What began as a small gathering of friends in 2004 has grown into an event drawing hundreds to Neahkahnie Beach for a bracing New Year’s Day dip in the frigid waters of the Pacific. Gather at 10:30am for a plunge at 11, with a bonfire to follow. And if Manzanita feels a little crowded, a few other Oregon Coast towns have started their own polar plunges.

If you'd rather start 2026 on land, you’re in luck: Several Oregon state parks host guided hikes on the first day of the year, and all hikes are free to join (though you'll need a parking pass in some place). The offerings include ranger-led hikes at Smith Rock, Latourell Falls, and Heceta Head Lighthouse, and a lichen hike at Silver Falls. Or, grab a life jacket and paddle your way through Beaver Creek Marsh.

It’s the season of big water on the Oregon Coast, with January the third of three months of extra-high tides. During this time, the Oregon King Tides Project—a citizen-science initiative organized by CoastWatch and the Oregon Coastal Management Program—asks for help documenting these king tides in an effort to understand the effects rising sea levels have on coastal communities. Participation in the project is open to anyone willing and able to venture out to the coast and operate a camera (but safety first, please).  

The grassroots music nonprofit Bubbaville celebrates the twang and howl of Appalachian-style stringband musicians with a multiday festival spanning  concerts, square dances, and “crankies,” a form of musical storytelling in which an illustrated scroll serves as a visual aid. Hootenannies and jams will pop up at bars like Moon & Sixpence and Spare Room, as well as places like Alberta Abbey and the NW Portland Hostel. 

Oregon’s only qualifier for Alaska’s Iditarod and Canada’s Yukon Quest is a 200-mile race through tricky, rugged terrain in Northeastern Oregon's Wallowa Mountains. (There are also two shorter races.) Veterinary checks—which are open to the public and offer an opportunity to meet the dogs and mushers (just leave personal pets at home, please)—begin the morning of Wednesday, January 21, in Enterprise and continue in Joseph that afternoon. The races commence at noon on Thursday, January 22, from Ferguson Ridge Ski Area. Salt Creek Summit Crossing Sno-Park is a good place for spectators to catch more of the action before the race finishes back at Ferguson Ridge on Saturday.  

This three-day acoustic music festival spotlights bluegrass, Americana, and folk. Expect a packed lineup of local and nationally acclaimed artists, ranging in format from ticketed concerts to educational workshops to public jam sessions. A community open mic kicks things off at 6pm on Thursday, January 22.

When Oregonians head to the festhalls in the Bavarian–themed town of Mt. Angel, it’s most often for Oktoberfest. But the wintertime Volksfest offers the same German-style sausages and beer, raucous dancing, live music, and lederhosen of the autumnal bash, with far mellower crowds.