bradshawgirl1

Ok, I'm taking my 1-year-old on his first flight - from Jackson, Miss., to Portland, Ore. We'll be staying for a week in the Portland metro area with my sister, who lives in Lake Oswego.

It looks as though Portland is a pretty laid-back, family-friendly town, and we are looking forward to going to botanic gardens/parks, shopping a couple of open air/farmer's markets, and maybe chilling at the zoo.

Any other suggestions for Portland with a toddler? Is it out of the question to think I might be able to coax him through a short trip to a winery in the Willamette Valley? What about the flight? (I'm not worried about the short hop from Jackson to Houston. It's the Houston/Portland 4-hour flight that has me a little rattled.) Am I crazy to be doing this solo?

Lastly, it looks as though the public transit system in Portland is pretty extensive. My sister has a car we can use (and I'll rent a car seat for it for "day trip" type stuff), but is it safe to say that we could navigate the city itself mostly using mass transit?

Fodorite018

When are you coming?

Yes, things are really relaxed here and family friendly. LO is beautiful and has a great farmers market on Saturdays, so be sure to check that out.

We have a great zoo here, and the Japanese Gardens and rose garden are right by there. Take note though, they do fine you in the rose garden if you or your child mess with the roses. Also near there is Pittock Mansion which has some nice views and picnic tables on the grounds. If it is a nice day, take a picnic there and relax.

The Chinese Gardens are on one city block right by the Pearl. Doesn't take long to go through.

There is a large farmers market on Saturdays on the PSU grounds, and then on Sat. and Sun. is the Saturday Market with all sorts of unique vendors.

OMSI is good and has areas for small children.

Head out to the gorge and see the old scenic highway with Vista House and Multnomah Falls.

If it is warm, take your child to Salmon Springs or Jamison Sq and cool off with the fountains.

Head to the coast for a day. Cannon Beach is my preference from Portland. It is an easy 90 minute drive each way.

Within downtown the streetcar is very easy to use, and free.

Andrew

Portland does have a good public transit system. There are lots of buses and two light rail trains. The longest one is called MAX and runs east-west from the suburbs (not Lake Oswego, sorry) through the center of Portland; there is also a branch to the airport and one to North Portland. MAX also has a stop that gets you directly to the Oregon Zoo and an easy shuttle bus down to the International Rose Test Garden and Japanese Gardens. There's a much shorter trolley system called the Portland Streetcar that runs from NW Portland, through the Pearl District, through downtown and down to Riverplace and the South Waterfront district.

People do bring kids in strollers on the buses but it's easier on the trains. All the buses are wheelchair-capable so can lower a ramp for a stroller if need be.

You can catch a bus from Lake Oswego up to Portland and then take buses/MAX around. You can get to the Zoo, Rose/Japanese gardens as mentioned above via MAX. You can get to the Chinese Garden in Old Town/Chinatown by bus. Some of the bus rides can be long, though.

I have a website dedicated to Portland - lots of photos and info. I have a mapper tool using Google Maps that shows you where most things are, such as area attractions and MAX stations. It's intended more for people looking to move to Portland but you can use it to navigate as a tourist too:

http://www.portlandbridges.com/portl...hoods-map.html

Just turn on "Portland Attractions." Many of the ones you'll want appear there. You can add points to your locations and then even get point-to-point directions/maps with Google maps, even bus/MAX routes. This uses something cool called Google Transit to plot out bus/MAX routers:

http://www.google.com/transit

Type any two addresses and Google shows you how to get from one to the other via public transit. My mapper just saves you a little time figuring out where stuff is.

bradshawgirl1

Thanks, guys!! This is really a help!

We are coming the first week or so of August. Any/all feedback is soooo appreciated!

kimamom

I would not miss taking your little one to the zoo. Lots of fun things to do and see there! ***kim***

FainaAgain

Andrew... I am sorry, don't know how else to contact you, there is no link on your website.

Under "Portland attractions" Japanese garden is misspelled.

Andrew

Oops - thanks, FainaAgain! Fixed now.

(There is a link to contact me on the neighborhoods guide and the photos site but not the Mapper, apparently.)

FainaAgain

Andrew, you're forgiven. I even made reservations to see your beautiful city. Please make sure there will be no rain!

eschule

I took my then 13 month old with us to Oregon 2 years ago. I did a brief trip report that you should find if you click on my name and scroll to my posts from summer 2006.

Fodorite018

Faina--I would be that it will rain on July 27th and Aug 3rd. We are doing car wash fundraisers those days, and you know it always rains right after you wash your car

bradshawgirl1

eschule - Thanks for the tip about your trip report! Great stuff! Can't wait for our trip!

bradshawgirl1

One follow-up question - if we were to take a vehicle IN to Portland each day, and then ride mass transit while in the city (until we're ready to return to Lake Oswego after lunch - for naps!), is there a place we can day park the car? Any ideas/tips about this?

Fodorite018

Yes, parking is really easy here. There are Smart Park Garages, which are the cheapest, as well as others scattered about. I usually park at the one near Nordstrom, on about 10th and Yamhill or so.