Portland, Oregon - what are some "must-see" places for family with teens?

[Alexandra]

Also are does anyone have some favorite places to eat?

Thanks!

[bluemongoose]

Omsi

 

There are LOTS of places not far to hike

 

The Art Museum

 

The Zoo?

 

There are some fun boat rides on the river during the summer.

[BikeBookBread]

OMSI - Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Very cool. I could stare at the giant pendulum for hours.

 

Powell's bookstore.

[newlifemom]

Downtown? Also NW Portland. Kinda cool artsy place. :). How about the park areas surrounding the zoo. OMSI is a given. There is something for every age!

[Cindyz]

Multnomah Falls is not in Portland but close enough and is a must see in my opinion. :)

 

Definitely Powell's Books!

 

Saturday Market! <-----where you will also find some of the best and most interesting food from the food carts.

[hazilsara]

Saturday Farmer's Market on the waterfront! Be sure to atleast go look at the Sternwheeler, even if you don't take a tour.

 

As odd as it sounds, I'd check out the Gondola that connects the university hospital with the lower parking. Might not be on most tourist lists, but I think it's pretty cool!

 

Go down to Salem and see the Gold Man on top of the Capital Building. There are outlet shops inbetween, if you wanna hit those, too! (you can see them from I-5) The Spruce Goose is housed at the Evergreen Museum in McMinnville, which isn't too far from Portland--it was VERY cool, and is connected with a Space Museum, too...definitley a must-see!

 

If you can make it out to Astoria, that's always nice...you can see the end of the Columbia river and all the details that surround that, including the end of the Lewis & Clark expedition!

 

An hour or so east up the Columbia Gorge is Multnomah Falls. It's beautiful and you might recognize it from scenery pics you've seen before!! If you're willing to drive a bit more, the Columbia Gorge Hotel is the Finest resturaunt on the West Coast (IMO)--it's NOT cheap! Very posh and a fun journey into the lifestyles of the rich and famous, with a historic feel to it! (You can also get rooms there if you want to!) While there, watch the Wind surfers on the river!

 

Anyway! Hope you enjoy your trip (I assume)!!

[indigomama]

Multnomah Falls is not in Portland but close enough and is a must see in my opinion. :)

 

Definitely Powell's Books!

 

Saturday Market! <-----where you will also find some of the best and most interesting food from the food carts.

:iagree:

And I love Cha Cha Chas in the Hawthorne district for Mexican and Hawthorne FishHouse for really good but kinda pricey Gluten free fish and chips:)

 

Oh and you might want to check out the Grotto, it's a really pretty relaxing walk.

[Tressa]

Powell's Books was fun if you like books. I could have spent the entire day there, but my teen was ready to go after just a hour or so.

 

OMSI was fun. We spent the morning there. My teen liked it, but just a few hours was plenty.

 

We did both of those in one day with a stop at P.F. Chang's for lunch (across the street from Powell's).

[myfunnybunch]

Voodoo Doughnuts

 

The downtown waterfront park is lovely too.

[Tap]

OMSI- nice for a few hours but not a lot for teens. I would call and find out what the major display is. The Omnimax theater, can have some interesting shows. My teen has enjoyed the river speed boats at OMSI. I don't think they are assiciated with OMSI, just at the same location. FYI-OMSI is on the other side of the river from most of the more interesting part of Portland IMHO. If your teen is into miniature gaming at all or if your family is into older people's board games there is a store near OMSI called Guardian Games that they make like. It looks like a hole in the wall, but it is pretty big inside.

 

ZOO-decent zoo. Takes about 3 hours to walk it at a decent pace. Can take the zoo train over to the Rose Garden for about another hour. If you want to make it a full day, you can if you like reading the passages about the animals.

 

Powell's-great for a book lover who has varied interests. There are a lot of unique books on topics that you won't find in B&N stores. If they are into a broad topic like WWII, they will be amazed at the amount they have. If they just like to pick up the next book in a series and then read it at home, it won't be that interesting. They need to be a book peruser to really appreciate Powell's.

 

Theaters/Preformances/Dance/Ballet-depending on when you are going to be here, check out what is on the stages. I think the Portland Opera website links to the various stages. Lion King will be here in June/July.

 

The Saturday Market isn't huge but is fun for a few hours. There are the typical food booths or many, many restaurants near by. In the upper park blocks, there is a Saturday Farmers Market. It only goes 'til about 3pm so check the time if you want to go. They have some good lunch options and a few breakfast too. There is a Wednesday Farmers Market two blocks below the Art Museum.

 

The park blocks are very pretty and have some interesting people watching. The river front is a decent walk away (downhill to the water) but is pretty and has Dragon Boats practicing in the summer.

 

The Oregon Historical Society is across the street from the Portland Art Museum. Both are great. They are about 6 blocks south of the Saturday Farmers Market.

 

If you are big into history, there is a lot in the area. I would check out the Historical Society website for ideas. Lewis and Clark, Fort Vancouver, Oregon Trail and turn of the century mansions are common attractions.

