not that you’re ever in Tillamook because there’s nothing here. But in case you are, go here.
This place is OK. It’s set right on top of the Wilson river (which I had never even heard of – go me!) and it’s very very beautiful. There are nice trails that are very walkable and family friendly. Overall it’s a small place but worth a visit if you’re in the area. HWY 6 is a nice drive as well.

What a gem. This place is a real treat and quite beautiful if you make it out on a sunny day. The fact that it’s free and family friendly is top notch. It makes for a great stop on the way to the coast.

**Northwest Architecture Pilgrimage: Miller Hull**
I love the drive to the coast through the Tillamook State Forest but always feel a bit rushed trying to fit in a weekend trip from Portland in less than 72 hours. Having passed by the eponymic Tillamook Forest Center enough times to make it a mental bookmark as a halfway point I finally stopped in on an design exploration.
The building is a very cool and yet simple side by side wood truss structure that is a long space carrying the visitor through the display area and then out onto a suspension pedestrian bridge over the Wilson River.
The displays are very detailed and tell the history and ecology of the forest and especially The Tillamook Burn and reverberations through the timber industry towards proper stewardship. Neither to environmentalist hippie dippie or pro industry clear cut the Forest Center does a good job of presenting all that the forest can and should be in an informative and interactive way.
The outdoor areas are supportive and fun to explore as well including Observation Tower, Suspension Bridge, Native Plant Hiking, Weird Little Amphitheater, and the River of course.
I also like that it is Free.

This is a neat attraction. We went originally because «nature was calling» (which are nice by the way). Smokey T. Bear is in the foyer waiting to great you (sheesh, he has put on some weight thru the years). Not sure of the square footage, but it’s a relatively large building. It’s full of the history on logging. (Even heard «real» loggers in the background, just like on the show Axe Men). There’s equipment from «back in the day»…little rooms to get the feel for how it was. Also has pillars resembling trees that you can open to learn how critters burrowed in and stuff (kinda cool). There is also a kid area where they can crawl into a log and have a sock puppet play. You exit via the back door and there is a pretty good sized suspension bridge which goes over the river. At the end of the bridge are trail markers telling you distance to _​_​_​_​. If you want to stretch your lets, take the trail.
I am very glad that we had to potty, because this place is really, really neat.

When I’m on the way to the coast, its pretty hard to get me to stop along the way. The goal is far to much fun, so I avoid being held up by a mediocre pit stop along the road. Getting my butt in a chair on a sandy beach with an cold brew next to me, is far better than the tourist traps that suck so many in. However the Tillamook Forest Center is far from a mediocre pit stop and well worth the stop if your passing by.
I recently had the opportunity to chaperon my daughters 5^th grade class to the Tillamook Forest Center located on hwy 6 on the way to Tillamook. It was a great trip and I learned as much as the kids. I love the forests. Not just for the reason of preserving natural area’s and trees, but also because I love outdoor activities. I love to hunt, fish, hike and camp and just enjoy the outdoors.
The center has a maze of trails to explore, a watch tower to climb, and a great indoor exhibit hall and museum that includes history on the forest, logging, the Tillamook burn and so much more. Everything is interactive and kid friendly. Our trip included a guided tour and classes on tree identification, forest preservation, the burn and more. The elk use this property like a playground and you might get a glance while you visit, also the Wilson river that flows right by the center, has some great places on property to watch Salmon and Steelhead spawn up the river.
So your asking what could make this any better of a place to stop for a quick picnic in the park, or and exploration of the grounds and exhibits. Well simply said… its free. Well not completely, as it was pointed out to me, our tax dollars are hard at work here. Still there is no cost to enter and see all the center has to offer. Give it a try if your in the area or passing. You won’t be disappointed.

So you’re on your way to Tillammok, maybe a cheese factory, or a lazy drive up or down the coast. If you’re not in a hurry as you meander hwy 6, keep an eye peeled for this forest center tucked in the trees just around one of many bends in the road. It’s nestled in the trees, has it’s own tower you can climb. (also a web cam on top). Inside you’ll find the Tillamook forests rich history laid out for you. Camp life is set up for you to check out, short films and stills with captions inform at your own pace. As every place does, they have food available, gifts to peruse or even buy. Picnic areas are available if you like the weather. Hiking trails as well. In other words it will be easy to make this a destination of it’s own and not just a stop by the wayside.
Most of us around these parts know about the World Forestry Center by the zoo, and not to take away from it. But the Tillamook center is free, and normally not nearly as crowded. It is a hidden gem for those with curiousity to satisfy.
Contact info and more in depth research before you go.
503−815−6860 or toll free 866−930−4646
A word of warning before you hop in your car and head out, they are currently closed and aren’t scheduled to reopen till 3’3’2010.

I nearly forgot — since I am the sort to constantly notice names, just wanted to mention 2 that struck me as coincidental (??) in regard to the Tillamook Forestry Center (Herb Caen is chuckling…):
Harlan Woods
Burrell Birch
Could you ask for better named guys to work in forestry? Reminds me of a doctor I worked with in Berkeley — Dr. Pane…(I’ll let that one go…)
By all means, if you’re headed toward the coast, stop here — it’s a great day trip.