Deering Oaks, a 55 acre park in Portland, was created in 1879 by then City Engineer William Goodwin (DYK: the park didn't have lighting for almost a century!). His hope was that "The Oaks" would be "a public breathing space". Over the years, the park has evolved - in 1883 the bandstand was built, in 1887 the duck house and fountain were installed, in 1894 the Castle was built (as a hut for ice skaters to warm themselves), and in 1902 a playground was built. Fast forward to current age and Deering Oaks is the home to farmers' markets, the Festival of Nations, performances of all kinds, Twilight in the Park, and a whole host of other amazing events. We've truly done an excellent job at making it a unique-to-Portland area where people truly can decompress and enjoy nature (I almost touched a squirrel here once, but he realized I had no snacks and quickly lost interest; next time... next time...; it was also the home to our rare great black hawk for a spell). Yes, there parts of the park that might be "a little rough", but all in all it's BEAUTIFUL. Spring and summer brings on a million shades of green and wee ones playing in the wading pool; autumn is positively ablaze with orange and red hues; and during winter you'll see the tree with long arms covered in lights, along with hockey and ice skating on the pond! For me, it's one of the best representations of the seasons that Portland has. Here's my suggestion to you: if you see there's trash in the park, be a good citizen, and pick it up. Let's continue to make it the space that Wiliiam Goodwin had planned for us 'lo those many years ago! read more

Duck poop all over lol watch where walk on the pathways. Free parking by the entrance by ranger station. read more

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gorgeous park in Portland, not far from downtown and close to Holy Donut if that's your speed. Well maintained walking trails. Excellent views of fall foliage! read more

Deering Oaks Park - Parks Near Me - Portland, Maine

Excellent modernized playground in great condition. Especially worth a stop for out of town folks with kids. Plenty of parking on the road adjacent to it via gps. The smooth flowing zip line has two lanes with button seats and one with a seat plus restraint. Was very appropriate for adventurous 3 yr olds and above (also fun for adults). The curves at the beginning and ends of tracks create momentum so that one can make a round trip and if assisted by parents kids can easily traverse back and forth. The bottom is covered with thick amounts of mulch to buffer any tumbles, which could happen during dismounts not at platforms. The other play areas included an area for a bit smaller kids and one more challenging. There were some small climbing walls, really tall rope climbing structure for older kids, two toddler and four or so big swings, a seesaw, spinning seat, a bouncy surfing platform, embankment slide, and water play area (not open during our visit). Drawbacks leading to a loss in a star was that we were told bathrooms are located in a several minute walk to old porta potties in a middle of a field across playground. We didn't go since we couldn't see them. It seems the park has many great reviews so thankful we didn't come across drug needles mentioned by a google reviewer (found by the sports fields). Though in retrospect I did wonder if a couple of ladies using metal detectors around the playground were trying to help out with that. read more

Deering Oaks Park - Parks Near Me - Portland, Maine

A seriously underrated part of Portland at large, this park is absolutely beautiful from the basketball and tennis courts to the playground to the tree-laiden paths and the pond, which during the summer is full of life and lil ducks and during the winter is frozen so people go out there and ice skate or play hockey. It's so LOVELY. I don't know why more people don't spend time here. EVERYONE SHOULD GO HERE REGULARLY. And during the spring/summer/fall, the famers market is here every single Saturday--rain or shine. Portland is a wonderful city, and this is a wonderful part of it. read more

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Oaks and castles The Deering Oaks Park is a sprawling 55 acre park that has been around since 1879 or so. Although the basic idea of giving the people of Portland an open area to enjoy is the same as when the park was designed, numerous changes and improvements have been made over the decades. The park is indeed lovely with lots of activities like baseball, tennis, hoops, volleyball and ice skating but other areas of the park are kept natural. Various walking paths wander around the park and a little pond with zillions of ducks and a nice fountain is at one end. The park also has a wonderful handicapped accessible playground with not only the usual playground stuff but some huge rocks randomly placed that kids can play and fall off. There are some scruffy guys that lurk in certain parts of the park but they are mostly harmless and don't seem capable of doing more than just staring and mumbling. Lots of events take place in park and it is well used by the folks of Portland all year long. For a city park it just doesn't get much better than Deering Oaks. read more

