Tony Kay Photography/Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce
The holiday parade during Victorian Chrismas celebrations in historic downtown Jacksonville.
Day CARROT CAKE • SHOPPING • HOLIDAY LIGHTS TOUR Backroad byways are one of Oregon’s traveling joys, inviting you to revel in stunning vistas, wave to curious animals and prowl random points of interest. The journey on state Highway 238, which meanders 30 miles from Grants Pass through the Applegate Valley to Jacksonville, covers all those bases. A bonus? Good snacks. At the 145-year-old Provolt Country Store & Deli, a destination itself, the star attraction is the house-made carrot cake, under a pillow of cream cheese icing and with almost half its weight in carrots. In gold country, the more carrots, the better. Following the mining rush, Jacksonville became largely an afterthought, and the county seat even moved next door to Medford. Without much redevelopment pressure—it’s still home to less than 3,000 people—the town became a time capsule of sorts and in 1966 was declared a historic district in its entirety. Now, tourism drives the economy. Holiday list in hand, browse the four-block, once-boomtown downtown to a smorgasbord of bedecked clothing boutiques, antique peddlers, kitchenware and jewelry shops, and bougie watering holes. If you like interpretive signs, find a bonanza of those, too, including at the site where remnants of Chinatown were unearthed. There’s no longer snooker, but you can scout seats and snacks at GoodBean Coffee, in a circa-1852 billiards hall and saloon. Breakfast is served until 2. Impervious to temperature and have your pup in tow? Violets & Cream candy shop sells twenty-eight ice cream flavors for 94 1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2024
people, and three options for furry friends. Stiff from the drive? Several local spas including Belita Space offer rubdowns. On South Third Street, local artisans are the stars in an inviting country cottage at Artist & Gardener, started eight years ago by a pair of California escapees. The artist founder, Todd Lovett, paints watercolors on site, while Mark Sutter, the gardener, dresses up the yard and porch. After a tasting room or two, burrow into your holiday coat and queue for the Holiday Trolley Lights Tour. The route will whisk past the courthouse-turned-city hall, several Victorian houses-turned-hotels including elegant Kubli Haus, and the Bigham Knoll Drive campus, home to the original schoolhouse, the local Rogue Brewery and mini golf, weather-permitting. A live-action Nativity scene is also planned. Nightly tours begin after Thanksgiving. Save spots starting Nov. 1. Afterward, inspired fare and mellow vibes await at Gogi’s Restaurant, where the wine list is long, the wooden bar is artful and seasonal dishes feature the bounty of Southern Oregon. Try the smoked salmon cakes and semolina gnocchi with artichoke purée. For toe-tapping post-dinner entertainment, high step into Italian eatery Bella Union or the South Stage Cellars tasting room. Or, if you prefer pool, a jukebox and taxidermy, head to local hangout J’Ville Tavern—the oldest bar in the Rogue Valley—where the drinks are strong and the conversation is lively. The stuffed animals? Not so much.
