You never know what you’ll find in small towns around Eastern Oregon.

Specialty cheese.

Craft beer.

Orchards.

Farmstands stocked with just-picked produce.

These places are sometimes tucked in out-of-the way spots, but a set of tourism brochures is making it easier to find small producers with detailed maps, photos, and descriptions of each location.

The project is part of the agritourism development work through the Eastern Oregon Visitors Association, with funding from Travel Oregon and other local resources.

Each brochure is designed to represent the unique offerings of that particular area.

For instance, the River to Hills Farm Trail covers Umatilla and Morrow counties.

Whisky & Rocks Farm Loop focuses on Milton-Freewater, plus a bit of Pendleton.

The Wallowa County Barn Tour provides a driving route to see the area’s most scenic barns.

The Grande Ronde Farm Trail — originally called the Cove-Union Farm Loop — is now expanded to 27 stops. The new map comes out later this summer.

The John Day River Farm Trail in Grant County is set to be printed soon.

A sixth, Four Rivers Farm & Garden Trail, covers the Ontario and Nyssa areas of Malheur County.

Janet Dodson, agritourism development specialist for the Eastern Oregon Visitors Association, said these farm trail maps address education and outreach, plus boost the economic benefits of getting more traffic to these locations.

“The common thread is the locations included want to connect with consumers and invite them to visit,” Dodson said.

The maps can also entice visitors to stay a bit longer.

“Providing something to keep them around longer, and spend money in these little communities,” she said.

Yvonne and Brent Carroll make cheese in Umapine, about seven miles west of Milton-Freewater.

Their business, Umapine Creamery, is included in the Whisky & Rocks Farm Loop with their location, phone number and website.

“It does bring people in,” Brent said. “They do find us. We get more visitors from out of town than locals. We’ve had people all the way from Quebec, Texas, Ohio.”

The couple has been in the dairy business for about 40 years, and sold their milk to a dairy co-op.

In 2012 they decided to branch out.

“Yvonne decided she wanted to be a cheesemaker,” said Brent, who describes himself as her helper.

They now produce 8,000 pounds of cheese a year.

“That makes us a small creamery,” he said.

They mostly sell cheese at farmers markets in the area, but also have their products in local shops and Zupan’s markets in Portland.

Their gouda and havarti cheeses are enhanced with a variety of flavors. His favorite is Yvonne’s own recipe of a farmstead cheese named “Just Cheese.”

At the creamery, they have a self-service refrigerator where customers pay on the honor system. Those who want to meet the cheesemakers can call ahead.

Nella Mae Parks, who runs Nella Mae’s Farm in Cove, is part of the Grande Ronde Farm Trail with her self-serve farmstand she stocks with fresh vegetables.

“It’s a place people can easily stop,” she said. “Folks will leave notes in the book, or call me to say they saw it on the map.”

These farm loops and trails, she said, foster a connection between the participants.

“I like being part of it,” she said. “I feel we’re building a community of growers.”

Erin Heideman sees these farm loops as a way to educate children and adults about farm life in rural Oregon.

This fall, her Blown Away Ranch in Ione will be added to the River to Hills Farm Trail.

In addition to the 5,000-acre dryland wheat farm she operates with her husband, Heideman is the 4-H coordinator for the OSU Extenion Service in Morrow County. Before that, she was an ag shop teacher and FFA advisor for 20 years.

“Ag education for me is the biggest piece,” she said.

To help others connect with the land, she has an Airbnb called The Hen House (it’s been booked for two years solid) and welcomes RVers as part of the Harvest Host program.

As for the educational piece, she hopes Blown Away Farm can offer visitors a chance to mill their own flour, plant in the greenhouse, and even meet the animals.

“It’s the opportunity to share our story — what we do and why we do it,” she said.

Maps

The farm loop maps are available at Chamber of Commerce offices, Oregon Welcome Centers at Boardman and Ontario, regional events such as the Umatilla County Fair, and online at https://eova.com/agritourism.

The update and reprinting of the Grande Ronde Farm Trail and River to Hills Farm Trail (including a Spanish version) is funded by the Destination Ready grant program through Travel Oregon.

Kevin Bradford, based in Baker City, is handling the redesign and reprints.

“He’s making them more usable, with more driving directions,” Dodson said.

The grant also funded the completion of the John Day River Farm Trail so it matches the new map design, as well as two interpretive panels for an information kiosk in Milton-Freewater.

The Destination Ready grants were awarded for the development and enhancement of visitor experiences that are “COVID-19 appropriate” will “aid in economic recovery, enhance local livability and provide access to a diversity of explorers.”