How freakin' cool is this?!…read more It's historic architecture and it's FREE! So fun! Can't believe I'm just now realizing how 'cute' Oregon City is. Easily the best of the Portland 'burbs.

A short elevator ride in the center of town with a great view of the city. It's free so worth a…read morequick ride up. Can walk from here to the waterfall viewpoint.

"The Gateway to the Gorge," Troutdale is near the confluence of the Sandy and Columbia rivers, 17…read moremiles from downtown Portland to the west and 14 miles to iconic Multnomah Falls to the east. if you head south, you are on your way up to Mt. Hood. Troutdale is in the center of it all! Whenever I drive to the Columbia Gorge, which is frequently, I can feel my breathing relax as I pass through Troutdale and the immense beauty of the Columbia River and basalt cliffs of the Gorge immediately unfolds and surrounds me. I'm in my happy place! But there is more to Troutdale than passing through! The quaint town whose first settlers arrived in 1850, still has some of the historical buildings. There are several antique shops, art galleries, boutiques, restaurants, pubs and coffee shops. The town hosts an art walk on the first Friday from May through September and has several other festivals throughout the year. The tree lighting in December brings all the residents together. Glenn Otto Park, a 6.38 acre park off the East Columbia Highway, is super popular. With riverfront access, the warm months are filled with lots of activities: swimming, rafting, picnicking and walking the trails. There is a playground, a covered picnic area and restrooms. The Sam Cox Great Room and the covered picnic areas can be reserved for parties & picnics. Important to note - no pets or alcohol allowed at the Park. While at the park or in Troutdale, stop at the Sugarpine Drive-In, a popular restaurant and ice cream shop with a drive through and walk up window. The newly opened Troutdale Station is a huge food cart pod that has indoor seating with air conditioning and heat. You can enjoy a variety of food from the dozens of food carts, most a branch of popular food carts in Portland, and adult beverages from the huge bar that lines the back wall. The Columbia Gore Outlets are right off the exit and while it's a pale shadow of its former self, there is a drive through Starbucks, a Coach outlet, Eddie Bauer, Levi's, Rocky Mountain Chocolate, Lane Bryant, Torrid, Rue21, Jockey, Fashion Footware and several others still in business. And of course, you can and should drive the scenic highway From Troutdale up to Crown Point for sweeping 180 degree views of the Columbia River then back down along the row of 7 waterfalls, including Multnomah Falls. it's a spectacular ride in all seasons. Troutdale is the gateway to the Gorge and also a destination!

As a resident here for 6 years, I'm very pleased with the changes in the downtown area. The variety…read moreand quality of restaurants is improving and although parking is becoming more of a problem, I always can find a spot somewhere. Glen Otto park is a delightful spot in the summer (and next to SugarPine!) and LoLo's pizza is the best! City Hall has been responsive to my questions, and my specific neighborhood (near Kane and Sunrise Park) is safe, with friendly neighbors, and well managed landscaping. Being so close to the hospital, Safeway, and I-84 are also pluses.

Portland is still a dump. Downtown is full of empty businesses and zombies doing the zombie…read moreshuffle. NW is full of tents. The fred meyer on Burnside always has people hanging out there that are not in their right mind and not sober. It doesn't feel safe and is not an inviting place. The main library is a day shelter. The Safeway by PSU is even worse. People should be more diligent about who they vote for and what they are voting for. Or just move.

The Portland City Hall building seems so out of place! This four-story, Italian Renaissance-style…read morebuilding is the only building of this style in all of Portland, maybe the PNW. With the rotunda entrance flanked by a multitude of pillars, and its pink color, it's a very distinctive building. And it's quite large! City Hall takes up and entire city block between Fourth and Fifth avenues at Madison and Jefferson Streets. Completed in 1895, it was one of the first large buildings to have electricity, central heating and elevators. Now it also has central AC! The building has undergone several renovations upgrading it to modern code and safety standards. It was put on The National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Inside is light filled with beautiful marble floors, most of it original, with the lobby flanked by two stunning staircases that really make a statement. Don't worry, there are also elevators if the stairs are too intimidating. Lots of beautiful iron and wood work. Art is everywhere so definitely pause to take it all in. The artwork was chosen to reflect Portland through various exhibits like The Evolution of the City on the first floor. Loved all the old photographs depicting the various stages that have transpired. Of course the real purpose of this building is to serve as the headquarters for Portland's city government including the Mayor's Office and the city council. While the building and grounds are beautiful, it's located in the heart of the city and is surrounded by tents and homeless. This is the Portland of 2020+, unfortunately. For history buffs, and those who love to educate themselves in the city they live in or visit, it's a must see.

Portlandia...I actually think I have heard of the TV show of the same name before hearing the…read moreexistence of this statue. But the statue definitely came prior to the show. The trident wielding woman is enormous and is awe inspiring and beautiful and perhaps to a certain kind of man perhaps intimidating but that isn't necessarily a problem there. This statue is on the Portland Building and if you simply wall by or near it's nearly impossible to miss. This is also an attraction where there is no fee to take a look at it as it can literally be seen quite easily from the public sidewalk. Yet another iconic downtown Portland landmark that is not to missed!

Using imagination Portlandia emerged from the sea - all copper - and crouches vigilant on the…read morePortland building. Watching us! Her captivating eyes draw you to a closer look. With one hand reaches out to us. In a way we are like her as we all emerged from the sea (water) from our mothers womb. She reaches for us to live as one in peace the way John Lemon wrote is his song "Imagine" - "Imagine all the people livin' life in peace." In the one hand Portlandia holds a trident, perhaps symbolizing protection for the city dwellers - for Portlandian's. Portlandia reminds me we are one city! One people! One earth! That's just my spin of this beautiful copper lady.

