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Beaches

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With summer quickly coming to an end, we figure now is the perfect time to get those last minute beach trips in! From rivers to lakes, here are our favorites beaches in the Portland area!

blue lake beach area
  • Blue Lake
  • 20500 NE Marine Dr, Fairview

This lake has a little bit of everything. You can swim, fish, hike, rent paddle boats, or enjoy the splash pad! There are also multiple picnic areas available to the public.

broughton beach
  • Broughton Beach
  • 3547 NE Marine Dr, Portland

This is a popular beach for anyone not wanting to leave the city. With a large parking lot and boat ramp this beach is a popular pick-up and drop-off spot for jet skis and speedboats

kelley point park
  • Kelley Point Park
  • N Kelly Point Park Rd, Portland

This large park forms the tip of the peninsula where the Columbia and Willamette rivers meet. You can swim, picnic, hike, or canoe!

suave island beach
  • Sauvie Island Beach
  • 38798 NW Reeder Rd, Portland

This large beach runs along the Columbia river and offers up tons of space to spread out and enjoy the cool waters.

bellwood riverfront park
  • Sellwood Riverfront Park
  • 1221 SE Oaks Park Way, Portland

This long park runs along the Willamette River and offer both sandy and rocky resting points. There is also a boat launch, large dock, and off leash dog park making this the best beach for your pooch!

frenchman's beach
  • Vancouver Lake Park
  • 9612 NW Lower River Rd, Vancouver

Also called Frenchman’s, here you will find sandy beaches, picnic areas, a playground, and multiple sand volleyball courts!

  • Cathedral Park
  • 6422 N Philadelphia Ave, Portland

The brand new swimming dock has made this an even more popular beach!

Thanks!

We hope that this will help you to get out and enjoy the weather and a little fresh air. If you want more info on any of these beaches before you go, be sure to check out Swim Guide! Did we miss your favorite spot around Portland? Let us know in the comments!

Splash Pads

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Summer is in full swing, and and we are so excited about this weather! Still, it can be too hot without some relief from the water. Sometimes we don’t have enough time for a full-on beach day or river adventure, so what’s the next best thing? Splash Pads!! This week we sought out Portland’s best splash pads.  The season runs from June 14th – September 6th, and all of these pads are open from 10 am until 8 pm. Parks Sorted by area then alphabetically.

N Portland

Columbia Park and Annex

N Lombard st and N Woolsey Ave

Interactive water feature and play area plus a nature park with Mature trees.

Dawson Park

N Stanton Street and Williams Avenue 

New playground, picnic tables, and a splash pad with 12 historical story boulders

Farragut Park

N Kerby Avenue and Farragut Street

Huge Park remodel started in 2021 saw a new play structure, splash pad, bathroom and basketball court.

Kenton Park

kenton Park

8417 N Brandon Avenue 

Playground, splash pad, soccer field, basketball court.

Northgate Park

northgate park

N Geneva Avenue and Fessenden Street

Playground, baseball field, soccer field, splash pad, tennis court.

Peninsula Park

700 N Rosa Parks Way Portland OR 97217

Rose garden, playground, fountain and splash pad, picnic areas, horseshoe pit and more.

Pier Park

N Lombard Street and Bruce Avenue 

Splash pad, playground, disc golf, skate park, baseball field, soccer field, basketball court.

NE Portland

Fernhill Park

NE 37th Avenue and Ainsworth

Grassy park, splash area, playground and a nature patch.

Gateway Discovery Park

10520 NE Halsey Street

One of Portland’s newest parks with a splash pad, skate park, and nature play area.

Irving Park

NE 7th Avenue and Fremont Street

Playground, splash pad, tennis courts, basketball courts, nature patch.

Khunamokwst Park

5200 NE Alberta St Portland OR 97218

Interactive water feature and play area plus a traditional children’s playground and an innovative “nature play” area with boulders to climb on and a slide on a hillside.

Woodlawn Park

NE 13th Ave & Dekum St Portland OR 972

Park and Splash pad.

SE Portland

Colonel Summers Park

SE 17th Ave & Taylor St Portland OR 97214

Splash pad, playground, and enclosed picnic pavilion.

Earl Boyles Park

SE 107th Avenue and Francis Street 

Splash pad, playground, horseshoe pit, volleyball court.

Essex Park

SE 79th Avenue and Center Street 

Splash pad, playground, baseball field, tennis court, basketball court.

Raymond Park

SE 118th Avenue and Raymond Street 

Splash pad, playground, horseshoe pit, basketball court.

SW Portland

Elizabeth Caruthers Park

3332 SW Spring Garden St Portland OR 97219

Interactive water feature at this nature-themed playground with a signature lookout tower.

Spring Garden Park

3332 SW Spring Garden St Portland OR 97219

Interactive water feature at this nature-themed playground with a signature lookout tower.

If you’re looking for somewhere to hang out for a couple of hours with the family, or if you just want to relax the day away while cooling off, any of these splash pads will have what you’re looking for. So next time you’re trying to beat the heat, look no further! If you prefer to check out one of our interactive fountains, you can find those HERE We also have plenty of Portland Favorites on our blog Here. 

