Portland, Oregon is just a 3 hour ride from Seattle. In just 48 hours we stopped at St. Johns Bridge, Pittock Mansion, Portland Rose Garden, Downtown Portland, Powell’s City of Books, Blue Star Donuts, and my personal favorite, Multnomah Falls. It was more than enough time to learn the history, explore the town (that I can assure you, “stays weird”), and enjoy the nature. I’ve also included food recommendations along with a travel FAQ of where to stay and how to travel on a budget. The FAQ also contains an anecdote about Pirate Cat, my very own weird Portland Experience.
St. John’s Bridge
On our way from Seattle, we stopped at Cathedral Park to get a look at St. John’s Bridge, this steel suspension bridge in Portland. This Gothic bridge crosses over the Willamette River and is right on the border of Washington and Oregon.
Pittock Mansion
Pittock Mansion, a French Renaissance styled home, is over 16,000 square feet and contains 23 rooms. The mansion overlooks Downtown Portland and the Cascade mountains.
Henry Pittock went down the Oregon Trail seeking fortune and ended up as the owner of The Oregonian, right when the newspaper industry started booming. Pittock used his fortune to invest in various industries and cultural organizations.
Pittock began building the mansion in 1912 and family lived there until 1958.
The stone exterior and brick roof reminded me of Craigdarroch Castle and the Molly Brown House. What stood out to me the most about Pittock Mansion was how colorful it was. A lot of the rooms were covered in patterned wall paper, the turkish smoke room was intricately painted, the curtains had designs or bright colors, and these colors were reflected again when walking outside in the gardens.
Henry Pittock’s wife, Georgina Pittock, loved colorful roses and created the “Portland Rose Society”.
City of Roses
The Portland Rose Society landscaped 400 acres to create the International Rose Test Garden, they created their own rose hybrids and began an annual rose festival. During World War I, Europe began sending over its hybrid roses so they would not be destroyed in war.
The International Rose Test Garden is free to walk around in. There are plenty of seating areas. I enjoyed strolling through the gardens and stopping to smell the roses.
There are several other gardens, such as the Japanese Garden, and the Chinese Garden, nearby that require a fee. If we had more time I would have loved to stop at those gardens as well.
Downtown
Portland had some great architecture to stroll through the city and enjoy. The brick buildings and side fire escapes gave it a bit of an East Coast feel.
Blue Star Doughnuts
While in Portland you have two places you have to try doughnuts at, Blue Star Donuts and/or Voodoo Doughnut. Since I’ve had Voodoo Doughnut in Hollywood, we went to try the Blue Star Donut that locals rave about. They have 8 locations in Portland!
We got a dozen doughnuts to try a little bit of everything. They have raised, cake, and old fashioned doughnuts with a variety of classic and fun flavors. Among my favorites were Passion Fruit Cocoa (below), Blueberry Bourbon Basil, and Chocolate Almond Ganache. The varying glazes were delicious! 10/10 recommend Blue Star Donut as a must-try. Especially for a doughnut lovers like me.
Powell’s City of Books
Just a few blocks down from Blue Star Donuts you will find Powell’s Books, the worlds largest independent bookstore containing over one million books!
You can spend hours in Powell’s Books. I was actually overwhelmed at the choices. There are varying floors and sections divided by genre which are designated by colors. There are 9 different book rooms, including a rare book, and each room contains thousands of used and new books. It is much bigger on the inside than it looks like from the street. Tours are offered every Sunday, but we were just fine roaming the book store for hours on our own. Powell’s Books also has a small coffee shop to enjoy a cup with your new read while avoiding the rain. This store is the original, and the largest, but Powell’s Books also has four other smaller locations in Portland. Definitely a must-see when in Portland!
Multnomah Falls
Columbia River Gorge has over 90 waterfalls on the Oregon side alone, Multnomah Falls being the most notable one. It is fed by underground springs and flows year-round!
Multnomah Falls is just a half-hour drive from Portland down the I-84 East. We arrived around 10 am and had no problem finding parking in September, but it can fill up very quickly during summer months.
A short trail leads up to the Benson Bridge. From there you can take a moderate hike up to the top of Multnomah Falls which includes 11 switchbacks and a breathtaking view of the Columbia River Gorge.
There are a variety of other hikes to do in Columbia River Gorge Scenic Park as well. It only takes an additional mile to take a beautiful scenic trail to Wiesendanger Falls.
I was in love with the rich colors along the hike. The Northern west coast is so green! It reminded me of the rich colors in the Canadian Rainforest.
Multnomah Falls was by far my favorite experience in Oregon. If time allowed, I would have loved to hike some more trails including Horsetail Falls, Fairy Falls, and Wahkeena Falls. You could easily spend an entire day or two here.
The city of Portland was fun, but there was not as much to do there as there is in Seattle. Oregon’s nature was by far my favorite part of the trip.
The next time I return to Oregon will be a road trip to spend more time at Columbia River Gorge Scenic Park, and to visit Crater Lake, Warm Springs, Tillamook, and Cannon Beach. So if you plan a visit, I recommend a lot of time for hiking.
Trip FAQ
Where to Eat:
Aside from Blue Star Donuts, we really enjoyed:
Sizzle Pie, a pizza shop just a block away from Powell’s Book Store
Picnic House, a restaurant that is nicer than it sounds. It serves a variety of American food, whether you’re looking for an affordable sandwich, or a nice steak and wine with a fruit and cheese plate. It’s a dimly lit romantic atmosphere where your check comes in a book for you to draw and leave notes in. We left a sketch of the infamous pirate cat (see below).
Stay:
Typically, Airbnb is the way I always go! I only do super hosts and 4.5 or higher. But Portland, like any city, has its rough parts so make sure to do some research on the neighborhood so you don’t end up like us!
An Anecdote about Pirate Cat:
I had booked our Airbnb two months in advance, with what seemed like the best. We were slightly nerved when we drove up to a run down neighborhood with cop cars at multiple entrances. A neighbor girl with short colorful hair (the eptimome of Portland) and stained oversized sweats came to meet us. We were alarmed when we entered and learned we would be staying with two large dogs without their owner in the house to obey. “There’s only one rule,” she told us, “we don’t lock the front door”. My friend and I scurried to our personal room trying to slam our half hinged bedroom door. A dangerous unfamiliar neighborhood where we can’t lock the door, or even shut our own bedroom door?! We peaked into the bathroom which held streaking stains of dirt and who knows what. I sat on the bed as we tried to discern whether we could do just one night here. As we were talking, from under the bed comes a dark small cat with an eye swollen shut and half a tail. Pirate Cat. Pirate Cat was cute, resembled my own personal cat, with the gray tufts and white mittens. But it was unknown if Pirate Cat was theirs or a stray. And considering it was know rolling around our bed with its eye goop and perhaps fleas, we did not want to stay to find out.
Travel:
I flew with Delta which has been my favorite airline so far. They were decently priced and were not as strict with luggage policies as Frontier or Spirit. I used Google Flights to find the cheapest days to fly.
To get to Portland from Seattle we drove 3 hours, but you can also take a train.
Portland is a busy city and parking (even for your hotel!) is extremely limited. We parked at 628 W Burnside St Parking, which was only $7 a day (including overnight) and only a walking distance away from Portland’s attractions.
