vegasnative

We are thinking of heading to Portland for a few days during Spring Break. We have never been and I was looking for a few good ideas. We have 3 boys (ages 8,8 & 6). I'm thinking for sure the zoo and probably the OMSI. I was looking for a good park to let them run around a bit. What would you consider the best park in Portland for the kids? I don't mind driving, we will have our car. Anything else we should see, we've never been?

sunbum1944

you could take a drive up the Columbia River Gorge- lots of waterfalls, short hikes and places for the kids to burn up some energy .

You could take them to Forest Park- lots of hiking trails there also - don't know if there is a childrens playground though- I think they would like the Gorge Better.

Where are you staying? Kids might enjoy Kennedy School- an old school turned into a hotel

lcuy

Washington park would be the best park with your kids. There is a great big play area, a fun fountain, and the Children's museum:
http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/...ction=ViewPark
The Japanese garden and rose garden are nice for adults.

Mt Tabor might be another fun park. it is about 10-15 5 minutes from downtown, more toward the east.fun. It is an extinct volcanic cone, and very "foresty". they have a childrens play area as well.

Actually, Portland has a very nice web site listing all their parks, and you can search by features, such as play area, off-leash area for dogs, etc:

http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/

bluzmama

The Saturday Market is a great place to hang out on Sat. or Sun. I prefer Sunday morning right when they are opening (11am). Later and it gets crowded. It's right along the Willamette River and if you continue south along the river (Tom McCall Park) you can head toward the harbor and check out the boats, maybe get to watch a bridge raise. OMSI in on the other side of the river.

If there are readers in the family then you really should check out Powells City of Books.

The Saturday Farmers Market at PSU is also fun. It opened for the season today. See Portlandfarmersmarket.org.

I would definitely plan a daytrip west to coast. It's only about an hours drive to the ocean and if you head to Tillamook the ice cream at the Cheese Factory can't be beat.

spirobulldog

Columbia River Gorge and Mount Hood.

Fodorite018

The zoo and OMSI are perfect for your kids ages.

As for parks, there are so many. I wouldn't worry about finding a specific one as wherever you go, you will find one.

How many days do you have, and where are you from? Knowing this would be helpful to give the best suggestions. Is your spring break this week or next week?

vegasnative

Thanks for the suggestions.
We are from Spokane. We will be driving over and will have our own car, so driving anyplace is ok with us.

We have not booked our hotel as of yet. We were undecided if we were going to go because it is calling for rain showers every day. But we have decided to just go ahead and go.

Our spring break is next week, March 29.

We will be there Sat-Tuesday. THinking of stopping at Multnomah Falls on the way?? Yea or nay on that? I will check into the Columbia River Gorge. I think we will come back in the summer and spend a few days at Seaside or Cannon Beach, don't think we will do that this time, but maybe if time permits.

Fodorite018

Glad the weather isn't deterring you It has been nicer than the forecast said, so hoping it holds out for when you are here.

Definitely stop at Multnomah Falls on the way. But there are other great stops as well. The Vista House and Portland Womesn Forum are both on the old highway and are well worth the stops for the views.

If you head over to the coast, be sure to bring layers. DD was there for a few days this week and about froze, and she was layered.

LittleA

Perhaps skip Multnomah Falls (I have a better waterfall spot for you later). Go straight to McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale (just off I-84) for dinner and drinks, perhaps a movie and maybe golf on their fun golf course (all holes under 100 yards) - we take our kids all the time and its fun - a good intro to quirky Portland.

I would sleep at Edgefield too and then head into Portland. The Chinese Classical Garden in Old Town is cool, of course OMSI and the Zoo. The Portland Children's Museum is right across from the Zoo and is nice.

You could take a stroll down 23rd Ave and have lunch at the Laurelwood in NW Portland. Overnight at Kennedy School.

Daytrip to Silver Falls St Park near Silverton. It should be a National Park, there are 11 waterfalls along a beautiful canyon trail, a few are 170+ tall and you can walk behind them. Go ahead and stop at the Woodburn Factory Outlet on you way back to Portland for great tax free shopping (Oregon ahs no sales tax).

I would also go to the Coast (Pacific City, Manzanita, Cannon, Gerhart and Astoria), but you can do that next time.

Enjoy!

lcuy

The only thing with Kennedy school is that you need to check in advance what is happening on the night you'll be there. Sometimes there is a good family moovie in their theatre. Other times there will be wine or beer tastings, or other adult/ drinking special events and it might not be so good for the kids. Tehre is no TV in rooms, so you can't really just hide out if it is a booze crowd.

I like the school -a lot- but would choose Edgefiled over here as there is more to do at Edgefield. Edgefield can fill up quickly too, as it is popular for weddings, reunions, etc.

