WOW, why all the beef with hippies? Why do they get such a bad rep? The Pacific Northwest is crawling with hippies, including the O.G.s left from the 60s, as well as the neo-hippies of today. (I think I just made that term up, is there such a thing as a neo-hippie?) The term hippie has changed over the years, but they are quite misunderstood.

I don't even identify as a hippie but look what I had to go through:

• Back in 2002, I told a friend of mine, who lives in Texas, that I was leaving my hometown in Tennessee and moving to Washington state. He said to me, and I quote, “Oh, geez. Now you’re going to become a tree-huggin’ hippie!”
• Back in 2010, when I told my mom the beautiful name I wanted to give my child, she uttered to me on the phone, and I quote, “I’m not a hippie, I didn’t raise no hippies, and I’m not going to have any hippie grandbabies!”

If she was trying to make me feel like a weirdo for naming my kid Willow, NICE TRY, MOM! Enjoy your adorable hippie grandbaby. 👶🏽

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WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF HIPPIE?

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines the term:

hippie

noun

: (usually) a young person who rejects the mores of established society (as by dressing unconventionally or favoring communal living) and advocates a nonviolent ethic
broadly : a long-haired unconventionally dressed young person

So in other words, are they saying a hippie is a chill person who is a homebody (or park-body), minds their own business, stays in their own lane, makes “breathable” fashion choices, and likes saving money on haircuts, (and hopefully shower)? Plus, they hug trees for fun?

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Now, you tell me what is so bad about that?

I’m not going to regale you with quotes from a Charles Dickens novel, but there is a distinct duality of living in the hippie cities that lie hidden inside Washington, California, and Oregon. While the rest of the state(s) are flushed with people ready to spar in verbal fisticuffs over their political ideologies, or city slickers lamenting in ridiculous and unnecessary traffic jams, we find a respite in the quaint, hippie towns outside the city limits.

Let’s take a peek inside the three towns some are saying to be the most hippie cities in each state of WA, CA, and OR.

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1 . OJAI, CALIFORNIA

Did you know that a lot of people believe there’s a vortex running through the California town of Ojai? I was today years old when I found out. This town is a playground for hippie families (and tourists) to explore surfing camps, spa treatments, guided meditations, and sabbaticals.

"I cool off with you, and your little hippie dog, too!" - The Coolest Wicked Witch of the West Coast, probably

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2 . HOOD RIVER, OREGON

There is much debate about which town in Oregon feels the most “hippie”, like Eugene and Ashland, but I’m giving it to Hood River. I love its carefree vibe. I don’t care at all for its super rocky beach, but I DO love the foodie scene and that one pub with a view that gives you a breathtaking lay of the land.

Check out a list of 9 other hippie Oregon towns here.

"I like my hippies doing bike jumps out in the woods!" - Somebody, probably

Breathtaking beauty awaits in Hood River, Oregon, hippie or not!

3 . LAKE CHELAN, WASHINGTON

This part of the state is arguably one of the most beautiful. You can’t help but feel peaceful and not GAF about the worries of the world when you are driving around the bend and catch sights of the Columbia River in Lake Chelan. I have seen “hippies” of Washington in their natural habitat, playing cornhole, boating, camping, and swimming up and down the lake. #Bliss

Playing cornhole with the "hippies" in Lake Chelan

Summertime swimmin' with the "hippies" at Lake Chelan State Park

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