Questions for Portland, OR residents
 

Hi!
I am considering a trip to Portland in the near future. I heard that there is a lot of construction going on downtown/riverfront. Would you recommend that I wait a few months so I can fully enjoy the city or is the construction work only a minor annoyance? I'm asking because I took a trip to San Diego a few years and was frustrated by all the construction work going on near popular sights, so I did not get a true flavor of the city.
Also, what is the weather like January-March? Thanks in advance for your responses.

There's presently construction at the south end of the waterfront, but unless you're staying down there, it's not a problem. However, within a week or so, construction on expanded lightrail starts in the center of town. This is a 2 - 3 year project that's gonna make traffic in the city a mess. But again, it shouldn't be more than an annoyance for the visitor.

Weather, January - March??? Uuhhh.... can you wait until July? ;-) If not, expect grey skies and rain, with average high temps mid 40s - mid 50s. Brrrr.....

As usual, I agree with Beachbum. There was an article on this in our paper the other day and they said they were going to minimize the disturbance by working on a block at a time. So sort of a hurry up with one area before starting another, type of scenario.

The bus mall (light rail) construction mentioned above on 5th and 6th Avenues can be avoided mostly if you simply avoid staying downtown. Most of Portland's attractions are not in the core near the construction. Some people enjoy staying right downtown in the thick of things with a larger variety of resaurants and such, but I think I would not for the next year or two.

Instead, you can stay at a variety of places. The Inn at Northrup Station in NW Portland would be a good place to stay - right on the streetcar line, in a great, walkable neighborhood, etc. Slightly less rent would be the Silver Cloud or the Holiday Inn Express in NW (not as easy to walk to the streetcar but still close to NW). The newly remodeled Hotel deLuxe (fomerly the Mallory) is well away from the construction zones and has gotten some good reviews. Or you could stay on the east side of the Willamette River (still Portland, technically not downtown) near the Convention Center, which has a bunch of hotels but isn't the most exciting area to walk around in - on the upside, the MAX to downtown is easily accessed.

Taking that into consideration, I'd certainly not avoid visiting the city just because of the construction.

Thanks for your honest replies. I've heard wonderful things about Portland and look forward to visiting it. I won't let the construction work hold me back but I may wait for the weather to warm up a bit. Thanks again. Happy travels!

come for the rose festival.
http://www.rosefestival.org/

I just finished reading one of the MOST comprehensive reports about Portland--
It was on Budget travel online date 1/5/07.
It was written about a year ago but still seemed pretty much up to date.
I really like this city and how it has been revitalized...
Who ever has planned and carried out this process deserves a metal !!!

Yeah, weather definitely won't be warm and sunny during that time of the year! 8-) We just dream of the sun during those months or escape to warmer locales.

I wouldn't worry much about the construction unless you have a hotel right next to it. You probably won't be driving downtown anyway as it is easier to get around via foot, MAX or the trolley. Portland is a very pedestrain friendly city.

I am not a big fan of the Rose Festival but if you have kids it may be worth going to. It typically rains during the Rose Festival so it is kind of a running joke with us Oregonians during the beginning of June; Rose Festival? Weather forecast must be for rain!

There are a few other noteworthy festivals. The Waterfront Blues Festival:

http://www.waterfrontbluesfest.com/

The Oregon Brewers Festival:

http://www.oregonbrewfest.com/fest_facts.htm

Enjoy your planning!

"Foodies" and other visitors to Portland may want to read this weekend's USA Today article about Portland restaurants. The piece focuses on Paley's and other spots that specialize in Northwest cuisine.

Do you have a link for that? I just looked at the USAToday.com site and couldn't find anything recent on Portland restaurants.
Thanks!

Hi BTilke, here are the USA articles regarding Portland, OR.
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/desti...d/overview.htm

Thanks, LoveItaly, but the restaurant reviews listed in that link date back to June 2006; I was curious about the article that was in this week-end's edition.

Hellooo! :)

This is the USA Today article..

http://tinyurl.com/y2lzwa

Bon Appetit also reviewed Le Pigeon, Siam Society and Alberta Street Oyster House, so look for those too. Feb issue ...

Rearding weather..it will rain until July so best thing to do is bring a rain jacket/coat and ignore that wet stuff. Streetcars help get us around with the least amount of soaking..
It is cold here now, talk of snow this coming week, but usually, just figure on rain.

The construction downtown, since yesterdays drive by is mostly right on the waterfront, just skip staying at the Riverplace and I doubt it will affect you at all.

The Pearl District and NW 23rd etc will not have any construction going on, other than a few highrise apt buildings going up so you won't really be bothered, I think.
Hope this helps ~

You can probably dig up the construction schedule for the Portland Bus Mall online, but I know buses move off the mall starting January 14. After that expect to see first of all more traffic on 3rd and 4th due to all those buses going up the streeets with cars, plus a lot of construction on 5th and 6th. They're basically going to re-construct the Mall including adding rail (MAX) tracks from Union Station to PSU.

Thanks Scarlett! Some of those restaurants are new to us, we'll have to head up and try them on our next visit to DH's parents in McMinnville. But, I have to admit, Wildwood never really grabbed me (neither did the famous desserts at Papa Haydn's). There were a few dishes at Wildwood I liked, primarily the salmon cakes, but I just couldn't find a "wow" factor in most of their stuff.

Here is a good link to weather statistics in Portland:

http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/w...627&refer=

I grew up here in Portland and have lived here for over 30 years. The weather is changing rapidly. Much hotter and dryer than it was 10 years ago.

This past summer we had warm and dry weather for almost 5 months. I plant a garden every year and this was a year that I had to water twice a day every day! I missed the rain!

We often have very nice sunny spring days in Portland but you definitely can't depend on them. We usually also have a couple weeks of very nice weather in June.

Personally, I really enjoy the weather here in Sept. and Oct.

BTilke, when did you visit Oregon last?
Just in the past year, there have been an amazing number of new places opening. Just on the corner a block from our apt , 2 big restaurants opened the same week. (Papa Haydns gets by on tourist books I think - we don't go there after too many duds )

Scarlett, it's been two years and the last visit was much too short, alas, tacked onto a business trip. Unfortunately, we've not been able to locate a pupsitter we truly trust, so DH and I haven't been able to take a long vacation back in the PNW, something we'd really like to do. I try to keep up with the Oregon scene via my in-laws in McMinnville, Portland-based friends, and through sites like www.koin.com, but it's not the same as being there, of course.

Is late September a good time to visit Portland weather-wise? And also price wise for hotels etc? Thanks.

I don't know about prices, although there should be a drop since summer is over, but Sept is a wonderful time to visit Portland. That was when we first visited and we moved there in Aug..it cools down a little more in Sept..nights are so comfortable and it is pretty much dry..I love Portland in September!