Do you know what I appreciate? When a government office goes above and beyond to serve their…read morecommunity! Gresham City Hall offers Saturday passport sessions. You can apply, have your photo taken and submit everything in the same Day without missing work. Employees are coming in on the weekend, they wear special T-shirts and are in casual wear, but all with a great attitude. I really like the details that they paid attention to, since it is a weekend and most were coming as families....they had the foresight and to set up tables with paper and crayons for children to color while the parents were working on passport information, and there were even trays of cookies! It was a very heartwarming experience which is never happened at anything government in my life. Thank you Gresham!

Rose E., a a Yelp pal, was kind enough to pick me up so that we could attend City Fest, a gathering…read moreof city service representatives. Rose and I talked to members of the Gresham Fire Department and talked about our expexperiences with housefires. I also enjoyed the K9 unit from the Gresham Police Department. I never touch service animals, but it is always a pleasure observing these highly intelligent dogs. We were also able to get our entry card stamped and dropped them in a basket to see if we could win prizes. Some of the booths had some yummy doughnuts available for us to take (doughnuts two days in a row - what a treat). And nearly every booth gave candy away. I live about five blocks from the Gresham City Line, so it was great to hear about their servives, especially when they give doughnuts away!

I could write a novel about how terrible my experience was with BDS. Highlights are an inspector…read morebreaking the law by demanding we apply for permits we didn't need, the two week wait between responses regardless of whether you respond within a minute, and the review process being so never ending that a reviewer started correcting his own corrections a year after he issued them. We applied for one small permit to switch out a urinal for a toilet while redecorating and our due diligence cost us an additional $350,000 in unnecessary renovations as well as adding a year to our construction. I cannot stress enough that this process punishes anyone who attempts to do things on the level, and that logically, no one should ever apply for a permit in Portland unless they are a depraved masochist.

This bureau's "compliance services" (aka "CodeC / Code Coverage") is like the property code…read morepolice. They can't be trusted to provide fair and equitable service. It is one of the services provided by this government agency to customers. They refuse to enforce nuisance property code when it does not go along with their political agenda even those owned by the city itself, which are not exempt from the code. The concerns on this bureau's inaction (from customer perspective, providing enforcement service to maintain our city beautiful and livable is something to be expected from code enforcement) on city owned property next to Swan Island boat ramp involving the use of the property as a stash spots for stolen bikes, establishing camps without having zoning approval as camp ground predates the pandemic. So "pandemic" is not the excuse. This bureau had every authority to order the property owner (another city bureau) to cause violations to be cured by abating the campsite, clearing trash, and keep camps from re-establishing but they didn't.

I recently travelled through the PDX airport. At the security checkpoint I forgot a denim jacket…read morethat was a long time favorite of mine. By the time I realized that I didn't have it, my plane was boarding. I contacted them through the lost and found email system they have a week later. I was contacted the next day by Mandy who asked for more details. The next day she told me that they had my jacket. I had offered to pay to mail it back to me as I didn't want to drive to the airport again. She told me that the Port of Portland would pay to have it sent back to me. I received it the very next day, no worse for wear. I have nothing but thanks for Mandy and the Port of Portland for making this experience a good one. I had lost some jewelry before at PDX and wasn't so lucky to get it back so I'm glad for a positive outcome this time.

I just had to pay $27 for one hour of parking because I lost my ticket. I can't explain what…read morehappened to it. I remember putting it in my back pocket as I struggled getting my three year old out of the back seat. All of the signs instruct you to take your ticket with you so you can pay at the meter while coming back to your car, increasing the odds you will lose it and be forced to pay them their maximum daily rate. No exceptions. Had I left the ticket in my car it would have been exactly where I needed it to be when trying to escape their clutches.

great service. speedy and easy to get my business done there. i hope that they're done with the…read moreremodel by this summer.

Beautiful large natural lake fed by underground springs…read more Small nonmotorized boats allowed under 3hp. This lake arguably provides the largest & nicest ADA pier for fishing in the greater PDX area. Plenty of shoreline for bank fishing or launching a SUP. Peaceful ADA trail loop and picnic areas throughout. Gold level 18 hole disc golf course is very popular here. Dogs and other pets are not allowed to protect sensitive wildlife areas. $5 parking pass for the day.

It is a wonderful place with a wonderful view of Mt Hood! I really want to give this park 5 stars…read morebut that would be misleading and neglecting dog owners, legal lake swimming and outdoor PingPong enthusiasts. I read that the homeowners took over the ownership and full maintenance of the SolarBee water circulation units that minimizes the issues of a stagnant body of water. Those machines have increased the bird and fish populations! The bike paths thru the park are fun and educational as well as an actual wildlife tour! Beavers, Nutria, jackrabbits, Bald Eagles, Ospreys, turkey vultures, coyotes, raccoons, egrets, blue herons, river otters, bass, trout, blue gill, crappies, huge carp, Canadian geese, many kinds of seasonal ducks and I can't name them all but there is more! Yep, it is a real piece of nature that is being preserved and shared with activities like water spray park, basketball, volleyball, frisbee, softball, and a full on certified world class disc golf course ... that's pretty impressive. Oh yeah, all kinds of room for picnics and by yourself or large groups. It's a good size park. It's fun to do whatever you feel like if you need some sporting equipment, some is supplied at the main office.

What a nice little getaway for the kids to have fun and play. We stopped here while visiting family.read more

Great place to take your dog. the park is fenced and clean. other dogs and people were friendlyread more