Where to stay and what to see in Portland?

[Aggie_Ama]

There is a very good possibility we will be celebrating my 30th Birthday in Portland next month. I want to go somewhere I haven't been and Portland is high on my list of where to see next. We want to do the Microbrew Tour, maybe day trip somewhere outside of the city. What else should we see? It will likely be from Thursday-Monday of President's Day weekend but not sure yet.

[Tri Girl]

I don't have any suggestions, just wanted to say I'm so excited (and a teensy bit jealous). ;)
Portland is on my list of cities to see... all the biking...

Have a great time, and please report when you get back!!

Oh, and go see the Pacific- the coastline pictures I've seen from Oregon are just breathtaking!!

[indysteel]

DH and I took our first trip to Oregon this past September. We stayed the first two nights in Cannon Beach. As the name implies, it's on the coast and is roughly 2 hours from Portland. The town itself is a little on the touristy side, but not horribly so. We stayed at a place called Schooner's Cove Inn and really liked it. From there, we drove back into Portland. We stayed at the Everett Street Guest House in the NE section of the city, which gave us very easy access to the Columbia River Gorge and the airport. The guest hosue includes a separate cottage, which is where we stayed. It was very nice, especially for the money, but the woman who owned it was a bit of a nut.

We only spent one day sightseeing in Portland. We spent the better part of that day at the Japanese Garden, which is very pretty and peaceful. We otherwise spent most of our time hiking, both on the coast and in the Gorge. We also dined very well in Portland. We at at a Cuban place called Pamiche our first night that was very tastey and festive. The second night, we had the spiciest Thai of my life at Lemongrass. Our third night, we had Italian, but I can't remember where for the life of me. I wish I could because I really enjoyed my meal.

Enjoy your trip and happy birthday!

[Grog]

Love love love love love Portland. It has all the important stuff: books, bikes, beer, and coffee. Funny, I also went there to celebrate my 30th birthday with a run in Forest Park.

Some old threads:
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=20433&highlight=portland
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=25395&highlight=portland

I haven't stayed there but I hear that the Jupiter Hotel has loaner bikes.

Enjoy! (I'm envious.)

[tangentgirl]

If you like books, definitely hit up Powell's bookstore. Mecca.

[Grog]

Oh, and breakfast: the best eggs I've ever had at Bijou Cafe, just a few blocks from Powell's.

[soprano]

If you're into wine, there are some nice wineries within easy driving distance.

There is also some fabulous hiking nearby. I don't want to put a damper on your plans at all, but if you plan to park a car at any of the trailhead parking lots, you should be aware that vehicle break-ins are endemic. Take everything with you and just leave the doors unlocked so they don't have to smash the window. (Learned this one the hard way.)

[radacrider]

Definitely Powell's Books is an amazing place to wander around. Depending on what you are interested in there is the Portland Underground Tour, Mt. Hood which still has a ton of snow, Columbia River Gorge has some amazing trails (not to mention the famous Multnomah Falls, though weekends can be extremely crowded), there are various downtown atmospheres - China Town, Old Town, Pearl District, Waterfront Park-Eastside Esplanade, there are a few bike rental shops near downtown, we're home to VooDoo Donuts, Forest Park both for walking/hiking and a few MTB trails.

[GLC1968]

And if you head out to the Willamette wine country area, you can swing by our place and pet goats if you'd like. :)

[shootingstar]

We went up to the botanical large garden in Portland. Beautiful. Last time we stayed at the Sheraton Nines for a flippin' good deal since the hotel was aggressively promoting themselves after just opening. You can see Mt. Hood (am I right??) I'm partial to botanical gardens on top of big hills and offer mountain views. (Vancouver BC has one.)

Probably wrong time of year for next month, but another time when we were in Portland in summer, we cycled to Columbia Gorge area, etc. You can use light rail to cut down part of journey if the weather looks iffy.

[radacrider]

... You can see Mt. Hood (am I right??) ...

Yes, that is Mt. Hood to the east. The Japanese Gardens and Rose Test Gardens are right next to each other. From the Rose Gardens, you can enjoy views of Mt. Hood, provided the weather cooperates, of course. :D

[oxysback]

I recommend visiting some vineyards down in my neck of the woods (about 45 minutes SW of Portland). If you really want a long day trip, I suggest taking the "Three Capes" (http://pacificcity.org/3capes/drive.html) scenic drive. You can either start at Lincoln City or Tillamook. Either way, the drive offers gorgeous views, a visit to the Tillamook Cheese Factory, a working lighthouse at Cape Meares, fabulous chowder at the Pelican Restaurant right on the beach in Pacific City, and lots of fun shops and an outlet mall in Lincoln City.

Here's my facebook album of a cost trip we took a few years ago...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2029323&id=1139915022&l=99d1120be1

Also in my neighborhood is the Evergreen Aviation Museum (http://www.evergreenmuseum.org/), which houses the famous Spruce Goose. There are lots of other planes there, and a separate space travel building. We always have a great time when we go there.

Here's another facebook album with pictures of the museum...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2015551&id=1139915022&l=885f5893f8

Hopefully everyone can see the FB albums. I think I have my settings for everyone...

[Aggie_Ama]

I saw the Spruce Goose when it used to be housed near Los Angeles, I think I was 7. :)

[jelee1311]

There are great internet coupons on94.7 knrk website go to portland perks half price deals. Right now they have half price gift certs. For the Benson hotel in downtown PDX for like 110 dollars. We stayed there last year and had a blast just hitting happy hours in lots of bars and hotels (the Brassarie Monmarte was fun good music and baby lobster).I love going to the Chinese garden downtown, plus go up to NW 23rd for fun shopping. In the gorge my fave easy hike is up Horsetail falls. Its easy,beautiful,and takes you behind the waterfall. I would just check in at the ranger station at Multnomah Falls to see what trails are open, we had a little snow & ice in the gorge last week. There is so much to do but the weather has been very wet as usual. What a great way to spend your 30th birthday,have fun!

[Kimmyt]

Take a day trip down the coast. Start out at all the cheese places (the Tillamook one is huge, not as fun as the smaller ones, I remember a brie place called Blue Heron maybe?). Buy some cheese and food for a picnic lunch. Drive down the coastal highway, look for whales and random places to park. All the beaches are public, so you can easily find hiking trails that lead down to secluded rocky beaches where you will be all by yourself. Have a picnic lunch. Stop for dinner in one of the amazing small harbor towns, we found a seafood restaurant that sold all local fresh caught seafood, you could see the name of the boat that caught it and find it out in the harbor. Watch the seals bark on the piers.

That was one of my favorite days around Portland, although we also did the waterfall hikes thing and my favorite hike when we hiked up to the glacier on Mt. Hood. Although we did that in the summer, I'd imaging now it's probably more like winter mountaineering up there so that might not be an option for you guys.