17 Best Sights in Portland, Oregon

Arguably the first of Portland's several hipster-favored East Side neighborhoods to earn national attention, the Alberta Arts District (aka Alberta) has morphed from a downcast commercial strip into an offbeat row of hippie-driven counterculture and then more recently into a considerably more eclectic stretch of both indie arts spaces and sophisticated bistros and galleries. Extending a little more than a mile, Northeast Alberta offers plenty of one-of-a-kind dining and shopping. The area is also home to some of the best people-watching in Portland, especially during the Last Thursday (of the month) evening art walks.

This glorious patch of greenery within Washington Park comprises three terraced gardens, set on 4½ acres, where more than 10,000 bushes and some 610 varieties of roses grow. The flowers, many of them new varieties, are at their peak in June, July, September, and October. From the gardens you can take in views of the Downtown skyline and, on clear days, the slopes of Mt. Hood. Summer concerts take place in the garden's amphitheater. It's a pretty but hilly 30- to 40-minute walk from Downtown, but it's also pretty easy to get here by bus.

A playground on top of a volcano cinder cone? Yup, that's here. The cinders, or glassy rock fragments, unearthed in this 190-acre park's construction were used to surface the respite's roads; the ones leading to the very top are closed to cars, but popular with cyclists. They're also popular with cruisers—each August there's an old-fashioned soapbox derby. Picnic tables and tennis, basketball, and volleyball courts make Mt. Tabor Park a popular spot for outdoor recreation, but plenty of quiet, shaded trails and wide-open grassy lawns with panoramic views of the Downtown skyline appeal to sunbathers, hikers, and nature lovers. The whole park is closed to cars on Wednesday.

Hundreds of engaging exhibits draw families to this outstanding interactive science museum, which also contains the Empirical Theater (featuring Portland's biggest screen), and the Northwest's largest planetarium. The many permanent and touring exhibits are loaded with enough hands-on play for kids to fill a whole day exploring robotics, ecology, rockets, animation, and outer space. Moored in the Willamette River as part of the museum is a 240-foot submarine, the USS Blueback, which can be toured for an extra charge. OMSI also offers some very cool event programming for adults, including the hugely popular monthly OMSI After Dark nights, where "science nerds" can enjoy food, drink, and science fun, and the twice-monthly OMSI Science Pub nights, where local and national experts lecture on a wide range of topics in the museum's Empirical Theater.

On Saturdays year-round, local farmers, bakers, chefs, and entertainers converge at the South Park Blocks near the PSU campus for Oregon's largest open-air farmers' market—it's one of the most impressive in the country. It's a great place to sample the regional bounty and to witness the local-food obsession that's revolutionized Portland's culinary scene. There's plenty of food you can eat on the spot, plus nonperishable local items (wine, hazelnuts, chocolates, vinegars) you can take home with you. There's a smaller Wednesday market, May through November, on a different section of the Park Blocks (between S.W. Salmon and S.W. Main). At other times the Portland Farmers Market is held in different locations around town, and dozens of other farmers' markets take place throughout metro Portland.

On Saturdays from March to Christmas Eve, the west side of the Burnside Bridge and the Skidmore Fountain area hosts North America's largest ongoing open-air handicraft market, with some 300 vendors. If you're looking for jewelry, yard art, housewares, and decorative goods made from every material under the sun, check out the amazing collection of works by talented artisans on display here. Entertainers and food booths add to the festive feel. Be careful not to mistake this market for the food-centric PSU Portland Farmers Market, which also takes place on Saturday, on the other side of Downtown.

When the weather's nice, drive about a half hour northwest of Downtown to this largely agrarian 33-square-mile piece of paradise in the Columbia River, containing a wildlife refuge, three beaches (including Collins Beach, which is clothing-optional), superb biking and hiking trails, and several farms offering seasonal "u-pick" bounty (and one, Bella Organic, offering wine tastings and an autumn pumpkin patch and corn maze). One excellent hike, and one of the few with free parking, is the Wapato Greenway, which leads through a white oak savannah and around a pond, where you may see green horned owls, nuthatches, and deer. Part of the trail leads to a peaceful dock on the Multnomah Channel, where you can tie up a boat or kayak. To get to the beaches, after crossing the Sauvie Island bridge, turn right; follow N.W. Sauvie Island Road to Reeder Road and follow signs. There's plenty of parking, but a permit is required ($10 for a one-day permit, $30 annual, available at the general store at the base of the bridge).

For much of the year, this nearly 10-acre retreat near Reed College is frequented mainly by bird-watchers and those who want a restful stroll. But starting in April, thousands of rhododendron bushes and azaleas burst into flower, attracting visitors in larger numbers. The peak blooming season for these woody shrubs is May; by late June the show is over.

