What’s to Love: What’s to love? How about my first “highlight video!” Wooohooo! I can’t believe I actually got this up and running finally. You’ll see most of my new posts with a short video clip. Anyway…Commonwealth Lake Park…hmmmm…weird place, I must admit. However, I don’t mean that in a negative way. As far as parks go, let’s just say it’s somewhat unique. Basically, it’s a man-made lake surrounded by an upper-middle-class neighborhood.
What’s to Love: George Rogers Park is located on the south side of downtown Lake Oswego. If you live in Portland, it’s worth the drive. This is definitely a “destination park” featuring hiking and biking trails, an easy-to-find Letterbox, an interesting historical past, a decent beach, tennis courts, big baseball field, and some of the nicest picnic benches and grills you’ll find in a park setting.
What’s to Love: Another “pesticide-free” park in Portland! While that is an attractive feature at Sewallcrest Park, for my son it’s all about the “corkscrew slide.” Sometimes, he calls it the “curly slide.” Whatever your kids may call it, they will certainly be amazed by this old relic. When my son first saw this slide, he just looked at me and said, “Whoa!”
What’s to Love: Mt. Tabor Park is another showpiece destination within Portland city limits. This park has it all – including stellar hikes, mountain biking, road biking, closed-roads on certain days/times, beautiful views, and at times…serenity. We have been going to Mt. Tabor park for years, and we still seem to find new nooks and crannies to explore.
What’s to Love: Wilshire Park is a quaint (NE) neighborhood park. It has a trail that rings the outside where people like to jog and walk their dogs. It’s also one of the friendlier dog-parks in Portland. We used to live in the Beaumont Village area of Portland and this was our local park. It’s probably not worth a trip from outer-southeast Portland, but if you’re in the northeast, bring the family by for some fun.
What’s to Love: This is arguably the best outdoor play structure in Portland. Although a bit dated in some spots, this incredible maze of ramps, slides, swings, seated rockers, etc…will keep you and your kids endlessly entertained. We’ve been taking my son to this spot for about 4 years now, and he still loves it when we’re there, and hates it when we leave.
What’s to Love: As you’ll see, I have plenty of caveats for this park. However, there is a BIG plus to this park – the grounds are totally pesticide-free! This is pretty impressive, because I could only find two other parks in all of “environmentally friendly” Portland that can carry that same title.
What’s to Love: Willamette Park sports a healthy variety of activities for the whole family. I found the entire area to be well-kept and clean. Recently, park personnel installed a new play structure, which was badly needed. As you can see in one of the pictures, it has a low-to-the-ground set of monkey bars, which is a nice find in Portland. However, For those of you who like old-school-playground-equipment (e.g., metal slides, teeter-totters, merry-go-rounds, etc.), don’t worry, they kept the old playground equipment down at the south end of the park. The new structure isn’t very big, but it’s adequate.
What’s to Love: Waluga park (east off Quarry Rd.) has a quaint little playground designed specifically for kids 6 and younger. The playground has a structure for older kids, and one for younger toddlers. We just sort of stumbled onto this property by accident, and it’s worth a stop if you’re in the area. There is plenty of shade, a drinking fountain with really good water, a covered picnic area, and a paved biking path. Because it’s tucked into a wooded neighborhood, this park feels like it’s out in the country.
What’s to Love: My son and I stumbled upon this little gem while touring (outer) SW parks and playgrounds. We were headed to see “Springbrook Park,” but ended up pulling into Uplands Elementary School. We were pleasantly surprised by the awesome playground structures (see pictures). Lucky for us, there were two trailheads at opposite ends of the playground that led directly into Springbrook Park.
What’s to Love: If Sellwood park is the crown jewel of outer-southeast Portland, then Laurelhurst park is the crown jewel of inner-southeast Portland. Sellwood park is our family favorite, but Laurelhurst is probably the most beautiful park in Portland. There is plenty of green space for frisbee or frisbee golf, large trees for shading a gigantic picnic area, ducks in a serene pond, a paved walking path that rings the entire park, a community-events center, a small water feature, tennis courts, and a playground for the kids.
