We didn’t expect day-after-day of gray skies and showers, but we still found plenty to enjoy, even in the rain. It’s a good thing, because 10 days cooped up in our 27’ trailer would have been about 9 ½ days too much.
Fortunately, rain in Portland isn’t like rain in the East or the South. Most of the time, there’s just a constant light drizzle, not enough to warrant unfurling an umbrella. Throw on a fleece, a rain jacket, and waterproof shoes, and you’re good to go.
Our main reason for visiting Portland every year is to spend time with Eric’s sister Peggy. While there, we also carve out time for hiking, cultural, and culinary adventures. There is no lack of interesting things to do in Portland—the biggest challenge for us is narrowing down our choices!
Some of our favorites from this visit:
Urban Hike: The 2.6-mile Waterfront Loop meanders along the waterfront, including the Eastbank esplanade’s floating walkways, and crosses the Willamette on a couple of Portland’s famous bridges. The views of the downtown skyline are terrific.
The loop passes right by the Saturday Market—an excellent place for a taste of “Keeping Portland Weird.” (Honestly, Portland doesn’t seem weird to us at all—our hometown of Ashland is equally, delightfully weird.)
Neighborhood Wanderings: The Alphabet District/Northwest Portland is one of our favorite neighborhoods to explore on foot. It’s a charming mix of appealing shops, cafes, and beautiful renovated historic homes. On a rainy afternoon, we wandered in and out of interesting shops, lunched at award winning Ken’s Artisan Bakery (the soup and salad specials are excellent), and spent a couple of hours reading and relaxing at the cozy Dragonfly Coffee House.
Nature Fixes: Given that we stay 15 miles outside of Portland (it’s the closest RV park for our visits to Eric’s sister) we’re always in search of nearby places to hike/walk. This time, we discovered Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge and Graham Oaks Nature Park, both with several miles of beautiful trails. We also spent an afternoon at Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve in search of birds—all of which had more sense than we did, and were snuggled up somewhere out of the rain.
The Japanese Garden: Always a delight, the Portland Japanese Garden offers a tranquil respite in the city. We were a week or two early for the full-on display of autumn colors, but appreciated the peaceful beauty of the gardens, as well as a temporary show of fantastic sculptural bamboo pieces scattered throughout. Not only is this place gorgeous, it’s considered to be the most authentic Japanese garden outside of Japan. If you want insights into the deeper meaning of the natural elements of the garden, take one of the excellent free guided tours.
The Food: The food—oh my, the food! Portland is renowned for creative, local, handcrafted, organic, delicious fare. This visit, the standout for us was Dove Vivi, a friendly little neighborhood bistro in Northeast Portland that “celebrates the loot of their locale” by making everything from scratch. We were smitten by the crispy cornmeal crust pizza baked in an iron skillet, layered with balsamic roasted red onions, fresh corn, and smoked mozzarella, accompanied by a kale salad and local beer. Really, really, tasty.
Another day we enjoyed a late lunch at Pine Street Market, a trendy showcase of nine local restaurants in a very cool renovated 1886 historic livery. Lots of choices here—we opted for the excellent roast chicken and radicchio salad from Pollo Bravo. We happened to arrive mid-afternoon after a long ramble through downtown Portland in search of the famed “Portlandia” statue, and were glad we missed what appears to be a crazed lunch rush. (Bonus: Happy hour is from 3-6, with good deals on food and brews.)
McMenamins Kennedy School: On our dreariest day in Portland we headed to Northeast Portland for a matinee at the Kennedy School, a historic 1915 elementary school recycled into a boutique hotel replete with movie theatre, brewery, multiple small bars, soaking pool, and restaurant. We enjoyed a showing of Star Trek while relaxing on comfy sofas in the former auditorium, followed by a brew in the honors bar. It’s a colorful venue with a quirky Portland ambiance. Loved it.
Famers’ Market: Rain or shine, we never miss a visit to the Portland Farmers’ Market at Portland State University. On a drizzly day we perused the lush offerings and loaded up on organic vegetables, excellent locally crafted chocolate, pastured eggs, local goat cheese, and wild caught salmon. It’s a great place to catch some local music, grab a tasty meal from local purveyors, and soak in more of the vibe that makes Portland so welcoming, even in the rain.
