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Lane County is a place where the kids get muddy, the dogs come to brunch and nobody bats an eye at either. Whether you’re raising tiny humans, furry ones or both, there’s a lot to keep track of, so for our 2026 Lookout List we asked you for your best of Family, Kids & Pets: the camps, preschools and playgrounds, the vets and groomers, and the spots where everyone’s welcome. Check out the rest of the Lookout List winners here.
Best Kids Summer Camp
Winner: Whole Earth Nature School
Hendricks Park and Mount Pisgah Arboretum
Fire-making, camouflage, bow-and-arrow skills and a camp called Earth Ninja: Whole Earth has been sending kids home happily muddy since 2009. Whole Earth offers a mix of creative, outdoorsy week-long day and overnight camps for ages 5 to 17.
Runner-up: Adventure! Children’s Museum
490 Valley River Center, Eugene 97401
Dino digs for the little paleontologists, theatre productions for the budding thespians: Adventure!’s summer camps run on pure imagination.
Best Kids Experience
Winner: Eugene Science Center
2300 Leo Harris Pkwy., Eugene 97401
Hands-on exhibits inside, a rocket ship to climb outside and a 40-foot planetarium dome for staring into the cosmos. Eugene Science Center has been turning kids into tiny scientists since 1961.
Runner-up: Adventure! Children’s Museum
490 Valley River Center, Eugene 97401
Between the pirate ship slide, Messy Art Thursdays and story time, a $7 ticket buys an afternoon of make-believe, rain or shine.
Best Childcare or Daycare
Winner: Vivian Olum Child Development Center
1650 Columbia St., Eugene 97403
This University of Oregon center is a love letter of sorts: former UO president Paul Olum helped fund its first building in honor of his late wife, Vivian, a UO counseling psychology professor whose work centered on children and families. Thirty years later, her name is on a place where babies, preschoolers and school-age kids of UO faculty and staff get to grow up.
Runner-up: Eugene Montessori School
2255 Oakmont Way, Eugene 97401
Since 1962, this Montessori preschool has been letting kids ages 3 to 6 learn by doing. A number of today’s parents went here themselves, and now they’re back for drop-off.
Best Pet Boarding, Doggie Daycare, or Sitting/Walking Service
Winner: Dog Paw Daycare & Boarding
89674 Armitage Rd., Eugene 97408
Since 2009, family-run Dog Paw has been a home away from home for more than 2,000 pups. Group play, private play and overnight stays mean every dog, from couch potato to zoomie machine, gets their kind of good day.
Runner-up: Opportunity Barks
84293 Hill Top Dr., Pleasant Hill 97455
This Pleasant Hill pup paradise opened in 2008, and today dogs get more than two acres of fenced countryside for daycare, boarding and learning some manners.
Best Youth Sports Program or League
Winner: KIDSPORTS
Civic Park, Eugene
It all started in 1953 with 10 basketball teams. Today, “All Kids Play” isn’t just a motto. It means any kid can learn to play and move their body, whatever their skill level or ability to pay, through soccer, football, volleyball, basketball, lacrosse, baseball and softball leagues, clinics and camps.
Runner-up: Emerald City Junior Derby
Bob Keefer Center, 250 S. 32nd St., Springfield 97478
The junior offshoot of Emerald City Roller Derby welcomes young skaters of all genders and experience levels. Never skated before? They’ll teach you, and they’ll even loan you the pads.
Best Pet Supply or Grooming Shop
Winner: The Healthy Pet
2777 Friendly St., Eugene 97405
When holistic veterinarian Dr. Doreen Hock couldn’t find the healthy foods and supplements she wanted for her patients, she opened her own shop in 1997. Nearly three decades later, it’s still the go-to for raw diets, quality treats and staff who know their stuff about dog and cat nutrition.
Runner-up: The Laundromutt
1025 River Rd., Eugene 97404
Washing a muddy dog in your own bathtub? Never again. Owner Rachel Azzato’s River Road shop has self-serve tubs stocked with shampoo, towels and serious dryers, plus an in-house groomer.
Best Local Preschool
Winner: Eugene Montessori School
2255 Oakmont Way, Eugene 97401
Runner-up: Vivian Olum Child Development Center
1650 Columbia St., Eugene 97403
Best Playground or Kid-Centric Outdoor Space
Winner: RiverPlay Discovery Village Playground
Skinner Butte Park, off Cheshire Ave., Eugene
Climb a 25-foot mini Skinner Butte, dig for fossils, then ferry cargo across a “Little Willamette River.” This one-acre playground, designed with input from hundreds of local kids, turns Eugene’s history into one giant game of pretend.
Runner-up: Adventure! Children’s Museum
490 Valley River Center, Eugene 97401
Sure, technically, it’s indoors. In a town where “outdoor play” means making do during nine months of drizzle, a pirate ship, a camping exhibit and room to run on the second floor of Valley River Center might be the next best thing.
Best Dog-Friendly Business
Winner: beergarden.
777 W 6th Ave., Eugene 97402
Pups, just ring the doorbell: staff will swing open the gate to the covered, heated back patio, where four-legged regulars are welcome at the tables. Since 2015, this taproom and food cart pod has kept the good stuff flowing for both ends of the leash, with 40-plus taps for you and a whole patio of new best friends for them.
Runner-up: Oakshire Brewing
Pups have long sprawled under the tables at Oakshire’s Whiteaker Public House while their people sampled whatever was new on tap. Sadly, Oakshire announced in September that it’s closing after 20 years.
Best Local Veterinarian
Winner: West Eugene Animal Hospital
1175 City View St., Eugene 97402
This full-service animal hospital has been caring for west Eugene’s pets for more than half a century, and its AAHA accreditation means it regularly gets checked against some of the toughest standards in vet medicine.
Runner-up: The Ark Veterinary Clinic
4965 Barger Dr., Eugene 97402
Two by two, or one very nervous cat at a time, this The Ark clinic takes them all in. The Ark’s team even offers weekend hours for when the weekday schedule just won’t cooperate.
Best Family-Friendly Restaurant
Winner: PublicHouse
418 A St., Springfield 97477
Can’t get the whole family to agree on dinner? You don’t have to. With a lineup of food vendors under one roof, everybody orders what they want, and parents juggling kids can do it all from their phones. Co-owner Colby Phillips grew up in Springfield when there wasn’t much downtown for families, so he built the spot he wished he’d had.
Runner-up: Chapala Mexican Restaurant
68 W 29th Ave., Eugene 97405, and 136 Oakway Center, Eugene 97401
In 1994, brothers Martin and Salvador Pelayo and their spouses pooled every dollar they had to open a restaurant. More than 30 years and a second location later, Chapala still feels like a family operation, which might be why so many families keep coming back.
