Oregon business owners hope eclipse helps boost post-pandemic tourism recovery

Cattleman and part-time brewer Ty Kliewer pours a new beer into a glass to inspect its color and taste.

He runs his company, Skyline Brewing, from a shed behind his cattle farm just outside Klamath Falls. It’s a small and unassuming brewery, but it’s also generated a loyal following because of Kliewer’s unusual flavors.

He makes a pink, raspberry wheat beer called “Breast Cancer Sucks” and an orange Creamsicle-flavored pale ale. For the upcoming solar eclipse, Kliewer is planning something he wants to call “Blackout.”

“We haven’t actually made it yet,” he said. “Kind of what’s rattling around in my head is to make something like a German Schwarzbier.”

Schwarzbier is made from roasted malt, giving it a dark color like a stout. He wants his Blackout beer to look dark but taste light, similar to the way an eclipse darkens the sky during daylight hours.

Skywatchers across a large swath of Oregon are preparing for an annular solar eclipse on Saturday, when the sun will create a ring of fire around the moon’s shadow.

During the total solar eclipse of 2017, the moon covered the entire face of the sun. But during this eclipse, the sun will appear slightly larger than the moon, leaving a ring of light. In Oregon, the path starts above Florence and Coos Bay and then moves southeast over Yoncalla, Roseburg, Chiloquin and Lakeview.

But the 160-mile-wide shadow will be seen from Corvallis to Medford and Newport to Lakeview. Hundreds of thousands of Oregonians, including people in Klamath Falls, should be able to see at least a partial eclipse starting at 9:13 a.m. Saturday. Watch parties have been organized from Bandon to Bend.

Kliewer’s new eclipse-themed beer will debut at ElipseFest 2023, a multi-day festival that starts Tuesday.

The party will include food trucks, bands and lots of “umbraphiles” — people who chase eclipses.

“It’s going to be great,” said local designer and festival organizer Sara Irvine.

She thinks the Klamath Falls basin will be one of the best places to catch the eclipse in Oregon because it’s directly under the path. That means people will be able to see the complete ring of fire. And, while Oregonians on the coast will theoretically be able to see the eclipse first, clear skies are no guarantee there, whereas she notes Klamath Falls gets 300 days of sunshine a year.

Irvine said Crater Lake National Park has been marketed as one of the best locations to view the eclipse, and EclipseFest 2023 is being held just a few miles away.

“Crater Lake can only fit so many people in the park at one time,” she said. “And all of the accommodations around Crater Lake had already been booked for at least a year.”

Festival organizers hope to capture the overflow of visitors by providing camping and RV parking in a field at Fort Klamath for 3,000 people.

Irvine said the festival will be a great way to connect with what she calls the solar system’s “grand design.”

“When you take a little piece of that away with an eclipse, people realize; ‘Oh, this is your purpose. Sun, this is your purpose, and without you, what our life would be like is very very different,’” she said.

An eclipse can be profound. Birds and other wildlife go quiet as the light fades and temperatures plummet. Even the shapes of shadows change.

Todd Davidson, the CEO of Travel Oregon, thinks the eclipse should be good for the economy as well. During the 2017 solar eclipse, Lane County saw a 28% increase in tax revenues from camping, hotel stays, restaurants and car rentals.

Davidson said this time, eastern Oregon should also be able to showcase its low-light pollution, one of the latest trends driving tourism.

“Places like Klamath County, Lake County, the Oregon outback are prime dark sky opportunities,” he said.

Oregon’s tourism sector took a 50% hit during the pandemic. The hope is events like the eclipse will help the sector recover.

“I’m expectant that the eclipse will boost visitor spending in October in areas of Oregon that may historically experience a seasonal slowdown in travel spending this time of year,” Davidson said.

In 2017, local leaders worried about eclipse traffic jams and indiscriminate camping. Those fears proved largely unfounded.

“Oregon was very well prepared, and subsequently there were no negative impacts,” Davidson said.

“There were no wildfires that resulted from that. There were no major traffic snarls that were not addressed.”

Still, there were lessons to learn.

Authorities said anyone planning to drive to view the eclipse should make sure they’re fully fueled because rural gas stations can be far and few between. The same is true of ATMs, so it’s advisable to carry cash.

Potential eclipse viewers should also pack provisions like food, water and eclipse glasses for eye protection. And while there’s a lot of public land on which to camp, it’s often indistinguishable from private property, so authorities advise being mindful about trespassing.