Portland Area Attractions

Portland itself may be short on things for visitors to do, but the city's surroundings certainly are not. Within a 1 1/2- to 2-hour drive from Portland, you can be strolling a Pacific Ocean beach, strolling beside a waterfall in the Columbia Gorge, hiking on Mount Hood (a dormant volcano as picture perfect as Mount Fuji), driving through the Mount St. Helens blast zone, or sampling world-class pinot noirs in the Oregon wine country. It is this proximity to the outdoors that makes Portland a great city to use as a base for exploring some of the best of the Northwest.

Japanese Garden
611 Kingston Avenue • Portland, OR • 503.223.1321
Considered the finest example of a Japanese garden in North America, Portland's Japanese Garden is one of the city's most popular attractions. Don't miss it. Not only are there five different styles of Japanese gardens scattered over 5 1/2 acres, but there's also a view of volcanic Mount Hood, which has a strong resemblance to Mount Fuji.

Oregon Zoo
4001 Southwest Canyon Road • Portland, OR • 503.226.1561
Perhaps best known for its elephants, the Oregon Zoo has the largest breeding herd of elephants in captivity. However, in recent years, the zoo has been continually adding new exhibits and has been branching out beyond the world of pachyderms. The Africa exhibit, which includes a very lifelike rain forest and a savanna populated by zebras, rhinos, giraffes, hippos, and other animals, is one of the most true-to-life habitats you'll ever see at a zoo. Equally impressive is the Alaskan tundra exhibit, with grizzly bears, wolves, and musk oxen. The Cascade Crest exhibit includes mountain goat habitat, and in the Steller Cove exhibit, you can watch the antics of Steller sea lions and sea otters.

Portland Art Museum
1219 Southwest Park Avenue • Portland, OR • 503.226.2811
While this relatively small art museum has a respectable collection of European, Asian, and American art, the museum has in recent years been positioning itself as the Northwest stop for touring blockbuster exhibits.

Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA)
219 Northwest 12th Avenue • Portland, OR • 503.242.1419
The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA) was created as a resource for exploring and supporting experimental art and new music in Portland. Here, at the Institute's gallery facility, PICA presents visual art exhibitions focusing on contemporary trends in the regional, national, and international art scene. These exhibitions are always innovative and thought-provoking. At various venues around the city, PICA hosts performances by both well-known and less-established performance artists and musicians.

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
1501 East Evergreen Boulevard • Portland, OR • 360.696.7655
It was here in Vancouver, at the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) Fort Vancouver, that much of the Northwest's important early pioneer history unfolded. The HBC, a British company, came to the Northwest in search of furs, and for most of the first half of the 19th century it was the only authority in this remote region. Fur trappers, mountain men, missionaries, explorers, and settlers all made Fort Vancouver their first stop in Oregon country. Today Fort Vancouver houses several reconstructed buildings that are furnished as they might have been in the middle of the 19th century. In summer, there are costumed interpreters on hand giving demonstrations of activities that once took place here at the fort. Outside the fort is a large formal garden.

Oregon History Center
1200 Southwest Park Avenue • Portland, OR • 503.222.1741
In the middle of the 19th century, the Oregon Territory was a land of promise and plenty. Thousands of hardy individuals set out along the Oregon Trail, crossing a vast and rugged country to reach the fertile valleys of this region. Others came by ship around the Horn. Today the state of Oregon is still luring immigrants, and those who wish to learn about the people who discovered Oregon before them should visit this well-designed museum.

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