First time trying this place out for my first hike. Definitely a good starter hike if you want to…read moredo a hike. It's not that big. Easy to get too. I really enjoyed it and have already been back .

They get a bonus star for the spectacular view of Mount Hood there is at the top at the picnic…read moreshelter. It's more of a butte in height, rather than a mountain, so don't let the name discourage or mislead you. They have a parking lot at the top and a loop trail with inclines you can explore in under an hour. There's also a large covered picnic shelter at the top with attached restroom facilities. They have a couple of open, grassy areas if you want to play frisbee or bring some other yard games. At the moment (October 2023), the only downside was there is a new residential subdivision being built next to it, so there was a lot of construction noise on that side of the trail.

Lewis and Clark boasts one of the best, and most accessible swimming holes in the Portland metro…read morearea, particularly for those with little ones, or for people lacking in strong swimming skills. The current here is negligible, the water relatively shallow all-throughout, and there is plenty of sand and shade to go around. Plus, free parking (no day use fee), and it's literally right off the highway! The only downside to be aware of is that the railway bridge is heavily used: during our three hour visit, no less than four trains came barreling through, roaring and blowing their horns, which spooked our young son a little each time; he would cling to me until each passed which, due to their length, lasted several minutes. People sensitive to loud noises should take note and prepare accordingly.

One of my favorite parks, due to easy access to nature without a car. I can get there from the…read morecity in about 45 minutes via Trimet and be in wooded trails. The Sandy River area is beautiful.

We rolled into Cascade Locks on a Sunday in July, the kind of Gorge afternoon where everyone within…read morefifty miles has the same idea: get out, get sun, get a burger. Eastwind Drive-In sits right on Wa Na Pa Street, red and white building, that iconic soft serve and hamburger sign swinging out front like it's been doing this since before any of us were born. And it has. The line was out the door and down the sidewalk by 3pm, easy thirty minute wait, and nobody seemed to mind. That tells you something before you even taste the food. We ordered the double bacon cheeseburger, and it did not disappoint. Real griddled beef, two patties, melted cheddar doing exactly what melted cheddar should do, crisp lettuce, all of it stacked on a sesame bun that held together through the whole ordeal, which matters more than people think when you're eating standing up in a parking lot with a dog giving you the full guilt trip. Speaking of: we took our food down to the park by the lake, picnic tables under the trees, and Willow, our English lab, decided that burger was the single most important object in the entire state of Oregon. Nose right up against it, patient as a saint, working every angle. She didn't get any. She deserved some. That's the tension of loving a good dog and a good burger at the same time. Prices are fair for what you get, hamburger starts under seven dollars, the shakes and soft serve looked like the real draw for half the line, and the menu board out front covers everything from tater tots to Italian cream soda, which is a detail I did not expect and now can't stop thinking about. If you're passing through Cascade Locks, Eastwind Drive-In is worth the wait. Bring cash patience, bring an appetite, and if you bring a dog, be ready to share eye contact you won't win.

A wonderful spot to take your dogs where they can explore 100 archers of land and water with the…read moreluxury of being off leash. There's enough room for dogs to run around while not interacting with one another.

Amazingly, magical park for weekly family hikes! Beautiful scenery, friendly people and pets, can't…read morewait to go again!

Beautiful with enough trails and loops that you can do as short or as long as you like. Very lush…read morewith ankle sounds even though streets and neighborhoods surround the park. You will feel like you've left town and gone somewhere magical. Can be buggy in the evening, go early. Well shaded so it's cooler even on a hot day. Lake, creeks, falls, and plants a plenty to see

Everytime I'm in Portland in the summertime, I come here to go swimming…read more I was super lucky, I was actually staying way over in the NW part of town and found out that the #77 crosstown busswhich was literally a block away from me would bring me straight here. So I gathered all my stuff for a day at the river, towels, sunscreen, plenty of water, snacks, hopped on the bus and spent a fantastic day here. Go early because there really isn' a lot of shade by the river and all the best spots get taken up early. There's also the woods to walk through filled with wild blackberry bushes everywhere. I guess my Canadianness comes out because I went straight into the water and swam about like it was nothing while everyone else was freaking out over how cold the water is and stayed close to the sandy shore. It's not. Especially on a scotching hot day, it really isn't a big deal. Also I have no idea how there can be drowning in a river which you can literally walk across, and never gets very deep. The current isn't all that strong if you go further away from the bridge, in fact the water is downright meandering at that point. If you have an umbrella, some reading material, lots of water, snacks, and you don't easily burn or get sunstroke, you can easily pass an entire, serene day here.

Great place to escape the heat and swim. We took trimet to this location. Hopped on the blue line,…read morethen switched over to the 80 bus line which took us directly to this place. We will be floating down this river next time.

Beautiful place, paid I think it was $5 dollars and parked and went to the clothing optional area…read moregot naked and enjoyed nature absolutely loved it nobody there judges you and I got nice compliments as I'm a young guy 20 years old lol but man it's so pretty the trails are sandy and good on your bare feet so u don't really have to worry about wearing shoes I do recommend only for some areas the majority is sandy and soft though for the trails leading to the beach area obviously I can't post my naked pictures but god it's just heaven on earth you are surrounded by green tall grass and trees so very pretty :)

