What’s to Love: If you’re wondering what “Freeriding” means, you might want to first check-out
OPB’s feature from Oregon Field Guide. Basically, it’s riding a mountain bike through “technical features” setup along forest paths. These technical features can be something as innocent as a small bump. However, as one progresses further into freeriding, the “technical features” become narrow balance beams (far off the ground too!), teeter-totters, banked turns, and HUGE drop-offs. This is a popular form of mountain biking, and “Post Canyon” outside Hood River is one of the country’s premiere areas.
What’s to Love: Is one visit ever enough when the destination is Black Butte Ranch?
After an incredible summer visit, we had to experience this premiere family resort during the Christmas holiday season. Surely, Black Butte Ranch comes alive during the festive holiday season. I imagined their properties and roads dusted with some light, fluffy, dry snow perfect for tooling around the resort on cross-country skis and quite possibly, sledding on some of the golf course hills. While the conditions were not quite like I imagined, the resort, and its surroundings, still delivered the best in family fun. We highly recommend taking a winter trip to this Central Oregon hot spot.
Hoodoo ski resort provides an excellent skiing resort for families with small children. There is also a great tubing hill called “The Autobahn.” While skiing at Hoodoo, book a family cabin at the Suttle Lake Resort. If your kids are 14 and older, you can stay in the actual Lodge at Suttle Lake.
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St. Helens, Oregon transforms into “Halloweentown” during the month of October. Visit on the weekend for fun activities for the whole family. Eat at The Klondike and The Plantation House restaurants, climb at The Vault Climbing Gym, and visit Jilly’s for some dress-up fun.
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City folks just don’t understand what it takes to run a farm. Where does our food come from anyway? We are all detached from our food sources. Very rarely do city kids get a chance to visit a farm where they can actually feed animals, shovel manure, pick produce, clean stalls, and breath clean fresh air. Don’t worry, there will be plenty of time to kick back and relax and/or run wild at Leaping Lamb’s “Farm Stay.”
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Just take a look at some of the pictures I posted in this article – this beach speaks for itself. Of course, many amazing beaches can be found throughout the area from Newport to Yahacts. However, Driftwood beach resides close to a beach rental we’ve frequented over the past few years, and it holds sentimental value along with stunning natural beauty. I recommend a visit to this beach whenever you’re in the area.
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Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center is a beautiful nature preserve about 2 hours from Portland. The Center hosts a plethora of educational programs for families.
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Black Butte Ranch is a family resort located 8 miles outside Sisters, Oregon. There are a myriad of activities for the whole family including golf, swimming pools, bike trails and rentals, tennis, spa, fitness classes, and much much more.
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If climbing with kids at Smith Rock, I recommend Jim Albao of Chockstone Climbing Guides. Jim has over 18 years of experience and works well with children.
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Horning’s Hideout is one of the best places to take kids fishing. They have rental gear available and it’s very inexpensive. The property also has some killer disc/frisbee golf and summer music concerts.
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The Children’s Course is located in Gladstone, Oregon and is a non-profit, public course aimed at teaching life skills to disadvantaged children through the game of golf.
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Rent a canoe or kayak at Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe Rentals only 100 yards from the boat launch into the Tualatin River. The river is very mellow and an easy paddle for beginners.
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Ibach Park is located 15-20 miles south of Portland off I-5. It has an award winning playground with some interesting playground gear. The park is super clean and well kept.
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What’s to Love: Beaverton City Park is located right next to the city library. We first visited on a very hot day when my son was around 3 years old. As you can see in the first video clip below, he was pretty spooked-out by the vertical row of spraying jets, so he just hung out on the fringes. I literally had to pick him up and run with him through the spray. This is your basic fountain with nothing too fancy, but it certainly can cool you off on a hot day. Plus, it’s a good fountain for all ages.
Safari Sam’s Jungle of Fun has Oregon’s largest indoor jungle-gym/playstructure. Your kids will have a great time running around in the jungle gym, playing 18 holes of miniature golf, and having fun with arcade-type games. It’s the perfect location for a birthday party. They also have a sports-gym that can be rented out.
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The Dalles, Oregon is located on the east end of the Columbia River Gorge right off highway 84. There are several excellent Museums including Maryhill Museum and the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center. There is a 9 mile, paved, bike path along the river from the Discovery Center all the way to the Dalles Dam. Portland Family Adventures recommends staying at Cousins Country Inn and eating at Cousins Restaurant.
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What’s to Love: Awesome indoor playpark! When I’m out investigating businesses that bill themselves as “family friendly,” it’s obvious that the majority of these businesses have good intentions. However, all too often, I’ve discovered the list of caveats to be as long as the list of good intentions. For example, your kids may have a great time somewhere, but exorbitant costs come close to driving you into bankruptcy! It’s definitely hard to find a place with high marks in a wide variety of areas (e.g., decent food, fair prices, accessibility, plenty of options for fun, low stress, etc.). Well, I’m happy to report that “Out of This World” owners Don and Linda Milford used their good intentions wisely, and absolutely nailed the indoor playpark concept! This is without a doubt the best multi-use, indoor playpark in the greater Portland area. Here is why…
What’s to Love: Breitenbush Hot Springs: Retreat and Conference Center, located a mere 85 miles from downtown Portland, bills itself as “A Place to Bring Life into Balance,” and it delivers with lovingly maintained hot springs, lodging facilities, hiking trails, enrichment programs, and much more. Put aside all judgments you may have about the term “intentional community,” and know this is an ideal destination for a couple’s getaway or a whole-family-vacation. If you have not made your way to Breitenbush, hopefully this article will inspire you to make a reservation very soon.
What’s to Love: One of my favorite things about writing these articles is the shocking surprises that often occur while on different adventures. The biggest surprises happen when I think a place is just going to be awful, and it turns out being the exact opposite. It’s happened several times this summer, and it definitely happened on my visit to Oxbow Regional Park. This park is a MUST visit during the hot days of summer!
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What’s to Love: The Oregon Coast Aquarium is located in Newport, Oregon, and its proximity to some lovely beaches in Newport, Waldport, and Yachats (yah-hots) is definitely a plus. For a relatively-small operation, this is a quality destination with some nice attractions. The layout of the exhibits works well, and it moves people through in an efficient manner. Even when it’s busy, it doesn’t feel too crowded. Give your family at least a few hours to make it through without feeling rushed.
