In all my thirty years of existence, only recently have I explored the beauty of the Pacific Northwest and discovered all it has to offer. Why on Earth did I ever wait so long to check it out? Washington became my four-day home away from home a year prior, and now that Oregon has thankfully invaded every fiber of my being, I am longing for the day when I can be back in the whimsical lands that are the PNW.
Four days is not a whole lot of time to uncover the hidden gems of an entire state, and Oregon offers a plethora of waterfalls, trails, and quirky sites that can fill those 96 hours in a hurry. This adventure guide is split into two parts so that I can dive deeper into our brief stay and show how we optimized our time to create one epic spring break adventure.
Day 1: Portland
Given our limited amount of time to explore the vast beauty that is Oregon, we devoted our first morning to check out just a couple key points of interest in downtown Portland, with the rest of our stops in the outskirts of the city. We started off around 9 AM, venturing out through Tom McCall Waterfront Park, which parallels the Willamette River and provides a nice morning wake-up stroll to kickstart the day.
From the park, we veered into the city center where our growling stomachs delighted at the delectable aromas emitted from a quirky diner called The Daily Feast. After a nice, hot breakfast, our walking tour could now officially begin.
Powell’s City of Books
As a lover of all things literary, I knew we couldn’t be in Portland without visiting the world’s largest independent used and new bookstore, Powell’s City of Books. Including the term “city” in the name is clearly for a purpose, as one could easily get lost for hours navigating throughout the labyrinth of lanes hosting fictional worlds, factual records, fun poetic verses, and everything in between. You name it, the city of books possesses it. How it doesn't have its own zip code by now I'll never understand. What a fun way to spend nearly an hour on our first day of the trip!
Tip: We Ubered the night before from the airport (our flight arrived at 8 PM) to our hotel in downtown Portland. Renting an “off-airport” vehicle was significantly cheaper, even including the Uber fair. Not to mention, available parking in downtown is both scarce and expensive. From Powell’s, we simply walked to Enterprise Rental Car, picked up our compact ride, and proceeded to the rest of our points of interest.
Washington Park
Washington Park consists of 400 acres of land, including a zoo, arboretum, several museums, gardens, and 15 miles of hiking trails. Additionally, it is one of the oldest parks in Portland, getting its start in the latter part of the 19th century. I definitely recommend the park as a “must-see” spot because of the sheer volume of things to see and do there. While we only devoted two hours to the park, one could certainly spend an entire day taking in all that the park has to offer.
**Note: An $8 per day (or $2 per hour) parking fee is required but, in my opinion, was well worth the effort. From our parking spot just outside of the Japanese Garden, exploring the park on foot was incredibly easy. A free shuttle service is offered throughout the park and recommended during the popular summer tourist season. However, we did not use it as we visited during the off-season and had no problem finding parking.
Japanese Garden
Our first stop within the park was to the 12-acre Japanese Garden, deemed “the most beautiful and authentic Japanese garden in the world outside of Japan” by the former Ambassador of Japan to the United States. Tranquil, genuine, and oasis are common terms used to describe this garden, and for good reason. Feeling connected to nature was an effortless task as we wandered through moss-laden, tree-lined paths, following a unique serpentine pattern that outlined a gentle stream filled with koi fish. Along the way, a tea house, quaint footbridge, and trickling waterfall served as gentle reminders to stop and take a look around, as there’s quite a lot of beauty to take in.
** Note: Adult admission is $16.95 per person, with discounts offered for students, youth, and seniors. Children 5 years old and younger get in for free!
International Rose Test Garden
The International Rose Test Garden is just a short walk from the Japanese Garden and offers visitors a chance to behold the sight of thousands of rose plants across its near five acres of land. Established in the early part of the 20th century, this garden has the honor of being dubbed the oldest continuously operated public rose garden in the country. Not only that, but this garden helped to further establish Portland as the “City of Roses”, a nickname that Portland still proudly holds today.
While we had expected to witness an overwhelming display of florals and fragrance, our visit to the garden in the beginning of April meant a simple greeting from rows of pruned rose bushes, lacking both significant scent and vibrant sight. Regardless of the lack of bloom, we enjoyed the surrounding lush landscape with the outdoor amphitheater blending creatively in and the several smaller “specialty” gardens that lie within the grounds. One specialty garden, dubbed the “Shakespeare Garden”, provided a little slice of English heaven, and as an admirer of the Bard, was one of my favorites. The gardens also offer a glimpse into history as visitors can walk along the Queen’s Walk, a pathway honoring each Rose Festival queen dating all the way back to 1907.
Tip: Visiting in early June through September would be the best time of year to see the roses fully bloomed in all of their stunning glory.
Pittock Mansion
A short 1.7-mile drive from Washington Park leads to Pittock Mansion, a residence dating back to the early 20th century complete with incredible, panoramic views of Portland and the Willamette River as well as rich history connected to one of Portland’s founding families that helped to make the city what it is today.
A tour inside of the residence as well as the grounds took about an hour and provided a great learning experience for those interested in architecture and the history of Portland.
** Note: Adult admission is $12 per person with discounts for youth and seniors. Children 6 years old and under are free!
Macleay Park
Another quick three-mile drive led us to our penultimate destination of the day, Macleay Park. This 140-acre park is a component of the grander 5,200-acre Forest Park, one of the largest urban forests in the country. As one who finds intrigue in both nature and the supernatural, I couldn’t pass up the chance to hike to the “Witch’s Castle”, a destination with quite an eerie background.