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Splash area is fantastic, though a bit hard to find if it's your first visit. And the playground is amazing. Pack a lunch and you could spend all day there. read more

I would give it 4 but my dog gives it 105 stars.. My first visit was @ thanksgiving, when i first arrived in Maine. My guy had found himself a twmp spot off High St at Cumberland and i was our for a walk in the mellow mellow mellow part of winter. I remwmbered wondering if the pind froze ov÷ and folks ice skated.. Even without leaves it was beautiful Jump ahead to green grass and barrwn trees.. Pretty Then green grass and multi color blossoms.. Breathtaking Now baby ducks.. Baby squirrels. Addoooooorrable!! I love seasons!! read more

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Deering oaks is absolutely lovely. A refuge amongst the urban sounds and smog (kind of) and a place where all are welcome...active teens, little kids, hippies, homeless, the farmers market, winter ice skating, summer ducks, and dogs....on leashes. Sorry, but this is the only thing that makes me take it down a notch. I understand why, but I prefer parks that let him run around! Plenty of parking and lots of green space. A nice little amphitheatre and a tiny cafe at the west end of the pond. The little house center pond is cute and the playground is pretty impressive. read more

My family loves Deering Oaks Park. In my opinion this is the best park in Portland. On reason is that the park has grassy areas, a large playground, a wading pool, lots of places to play sports, an amphitheater, and duck pond. There is so much to do that its hard to get bored! In the summer there are cool places to sit and my kids love to go to the wading pool, then take a picnic and listen to a concert. We usually finish the day with the playground. Another reason this park is so wonderful is that the playground is quite large and perfect for kids of all ages. For example, when my daughter was two years old, she loved the small slide. Now that my son is seven years old, there is still so much to do. He loves the big climbing set and the hill slide. One last reason we loves this park is that there is tons of parking and it is easy to get to. Even though the park is in a very busy part of town, there is ample parking and always tons of events. For example, in the summer the town puts on children's concerts and offers free lunch. I hope you visit Deering Oaks Park and enjoy all the quiet places to relax and play. read more

Deering Oaks is an ideal neighborhood park. Weekly farmers market takes place on Saturdays during the summer. The park has a playground and fountain for kids to play in. You can find tennis and volleyball courts in addition to a baseball field. Plenty of parking in the park and on nearby streets. read more

Deering Oaks Park - Parks Near Me - Portland, Maine

For me, Deering Oaks Park serves as a beautiful buffer between downtown Portland where I work, and the Deering neighborhood, where I go to school. As other reviewers have pointed out, it's wonderful for dog walking, with lots of green space and meandering paths. I enjoy walking my dog there occasionally early in the morning, before there are any crowds. It's an all season park, with farmer's markets in the spring and summer, picnics in the fall, and the bodies of water freeze over in the winter so that you can sometimes walk straight across. The recent addition of Tiqa as a food vendor adds appeal, and will serve to make the park more of a destination. Deering Oaks Park is unique in its quirkiness. The park has the duck house, the wading pools, the castles, etc. The duck house especially is very cute, and even though my wife pointed out that we have never seen any ducks *inside* the house, we still look for it every time we drive by. The squirrels are also the most emboldened rodents I have ever encountered, one time surrounding our picnic blanket in a move reminiscent of the raptors in Jurassic Park. No harm done, so they go to the quirky column, instead of the avoid-at-all-costs column. One or two reviewers have pointed out the homeless population that hangs out in the park. I have seen those folks as well, but this is a public space, and none of them have ever hassled me. read more

