Things to do in Portland

Culture · Pearl District / West Burnside

A full city block of new and used books shelved together, and the largest independent bookstore in the world.

Local tip: Used and new sit on the same shelf at different prices, so always check both spines before buying. The Rare Book Room upstairs is free to browse and almost empty on a weekday.

Nature · North-west hills

Over 5,000 acres of second-growth forest inside the city limits, with the 30-mile Wildwood Trail running its length.

Local tip: The Lower Macleay entrance and the Witch's Castle ruin are the crowded bit. Enter from the Firelane trailheads off NW Skyline and you can walk for two hours and meet four people.

Food · Citywide — Cartopia, Prost, Hawthorne Asylum

Several hundred permanently sited carts, many of them the whole business rather than an outpost of one.

Local tip: The downtown lunch pods largely disappeared after 2020; the living pods are now on the east side. Cartopia at SE 12th and Hawthorne runs late, and Hawthorne Asylum has covered seating, which matters for eight months of the year.

Nature · 30–60 minutes east on I-84

A basalt canyon with dozens of waterfalls, including the 189-metre Multnomah, and the windsurfing capital at Hood River beyond it.

Local tip: The Waterfall Corridor uses a timed-entry permit in summer and you will be turned away without one. Book it, or go to the Washington side instead — Dog Mountain in spring has better wildflowers and its own permit system.

Neighborhood · North-east Portland

Two parallel commercial streets that carry most of the city's small-scale restaurant, bar and gallery life.

Local tip: Alberta's Last Thursday street event is a genuine local institution rather than a tourist one. Both streets sit in historically Black neighbourhoods that gentrified hard and fast, and that history is not decoration — the Albina displacement is still an active civic argument.

Nature · South-east, at SE 60th

An extinct volcanic cinder cone inside the city, with reservoirs, a cinder track and the best free view of downtown against Mount Hood.

Local tip: Portland is one of very few US cities with an extinct volcano within its boundaries and almost no newcomer knows Tabor is one. The road to the summit closes to cars on Wednesdays, which is the day to walk it. Sunset from the west side reservoir is the view every postcard uses.