Portland, OR Walking Tour, 2009

Some will meet in the Bay Area, CA, to drive to Ashland, OR, for plays and an overnight there before continuing to Portland.  Others will fly into Portland and meet us at a centrally located apartment within walking distance of Washington and Forest Parks, good restaurants and shops on 23rd Street and the river walks in the heart of town.  Portland is famous for its Rose and Japanese and Chinese Gardens, as well as smaller jewels of parks scattered throughout town and its Downtown Walk to Art. Within an easy drive of Portland is Cannon Beach on the coast with its Clatsop Loop Trail in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark, and Mt. Hood with year-around skiing and the Columbia River Gorge with trails to its many magnificent falls.

Begin at Pioneer Square in the center of fare-free downtown Portland. It is a city block designed for sitting on descending steps into a central area used for exhibits or concerts or other community events. On the west side, tucked behind a waterfall, is the Visitors Center. Pick up a map—also found at Powell’s Book Stores—and peruse information about the events of the day and surrounding areas. Walking tours of specific areas also meet here. You can buy multiple tickets for the MAX trains, streetcars and buses which must be validated before getting on the MAX trains because paying is on the honor system outside the downtown.

At the east end of Pioneer Square, on the corner of 5th Street and Morrison, is the Old Courthouse—worth a visit.

Walk south along 5th Street and notice the sidewalk art. The most impressive is Portlandia, a huge goddess-like statue which is best observed from the second floor of the opposite building.

Turn left (east) on SW Madison Street for one block and then right on 4th Street. My favorite small, city-block park with beautiful waterfalls and wading pools is the Ira C. Keller Park between SW Clay and SW Market.

Walk west on SW Market to South Park Blocks. This long green park is the campus of Portland State University and includes the Oregon Historical Society and the Art Museum. There is also a BIG Farmer’s Market here every Saturday during the growing season.

At the end of South Park, turn east toward the Willamette River on SW Salmon. You will see a fountain on the river side of the street and a riverside promenade going both directions.

Turn right toward the marina. There are shops and restaurants with a river view if you’re ready to sit. You can see the large, impressive Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) on the opposite side of the river. Walk across the Hawthorne Bridge if you have the time or energy to see it.

Just beyond the marina is an aerial tram from one branch of the Oregon Health and Science University to another at the top. Good views on a clear day but expensive if you’re not a doctor or staff at OHSU.

At the north end of Waterfront Park is a Japanese American Historical Plaza, especially beautiful when the cherry trees blossom briefly in the spring. From here you can cross the Naito Parkway and walk on NW Everett Street to the wonderful Classical Chinese Garden between 2nd and 3rd Streets.

But the crowning glory of Portland is Washington and Forest Park which overlooks the city on the river. In Washington Park is the famous Rose Garden, and the Japanese Garden above it is the most authentic I have seen outside Japan. There is bus access to the Rose Garden and parking above the Rose Garden, as well as tennis courts, picnic areas for big groups and a great playground for kids. This will take another day! The zoo and Forest Center can be reached by a little train from here, too.

Washington Park morphs into Forest Park further north and it is really is like a forest with magnificent tall pines and great trails but you need a trail map which you can find at the Visitors Center in Washington Park. The Pittock Mansion is in Forest Park but the Wildwood Trail connects the two sections of park.

The Columbia River Gorge is another day trip, about 40 miles east of Portland. Multnomah Falls Lodge at the base has a restaurant and gift shop. The trails can be steep but very rewarding. We took the trail to Ponytail Falls.

We also took the Sternwheeler breakfast cruise on the Columbia River. The captain quoted from Lewis and Clark as we passed the same landmarks.

The beautiful Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood was hand-crafted during the Depression to give artists work and skiers pleasure. It is a popular year-round ski resort!

Oregon Gardens are in Silverton, south of Portland and another day trip. For good dinner-overnight-breakfast specials, check out www.MoonstoneHotels/Oregon/Gardens.

The Oregon coast is stunning. We went to the town of Cannon Beach and from there to Ecola State Park where we walked from Indian Beach along the Clapsok Trail, also described by Lewis and Clark in their extensive journals.