Portland Activities

For those of you visiting from outside of Portland, we think you will find a wealth of amazing experiences awaiting you here.

Whether you enjoy sampling unique, locally-produced foods and beverages, exploring the beauty of the natural world, or immersing yourself in memorable cultural experiences, we believe you will find more than one way to make your visit to Oregon truly special.

Many of our guests have already told us that they plan to arrive a few days before the wedding or stay a few days after it, so that they have time to fully enjoy their visit. If you have the time and inclination to do so, we encourage you to do so, too!

Experiences within Portland

In addition to the highlights for visitors, listed below, Portland is brimming with enticing restaurants catering to every culinary preference and dietary restriction, as well as wine tasting opportunities and local breweries.

If there is something particular you want to try in terms of food or drink, please ask us for recommendations and we will do our best to give you suggestions!

Food Carts

Portland is known for its plethora of food cart options, which compliment the regular restaurants. Since food carts require a lower up-front investment by the owners, they are have more latitude to take culinary risks, which often result in pleasantly surprising innovations. Let us know if you are interested in trying out food carts, and we can give you recommendations.

Portland Walking Tours

Prajwal and Dan have taken almost every tour offered by this company (some of them several times), and it has always been a great experience. The tour guides provide great insights into some of the unique aspects of Portland as the tour group walks around downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods.

We were thinking about organizing a private group tour for wedding guests. If you are interested in participating, please let us know which tours interest you and which dates you are available, and we will look into the feasibility of setting something up.

Learn more about Portland Walking Tours

Portland Hop-on, Hop-off Trolley

This open-air trolley tour of inner Portland gives you a convenient way to get an overview of the city. Dan has taken it with out of town visitors before and recommends it.

Learn more about the Portland Hop-on Hop-off Trolley

Powell's City of Books

Occupying an entire city block, and rising 3 stories high, Powell's City of Books is the largest English-language, independently-owned and operated bookstore in the world. If you visit, be sure to check out the rare book room on the top floor.

Learn more about Powell's City of Books

Lan Su Chinese Garden

Dan and Prajwal enjoy the Lan Su Chinese Garden so much, they have had a membership there for years. If you are in the garden during one of their frequent guided tours, we highly recommend joining the tour. Also, be sure to stop in the tea house to have some Chinese tea and a delicious tea snack.

Portland Japanese Garden

Nestled in Portland's Washington Park near the Rose Test Garden and the Oregon Zoo, the Portland Japanese Garden offers different spaces, each of which has its own character, but all of which offer beauty and contemplative serenity. It is considered by some experts to be the best Japanese garden outside of Japan itself.

Pittock Mansion

Built in 1914, Pittock Mansion tells the story of Portland’s transformation from pioneer town to modern, industrialized city through the history and legacy of one its most influential families, the Pittocks. Saved from demolition by dedicated citizens in 1964, the Mansion and surrounding estate was purchased by the City of Portland and opened to the public as a historic house museum.

Portland Art Museum

Although we will be having the wedding here, and we will be renting out the modern art wing during the reception, if you want to make a separate visit to see the other wing of the museum, it is worth a visit!

Learn more about Portland Art Museum

The Eastbank Esplanade

This floating walkway along the eastern edge of the downtown portion of the Willamette River is a special place for Dan and Prajwal. It is where, while sitting on a bench, watching the sun set, they had their first kiss.

Learn more about the Eastbank Esplanade

Forest Park

Forest Park is one of the largest urban parks in the world. Fully within city limits, the park nonetheless gives visitors the feeling that they are deep in a woods well outside of an urban area.

Learn more from Forest Park Conservancy

Learn more about Forest Park from Portland Parks and Recreation

Outdoor experiences near Portland

One of the things that makes Portland special is the number and variety of outdoor experiences available within a short drive of the city itself.

When planning any outdoor excursions in Oregon, be sure to check weather conditions first.

