Tucked between amber folds of grain on the sunny east side of Mount Hood is the town of Dufur, Oregon, population 607. For most, it’s a pin prick on a map roughly 15 miles south of The Dalles and the mighty Columbia River. For certain, it offers one of the biggest changes of both pace and landscape within a 100-mile radius of Portland.
Dufur boasts rolling wheat fields, a micro-downtown and some of the best panoramas of Oregon’s tallest peak. Weathered old farmhouses and homesteads dot the horizon, under skies so big you’d think you were in Montana. It’s also home to the Balch Hotel, a proud-looking brick edifice fit with 18 rooms and a much-deserved place on the Department of Interior’s National Historic Registry.
The three-story hotel strikes an ideal balance in size, large enough to tow the hotel name while still of a size that feels like you’re staying at somebody’s home. In fact, the owners, Josiah Dean and his wife Claire Sierra, live on the third floor. It’s a safe bet they’ll be calling you by your first name once you have the keys and giving you details about the historic building the next morning, over coffee.
The Balch originally opened in 1908, with rooms going for 50-cents a pop. The building’s brilliant red bricks were made right there on the property, when it was a ranch owned by Charles P. Balch. The walls are thick, 18-inches, to insulate the place during Dufur’s warm summer months. Original features are hidden throughout the place, from old electric meters, to fire hoses, to antiques in the lobby.
Accommodations are simple, with an understated, age-old elegance. There is a suite with a private bathroom, but largely, the rooms have shared facilities. The Balch is the kind of place that encourages you to meet your fellow building mates, as it did nearly 100 years ago. Tall, crowned windows invite plenty of natural light while west-facing shared balconies showcase incredible sunsets. And as one star goes down, millions of others take its place, so find a hammock or patch of grass on the hotel’s inviting lawn and enjoy.
The room rate includes breakfast, something Dean is keen to present around 9 am each morning, buffet-style. On my visit, I was treated to rhubarb pound cake, quiches and yogurt with homemade granola. In the afternoon and evening, drinks are available, sourced almost entirely from the region. Dufur’s proximity to both the Columbia Gorge and Columbia Valley AVAs allow for a healthy list of warmer-weather varietals, such as Viognier, Barbera, Zin and Merlot from labels like The Pines and Jacob Williams.
While there’s world-class rafting and trout fishing in nearby Maupin (20 miles) and one of the state’s most promising wine scenes (The Dalles and vicinity, 15 miles), Dufur is an attraction in its own right. And not just every August when it hosts the Threshing Bee Festival, devoted to farm equipment and styles of old. There’s plenty of Balch real estate to explore, along with a snack at Kramer’s Market, a lesson or two from the Dufur Museum and a cold one at Pastime Saloon.
Sometimes the escape is the destination.