Rooster Rock State Park has some hiking trails and a gold course, but I come to hang on the…read morebeautiful river beaches. It's located in the Columbia Gorge, which is my happy place. Regarding the beaches, to the west are the family beaches and those that prefer to wear clothing. To the east are the clothing optional beaches. If you choose to go to the clothing optional, it's all good, no gawking, just people enjoying the beach and water in whatever way is comfortable for them. For me, that's a swimsuit. In the simmer when the river is low, the beaches are wider. And the water is surprisingly warm. Not tropical warm, but refreshing! Located just past Vista Point and before Multnomah Falls and the other 6 waterfalls along I-84, you can do all of this in one day. Or just spend the entire day at Rooster Rock enjoying walks, a swim, a picnic. Or do the hikes and waterfalls and come back here for a picnic and sunset. The fee for parking is $5 and you pay at the booth as you enter the park. Then you can continue driving and park anywhere, depending which side of the river you want to hang out on. There is plenty of parking but it does get crowded on hot days. If you are taking the shuttle to Multnomah Falls or other sites along the Scenic Highway, you pick it up here, after you pay and park. It's just 30 minutes from Portland so if you are looking for something different to do, that doesn't really cost anything, and you enjoy nature, chilling in a beach or grass and picnicking, it's a nice spot.

To get here, you drive through a fancy new neighborhood. There is free parking. Walk up the asphalt…read morehill (or drive to the top for drop-off and ADA parking) to a very short paved loop trail. A few benches and picnic seats are available, as well as some educational signs about the area. From the top elevation of 930 feet, you can see Mt Hood, Mt St Helen's, Mt Adams, Mt Rainier, the Gorge, and the city of Gresham... if it's a clear day. If not then you've got great views of the trees. Near the parking lot is a 1928 house with a neat history as a speakeasy. Would be cool if they opened it up for tours or private events! There is a restroom at the top.

This spot gets 5-stars for: - The incredible views of up to…read more6 mountain peaks on a clear day. It's a small park, so if it's cloudy, there isn't much else to do here and you may want to save it for another day. - Being completely ADA accessible with the ability to drive up to the top to drop off individuals who can't make the steep walk up to the top, and there are 2 handicap parking spaces at the top as well. - Paved path circling around the top, with a low-rise so you can easily navigate with someone in a wheelchair or walker. - There's a small restroom facility at the top. - One covered picnic area, at least one other picnic table, and some benches. - Informational signage around the park explaining the history and wildlife of the area in 3 languages (English, Spanish and, I believe, Russian). - Engraved metal plaque & stones at the lookout point showing you exactly where to look to see each mountain peak. -Small parking lot at the entrance/bottom of the park.

I like being able to hike around the top of this semi-spooky butte. Evidently it's an old bomb…read moreshelter or a hidden bomb shelter or something crazy. I know people that have supposedly been inside there and I guess it has a big painting up on the ceiling of the whole town. I like that there are stairways that go nowhere. I grew up with it sort of in my backyard so I love to hear old stories about what's really going on up there. It's also fun to rip our dirt bikes up and around there. We don't rip up the natural areas we stick to the trails.

Kelly Butte is nearly 30 acres of woods on a volcanic cinder cone on the edge of SE/Outer SE…read morePortland. It has a long history of being used to harm the poorest citizens of Portland. After being stolen from the Chinook by the Kelly family who ran a failed farm, the city of Portland opened a prison for the express purpose if imprisoning houseless people using vagrency laws and forced them to break rocks by hand to pave the city's roads. Nothing ever changes besides location. In the 1950's after I don't know, asphalt was invented and many poor Oregonians had been worked to death as slaves the prison was closed to make way for a state of the art, even by today's standards, nuclear bomb shelter. There's a interesting 50s film called "The Day Called X" documenting a drill where the city is evacuated and government whisked away to Kelly Butte in a couple hours. Officially its was just for government but many who were in the loop say slots were sold to the rich and I tent to believe them because 20,000sq ft is more then city counsel needs for a couple months. Within a couple years though those who profit most from war unveiled the ICBM bringing warning times from 6 plus hours to under a half hour making the bunker a expensive useless concrete hole in the ground. During this time on the other side of the hill there was a hospice where those who couldn't afford health care were sent to die. The shelter was turned into a 911 dispatch Startin in the early 1970's where police were told where to go murder minorities. But workers were getting sick for a unexplained reason and it was abandoned in the mid 90's. For about 15 years it was occupied by houseless people with little care from the city. People used it as a bathroom, stripped it of anything of value, lit fire for warmth setting off the sprinklers repeatedly causing a black mold problem . I'm told people repeatedly ODed and were left for weeks. There was no narcain available them and no cell phones so there wasn't much to do when an OD happened a 20min walk from a phone. In the 2000s it was finally buried. Now the city parks bureau called is a "natural area but that's kinda BS, Kelly Butte had been clear cut many times over the last couple hundred years. The city does no matinence, does not cut grass, pick up trash there's no cans, police do not patrol. The PPB doesn't even have keys to the gate. A few neighborhood people walk dogs but for the most part people don't seem to know it's even there. There's a few houseless people camped, if you stick to the established trails you won't see them, and the y won't bother you. There's a collective of activists called PDXHRC who are sort of like a non-profit helping houseless people but they are operating from a more radical standpoint. They travel around town and embed in houseless community's to help improve their lives by providing tents and other supplies The point being that it improves the whole community. They also help defend from sweeps and stuff like that. They are the ones who do trash collection around the park when they are there. It's their home base so if there not helping out somewhere else there at KB. These people don't panhandle or use drugs they are houseless intentionally to better serve others. If you see them, and you'll know, they look like how you'd expect radicals to look. They are really nice people, with a barking dog that won't bite. They said to tell everyone to let them know if there is any maintenance needed in the park and they will take care of it. They said to do the same about other camps in the neighborhood, they have supplies and make meals to give away. Kelly Butte is a amazing place to have here in city limits. Go there enjoy it. It's a rare place. Oh, near dark be careful with pets, there are coyotes.