 

A couple hours North has Mt St Helen's. Multnomah Falls to the East (beautiful river drive and you can see the wind surfers on the water). State Capital to the South.

 

There is some varied shopping in downtown. Anything from upper end clothing, Williams Sonoma, Hanna Anderson, many galleries, Jewelry/decor, to sports based like NIKE. There is a fun toy store called Finnegan's if you have any younger kids with you. Next door is Art Media for art supplies if that is more your style.

 

The Multnomah County Library is beautiful to walk through.

 

Lloyd Center mall isn't huge but has some traditional stores and a movie theater.

 

There is a Baseball Field PGE Park with Portland Beavers.

 

For night time I think there may still be some teen dance places but I am not certain.

Edited June 9, 2010 by Tap, tap, tap

[jenniferlee]

Nicholas restaurant for middle eastern/Lebanese food.

 

Hawthorne district if you like browsing/hippie areas

 

nw23rd street if you like browsing/upscale/trendy areas

 

forest park/rose garden area for beautiful hiking and scenery

 

multnomah falls out of town for more hiking

 

many, many really good coffee shops. google stumptown coffee roasters

 

mcmenamins is a chain of restaurants that have been renovated from old historic buildings -super cool and really fun to visit. lots of amazing art and history of the portland area in them. they have brochures with lots of info. Kennedy school was one of my favorites. It's also a hotel (well I guess most of them are).

 

I second or third or whatever, Powell's books - it was my favorite destination as a teen.

 

Jen

[Jean in Newcastle]

If they like to ice skate, there is ice skating at Lloyd Center mall.

[EJCMom]

If you like good barbeque, there's Reo's Ribs on Macadam. The Blueplate on SW Washington Street in downtown Portland has the best mac 'n' cheese ever! Seres in the Pearl has the most amazing organic Chinese food.

[nmoira]

What types of food do you like/love?

 

 

Nicholas restaurant for middle eastern/Lebanese food

There's a new Portland location on NE Broadway (3200 block), which is not yet as insanely crowded as the original.

 

I'd highly recommend an evening at Pok Pok in SE Portland... it's easily my favourite restaurant, and should be good for adventurous teens.

 

Here's the Willamette Week restaurant guide. And their Cheap Eats guide. And the Food Carts Portland site (everything that's new and exciting seems to be found in food carts these days). There are a few pods downtown and in other high foot traffic areas. If you like fish and chips, The Frying Scotsman is a must... (especially if you're spending the day around NW 23rd).

[Vida Winter]

When we go to Portland (about every 6 mos.) we usually want to shop because we in a very small town with no stores to speak of. So, after the obligatory trip to Powell's, we head toward Hillsboro (suburb), eat at P.F. Chang's and then head to the Container Store, Crate & Barrel, and a few other favorite places to shop for clothing (Gap, Nordstrom Rack).

 

Sometimes we go to OMSI or the Zoo (the Zoo only if the weather is nice, which is rare). Teens might like the Omnimax or Planetarium at OMSI. Sometimes we go to a movie, or go for a swim at our hotel. We also stop at Trader Joe's if we have time, and possibly at Costco.

 

I am hoping to visit The National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother next time -- the web site is http://www.thegrotto.org/

[Spy Car]

Are there still Madame Caroline Testout roses planted all over Portland? I've read that the city planted 10,000 of this variety of rose just prior to WWI and that many still survive. Is this true?

 

Bill (who is planting his Madame Caroline Testout this week)

[nmoira]

Are there still Madame Caroline Testout roses planted all over Portland? I've read that the city planted 10,000 of this variety of rose just prior to WWI and that many still survive. Is this true?

 

Bill (who is planting his Madame Caroline Testout this week)

It's still the official Portland rose, and I often see them when out and about. I don't know if it's true, but I remember reading that at one point there were 200 linear miles of them planted on curb strips.

 

Moira (who loathes roses, other than in jam, as tea, or to flavour Turkish delights)

[EmilyK]

I'd second the gondola or aerial tram:

 

http://portlandtram.org/

 

The art museum and the historical society and right by each other in the park blocks. On Wednesdays there is a farmers' market there.

 

http://www.ohs.org/exhibits/current/index.cfm

 

http://portlandartmuseum.org/calendar/

 

We did one of these one time and I keep meaning to do one with out of town guests:

 

http://www.portlandwalkingtours.com/

 

The jet boat tours near OMSI are great (again, keep meaning to do again with out of town guests; combines well with the submarine at OMSI):

 

http://willamettejet.com/

Edited June 9, 2010 by EmilyK

[Jean in Newcastle]

It's still the official Portland rose, and I often see them when out and about. I don't know if it's true, but I remember reading that at one point there were 200 linear miles of them planted on curb strips.

 

Moira (who loathes roses, other than in jam, as tea, or to flavour Turkish delights)

 

There is a rose garden next to the zoo which has them.