Portland, OR: 50 Things to Do With Kids Before They Grow Up
By Asha Dornfest of Parent Hacks and Blythe Butler of The Blythe Spirit.
In our biased opinions, Portland is a family paradise. Kids here love the outdoors in its leafy summertime brilliance and its wintry, puddle-soaked glory. They can learn to do almost anything, from cooking vegetables grown in a neighborhood garden to swinging from a trapeze. And they do it all in a city that’s criss-crossed by trains, streetcars, buses, and even an aerial tram. Let us show you around:
1. Spend an afternoon at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), including a tour of the USS Blueback Naval submarine.
3. Drink a heavenly seasonal Burgerville milkshake, made with local huckleberries, caramel apples, or chocolatey hazelnuts.
4. Slide down the waterslide at the indoor Southwest Community Center pool.
5. Take a free children’s gardening class at one of Portland’s Community Gardens.
6. Eat elephant ears and dance to live music at the Portland Saturday Market.
7. Get a bird’s-eye view from the Portland Aerial Tram.
10. Watch the ducks at Laurelhurst Park.
11. Climb up Mount Tabor — an extinct volcano in the middle of a neighborhood with a playground at the top.
12. Eat a homemade Ruby Jewel ice cream-and-cookie sandwich at the Portland Farmers Market in the Portland State University park blocks.
14. Eat cotton candy, ride the bumper cars, and roller skate on the wooden rink at Oaks Park Amusement Park.
15. Eat a single Moonstruck Chocolate truffle.
16. Grab a slice of pizza and watch a $3 second-run movie at McMenamins Kennedy School.
18. Hang out in the children’s section or take in storytime at the Central Library.
19. Take a free streetcar ride in downtown. (update: no longer free; thank you to our commenter below!)
20. Watch a minor-league Beavers baseball or Timbers soccer game at PGE Park.
21. Take the MAX train to Washington Park.
22. Watch July 4th fireworks over the Willamette River.
23. Go to the Children’s Museum.
24. Watch the Vaux Swifts’ return to the Chapman School chimney every night in September.
25. Pick fresh berries and peaches on Sauvie Island. In the Fall, visit the pumpkin patches and corn mazes there.
26. Stake out a prime sidewalk viewing spot for the Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade.
27. Paint your own pottery at Mimosa Studios. Afterward, walk down Alberta Street and eat a lavender syrup crepe at Tour des Crepes (It’s charmingly housed inside an old garage, and the crepe-cooking happens in an Airstream trailer out back).
29. Take a hike in the middle of the city in 5,000-acre Forest Park.
31. Walk along the elevated boardwalk in the Japanese Garden.
32. Relax with a cup of tea and some snacks in the pavilion at the Classical Chinese Garden.
33. Don your slicker and rain boots and walk through the puddles just about anywhere in Fall. The busy squirrels and the falling leaves will keep you distracted.
34. Take a day trip to see the midsummer snow on Mt. Hood.
35. Do some holiday shopping on NW 23rd Avenue, and enjoy the sparkly trees.
36. Eat a Grape Ape or a Dirt Doughnut at Voodoo Doughnut.
37. Keep an eye out for miniature plastic horses tied up to metal rings along neighborhood sidewalks.
39. Cheer the bands in the Rose Festival Junior Parade, or dress up and join it yourself.
40. Visit Mill Ends Park, the smallest park in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
42. Unleash your inner American Idol at Airplay Café’s Open Tike events – open mikes for kids under 12.
43. Pick up some bargain dress-up duds at the huge Catlin Gabel School Rummage sale, one of the largest rummage sales in the world. (update: no longer available)
44. Meander down Peacock Lane the last two weeks of December and see a streetful of spectacularly lit homes.
46. Climb on the big wheels at Big Truck Day at Conestoga Rec Center.
47. Put on your best finery and enjoy Little Sippers afternoon tea at the Heathman Hotel.
48. Invite nine of your friends and schedule a backstage tour of the Rose Garden Arena home of the Portland Trailblazers.
49. Swing from a trapeze in a DO JUMP! theatre class.
50. Walk along Tom McCall Waterfront Park and enjoy the view, rain or shine.
(This series was inspired by Mommy Poppins’ 100 Things to Do with Your Kids in NY Before They Grow Up.)
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17 Responses to “Portland, OR: 50 Things to Do With Kids Before They Grow Up”
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Hi Asha and Blythe! You did such a great job on this! I live in Portland and have been raising my daughter here since she was a little over a year old. Now, 10 years later, I can say we’ve done almost a majority of things on your list. We just went to the Oregon Zoo a few weeks ago again to see the new baby elephant, Sam. Too cute.
Portland is such a great place to visit with children and a great place to have a family. A couple things I’d add: spend a few hours at the gingerbread house in Sellwood and make the trek to Newberg for a drive-in movie.
Oh and Id like to add
The rock museum…the largest display anywhere
Hi
We are in Portland coming from Denmark and UK and will be in Portland with my work for nearly 3 weeks. any suggesions on things my wife can do in the day? Or things we can all do on an evening? Kids aer 6 & 11.
This is great! We just moved to the Beaverton area from Missouri just a little over 2 months ago. We have already done about 5 things on this list, but there is so much more that I never knew about. Thank you! Also will be following you on Twitter.
Very helpful! We are visiting Portland with two toddlers! Thanks!
This is a great list! My husband and I love to visit Portland. While we don’t have kids yet, we’re looking forward to taking them with us one day.
One thing to note about this list – #19 is now illegal, since they’ve gotten rid of the Downtown Fare Free Zone (September 2012)!
We accidentally rode for free our first time back in December because there hadn’t been any signs or announcements on our last visit in August! I felt so bad after we found out!
Thanks for the update!
Hi! Great list! I would just like to add that the Portland Beavers no longer play at PGE Park. That stadium has been renamed JELD-WEN Park and houses only the Portland Timbers as an MLA stadium.
I was so excited when I saw The Catlin Gabel Rummage Sale on this list because I went to school there! Sadly Catlin stopped doing the Rummage Sale a couple of years ago:(
thanks for the update.
This is a great list. I was born and raised in Portland and I’ve pretty much done everything on this list with my kids. One adventure that should be added is spending an afternoon at Powell’s Bookstore. My children also loved seeing the inside of Pittock Mansion, I was surprised how much my son enjoyed it.
We love Peacock Lane, we grab our Starbucks and walk it every December, it’s become a tradition.
Awesome list–Powell’s Books should be top of the list though, right next to OMSI. Oregonians are VERY proud of Powells. If you’re including day trips from Portland, you should definitely include a hike anywhere along the Columbia River Gorge, the Tillamook Cheese Factory and eating a loaf of Haystack Bread in Cannon Beach.
Thanks for the great list. Just to let you know, Ruby Jewel is now an ice cream shop on Mississippi.
Portland no longer has a minor league baseball team. No more beaver baseball. However they are building a new minor league baseball stadium in Hillsboro next to the Hillsboro stadium.