About the RV Park:
Pheasant Ridge RV Park is about 15 miles from downtown Portland, and it’s an easy drive into the city on I-5 as long as you avoid the morning and afternoon rush hours. The park is immaculate and tightly run; sites have concrete pads, grassy lawns, and attractive landscaping. Full hookups, nice laundry and bathhouse, good Verizon coverage.[portfolio_slideshow]
I’m so glad we have you to enjoy and share what Portland has to offer. Your great photos really gave me the essence of what we overlooked or missed. Our short visit there was not as enjoyable as we wanted and I’m not sure why. However we did enjoy the Japanese Garden, which was in bloom at that time.
MonaLiza, Portland is one of our favorite cities. I think sometimes it takes more than a short visit to really get the “feel” of a city and find your way around. So wonderful you experienced the Japanese Garden in bloom—it’s always lovely, but especially so in spring and fall.
Of all the Farmer’s Markets we have visited across the country, Portland is our favorite, hands down. It is just a feast for the eyes and tummy! We’ve also stayed at Pheasant Ridge a few times, but also enjoy the Elks Lodge in Sherwood. Most recently, we stayed even further our of town at Champoeg State Park – now there’s some great hiking!
Linda, I agree, the Portland Farmers’ market is the best! We’ve stayed several times at Champoeg SP in our travels and really like it—but it’s too far away for us when we’re visiting Portland. Even Pheasant Ridge is a bit farther from the city than we’d like, but it’s the closest park to where Eric’s sister lives.
Love the colorful row houses and I’m always up for a tranquil Japanese Garden. Glad you enjoyed your time in Portland.
Ingrid, every bit of color on a gray day is welcome! Portland has plenty of colorful people and places to make up for the bleak background.
Too bad the weather didn’t cooperate, but it sounds like you found plenty to keep you busy. As big cities go, Portland is one of our favorites, too.
Fortunately, we’re not really deterred by rain. :-) We always have a blast in Portland, no matter what the weather! It’s especially glorious (and seductive) when the sun shines, though. Makes me think I could live there.
What a lovely and interesting post. We briefly visited Portland for a weekend a while back,to visit one of our sons who lives there. (Usually we meet him in L.A. on our way to Asia…)
I do recall the farmers market as being terrific but clearly we need another trip, and more time for this unique city. Beautiful gardens and that corn crusted pizza sounds yummy! It was definitely overwhelming with so many terrific food options.
Thanks for sharing.
Peta
Thanks for your nice comment, Peta. Portland is definitely worth a longer visit if you circle back this way in your adventurous and exotic journeys. The food options are fabulous and a bit overwhelming!
Portland continues to evolve since we were there more than a few years ago. We lived downtown 2 blocks off the river for 3 months and still felt there was much more to see. Good to see you out and about. Rain in the NW? No problem.
Debbie, we were in Portland in October — I was afraid this post might be confusing. We’re not traveling again until May. I’m just getting a couple of posts caught up after our medical detour in the fall. You’re right, there’s always something new in Portland!
Isn’t Portland great…we enjoyed living there for 20+ years and do miss some aspects of it now that we are on the road. So much to do there and the ocean and mountains are all 45 minutes away! Can’t say I miss working, the traffic or the rain!
Sounds like you are on the move again…are you headed towards Lopez Island?
Safe Travels!!
Brenda
Our38ftlife.wordpress.com
Brenda, I don’t think we’ll ever run out of things to do in Portland! Must have been fun to live there for 20 years.
We’re leaving Ashland in early May to travel up the coast, and will be on Lopez July-August. I’m just getting our blog caught up with some of our adventures that took place before Eric’s unexpected medical crisis.
Great photos of the Japanese Garden! We were in Portland a couple of years ago but didn’t spend a lot of time inside the city (traffic getting into the city was awful).
I’m intrigued to hear about some of the good stuff to do inside the city since we would like to visit again in the future. Plus it’s always good to get food recommendations, especially good farmer market spots!
Thanks, Kathie! Hope you find our suggestions helpful. We have good luck driving in Portland, but we’re always careful to avoid rush hour (we go into the city after 9:30 a.m. and leave either before 3:30 or after 6:30). Then it’s an easy trip.
