Spend One Day in Portland
Portland, Oregon was the second stop on our West Coast road trip. Before we made it to the city from Seattle, we made a quick stop to Mt. Hood Adventure Park Skibowl. It’s a little under 3 hours from Seattle, and a little over one hour away from Portland, OR. Mt. Hood is open year-round for adventure thrill-seekers. It has something for everyone, including mountain bike trails, rock walls, ziplines, horseback riding, bungee trampolines, go karts, batting cages, year-round tubing, the alpine slide, and so much more! In the winter, Skibowl transforms to America’s largest night time ski area.
What I found great about Skibowl was that since there are so many activities, unlimited day passes with different activities are available at different price levels, so you should spend the entire day there. Jessica and I chose to only do the alpine slide, which is a half-mile dual slide of two different levels, novice or expert. I first saw the alpine slides when I was in Switzerland, and I chickened out, and didn’t ride. But we went out of our way to visit Mt. Hood just for this. Even before we got on the slide, I was trying to worm my way out of it. The alpine slide is $25 for 2 slides, or you can upgrade to an unlimited all day package and ride the slide and everything else in the park. The first ride was the scariest, since our operator didn’t give us any instructions or tell us what to expect going up the lift, all be it, we were probably a bit dramatic and scared.
From either Seattle or Portland, I think Mt. Hood is a great day trip. The windy roads along Hwy 26 and scenic landscape is perfect to gauze.
Keep Portland Weird sign, 350 W Burnside St Portland, OR 97209
Here’s what I’d recommend doing if you have one day in Portland!
You must start your day with Pip’s Original Doughnuts & Chai. Pip’s is a small mom and pop shop with one brick and mortar location and one food truck that makes everything fresh after you order. They only serve 6 flavors of mini doughnuts, 5 flavors of chai, coffees and sometimes ice cream. I love everything about Pip’s! The energy from the staff is so warm, they’re family run, they have good values, and the food is darn good.
If you’re vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, or have a specialty diet in general, Portland has a TON of lifestyle friendly restaurants and traditional restaurants with dietary options on the menu. Off The Griddle came highly recommended for vegans. They’re serving diners outside on their patio, takeout orders, and through third-party delivery services now due to social distancing. On the menu, you can find savory and sweet waffles, vegan burgers, and vegan sandwiches like reubens, meatloaf, and Nashville hot chicken sandwiches.
If you’re looking for a more traditional or filling breakfast, you can head to one of Pine State Biscuits locations. Just be prepared for a line!
If you head over to the Alberta Street location, take a stroll along the Alberta Arts District to admire the street art, visit local boutiques, cafes, and restaurants. Even if you don’t visit Pine Street Biscuits, Alberta Arts District is worth a trip on its own.
Stop by Salt & Straw for a scoop of small batch, handmade ice cream. Salt & Straw is a staple to the west coast, and is home to Portland. They’re known for their unique and limited edition flavors such as bone marrow, olive oil, blue cheese, and honey with lavender. Surprisingly enough, yes there are a few traditional flavors such as their double fold vanilla, and every four weeks they introduce a new series of flavors.
If you’re looking for a dispensary to support, it’s a must you stop by Green Muse. Previously known as Green Hop, Green Muse is a black owned hip hop dispensary. You can’t miss their yellow and green cottage style home on 16th Ave., just blocks away from Alberta Street. As a pretty new customer to cannabis dispensaries, the customer service here is top notch. They educate each customer on their flavor profiles and products ranging from pre-rolls, gummies, CBD, flowers, oil, and more. It’s a cash only spot, but there is an ATM on site, and you can order online.
Visit the Japanese Botanical Garden, Rose Test Garden, and Pittock Mansion. This trio is located in Washington Park, making it the perfect afternoon day trip. The Japanese Botanical Garden has recently open from Covid closures and fire danger. They close at 5 pm daily, and usually charge a $10 fee to bring your tripod in. The Rose Test Garden is open and free to the public and closes at 9 pm. At 1 pm daily, you can take a guided tour to learn the history of how both gardens came about and the conversation efforts that helped to save the mansion.
C Steve Morgan
Portland has many walkable neighborhoods and forms of public transportation that will transport you throughout the city. Portland has even earned the nickname Bridge City, since there are 12 bridges that span the Willamette River. Many of these bridges are pedestrian and bike friendly. You should take time to explore some of the bridges, and walk across The Tilikum Crossing Bridge, which is only accessible to pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders.
If you thought that Portland was without great wine, Abbey Creek is here to prove you wrong. This black owned vineyard has a downtown tasting room, that bumps hip hop all day and pours wine by the glass. While the tasting room serves by appointment only now, you can still visit the location to purchase bottles of wine. Bertony Faustin became a winer in 2008, with very little interest in wine initially. He now produces Chardonnay, sparkling wine, pinots, and merlots and names them with hashtags that are sure to make you remember. Wines with names like, #Diva, #oooowee, #👀backatit, and #dope Abbey Creek is a wine brand that is making its mark on the industry. The wines are produced in small batches, and I love that every bottle feels personalized. You may be lucky to snag an autographed bottle, or a bottle that is numbered showing you just how many was made from that production.
We stayed one night at Hyatt House Portland/Downtown. While the Hyatt House brand is geared more towards extended stays, we found this to be perfect for what we needed while in Portland. When we stayed in September 2020 during COVID-19, the majority of amenities were closed including the pool which was drained, the bar was closed, breakfast buffet was not available but grab-and-go breakfasts were available to guests as well as the 24/7 coffee bar. For snacks and knick knacks that guests forgot to pack, the convenience store near the lobby was available for guests purchases . The gym was open to guests following social distancing guidelines and wipes, sanitizer and cleaning products were available.
I loved that Hyatt House rooms were stocked with everything we needed for our stay. The kitchens were fully stocked with flatware and tableware, a cooktop stove and oven, mini fridge and freezer, and cleaning supplies. The kitchen island doubled as an office for me as I was able to work on my laptop provided the several outlets and plugs. The “living room” has a sofa and coffee table, but the sofa doesn’t pullout and convert to a sleeper. What I loved and thought was really cool was the huge flatscreen TV that spun around and can be viewed in the living room or bedroom.
See the room tour below:
Have a little more time in Portland, and interested in day trip ideas?
Abbey Creek has its own vineyard, just northwest of Portland open on Saturdays and Sundays for appointment only tastings and tours, where you can meet your maker.
Mt. Hood Adventure Park is located a little over one hour east of Portland, and has a ton of activities for adrenaline junkies. They’re open year round and is great for a day trip. You can purchase a $79 unlimited Adrenaline Pass and enjoy all of their rides. They have a small concession stand on site for food and snacks, but feel free to bring light bites.
There are over 200 waterfalls in Oregon, and the majority are found along the Columbia River Highway, which sits close to the Washington-Oregon state line and only 30 minutes north east of Portland.
Multnomah Falls is perhaps the most visited in the state. There’s a $1 entry fee per person (including children and kids) and due to Covid, tickets must be purchased online at least 2 days in advance.
Bride Veil Falls includes a hike that has two trails starting at the Columbia River Highway. The trails are heavily trafficked during the summer, but are relatively quiet for the rest of year. From the trails you see the beautiful two-tier cascading waterfall as well as view of the Columbia River.
You can find more info about additional waterfalls, trails and parking, here.
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xoxo