What’s to Love: This park has a little bit of everything you’re looking for in a family park. There is enough room for flying a kite, a game of volleyball, kickball, basketball, soccer or baseball. A flowing stream with bridges and large ponds attracts an abundance of birds, and there are some nice grassy areas under massive cedar trees for kicking back and relaxing. The casting pond was designed for sailing remote-model ships. It’s fun just watching these small sailboats drift in the wind.
What’s to Love: Simply stated, the North Clackamas Aquatic Park (NCAP) is the nicest facility for swimming and water-fun in the Portland area. The biggest attraction is probably the wave pool, which generates some pretty nice cruising waves. Their water slides are gigantic (one is a fully enclosed tube), the under 5 area has the best kiddie-slide in Portland, there is a rock climbing wall with an auto-belay feature, and the changing/public areas are clean and well kept. The design of this aquatic park will keep the whole family busy visit after visit.
What’s to Love: The Hoyt Arboretum is one of our favorite hiking locations. If you haven’t visited the Hoyt, you’re family is missing out on some great fun. The trails are well marked and maintained, there are plenty of opportunities for various loop-hikes, and it’s located right near the Zoo, Children’s Museum, World Forestry Center, Japanese Garden, Rose Garden and Washington Park. The Arboretum is the showpiece for the entire Washington Park area. What more could you ask for in a destination?
What’s to Love: Grant Park is a fine neighborhood park that doesn’t get overrun with too many kids. Overall, it has some nice features; however, I don’t think it’s in the same league as Sellwood Park or Laurelhurst Park. If you’re in the area though, it’s worth a stop – it does have an outdoor swimming pool, which is open to the public in warmer months. The pool has a 25 yard shallow area for kids with a kiddie slide.
What’s to Love: I will admit my bias right off the bat – I love Waldorf education, and the Portland Waldorf classrooms are incredibly warm and charming. If you’re thinking of Waldorf edcation, touring this school in Milwaukie is absolutely mandatory! It’s really something to behold.
My goal here is not to sell you on Waldorf education or this particular school. I do want to sell you on the quality of the playground! Wow! If you haven’t been there yet with your kids, you should definitely make a trip over during a summer evening. All the equipment is practically brand new, there is plenty of room for frisbee or a soccer game, and they have a stream with a bridge leading to some areas for toddlers and kindergarten/pre-k kids. The grounds are well maintained, and it’s obvious that the someone is doing a lot of work to keep this place in tip-top-shape.
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What’s to Love: As far as I’m concerned, this is the crown jewel of far-southeast Portland. We ride our bikes to this park all the time, and it’s my son’s favorite park. I love many Portland parks, but Sellwood is my favorite as well. This park has an one of the nicest public swimming pools with a great section for toddlers and beginning swimmers. The play structures at the park are practically in new condition with a nice structure for early walkers. There are plenty of monkey bars, swings and slides to keep big kids interested.
What’s to Love: In 2005, Oaks celebrated its 100th consecutive year in operation making it the oldest amusement park in the country (source)! While impressive, that’s not the reason to bring you kids here. The reason to bring your kids here is that it’s a great time! Your money supports a local Portland institution, AND the park has perfect rides for every age group. For a small amusement park, they have a decent variety of rides.
What’s to Love: Located right at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Kelley Point is the northernmost park in Portland. In my opinion, Kelley Point Park is one of the more interesting outdoor destinations in Portland – as far as parks go. When cruising along the beautifully forested, paved bike paths, you’ll catch glimpses of the beach, river and large green spaces. This perfectly serene moment will most likely be sabotaged by a giant, cargo ship’s unmistakable hum – a loud, foreboding hum! The ship’s horn might give a blast, and you will start to see (and smell) all the industrialization – the chemical plants, acres and acres of new cars, massive cranes, loading and unloading stations, etc. The reality here is that Kelley Point Park is ground-zero for shipping and receiving via the Columbia River.
What’s to Love: This is the playground of Abernethy school, which is located in the heart of Ladd’s Addition. This is a very nice, family friendly place in Portland. Although the houses are out of range for most people, the neighborhood has a good, down-to-earth vibe. There are two very nice play structures – one for toddlers and a second for older kids. Both offer some excellent options to improve motor skills, sharpen footwork, and build strong bodies. They are very clean, safe (relatively speaking) and well kept.
