3 Best Sights in Eastern Oregon, Oregon

This ramshackle building operated by the state park system was a trading post on The Dalles Military Road in 1866 and 1867, then later served as a general store, a Chinese labor exchange for the area's mines, a doctor's shop, and an opium den. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the museum is an extraordinary testament to the early Chinese community in Oregon. Tours are on the hour with groups limited to eight people; if you miss it, you can always catch a 5- or 30-minute video at the interpretive center across the street.

This 90-minute tour transports you belowground and back through Pendleton's history of gambling, girls, and gold. The Underground Tours depict town life from more than a century ago (when 32 saloons and 18 brothels were operating in full swing) to the 1953 closure of the Cozy Rooms, the best-known bordello in town. The Underground Tour eventually resurfaces, climbing the "31 Steps to Heaven" to those Cozy Rooms where madam Stella Darby reigned. The secret gambling lairs, opium dens, and bathhouses that lie directly below the pavement will give you a whole new perspective of the streets of Pendleton. Reservations are required.

Trace the steps of Oregon Trail pioneers at this nature park in the Blue Mountains, where pine trees still bear the scars made by passing covered wagons more than 175 years ago. Signs along the various unpaved hiking trails highlight the history of the journey west.