Every winter, Albany comes alive with the spirit of the season. During the holidays, that means an old-fashion celebration with the community's Christmas Parlour Tour. When wintry weather arrives, visitors head to the nearby Cascade Range for snowshoe trips, cross-country skiing, and other snowy fun. And all season long, winter offers the chance to head inside, slow down, and enjoy the historic community's sites and attractions at a slower pace.
If you're looking for a laid-back getaway, bundle up—and get inspired with these five great reasons to visit Albany this winter.
Winter in Albany / photo by Camron Settlemier
Every holiday season, Albany's Christmas Parlour Tour brings cheer to the community with a festive look at a few of the community's historic homes.
Albany's four historic districts boast buildings that date back to the 1840s, and that history comes alive when a few vintage homes are decorated and opened to the public for self-guided tours. Light displays, wreaths, and other creative flourishes show off the community's creativity and offer plenty of old-fashioned fun.
The tour typically takes place the second Saturday of December each year.
The Christmas Parlour Tour might be one of Albany's top holiday attractions—but the fun doesn't stop there.
Admire dazzling displays as part of the Nighttime Magic Light Contest, support locally owned shops with Small Business Saturday just after Thanksgiving, admire seasonal displays in downtown businesses, and take the family to Christmas Storybook Land—where walk-thru light displays pay tribute to classic nursery rhymes, childhood fairy tales, and hit family movies.
Decorated window in downtown Albany / Photo by Brett Murphy
In downtown Albany, the Historic Carousel & Museum is home to a working carousel that features a zebra, seven-foot-tall giraffe, and dozens of other hand-carved and hand-painted creatures.
During the holidays, Santa Claus occasionally makes an appearance. And throughout the year, on the first Wednesday of each month, the attraction welcomes children with sensory sensitivities by slowing down the carousel and turning off its organ music.
And those with color vision deficiency can stop by the Albany Visitors Association, roughly two blocks away, to pick up loaner EnChroma glasses—which use advanced optical filters to provide enhanced color.
Take Highway 20 east from Albany, and you'll enter a winter wonderland in less than two hours. In the heart of the Cascades nearly a dozen Sno-Parks on Santiam Pass offer wintry playgrounds for cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, and two hills—at Tombstone and Santiam Sno-Parks—specifically for tubing and sledding.
Get recommendations and pick up a Sno-Park permit from the Albany Visitors Association before heading out. Learn more about winter sports around Albany.
If your ideal winter day means a laid-back stroll indoors, you'll find a few local museums that reflect Albany's history in a variety of interesting ways.
Start with the Albany Regional Museum, whose 12 exhibits cover logging, transportation, performing arts, and other curious insights into the city's past.
Elsewhere, the Monteith House takes visitors back to the 1850s with artifacts—including dining sets, furniture, and trinkets—that show what life was like for Albany's earliest European-American settlers.
