Ashland Commons Hostel

Ashland Commons Hostel is the only hostel in artistic Ashland, a university town with a massive theater industry, nestled in a valley beneath the Siskiyou Mountain, with skiing, river rafting, road and mountain biking, and PCT trail access at its doorstep. Ashland is the type of place that people don’t expect to fall in love with. But they do.

The first thing you notice about Ashland is the vibrancy of its walkable downtown with all the independent shops and restaurants especially around the plaza. The famous Lithia Park is right there with its duck ponds, Japanese garden and bandshell. And yes, the granite fountain in the plaza still serves the bubbling Lithia water (it stinks, we warned you!), which contains lithium.

But it is the Oregon Shakespeare Festival which has defined the city’s culture for over 90 years. Selling over 400,000 tickets a year and running from March to October, the OSF will typically have 2-3 different performances on any given day. And it’s not just Shakespeare. It’s musicals, plays, modern stuff and the classics. And many of those performances happen right downtown, in OSF’s open-air Elizabethan theater.

Founded 30 years ago by local artist Rob Joseph, Ashland Commons is essentially a large-scale art installation by this point. What started as an attempt to surround the doorways with hand-laid tiles has expanded into likely millions (?) of tiles forming mosaics that now cover nearly the entire building. From a distance the tiles glint in the sun. Up close you’ll see grapes, guitars, there’s an octopus and migrating sea life, a soaring bird, even pizza.

Inside you'll find clean, comfortable bunk rooms in 4 and 6-person configurations, including a female-only dorm. All guests have access to our shared areas including fully equipped kitchens, common living areas, bathrooms and our two outdoor sitting areas. We offer parking, free wifi, and have affordable laundry machines on site.

Ashland is a pricey town. We exist to make sure budget shouldn’t be the reason you miss it.