Explore Portland Like a Tourist
It’s an eternal question from visitors and recent transplants: What is there to do in Portland with kids? We’ve got the ultimate answers.
It’s an eternal question from visitors and recent transplants: What is there to do in Portland with kids? We’ve got the ultimate answers.
Looking to make this summer unforgettable? Cue up one (or all!) of these family-friendly destinations.
Here’s how to have fun with your kids during a play, concert or ballet at one of Portland’s youth performing arts organizations.
Driving or walking through Eastmoreland’s tree-lined streets full of large, elegant homes, you’re struck by the neighborhood’s beauty. And that’s not an accident. According to the Eastmoreland Neighborhood Association, the neighborhood was laid out by devotees of the national City Beautiful movement of the early 1900s.
Minutes from downtown, this charming and quintessentially Portland neighborhood centers around a main street that boasts breakfast joints, gift shops, bakeries, a beloved toy store and much more. And a yearly summer parade and street fair is a much-cherished community event.
The neighborhood of Rose City Park was incorporated the same year as the inaugural Rose Festival. Today, this Northeast neighborhood comprises a diverse mix of established Portland, with gentrified updates and hip eateries. It’s also family- and dog-friendly with outdoor spaces, parks and shopping.
Like this North Portland area’s name suggests, this compact neighborhood is named after a university — the University of Portland. In fact, the Catholic campus takes up a large swath of realty in the neighborhood’s southern corner.
Originally called Boone’s Landing after a descendant of Daniel Boone, Wilsonville got a name change in 1880. The name hasn’t been the only change in its history; Wilsonville has transformed from ferry site to port to train depot, and finally to the southernmost suburb in the Portland-metro area with a major freeway artery running right through its center.
Niche.com’s No. 1 Best Place to Raise a Family in Oregon is closer than you might think: this year’s choice is Bethany, a small suburb of Portland in Washington County. This tracks with what locals say of this safe, quiet neighborhood with good schools.
The charming town of Milwaukie, less than a 10-minute drive from southeast Portland’s Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood, is an ideal location for families looking for more space, lower home prices, a quaint downtown, and the proximity of Portland, without being directly in the city.
If easy access to all that Portland has to offer is a top priority, Goose Hollow brings just that. Learn more about the neighborhood that is older than the city of Portland itself.
One of Portland’s smallest neighborhoods, Hollywood retains the classic character and charm of historic Portland, but with modern-day conveniences.
Hillside in Northwest Portland is an urban neighborhood with small-town charm.
“The best thing Brentwood-Darlington has going for it is the strong community vibe … Neighbors support one another like I have never seen before, and I have lived in seven different states,” says neighbor Will Mohring.
For families ready to make the shift to suburban living, Happy Valley tops the list for its natural wonders and burgeoning food-and-drink scene.
The North Portland neighborhood of Kenton has everything a family could ask for — parks, a library and restaurants galore.
Sellwood-Moreland in Southeast is the quintessential, walkable, self-contained Portland neighborhood.
Eclectic dining options, sky-high walking and biking scores, and a community of resident-advocates — there’s lots to love about King.
Window shop northwest’s Alphabet District. Families say it offers a European feel — right in the heart of the bustling city.
Plenty of Portlanders are proud of their neighborhoods, but when it comes to community spirit, St. Johns is in a class of its own.
Portlanders of all ages are reaching for another piece of the ultimate comfort food: crispy-crunchy chicken.
Are online rating systems a good way to learn about schools? One local principal suggests parents dig deeper.
With many organizations that focus on building community, Lents in Southeast is on the rise.