Best Outdoor Store

1. Down to Earth 532 Olive Street. 541-342-6820. DowntoEarthEugene.com.

2. Berg’s Ski & Snowboard Shop 367 W. 13th Avenue. 541-683-1300. BergsSkiShop.com.

3. Backcountry Gear 1855 W. 2nd Avenue. 1-800-953-5499. BackCountryGear.com.

We have to be honest here, we were thinking of hiking, skiing and sports-type stores when we named the category “Best Outdoor Store.” But you, Eugene Weekly voters, are apparently just as much into gardening and cooking as you are into camping and snowboarding, or maybe even more so, given you folks voted Down To Earth into first place. 

But now that we see which way the votes landed, sure. It is in fact just as much fun to plant veggies and sunflowers as it is to walk through fields of wildflowers. And you don’t have to travel nearly so far when the outdoors is your own backyard or neighborhood garden. Win-win.