16. Ross Island
City: Portland, OR
Category: Parks & Recreation
Description: A loop around Ross Island is a great two-to three-hour canoe or kayak trip that will get those kinks out of your arms and back. The put-in spot is Willamette Park in Portland’s southwest side. Once in the river cross over to Ross Island, hang a right around its northern tip, and go down the Holgate Channel to the entrance to the lagoon. After you visit this tranquil pond—where you may spy a Swainson’s thrush, black-headed grosbeak, or spotted sandpiper—paddle down the channel, around the southern edge of the island, and back downriver to Willamette Park.
City: Portland, OR
Category: Parks & Recreation
18. Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe
City: Portland, OR
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (503) 285-1819
Address: 1515 Southeast Water St.
Description: Alder Creek has a great central location, next to OMSI, for renting a kayak or canoe in the downtown area. It’s also a good place to rent a canoe or kayak on Tomahawk Island, a close neighbor of Hayden Island, where I-5 crosses the Columbia. This full-service outfit offers a complete line of gear for white-water enthusiasts, as well as low-key paddlers.
19. Portland River Company
City: Portland, OR
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (503) 459-4050
Address: 6600 Southwest Macadam Ave. Next To Will
Description: Portland River Company provides everything you will need to paddle a single or double sea kayak. It also offers guided tours along the Willamette. First-time kayakers and experienced paddlers alike will enjoy this marine view of Portland. The adventure starts at RiverPlace Marina; crosses over to the historic USS Blueback, a submarine docked at Oregon’s Museum of Science and Industry; and continues upriver, circling Ross Island, where you may catch sight of great blue herons, osprey, and bald eagles.
20. Mazamas
City: Portland, OR
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (503) 227-2345
Address: 527 Southeast 43rd Ave.
Description: This 3,000-member mountaineering group is named after Mount Mazama, a huge mountain that blew itself apart to create Crater Lake in southern Oregon. Founded in 1894 when 193 climbers ascended to the summit of Mount Hood, the Mazamas are legendary for all the mountains they’ve climbed and the resources they provide for their members. To join all you have to do is climb a mountain with a living glacier.
21. Oregon Mountain Community
City: Portland, OR
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (503) 227-1038
Address: 2975 Northeast Sandy Blvd.
Description: Oregon Mountain Community—or known fondly as OMC—carries everything for the serious climber and mountaineer, including climbing and backpacking gear, from crampons, axes, and ropes to get you up the mountain to probes, beacons, and shovels in case it falls down on top of you. They also host classes and lectures, run a repair shop, and offer rentals of every kind of ski, snowshoe, and other winter sports gear.
22. Portland Rock Gym
City: Portland, OR
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (503) 232-8310
Address: 21 Northeast 12th Ave.
Description: The Portland Rock Gym was an urban pioneer, seeing possibility in the Lower Burnside neighborhood when no one else did. They can help you do something similar with your climbing skills. When the weather is keeping you off the rocks, or when you want to fine-tune your ascension skills, stop by Portland Rock Gym for some indoor climbing on a 40-foot wall. The Portland Rock Gym has 8,000 square feet of climbing space and offers classes and equipment rentals, as well as yoga classes, camps, and activities for kids after school. The gym is open Mon, Wed, and Fri from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Tues and Thurs from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., on Sat from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and on Sun from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
23. Fisherman’S Marine & Outdoor
City: Portland, OR
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (503) 283-0044
Address: 1120 North Hayden Meadows Dr.
Description: This huge, locally owned store has anything you’d ever want, from bait to spinners to outboard motors, and you might be able to coax the location of a hot fishing hole out of the friendly clerk. They are wise in the ways of the fish that live in Oregon and Washington.
24. Kaufmann’S Streamborn
City: Portland, OR
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (503) 639-7004
Address: 11960 Southwest Pacific Hwy.
Description: Kaufmann’s provides fly-fishing equipment, workshops, and worldwide bookings for piscatory outings abroad. This beautiful store has evolved from the days when the Kaufmann brothers tied flies in their parents’ garage. Kauffmann’s offers classes in spey casting and trips down the Deschutes River, among other things.
City: Portland, OR
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: 902 Wasco Ave., Suite 200,
26. Dog Mountain
City: Portland, OR
Category: Parks & Recreation
Description: Located about 12 miles east of the Bridge of the Gods, Dog Mountain is a popular hike for a reason: spectacular views of the Gorge, the Cascades, and the amazing wildflowers along the way. It’s a bit strenuous, with a 700-foot climb in the first half-mile. Then you have the choice to take a steep, direct route to the top of the mountain or a longer but gentler trail. The east trail (the longer trail) has the most impressive views. Both end up on top of Dog Mountain, a summit of 2,984 feet. You can bring your dog to Dog Mountain, but you both must watch out for poison oak. To get there, take I-205 north to Washington SR 14 and park at the trailhead, milepost 53, on the north side of the highway.
27. The Marquam Park Trail
City: Portland, OR
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (503) 823-5122
Description: A guide with references to stops along the way is available at a nature shelter at the beginning of the hike. The climb leads through leafy bowers until it arrives at Council Crest Park, the highest point within the city limits, at 1,070 feet above sea level.
City: Portland, OR
Category: Parks & Recreation
29. Overlook Trail
City: Portland, OR
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (503) 823-7529
Description: This wheelchair-accessible trail is 0.25 mile of hardened gravel surface connecting the MAX Zoo Station with Hoyt Arboretum. There are also links with the Wildwood Trail (see separate entry in this chapter). The 10-foot-wide path makes frequent switchbacks as it ascends a gentle grade to the top of the hill and the arboretum’s outdoor living museum of trees. You can catch the beginning of the trail across the street from the MAX station at the north end of the World Forestry Center. If you are driving instead of taking MAX, park at the zoo.
30. Tryon Creek State Park
City: Portland, OR
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (503) 636-9886
Address: 11321 Southwest Terwilliger Blvd.
Description: Just south of the Lewis & Clark College campus, Tryon Creek trickles through a deep ravine, the last free-flowing stream in the metro area and one of the few urban streams that still has a steelhead run. Bike paths and wide, paved, woodsy boulevards invite visitors from all over the area to explore the more than 600 acres of woodland. One trail in particular, Trillium Trail, is beautifully and fully wheelchair accessible. At the bottom of the ravine, an interpretive center with nature displays explains the plants, animals, and other features of the park. This site is a happy memory for thousands of kids who’ve come here on field trips. There is no fee to use this state park.