This gently terraced park surrounded by tony lofts, shops, and restaurants contains a soothing fountain that mimics nature. Rising water gushes over a stack of basalt blocks, gradually fills the open plaza, and then subsides. Colorful 30-foot tiki totems by pop artist Kenny Scharf stand along the park's west edge. There are tables and chairs in the park, and wading in the fountain is encouraged. The streetcar stops right at the park.

Completed in 1914 by Emanuel Mische, who trained with the iconic Olmsted Brothers landscaping design firm, resplendent Laurelhurst Park's hundred-year-old trees and winding, elegant paths are evocative of another time, and may trigger an urge to don a parasol. Laurelhurst offers plentiful trails, playgrounds, tennis courts, soccer fields, horseshoe pits, an off-leash area for dogs, and many sunny and shady picnic areas. Take a stroll around the large spring-fed pond and keep an eye out for blue heron, the city's official bird. On the south side of this 31-acre park is one of the busiest basketball courts in town. Though the park is always beautiful, it is especially so in fall.

There's a small-town charm to this park that has bumper cars, thrill rides, miniature golf, and roller-skating. A 360-degree-loop roller coaster and other high-velocity, gravity-defying contraptions border the midway, along with a carousel and Ferris wheel. The wooden skating rink, built in 1905, is the oldest continuously operating one in the United States, and it features a working Wurlitzer organ. To help protect it from Willamette River flooding, the rink floats on airtight iron barrels. There are outdoor concerts in summer.

Local model makers created most of this museum's models of ships that once plied the Columbia River. Contained within the stern-wheeler steamship Portland, this small museum provides an excellent overview of Oregon's maritime history with artifacts and memorabilia. The Children's Corner has nautical items that can be touched and operated. The Portland is the last steam-powered stern-wheel tugboat operating in the United States, and volunteer-guided tours include the pilot house and engine room.  Occasional four-hour cruises on the ship are also offered, about once a month, in summer; the cost is $88.

Train-history buffs aren't the only ones who'll appreciate the three steam-driven locomotives on display here. The center, which runs mostly on donations, also plays host to diesel locomotives, historic passenger cars, and other nuggets of train days gone by. The ORHC offers hugely popular, family-oriented "Holiday Express" excursions on weekends between Thanksgiving and mid-December, departing from the station at Oaks Amusement Park.

This animal park in the West Hills, famous for its Asian elephants, is undergoing a two-decades-long series of major improvements and expansions. New in recent years are the Polar Passage, Black Rhino, Primate Forest, Condors of the Columbia, and Elephant Lands habitats. There's also a state-of-the-art Zoo Education Center. Other major draws include the Africa Savanna with hippos, zebras, and giraffes; Steller Cove, an aquatic exhibit home to Steller sea lions and a family of sea otters; and a troop of chimpanzees. On select Friday nights in summer, the zoo stays open late and offers live music, food carts, beer and wine, zookeeper talks, and family-oriented entertainment. Take the MAX light rail to the Washington Park station.

The "City of Roses" moniker started here, at this park that harks back to another time. The city's oldest (1913) public rose garden (and the only sunken one) houses about 5,000 plantings of roses. The daunting task of deadheading all these flowers is covered in classes taught to volunteers. The bandstand is a historic landmark, and the last of its kind in the city. This 16-acre North Portland park also contains an ornate historic fountain, Italian villa–inspired community center, playground, wading pool, tennis and volleyball courts, and picnic tables.

Named for a former governor revered for his statewide land-use planning initiatives, this park stretches north along the Willamette River for about a mile from near the historic Hawthorne Bridge to Steel Bridge. Broad and grassy, Waterfront Park affords a fine ground-level view of Downtown Portland's bridges and skyline. Once an expressway, it's now the site for many annual celebrations, among them the Rose Festival, classical and blues concerts, Portland Pride, Cinco de Mayo, and the Oregon Brewers Festival. The arching jets of water at the Salmon Street Fountain change configuration every few hours, and are a favorite cooling-off spot during the dog days of summer. Both the Hawthorne Bridge and Steel Bridge offer dedicated pedestrian lanes, allowing joggers, cyclists, and strollers to make a full loop along both banks of the river, via Vera Katz Eastside Esplanade.

This handsomely designed, contemporary museum across from the Oregon Zoo contains interactive and multimedia exhibits about forest sustainability. A white-water raft ride, smoke-jumper training simulator, and Timberjack tree harvester all provide different perspectives on Pacific Northwest forests. On the second floor the forests of the world are explored in various travel settings. A canopy lift ride hoists visitors to the 50-foot ceiling to look at a Douglas fir.