Kar Discover: June 2025

Carefree Time In Portland
7.7 Southwest Portland Sunday 28 April, 2024

Southwest Division

Sprawling Southwest Portland is home to Downtown's upscale dining, food carts, and indie boutiques, plus the Portland Art Museum, with Native American and contemporary work. Washington Park has polar bears and elephants in Oregon Zoo, rose beds in the International Rose Test Garden, and Mount Hood views from the Portland Japanese Garden. Woodland trails run through forested Tryon Creek State Natural Area.

Washington Park
4033 SW Canyon Rd, Portland,
OR 97221, United States
https://www.portland.gov/parks/washington-park

Washington Park is a public urban park in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It includes a zoo, forestry museum, arboretum, rose garden, Japanese garden, amphitheatre, memorials, archery range, tennis courts, soccer field, picnic areas, playgrounds, public art and many acres of wild forest with miles of trails.

Washington Park covers more than 458 acres (185 hectares) on mostly steep, wooded hillsides which range in elevation from 200 feet (61 m) at 24th & West Burnside Street to 870 feet (270 m) at SW Fairview Blvd. It comprises 241.45 acres (97.71 hectares) of city parkland that has been officially designated as "Washington Park" by the City of Portland, as well as the adjacent 64-acre (26 ha) Oregon Zoo and the 153-acre (62 ha) Hoyt Arboretum, which together make up the area described as "Washington Park" on signs and maps.

Hoyt Arboretum
4000 SW Fairview Blvd, Portland,
OR 97221, United States

https://www.hoytarboretum.org/

Hoyt Arboretum is a public park in Portland, Oregon, which is part of the complex of parks collectively known as Washington Park. The 189-acre (76 ha) arboretum is located atop a ridge in the Tualatin Mountains two miles (3.2 km) west of downtown Portland. Hoyt has 12 miles of hiking trails, two miles of accessible paved trails, and is open free to the public all year. About 350,000 visitors per year visit the arboretum.

Founded in 1928 to conserve endangered species and educate the community, Hoyt Arboretum encompasses 190 ridge-top acres and 12 miles of hiking trails.

The International Rose Test Garden
400 SW Kingston Ave.
Portland, Oregon
https://www.portland.gov/parks/washington-park-international-rose-test-garden

The International Rose Test Garden is a rose garden in Washington Park in Portland, Oregon, United States. There are over 10,000 rose bushes of approximately 650 varieties. The roses bloom from April through October with the peak coming in June, depending on the weather. New rose cultivars are continually sent to the garden from many parts of the world and are evaluated on several characteristics, including disease resistance, bloom formation, color, and fragrance. It is the oldest continuously operating public rose test garden in the United States and exemplifies Portland's nickname, "City of Roses". The garden draws an estimated 700,000 visitors annually.

Portland Japanese Garden
611 SW Kingston Ave, Portland,
OR 97205, United States
https://japanesegarden.org/

Portland Japanese Garden is a 501c3 nonprofit organization, cultural institution, and public attraction in Portland, Oregon. The Garden, which opened to the public in 1967, occupies 12.5 acres (5.06ha) in Portland’s Washington Park and is adjacent to the International Rose Test Garden. Originally designed by Professor Takuma Tono of Tokyo Agricultural University, it features five historic garden spaces that demonstrate different styles of Japanese landscape architecture, a Pavilion that stages art exhibitions and shopping marketplaces, a Japanese tea house, a “Cultural Village” that hosts programming, dining, and retail, and an Entry Garden that guests walk through after purchasing admission. A tourist attraction that welcomes more than 400,000 visitors annually, Portland Japanese Garden has been proclaimed as the “most beautiful and authentic Japanese garden outside of Japan.”
Many styles of gardens showcased in serene 5.5-acre space with waterfall, teahouse & mountain view.

▲ Mount Hood

Oregon Zoo
4001 SW Canyon Rd, Portland,
OR 97221, United States
https://www.oregonzoo.org/

The Oregon Zoo, originally the Portland Zoo and later the Washington Park Zoo, is a zoo in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is located in Washington Park, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest of downtown Portland. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest zoo west of the Mississippi River.The 64-acre (26 ha) zoo is owned by the regional Metro government. It currently holds more than 1,800 animals of more than 230 species, including 19 endangered species and 9 threatened species. The zoo also boasts an extensive plant collection throughout its animal exhibits and specialized gardens. The zoo also operates and maintains the 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow-gauge Washington Park & Zoo Railway that previously connected to the International Rose Test Garden inside the park, but currently runs only within the zoo.
The Oregon Zoo is Oregon's largest paid and arguably most popular visitor attraction, with more than 1.7 million visitors in 2018. The zoo is a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Tilikum Crossing Bridge
https://lightthebridges.org/bridges/tilikum-crossing/

Downtown Portland

Downtown is a buzzing area with indie boutiques selling local brands, and a creative dining scene ranging from eclectic food trucks to high-end seafood bistros. In Tom McCall Waterfront Park, the Portland Saturday Market has live music and sells crafts like leather, jewelry and glass art. The Portland Art Museum’s collection includes Asian and Native American art, while Keller Auditorium stages ballet and concerts.

Tom McCall Waterfront Park
98 SW Naito Pkwy, Portland,
OR 97204, United States
https://www.portland.gov/parks/governor-tom-mccall-waterfront-park

Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park is a 36.59-acre park located in downtown Portland, Oregon, along the Willamette River. After the 1974 removal of Harbor Drive, a major milestone in the freeway removal movement, the park was opened to the public in 1978.
The park is bordered by RiverPlace to the south, the Steel Bridge to the north, Naito Parkway to the west, and Willamette River to the east. In October 2012, Waterfront Park was voted one of America's ten greatest public spaces by the American Planning Association.
The most common uses for the park are jogging, walking, biking, skateboarding, fountain play, lunching, basketball, fireworks viewing and boat watching.

▲ Hawthorne Bridge

https://lightthebridges.org/bridges/hawthorne/

Portland Art Museum
1219 SW Park Ave, Portland,
OR 97205, United States
https://portlandartmuseum.org/

The Portland Art Museum (PAM) is an art museum in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. The Portland Art Museum has 240,000 square feet (22,000 m2), with more than 112,000 square feet (10,400 m2) of gallery space. The museum’s permanent collection has over 42,000 works of art. PAM features a center for Native American art, a center for Northwest art, a center for modern and contemporary art, permanent exhibitions of Asian art, and an outdoor public sculpture garden. The Northwest Film Center is also a component of Portland Art Museum.

Pioneer Place
700 SW 5th Ave, Portland,
OR 97204, United States
https://www.pioneerplace.com/en/

Pioneer Place is an upscale, urban shopping mall in downtown Portland, Oregon. It consists of four blocks of retail, dining, parking, and an office tower named Pioneer Tower. The mall itself is spread out between four buildings, interconnected by skywalks or underground mall sections.

Washington Square
9585 SW Washington Square Rd,
Portland, OR 97223, United States
https://www.shopwashingtonsquare.com/

Large shopping center with a variety of department stores, specialty shops & food options.

Tangier Family Restuarant
221 SW Pine St, Portland,
OR 97204, United States
https://places.singleplatform.com/tangier-5/menu?ref=google

Contemporary bar/eatery offering Moroccan & Mediterranean classics, plus vegan & vegetarian options.