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What’s to Love:  For years I’ve been hearing about Club Sport’s giant climbing walls, which are up to 45 feet tall! According to their website, Club Sport’s Adventure Center is the largest climbing facility (11, 500 square feet) in Oregon. The Center offers a nice variety of terrain including bouldering, steep lead climbing, a chimney area, slabs, and some cracks. Until last week, Club Sport’s mega walls have eluded our sending attempts. During our recent visit, we had a pleasant experience highlighted by a clean and open atmosphere featuring outstanding route setting.

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What’s to Love:  Located 12 miles SE of Sandy, Oregon on the flanks of Mt. Hood, Windells is a training camp for kids (and adults!) interested in skateboarding, skiing, snowboarding, BMX, and free riding.  The sheer magnitude of the outdoor skatepark (aka “concrete jungle”) is enough to make most kids’ jaws drop to the ground in awe. I hope to write about the camp experience (academy, residential, and day) in the near future, but the focus of this article is off-season/day-use access for the general public, which is well worth the price of admission and drive from Portland.

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What’s to Love: Of course, I’m a big fan of Portland, Oregon.  However, while visiting Park City, Utah on one of our “Portland Getaways,” it was hard not to constantly imagine my family living in this beautiful town – a town filled with a lifetime of outdoor adventures.  Amazing restaurants, summer concerts, three premier ski resorts (Park City Mountain Resort, Canyons Resort, and Deer Valley), Utah Olympic Park, summer adventure parks, endless lift-served mountain biking, and jaw-dropping-views await your family.  I’ve cataloged all of this and more for your next family vacation.

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What’s to Love:  This site highlights all kinds of adventures.  Granted, sometimes the “adventures” are more like cushy vacations or a walks in nearby parks.  However, I want the site to feature a little something for every family.  Every once in awhile, we kick it up a notch (e.g., Rock Climbing at Smith Rock, Free Riding near Hood River, Hiking Cooper Spur, etc.).  The Tree to Tree Aerial Adventure Park (Gaston, Oregon) brings the level of adventure up SEVERAL notches, especially if you venture off 60 feet in the air to try their black course.

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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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I don’t think it’s a big revelation to anyone that our incredible fall weather is winding down. At Portland Family Adventures, we had a very active summer. Since June 1st, we’ve published 34 articles, and experienced a 2500% increase in site traffic! We published two of our most popular articles “Tips for Biking with Kids” and “Top 10 Summer Activities.” In that same vein, I’m going to highlight some of our favorite rainy-day-activities. Although the outdoor activities may start to decrease, remember that Portland Family Adventures documents indoor activities as well.