Thanks for the Nature Walk suggestions…we’ll be in Portland once again in late summer, and we’ve yet to hike in those particular sites.We’ll be fairly close by at Champoeg for a few days.
Pheasant Ridge looks like a decent place to stay,it’s good to know of a backup if Columbia River RV Park is ever full!
It would be difficult to be bored on a visit to Portland!
Lisa, I agree—it’s impossible to be bored in Portland. My problem is choosing between all of the fun options. :-) The places we discovered for walks are lovely, but not really “hikes.” If you haven’t done the Waterfront Loop, I highly recommend it!
MO and I have often said we want to go to Portland and be tourists rather than just passing through to the airport. We visited a lot when my daughter lived in Beaverton and her brother still lives in Beavercreek. You have reminded me of our dream of visiting Portland for its own sake.
Sue, we love playing “tourist” in Portland! It’s one of the best cities for walking and exploring, with something interesting around every corner. Eric’s sister lives in Beaverton—that’s why we stay at Pheasant Ridge.
Portland is high on our list of places we want to visit. We’ve mostly heard great things and it seems like the kind of place that would be great to set up shop for a month or more. There’s plenty to do, plus, you can hedge against the likelihood of bad weather. Perhaps we’ll get there in 2018. Crazy to think we’re already thinking about that, but here we are!! Anyway, beautiful photos as always.
Thanks, Laura—so glad you enjoyed the photos. I think a month in Portland would be ideal! You certainly won’t run out of things to do. If you can go in the summer or early fall, the weather is generally perfect. Early October is usually amazing. Just not this year, ha!
All that in 10 days attests to Eric’s amazing recovery. Beautiful pictures, as usual. I take it Portland has a chapter of The Red “Dress” Society. :-)
Opps, I just realized this is from October, before the “interruption”. Well Eric certainly doesn’t look like he’ll need to be in the hospital soon.
Sherry, from all appearances Eric looked fine in October—and now he really is. :-)) We’ll be back on the road in May and I won’t be confusing people with posts from last fall. But first…I have a couple more “catch up” posts.
I’m glad your memory for details is so good. I can see that a little rain doesn’t dampen a fun and engaging city. Love the colorful row houses, and the farmers market sounds like a must-do when here. I’m still trying to figure out how much time to plan for Portland, and now it’s getting even longer!
Jodee, if you have the time, I’d plan a couple of weeks for Portland. There’s so much to do, and it will give you the opportunity to explore the various cool neighborhoods. Other places we love in Portland include the Chinese Garden, the Portland Museum of Art (with a fabulous Native American collection), and Powell’s City of Books. I like details. :-))
Thank you again, we’ve been trying to remember the name of that great pizza place in PDX with the awesome cornmeal crust and heart logo. We tend to do pizza and taco tours in every city we ‘live in’.
So you’ve been to Dove Vivi, too! Isn’t it delicious? I think it’s the best pizza we’ve ever had—and certainly the most creative. The cozy neighborhood vibe was wonderful on a rainy evening. Your “food tours” sound fun, Leah. :-)
We only visited Portland briefly during our stay in Salem a few years back. I am looking forward to maybe spending more time this summer as we return from Washington. Thanks for lots of great ideas and suggestions:)
You’re welcome, Pam. I hope some of our suggestions come in handy for you. We never tire of visiting Portland. There’s always more to discover, and we enjoy returning to our favorite spots.
It’s amazing that you see all that beauty in Portland. I only see traffic and hordes of people. Champoeg State Park is the only place we have found yet that we love to stay when we are up that way with the trailer. Then we make family come to us. LOL
Ha, you’re definitely not a city person, Brenda! Even though I don’t want to live in a big city, I really enjoy our city adventures. But being out in nature still rules. :-)
We love Portland and came very close to moving there several years ago. We have always dreamed of living in the downtown area of a city where we don’t even need a car. Portland seems like one of those cities. You have given us some great ideas for another visit. Lovely photos Laurel!
LuAnn, we’ve also often thought it would be fun to live in a city where we didn’t need a car. Portland has such an interesting mix of nature and culture—and so many excellent urban walking and hiking opportunities! So glad you enjoyed the photos. :-)