An easy one-mile hike (round-trip) through rather peaceful forest landscape along a bustling creek led us to a broken down stone structure, the namesake of the trail. Otherworldly vibes surfaced upon arrival, but were soon sadly diminished by massive amounts of graffiti all over the facade. We snapped a few photos, did a quick walk through, and turned around to return to the car.
While the “Witch’s Castle” was a fun, brief stop (we only spent 30 minutes in total here), I would’ve loved to have hiked more of the trails within Forest Park. One could easily spend a full day exploring the terrain, as the park offers over 30 miles of trails. This one will certainly be on my list to explore more in-depth the next time I visit Portland.
The Grotto
The time was now 2:30 PM, and after a full day on the go, we were ready to make it to our last stop of the day, the Grotto… and what a relaxing final stop it was. The Grotto is a gorgeous, 62-acre Catholic sanctuary established in the early 1920’s with an outdoor shrine embedded into the side of a commanding 110-foot basalt cliff. It contains a vast botanical garden split into two levels, one welcoming visitors as they approach the outdoor shrine and one atop the cliff. No wonder it is considered one of the most beautiful “natural” sanctuaries in the world!
A prominent, concrete elevator shaft, reminiscent of something you’d see in The Hunger Games, provides access to the upper level of the sanctuary where a stunning meditation building offers a handful of comfortable reclining seats to relax and enjoy the Portland views. The upper level also contains trails that lead through the Stations of the Cross, several shrines, sculptures, and an active monastery (not open to the public). Whether you consider yourself a religious individual or not, the Grotto’s outdoor features are impressive sites to witness and ones I am glad we devoted our final hour of exploration to.
** Note: There is only a fee for the upper gardens. Access to the outdoor shrine and gardens on the lower level are free. Adult admission is $7.50, with discounts for seniors, youth, and military. Children 5 years old and younger are free.
Day 2: Columbia River Gorge
I’ve long dreamt of the Columbia River Gorge, and now, we were finally making our way to it. Waterfall trail after waterfall trail flooded our “to do” list, and we managed to check off all of them while cruising along the Historic Columbia River Highway. Some trails were either closed fully or partially due to the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire that damaged the area and created hazardous conditions for hikers. Such restrictions did not limit our fun, though, and we were happy to continue onto the trails that we could safely access.
The Day's Plan
Stop #1: Latourell Falls (Guy W. Talbot State Park)
This easy 2.4-mile roundtrip hike allowed us to experience two falls in one trail, an upper two-tiered waterfall and a grand lower waterfall. We opted for the full loop to see both, though we met others who opted for only the short walk to the lower fall that can be quickly accessed from the trailhead. Either way, you cannot go wrong with this trail offering greenery upon greenery as far as the eye could see. In all, we spent 90 minutes at this stop.
Stop #2: Bridal Veil Falls (Bridal Veil Falls State Park)
On to another short trail that took us to an upper and lower viewpoint. The Overlook Loop Trail is worth the half-mile roundtrip walk as it offers stunning views of the Columbia River. The falls trail is only 2/3 mile roundtrip, so experiencing both in about 30 minutes was easy.
Stop #3: Wahkeena Falls
Wahkeena can typically be a multiple mile trail depending on the route, but due to closures, our journey involved a mere 0.4- mile roundtrip hike to and from the falls. Simple yet stunning about sums it up.
Stop #4: Multnomah Falls
Perhaps the most iconic waterfall in the region, the over 600 ft tall Multnomah Falls was just a pull off the main road, making it easily accessible. Of all the falls on our list, this was certainly the most touristy, complete with a restaurant, gift shop, and the occasional tour bus. The portion of trail beyond the falls was closed, so we were limited to the bridge across the waterfall, and that was perfectly fine with me. The short trail is steep but well worth it.
Stop #5: Horsetail to Ponytail Falls
Out of all of the day's trails, this one was my absolute favorite due to the fact that we could explore the cavernous area behind Ponytail Falls and walk underneath it. Horsetail Falls is right off the roadside, so we took a quick photo of it and continued on the short, yet slippery and muddy hike to Ponytail. In all, we spent about 30 minutes here, though you could certainly spend more exploring!
Tip: Rain boots, rain boots, rain boots. I cannot say it enough. My sneakers were neither waterproof nor slip resistant, so having an extra pair of shoes, rain boots to be exact, saved me on this trail. I cannot recommend them enough!
Stop #6: Vista House
While back on the historic highway heading west out of the Gorge, we decided to stop at the Crown Point Vista House, a museum-memorial hybrid that looks like something straight out of Star Wars on the outside with the elegance of a prestigious gallery on the inside. It serves as the gateway to the Columbia River Gorge and offers some of the most mesmerizing views of the area. Inside, there's a small cafe, gift shop, restrooms, and placards with photos sharing history of the area. We spent nearly 30 minutes exploring here, grabbing some huckleberry jam from the gift shop and hot beverages to help regain some feeling in our extremities. All in all, the Vista House served as the perfect ending to our magical day amongst the waterfalls of the Columbia River Gorge.
More to Come!
Check out Part II to discover our 3rd and 4th days in Oregon at Silver Falls State Park, Salem, Cannon Beach, and Tillamook! Also, shoutout to my brother for embarking on this journey with me - what a time we had.
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