A Tropical Cigar Paradise In Oregon

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A Tropical Cigar Paradise In Oregon

Jim Lewis of Beaverton, Oregon, created a tropical utopia in his backyard that includes an imaginative cigar room that brings the island feel to the Pacific Northwest

May 8, 2026 - By Garrett Rutledge

Photos/Jim Lewis 

You’re sitting in a tiki hut, a Mai Tai and a cigar by your side, island music playing in the background. You look around and see a putting green, palm trees and exotic plants. You must be somewhere in the Caribbean, right? Perhaps, or maybe you stumbled your way into the backyard of Jim Lewis in Beaverton, Oregon. If there was ever a place to “Find Your Beach,” you’ve come to the right spot. Lewis created a tropical paradise in his backyard, and to make matters better, he added one of the more unique and enviable cigar spaces you’ll ever see.

Beaverton, Oregon is a suburb just outside of Portland. While the climate isn’t exactly frigid in this part of the United States, it’s known for rainy, gloomy weather. In short, there’s not much of a tropical feel in the Pacific Northwest. For Lewis, 54, that became a problem. His family adores their annual tropical vacations, but the short visits just aren’t enough. His solution? Bring the tropics to them. Thankfully, he was uniquely suited to do just that. Lewis owns a residential landscape construction company that specializes in outdoor living. 

Around 2010, Lewis began transforming his backyard to become the ultimate island paradise. He planted 13 big palm trees, tropical plants, seasonal flowers and a banana tree. The palms and plants can survive year-round in the Oregon climate, while the flowers are seasonal and the banana tree wilts down in the winter. But Lewis says it grows with a vengeance in warmer months, reaching around 20 feet tall by summer’s end. 

“What I like to do when I’m building yards is create destination areas,” he says. “Even in a small backyard, you can have all these different destinations where people can go and entertain, and that’s what we built in our backyard.” Lewis says his yard is roughly 50 feet by 22 feet, and within its confines, are various “destinations.” Beyond the exotic flora that populates the backyard, Lewis installed a putting green, firepit, grilling area, patio and dining area. But the crown jewel of them all is his most recent addition, completed in the summer of 2023. In an area that used to be home to a trampoline, Lewis built a tiki hut, and it’s not your run-of-the-mill bungalow. 

Full Article: https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/a-tropical-cigar-paradise-in-oregon