Andrew

I'm not sure why anyone driving in on I-84 from Spokane wouldn't at least stop at Multnomah Falls if it was light out - there's a "Multnomah Falls" exit (sort of like a rest area) with off-and-on only, no access to the rest of the Gorge. If you want to see more than Multnomah Falls (and you certainly should), take an earlier or later exit off I-84. Corbett is the exit west of the falls, so you'd be backtracking if you get off there after driving in from Spokane.

I'm not sure I'd stay at the Edgefield with kids. It's a "European-style" hotel with bathrooms not in the room, but otherwise it's a terrific place to stop and at least visit.

I'd probably stay close to downtown Portland with whatever deal you can get - try www.travelportland.com for good prices or Hotwire.com (some Hotwire hotels allow you to choose two beds - but note their bookings are non-refundable). There's a Residence Inn down at Riverplace in SW Portland, close to the Portland Streetcar into downtown and near a marina with boats and such, fun to walk around the river area. The Residence Inn would have a kitchen and such if you want to make meals. Not sure what the cost is like, though. It's across the river from OMSI, about a 20 minute walk each way across the Hawthorne Bridge and a nice walk if it's a nice day (otherwise, an easy drive). You can walk all the way around the river (whether you stay at Riverplace or not) through the McCall Waterfront Park and the Eastbank Esplanade, and on Sunday you'd walk right through Saturday Market.

You will probably spend a lot of time at OMSI. There are some cool space movies at the OMNIMAX right now plus a NASA exhibit, if your kids are into space stuff. If you or your kids like boats, you can tour the USS Blueback submarine docked in the river by OMSI.

The Classical Chinese Garden (small) is nice; the Japanese Garden (bigger) is nice too. The Rose Garden (aka International Rose Test Garden) is beautiful...in the summer, but won't be in bloom by the time of your visit.

Portland has tons of parks. Besides Mt. Tabor on the east side, try Laurelhurst Park. It's got a (man made) lake with ducks and geese, plus it's a beautiful park just to walk around in, fairly flat unlike Mt. Tabor.

I too think at least a day trip to the Coast is in order. It's probably 2 hours tops each way and an easy drive.

vegasnative

Thanks for more of the suggestions. I put a bid in on Priceline for a hotel and got one right downtown, it is the Marriott. I heard it is 2 blocks to the Max line, and we plan to give that a try, I think the kids would like to ride it.

We do plan on doing the sub tour at the OMSI.

I'm very excited. We leave in the morning! Thanks everyone. I will come back and let you know what we did.

Andrew

Yeah, it's probably the Marriott City Center on Broadway (not to be confused with the Marriott Waterfront). I'd call ASAP and put in a preference for a room with two beds, because you aren't guaranteed that. Probably $25/night for parking. Check out alternative lots for cheaper rates - probably found by reading the hotel's Trip Advisor reviews...

vegasnative

Thanks for everyones help. We had a great time in Portland. We stopped in the Tri Cities on the way at a nice park and had lunch. On the road again, just before we got into Portland we stopped at a fish hatchery. That was GREAT, and the boys loved it. Then a few more minutes down the road we stopped at Multnomah Falls. Very nice!! That was the only day it didn't rain.
The next day we went to the zoo. We enjoyed that, and saw all the animals. The following day was spent at the OMSI. That was so much fun, we all loved it. We did the sub tour and watch a movie on the Imax.

We went with some friends of ours, and he loves the show Man Vs Food. The episode in Portland was at Salvador Mollys, so we ate their 1 night...just because! It was pretty good!

We didn't hit any local parks because it was raining, but we did go bowling.

We had a great time, would like to come back in the summer when it is warmer. Thanks for all your help!

vegasnative

Oh I forgot to mention the hotel. Yes it was the Marriot on Broadway. GREAT hotel! I was thrilled because I got it for $69 a night on Priceline, and while I was checking in another guest standing next to me inquired about rates, and for the room we got the rate was $179. The parking was and extra $29 a night, but I didn't mind, we were still under $100.

It's funny that you mentioned the 2 bed thing Andrew because when I went to check in, they did not have any 2 beds left. So they upgraded us for free to a mini suite. It had 2 rooms, a King in 1, and a sofa sleeper in the other. It was a LOVELY room!!! We brought a camping cot & sleeping bag with us for our youngest, but we always do that as most rooms only accommodate for 4 people, so we are usually prepared.

vegasnative

I keep forgetting to mention stuff. We did not make it our to the coast....but I have already made a reservation at Cannon Beach RV Resort for August! We have a travel trailer and this will be our big camping trip this summer. Going to spend 4 days at the beach/coast!!! Ideas suggestion?!?!?!? LOL