Columbia River Gorge and Multnomah Falls

Immediately east of Portland you will find the Columbia River gorge, a majestic passageway through the Cascade mountain range, carved out over eons by the mighty Columbia River. Waterfalls and forest line the gorge, including the famous Multnomah Falls, one of Oregon's most iconic natural features.

If you take the scenic historic highway from Portland to Multnomah Falls without stopping, the drive takes about 45 minutes. If you take I-84 the entire way, it's a quicker 30 minute drive from Portland. However, we highly recommend taking the historic highway and stopping at Crown Point Vista House, a beautiful art deco building perched on a scenic overlook.

Learn more about Multnomah Falls

Learn more about Vista House

Learn more about the Columbia River National Gorge Scenic Area

Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock

Drive an hour and a half west of Portland and you'll reach Cannon Beach, a small town on the Oregon coast with plenty of amenities for tourists. Although Cannon Beach has some cute restaurants and art galleries, the real draw is on the beach itself. Jutting out of the water just offshore and towering over the people who approach it, Haystack Rock is another one of Oregon's most iconic natural features. When the tide is low, you can wade through the water to walk up to the rock. Similar, albeit smaller, rocks also punctuate the water along the shoreline.

We have found that the easiest place to find beach parking when visiting Haystack Rock is the Tolovana Beach parking lot.

Learn more about Haystack Rock

Map of Tolovana Beach parking lot

Mount Hood

Mount Hood, called Wy'east by the Multnomah tribe, is a stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. At 11,249 ft (3429 m), it is the highest peak in the state of Oregon and the second-most climbed mountain in the world. At about 6000 ft elevation on the south side of the mountain is the historic Timberline Lodge. This lodge was built and furnished during the great depression and is featured in movies such as The Shining.

Learn more about Timberline Lodge

Oregon Wine Country

Oregon is famous for its pinot noir, but that is far from the only varietal grown in the region and made into wine. There are two main wine regions near Portland: the Willamette Valley and the Columbia Valley. Each of these consists of multiple AVAs (American Viticultural Areas). The Willamette Valley wine region is south of Portland, whereas the Columbia Valley wine region is east-northeast, and straddles the Oregon-Washington border (which runs along the Columbia River).

In the Willamette Valley, Pinot Noir, and its white varietal cousin, Pinot Gris, dominate the wine scene, but there are still lots of other varietals available at wineries in this area. At the wedding reception, we will be serving wine from one of our favorite wineries in the Willamette Valley, Remy Wines, which specializes in Italian varietals. The heart of Willamette Valley wine country centers on the 99W corridor, and includes towns such as Newberg, Dayton, Dundee, and McMinnville.

The Columbia Valley wine region offers a diversity of red and white wine varietals. Wineries span both sides of the Columbia River (in both Oregon and Washington). On the Oregon side, you can find several wineries in and near the town of Hood River. On the Washington side, highlights include Aniche Cellars, Syncline Winery, and (farther east) the Maryhill Winery (which is connected with the Maryhill art museum, also worth a visit if you're in the area).

Learn more about Willamette Valley Wineries

Learn more about Columbia River Gorge Wineries

Mount Saint Helens

If you have a full day available to dedicate to a trip farther afield, consider visiting Mount Saint Helens, in Washington state. Note that you will need to dedicate an entire day for this excursion.

Mt. St. Helens is a stratovolcano in the Cascadian Volcanic Arc. At 8,363 ft (2,549 m), it is notable for it's major eruption on May 18th, 1980. It was one of the biggest volcanic eruptions in recent human history. It was triggered by a magnitude 5.1 earthquake which caused the entire north flank of slide (largest recorded landslide) exposing the magma. This caused a lateral blast which was heard for hundreds of miles.

Today one can witness the remnants of this landslide, the volcanic caldera and the new lava dome which has built up since the 1980 eruption from Johnstons Ridge Observatory on the north side of the mountain.

Learn more about Johnstons Ridge Observatory (Mt. St. Helens)