Set along the
Willamette and
Columbia Rivers,
Portland was
originally founded
as an inland port
for harboring
ocean-going ships.
It’s become a progressive
metro area that includes five
counties in Oregon and two
in Washington State, with
the largest cities including
Vancouver, Portland,
Hillsboro, and Gresham.
Portland offers many
varied experiences for just
about every type of visitor,
renowned for its breweries,
food, shopping, and music
scene. Outdoor adventurers
and nature lovers will love it
as there’s lots of green
space right in the city and
throughout the metro area,
while mountains and beaches
are just a short drive away.
Forest Park is only a
10-minute drive from
downtown and hosts more
than 5,150 wooded acres with
80 miles of scenic trails as
the largest forested natural
area within a city’s limits in
the entire U.S. It flanks the
hills on Portland’s west side
overlooking the WillametteRiver and is also a great spot
for wildlife watching, with
over 60 types of mammals
and more than 110 species of
birds.
Those into the paranormal
are drawn here for the
“Witch’s Castle,” which was
built in the mid-1800s by a
man who ultimately became
a murderer. His daughter
was imprisoned here after
she fell in love with the hired
help and he killed the man,
claiming that his wife had
“bewitched him with a spell.”
He became the first person
to be legally hung in Oregon
and ghostly figures have been
reported ever since, often seen late at night.
The suburb of Lake Oswego is
home to the only etropolitan
state park in Oregon, with the
Tryon Creek State NaturalArea featuring 658 acres of
lush forest with abundant
flora and fauna.
Nicknamed the “City ofRoses,” Portland has long
been an incubator for the
flowers with the Rose TestGarden in WashingtonPark founded in 1917. The
country’s oldest continuously
operated public test garden,
it develops new rose varieties
along with miniatures.
Visit between April and
October and you’ll be able to
walk among seven thousand
rose bushes burst with color.
They’ll be at their peak in
June.
The Portland Japanese Garden is a 5.5-acre oasis near the
Rose Test Garden. A tranquil space of beauty ideal for quiet
contemplation, there are pagodas, bridges, winding streams,
and an authentic Japanese tea house.
It has five
different
gardens styles,
all designed to
evoke a sense of
peace, and on
a clear day, an
awe-inspiring
view of MountRainier.
No visit to Portland
would be the
same without
experiencing
world-famous
Voodoo Doughnuts.
Doughnuts are the only food
Portland is known for.
There are many farmers’
markets throughout the metro
area, not only in Portland but
Beaverton and Oregon City.
The food carts have become
famous for their unique
and delicious offerings with
everything from juicy BBQ and
comfort foods to out-of-this-
world desserts.
If there was ever a place that exemplified the city’s slogan,
“Keep Portland Weird,” this is it. You might even catch a
wedding between its really big fans. But the highlight, of course,
is the doughnuts, with unique options like the Voodoo Doll
that’s filled with raspberry jelly, topped with chocolate frosting
and a pretzel “stake.” The Bacon Maple bar is a big hit as is
the Grape Ape with vanilla frosting, lavender sprinkles, and a
dusting of grape powder.
Portland is one of the world’s top beer cities, sometimes called
“Beervana,” with roughly 70 breweries here and it hosts nearly
as many beer festivals.
You could easily spend
weeks here just touring the
local pubs, with countless
offerings providing
something for everyone.
Shopping the many
vintage stores is another
popular pursuit – the
scene has even drawn a
few big-name celebrities
like Carrie Brownstein
from “Portlandia.” The
Hawthorne District is a
hotspot but there are venues
throughout the city for your browsing pleasure.
If you want to explore history you might head to Fort Vancouver,
a national historic site. Located just across the river in
Washington State, it was a 19th-century fur trading post that
served as a headquarters for the Hudson’s Bay Company. It sits
along the water and offers fabulous views of the mountains and
the city of Vancouver. With a wide range of music venues and
just about every type of genre played live here on any given night, you’ll find plenty of shows to keep you entertained.
