Vacation Portland Oregon

[BPO]

My wife and I will be taking a trip to Portland Oregon during the middle of May. We are looking for ideas of where to go, what to see and where to stay. We want to do river rafting one day and also to the coast another day.

 

[aprichman]

My wife and I will be taking a trip to Portland Oregon during the middle of May. We are looking for ideas of where to go, what to see and where to stay. We want to do river rafting one day and also to the coast another day.

Getting Around Portland:

You will hear people refer to the "east side" and the "west side" of the city. This is a reference to the Willamette River that cuts Portland in two. In order to travel from one side of the city to another you will need to use a bridge.

West side = downtown, the hills, further out west you get into the "tech" suburbs where Intel other major companies reside. Keep on going west and you will run into wine country before you hit the coast

East side = brewery / distillery row, hawthorne district, alberta/mississippi district. Once you go east of 60th there is a Mt. Tabor and the montavilla district which has some fun stuff. Avoid going east of 82nd to do in town "Portland things" - as far as the city goes there is not much to do east of there.

The MAX lines is the rail system around here and will take you to a lot of popular places. Use trimet.org if you want to use public transport.

Practical Advice on Weather/Clothing:

Weather in Portland and Western Oregon in general can be pretty unpredictable in the middle of May. Some years we will have incredibly beautiful sunny weather with temperatures hitting the mid 70s. Other years it will be miserable and rain all day with temperatures sometimes struggling to get into the low 50s.

In other words, be prepared to be flexible if you're planning to do a lot of outdoor activities. I strongly suggest investing in some decent rain gear as well - try to look for things that are breathable and waterproof. If people don't wear breathable rain gear they get super sweaty doing any kind of physical activity

Fun Outdoor Activities:

The best thing about Portland is how close it is to amazing outdoor scenery. Here's a few highlights.

*Columbia River Gorge - Massive gorge that was carved out by old glaciers that created amazing waterfalls. Truly some of the most stunning and unique scenery in Oregon. It's a fairly big attraction that draws people from all over the world - it's also free and there is ample parking right off the interstate. You can drive by (and park at) many of the bigger waterfalls. Multnomah Falls is the biggest continuous waterfall West of the Mississippi River in North America and is quite a sight. There's ample hiking trails all around. Some trails are paved all the way (the one near Multnomah Falls is paved) and others are meant for multiple day backpacking trips. Right near Multnomah Falls there is a nice stone Lodge that serves food and has a gift shop. It's worth stopping in and grabbing a quick bite and having a local brew.

*Forest Park - World's largest park in a city. It's located on the west side of the city very close to downtown. Lots of beautiful old growth forest to be found here.

*Mt Tabor - Inactive volcano that has been turned into a very nice park. Awesome views of the city from one side and awesome views of Mt. Hood on the other side. The top of the park is closed off to traffic making it very quiet and peaceful. One of my favorite spots in the city and where my wife and I got married.

*Laurelhurst Park - A beautiful park located in inner SE portland (39th & Stark) designed by Emanuel Mische. Ample space, interesting landscaping, and lots of sunny spots make this one of the more popular parks in the city. A great place to have a picnic or simply people/dog watch. Very close to the Hawthorne District.

*West Promenade - On the west side of the willamette river there is a nice park that stretches most of downtown.

Good Restaurants:

Just a few of my favorites: Little Big Burger, Waffle Window, The Screendoor, The Country Cat, Andinas, Thai Fresh

Also lots of nice food cart pods - basically a grouping of a dozen or so food carts with outdoor seating. My favorites are the ones on 45th & Belmont and 12th & Hawthorne. Pyro Pizza is fantastic and one of my personal favorites.

Good Breweries:

Probably too many to be listed honestly. Some of my personal favorites are Deschutes, Upright Brewing, HUB, Laurelwood, Cascade, and Breakside. There's really no "bad" breweries that I can think of off the top of my head.

Most of the breweries in Portland are actually pretty small and don't give great tours if they do them at all. Widmer Brothers offers one of the better tours in town. You get to tour their facility and get a tasting of a few of their beers as well as a small Widmer glass that you get to take home.

The Ocean:

The Oregon Coast is surprisingly laid back especially if you're going outside of the Summer. The closest place to go is going to be Cannon Beach / Seaside. Cannon Beach has Haystack Rock which is a great place to go if you want to see ocean wildlife. Make sure to go during low tide if you want to scope out some ocean creatures in the tidal pools.

Seaside is just a few miles north of cannon beach and is more populated. It has a cute little boardwalk area that have a few nice places to eat and hangout. There is a brewery in Seaside but I have not been there.

Further South there is Tillamook which has some really good places that make cheese and there are 2 good breweries in town.

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Hope that helps - let me know if you have any other questions about PDX. Cheers

 

[aprichman]

Oh just remembered, I would stay away from the Rogue Public house in Portland although the actual brewery in Newport is well worth a visit. The Green Dragon is a rogue owned brewery in Portland that is actually pretty nice and has a great outside area for warm days. So if you have the urge to get a Rogue brew in town go to the Green Dragon over the Rogue Public house.

 

[BPO]

Thanks for the great reply. It looks like we are going to be there in the middle of May and we did get a rental car. We will definitely see the Columbia River Gorge. We plan on taking a day to head out that way to try and raft on the river weather permitting.
Have you been to Pacific City on the coast? There is suppose to be a good brew pub called Pelican pub and brewery.
I am interested drinking some beers that we don’t get in Texas. We don’t get a lot of sours here and Portland seems to have a lot to offer. I also hear that Russian river is available there and I have never had that.

 

[Auger]

Thanks for posting this, my fiancee and I are spending half our honeymoon in Portland in mid June so this is very helpful!