Last November, Seb and I decided that since we’d be near San Francisco for Thanksgiving, we might as well make a detour to Portland… because they’re so close, right?Logistics aside, it was a whirlwind trip that easily turned Portland into one of our favorite cities.
Getting There
If you live on the west coast, I recommend driving. Road trips can be fun, if you fill your car with the right crew! We picked up a few rideshares from Craigslist on our way to and from Portland. It takes a bit of savvy and a little courage to pick up these passengers, but they’ll usually pay for a tank or two of gas and offer to play DJ. You don’t have to ride with total strangers like we did: get a few friends to go with you and everyone can split the cost of gas.
Staying There
We stayed with a friend the first two nights in Portland. The best part about staying with a local is that we experienced Portland the way the locals do. Our friend took us to a birthday party at a bar in downtown and we got to hang out with a lot of cool people we’d never have met otherwise, all of whom gave us a laundry list of things to do while we were in town. Even if you don’t have a friend living in Portland (or anywhere else you might be visiting, for that matter), you can try Couchsurfing. Couchsurfing is free and your host will gladly show you how the townies roll.
After that, we stayed for two nights at the Northwest Portland Hostel. I highly recommend staying here! It’s within walking distance or a short bus ride of about a billion things to do. And if you don’t have an itinerary for your trip, they’ve got an event calendar and a wall full of brochures about local sights and activities, you can ask the hostel staff what their favorites are, and the hostel itself hosts some activities, as well. This hostel is clean and safe and beautiful and you’ll be in close quarters with other like minded travelers.
Eating There
I ate more food during my four days in Portland than I probably eat in an average month. Portland is famous for its food carts and we wanted to try them all. Here are our favorites:
These Guys: This was our very first Portland food truck. We grabbed some tacos and chicken wings from the truck and headed next door to Brooklyn Park Pub for a few beers after a long day of driving. I don’t even like chicken wings, but I devoured These Guys’ wings.
Potato Champion: Potato Champ is everything. They serve up an amazing poutin: french fries with cheese curd and brown gravy. Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.
PBJ’s: Relive your childhood like a grown up with these gourmet peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Order the “Good Morning,” challah french toast, peanut butter, bacon, maple syrup, blueberry jam and a fried egg. The fried egg was optional and we were on the fence, but the woman working the truck insisted, saying “Blueberries and eggs should get married.” She was right.
Portland Soup Company: It was closed the first time we tried to eat here and I was devastated (I love a good soup.) We came back the next day and it was worth it. Cold Portland and hot soup are a good combo. We like.
The food trucks aren’t the only good eats in Portland. We also loved Salt and Straw (in November, they boasted an entire Thanksgiving menu, made up of ice cream!), Pix Patesserie, Pine State Biscuits (I died and went to heaven and heaven was Pine State Biscuits) and, of course, Voodoo Donut.
Drinking There
Portland is a great place for drinking. I’m a big fan of hard ciders, so Bushwhacker Cider was pretty fantastic. It was at Horse Brass Pub, however, where I fell in love with Spire Mountain’s spiced apple cider; out of more than 50 local, regional and international beers on tap, I ordered that cider. Twice.
Ground Kontrol is a notoriously fun and unique bar. The bar is home to the Pacific Northwest’s best maintained pinball arcade.
If you can make it just a bit outside of Portland, head to Double Mountain Brewery in Hood River. It’s a gorgeous little town, and Double Mountain serves a fine kolsch.
We went on a pub tour through downtown with the other hostel guests. It was supposed to be guided by one of the staff members, but she wasn’t able to make it, so the girl at the desk gave us some maps and highlighted the best stops. Our favorite was easily Ringler’s Annex. This basement bar is hidden during the day but opens up at night and serves up a mean screwdriver. Now, normally I’d never order a screwdriver at a bar, but they squeeze the orange juice fresh right in front of you and it tastes like a dream.
Actually Doing Things Besides Eating There
No, really, I could have just eaten all day every day, but there’s a lot of really fantastic and cool things to do in and around Portland.
We made it out to Hood River after a day hike on the Eagle Creek trail. The trail is both beautiful and terrifying; you’ll lose count of how many waterfalls you pass, which is easy because you’re so focused on not falling off the narrow cliff. Don’t worry, there are cables to hold onto along the way. Be warned: if you’re visiting in the winter, like we did, the trail is super icy and super slippery. We watched people slipping and sliding all day. One of us finally took a spill about a thousand yards from the end of the trail, but we made it out alive.
No trip to Portland is complete without visiting Powell’s City of Books. Jokingly, as we walked in, I said “See you in three hours!” to Seb. We were in there for FOUR. And I still wasn’t finished! Powell’s is a magical place where all of your dreams come true. (This is also where we discovered Portland has no sales tax. Winning!)
We spent an afternoon sketching at the International Rose Test Garden, but in the dead of winter, there were maximum 10 blooms. This is a must see in the springtime.
Other must sees: Visit The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (which features eight hands-on science labs!) and The Portland Art Museum, trek across the Burnside Bridge to get a photo with the famous White Stag sign, check out the art at the Portland Saturday Market, and Keep Portland Weird while you explore the shops and parks in downtown.
There were a ton of things on our to do list that we didn’t have time to see (and eat) while we were there. I’ve already added them to the itinerary for when we make our triumphant return. What are your Portland favorites?
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I’ve been wanting to visit Portland for the longest time! I don’t know if I’ll do the road tripping all the way from the East Coast though. But i’ll definitely have to try these amazing food places and that trail, oh my LORD!