Portland’s Best Fountains

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Want a free activity to help you cool off? We thought so! Going to the beach or river for the day is always a good plan, but those can be sometimes be crowded. The summer is the perfect time to check out Portland’s Best Fountains! Temperatures are climbing and there’s nothing quite like running through a fountain to help you cool you down during these heatwaves.

Stark Street Island Park

  • Named the rose petal, this simple fountain is a fun one for kids.
  • SE 106th Avenue and SE Stark Street
  • Portland, OR 97216

Jamison Square

Cascading waterfalls meant to simulate shallow tidepools.

  • 810 NW 11th Ave
  • Portland OR 97209

Children’s Fountain

  • 2 side by side fountains with dancing jets of water.
  • 410 NE Second Ave
  • Gresham OR 97030

Dawson Park

  • This timed fountain allows for interactive movement that highlights the history of the neighborhood.
  • N Stanton Street and N Williams Avenue
  • Portland, OR 97227

Salmon Street Springs

  • This 3 phase fountain puts on a glorious display and is great for playing in.
  • 1000 SW Naito Pkwy
  • Portland, OR 97204

Keller Fountain

  • Arguably the most famous fountain, this was designed to represent the many waterfalls in the area.
  • SW 3rd Ave & SW Clay St
  • Portland, OR 97201

McCoy Park Fountain

  • First municipal fountain, designed to represent the moon’s phases.
  • N Trenton and N Newman Ave.
  • Portland, OR 97203

Have you been inspired to pack on the sunscreen and run through one of Portland’s Best Fountains? The season for all of these fountains runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day, so you’ll have plenty of time to check out one or all of these if you’d like. If fountains aren’t quite what you had in mind, we’ve also put together plenty of other great Portland activities to check out Here. Let us know if we’ve missed your favorite fountain!

Lolo Pass

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This week’s Hot Spot is the perfect rooftop bar to wrap up your summer fun – Lolo Pass! While Lolo Pass is essentially a hip Euro-style hostel, they also have a very cool rooftop space for you to sip, snack, and take in the city views.

We headed over to Lolo Pass this week on a hot sunny day to see how it stacks up. The answer? Excellent! We started with some drinks – the Brut Rose and the Gemini SZN. Brut Rose is always a favorite for summertime sipping, but as far as I’m concerned, the Gemini SZN truly stole the show. Basically an Aperol spritz but with the lovely addition of Combier Pamplemousse, I could drink these all day long.

After finishing our first round of beverages, we ordered some tasty snacks. The fried artichokes were very crispy and served with lemon and a nice aioli. The term ‘fries’ on the menu was rather misleading, as what actually came out was so much more. They were like fluffy fried potato cubes, with shaved Parmesan, fried capers, and an anchovy aioli for dipping. ‘Fries’ did not come close to doing them justice. Next, we tried the Toast. Again, a simple word that falls short of the deliciousness we received. This Toast came with a generous spread of creamy goat cheese, topped with a rainbow of tangy beets, a few kale chips and a dusting of some mysterious and magical green powder. I don’t even really like beets. These beets changed my mind.

We will definitely be heading back up to that lovely and casual rooftop spot at Lolo Pass. We can’t wait to see all of the great things they do and try everything else on both of their menus! You can check out Lolo Pass Here.

Where should we try out next? Let us know in the comments!

Portland’s Best Shaved Ice

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This summer started off with some extreme heat, and now that it’s settled, we are still looking for ways to keep our cool. What’s better than a frosty treat on a hot summer day? Quite simply nothing. This week, we sought out Portland’s Best Shaved Ice! For some of us, shaved ice reminds us of our childhood at the local fair, and for others, it’s a memory of family outings that ended in a sweet treat. However you like your shaved ice, all of these shops will bring you right back to the joy you felt as a kid.

Wailua Shave Ice Portland

1022 W. Burnside St. Unit O
Portland OR. 97209

Open Mon – Tue 12pm- 5pm,
Wed 12pm – 7 pm, Fri – Sun 12 pm – 7 pm
Menu Here

Manoa Shave Ice

333 S State St Suite B, Lake Oswego, OR 97034

Open Tue – Sun 12 pm- 8 pm
Menu Here

Snow Bunny Coffee

1415 NW 11th Ave, Portland, OR 97209

Open Mon – Fri 6 am – 6 pm & Sat – Sun 7 am – 5 pm

Ohana Dessert and shave Ice

6320 NE Sandy Blvd Portland, OR 97213
&
10608 SE Main St. Milwaukie, OR 97222
Open 7 days 11 am – 9 pm
Menu Here

Next time you find yourself wandering around town looking for a sweet treat to cool off, check out one of Portland’s Best Shaved Ice shops. If you’re not quite ready to go down memory lane with shaved ice, check out some of our other Portland favorites Here. Let us know if we’ve missed your favorite, and we will check them out too!