A big beautiful park with lots of open space to run and play, peppered with big, beautiful trees. There's a lovely duck pond, a wading pool for overheated kiddies in the summer. Deering Oaks park also plays host to one of the best farmer's markets I've seen. Its location makes it super-convenient for those near to Portland proper. A great park! read more

A beautiful and peaceful area at the edge of center city Portland. The history and events are described in other postings here. Currently, the Pond is being excavated by large machines, apparently in preparation for installing a cement liner to prevent algae blooms. I don't know much about the controversy, but apparently the Pond will no longer be fed from a spring, and will no longer support its population of ducks with native food. I imagine it will be cleaner, though, and just as pleasant a place to visit once reconstruction is complete. I wonder whether there will be nesting habitat (such as cattails) left to provide for future generations of ducks. read more

Wait, you have been to Portland not explored Deering Oaks? Well, you should. My Grandfather used to tell me (he grew up in Portland) that he remembered when native americans still lived there... whether that is true or not I have no clue, he never let on whether he was pulling my leg or not. What I do know is the there are tons of ducks in the Summer/Fall when they put the duck house out and fill the pond. There is a fountain that sprays beautiful water. There is space to stroll through the old oaks. There is a stage for performances. There is play area for children which was completely overhauled a few years ago and seems to be always busy with joyful little people... the area even has it's own Stonehedge type area. There is baseball field (no pets allowed!), tennis courts (no pets allowed), beach volleyball (no pets allowed) basketball courts (you get the idea about pets by now right?), a football field/kickball field. There are also benches around the pond, a really neat place for parents to take kids to play in the water with spigots that shoot water in random patterns by the old bridge. Again, the little ones seem to LOVE this spot.... no pets, you guessed that right? The water even falls over a small waterfall and empties in to the duck pond. There are paved walkways that wind through the park. The downside... people leave trash around, there can be some homeless people hanging about, we do have quite a few unfortunate homeless in this town, and there are limited access to porta potties. But if you you really want to see this place come alive... visit on a Saturday morning when the Farmer's Market is going. This entire park is filled with life forms enjoying this gem in the middle of our city. There are also events scheduled throughout the year. This is a well loved park and worth a walk through if not a stop and quite enjoyment. read more

Deering Oaks Park - Parks Near Me - Portland, Maine

The only thing that prevents this from being a 5 star review is that this park is more than big enough to have a dog park, at least a small off leash area. They have a wading pool. A man made lake. A baseball field. A play ground. 4 tennis courts. A bridge. LOTS of grass trees and benches. My dog LOVED it. Squirrel heaven. But unlike other parks she must be leashed. I LOVE the Sat AM farmers market. read more

Most gorgeous park ever. Feels super safe. Amazing playground for all ages. Shade!! Walking trails. Ducks. Obsessed. Wish we lived here. Nothing like this near Boston! read more

Deering Oaks Park is pretty great, for the most part. It can be a little bit sketchy after dark, but during the day it's a super pleasant place to hang out, sit under a tree, run, or play with kids (especially at the splash pad!). read more

We stopped here on our East Coast trip during the Saturday farmers market. The market was lovely, lots of good local produce and artist. My son loved the waiting pool area. Anyone visiting or living in Portland should check this place out! read more

Solid spot that can be confusing to drive to, so walk/bike over if you can.

This is a really beautiful park. They have farmers markets, lots of running space and is very dog friendly. Gotta love Portland!

Went to The Oaks today with my new dog. It breaks my heart to see how neglected this park is. Large areas of unmowed grass, animal faeces everywhere and the pond bottom is completely covered in thick algae. I spent many a day of my youth in this park and never saw conditions anywhere near as bad as this. Deering Oaks Park needs attention Portland! read more

Be careful. The park is some nice aspects to it. However, there are bums and addicts throughout. I went there for a run and much of the running service was uneven and not very good to run on.in the middle of the park, they have a little pool which the kids can play in which is very nice. The problem is that it's down below in the middle of the park and you have to walk through some of the bad element to get to it. read more