mapngo

We are flying to PDX in a couple of weeks. We will be staying at the Residence Inn by Lloyd Center. We are planning on visiting some of the things at Washington Park. Are we in the fareless zone for this area? How hard is it to get to all the places in Washington Park. I understand there are small trains, but it is a little confusing to me.

Also we will have a rental car from earlier. Do you think we should turn it in early at the airport and ride the Max back to our hotel? Will it be awkward getting back on the Max to return with all of our luggage for an 11 AM flight a day later?

Dayenu

I don't know how far is your hotel from Lloyd stop, but Lloyd MAX is the last stop in the fareless zone. Going to/from airport you'll have to pay, going to the center of the city it's free.

Very easy to use MAX going to/from the airport. There will be other passengers with luggage, you won't feel awkward.

LittleA

I would keep your car until you fly out, it will be a hassle to return it and MAX to your hotel (not really a hassle, but a waste of time). Most rental cars at PDX at right at the terminal so drop off is quick and close to check in.

You can use MAX from your hotel (about 3 blocks away from the Lloyd stop which is in the fareless zone) and take it downtown and transfer to the Streetcar to go into the Pearl District and NW. To see Washington Park and the Rose Garden, I would drive. Peninsula Park in N Portland also has a fantastic rose garden. Also, Mt Tabor is nice (an old volcano) and the Crystal Springs Rodedenron Gardens are nice and are on your east side of the river - no need to go to Washington Park with all the other tourists IMO

LittleA

When I said Rose Garden above, I meant the rose gardens in Washington Park, not the place the Trail Blazers play.

mapngo

thanks for the suggestions. I will take a look at the other attractions mentioned. Mt. Tabor sounds interesting.

passerbye

Alternatively, you could take MAX to the Portland Zoo stop, which (I'm 99% sure) is outside the fareless zone. There's a Tri-Met shuttle that runs from there to Washington Park attractions. Probably a fare for that too, though I'm not sure. From the Rose Gardens and/or the Japanese Garden, you might want to walk down the hill through the park into the city, where you could pick up MAX again on SW 18th at PGE Park, or SW Jefferson at 19th, both of which I think are in the fareless zone. Some beautiful, old neighborhoods in that area.

mapngo

The Tri-Met website says it is 44 minutes from our closest rail stop to the zoo station. If we drive how much time can we shave off? (Avoiding rush hour times of course)

passerbye

That must be referring to bus schedules. If you get on the Red or Blue line MAX at the stop near your hotel, you should reach the Washington Park/Zoo stop in 20-25 minutes.

mapngo

Thanks Passerbye. It gave me the blue line route. The 44 minutes includes 18 minutes of walking, when I read it. Is Portland easy to drive around? I've been one other time when I wasn't responsible for driving or navigating so I didn't pay much attention.

passerbye

"Is Portland easy to drive around?" So you're giving up on MAX? ;-)

Kinda depends on where you want to go, but generally yes. The downtown core is mostly a grid of of one-way streets, a few of which have lanes reserved for buses, MAX and the streetcar, but if you're paying attention, you'll be fine. Inner NW is easy. From east to west streets are numbered, and from Burnside north to at least Vaughn, they're named alphabeticaly.

Andrew

The two MAX stops you care about for getting to Washington Park are King's Hill/SW Salmon at the bottom of the hill below the International Rose Test Garden and the Japanese Garden and the other MAX stop at the Oregon Zoo. Both MAX RED and BLUE trains serve both stops - they take the same route from Lloyd Center past King's Hill and to the Zoo stop.

As noted above, you can walk up to (or down from) the Gardens via the King's Hill MAX stop. It's a fairly steep walk up but if you are in shape, it's a nice walk. Otherwise, you can take two TriMet buses directly to the Gardens from the MAX sdtops: the Washington Park Shuttle (bus) and the #63 bus. Both buses stop at King's Hill as well as the Zoo. Because bus service may not be frequent, you can check ahead of time to figure out whether it makes sense to take a bus up to the Gardens from King's Hill or down from the Zoo stop. Otherwise, you might be waiting almost a half hour to connect.

FYI, you can use TriMet's website for route planning, but I much prefer Google's Transit website (using Google Maps): www.google.com/transit . Great website for getting around via public transit.

Both King's Hill and the Zoo MAX stops are outside of the Free Rail Zone (formerly "Fareless Square" - buses aren't free any longer). The last free stop going west is Galleria/SW 10th downtown. Lloyd Center is the last free stop going east. Just buy a MAX ticket at the machine at Lloyd Center before you get on the train. The ticket is good for two hours and is good for unlimited transfers to buses. You'll need an all-zone ticket to get to Zone 3 (Zoo). Some of the machines take credit cards. TriMet MAX/bus tickets are also good for transfer to the Portland Streetcar, which isn't free outside the Free Rail Zone (e.g. NW Portland, part of the Pearl).

There is little train you can take down from the Zoo instead - but it requires paying admission to get into the zoo and then another fee; I'd take the bus connections instead:

http://www.oregonzoo.org/AboutZoo/train.htm

You might be able to drop your rental car in downtown Portland for no extra drop fee, then take the free MAX back to the Lloyd Center stop near your hotel. Check with the rental car company; I've seen at least one case where dropping the car downtown was cheaper than dropping it at the airport. In that case, to get back to your hotel, you take a Red, Blue, or (from different stops) Green train east from downtown back to Lloyd Center. (Don't take the Yellow train.)

The Green MAX going west into downtown is useful from Lloyd Center to get you closer to the Pearl District - easily walkable from the Union Station stop, which is in the Free Rail Zone too. But the Green line doesn't go near Washington Park or the Gardens. (But close to the Classical Chinese Garden in Old Town/China Town if that was on your list.)

Andrew

I wouldn't recommend driving to the Gardens at a busy time (say a sunny day in the summer time) because finding parking up (street parking or some little free spots) can be challenging - they do fill up on nice days. If you go up first thing in the morning or something, though, you should be able to find parking. Google Maps can get you there no doubt.

mapngo

Thank you so much for all the info. I'm taking notes. Thanks Andrew for the specifics on MAX.