Becky Ohlsen - Walking Portland: 33 Tours of Stumptowns Funky Neighborhoods, Historic Landmarks, Park Trails, Farmers Markets, and Brewpubs

Walking Portland: 33 tours of Stumptowns Funky Neighborhoods, Historic Landmarks, Parks, Farmers Markets, and Brewpubs

Second edition, second printing 2020

Copyright 2019 and 2013 by Becky Ohlsen

Project editor: Kate Johnson

Maps: Scott McGrew and Tommy Hertzel

Cover and interior design: Jonathan Norberg

Interior photos by Becky Ohlsen except: : Mike Russell

Copy editor: Susan Roberts McWilliams

Proofreader: Rebecca Henderson

Indexer: Meghan Brawley/Potomac Indexing

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Ohlsen, Becky, author.

Title: Walking Portland : 33 tours of Stumptowns funky neighborhoods, historic landmarks, parks, farmers markets, and brewpubs / Becky Ohlsen.

Other titles: Thirty-three tours of Stumptowns funky neighborhoods, historic landmarks, parks, farmers markets, and brewpubs

Description: Second Edition. | Birmingham, Alabama : Wilderness Press, [2019] | Distributed by Publishers Group WestT.p. verso.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018049779| ISBN 9780899978925 (paperback) | ISBN 9780899978932 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: WalkingOregonPortlandGuidebooks. | WalkingOregonPortlandTours. | WalkingOregonPortland Metropolitan AreaGuidebooks. | Portland (Or.)Guidebooks. | Portland Metropolitan Area (Or.)Guidebooks.

Classification: LCC GV199.42.O72 P676 2019 | DDC 917.95/4904dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018049779

Published by WILDERNESS PRESS

An imprint of AdventureKEEN

2204 First Ave. S., Ste. 102

Birmingham, AL 35233

800-443-7227, fax 205-326-1012

Visit wildernesspress.com for a complete listing of our books and for ordering information. Contact us at our website, at facebook.com/wildernesspress1967, or at twitter.com/wilderness1967 with questions or comments. To find out more about who we are and what were doing, visit blog.wildernesspress.com.

Printed in China

Distributed by Publishers Group West

Frontispiece: A house in Portlands Irvington neighborhood (see )

Cover photo: Oregon Maritime Museum in Tom McCall Waterfront Park (see ), Willamette River, Portland, Oregon, USA. Photographed by Ian Dagnall/Alamy Stock Photo

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any means electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations used in reviews.

SAFETY NOTICE: Although Wilderness Press and the author have made every attempt to ensure that the information in this book is accurate at press time, they are not responsible for any loss, damage, injury, or inconvenience that may occur to anyone while using this book. You are responsible for your own safety and health while following the walking trips described here. Always check local conditions, know your limitations, and consult a map.

Acknowledgments

First off, thanks to Molly Merkle, Kate Johnson, and Tim Jackson at Wilderness Press for their patience and help in getting this second edition updated and out the door. Also to fellow walking-guide author and erstwhile Portlander Ryan Ver Berkmoes, who roped me into this project in its early stages and made me realize how much I liked the idea of exploring my own city for a change. I had a lot of help along the way, too, including from Zac Christensen, who hooked me up with Metro trails coordinator Mel Huie; and from Patrick Leyshock, Kate McLaughlin, Zach and Ashton Hull, Mike Russell, DK Holm, Audrey van Buskirk, Susan Wickstrom, Paul Smith, Darrell Fuhriman, and Margo DeBeir, all of whom provided moral support, intel, and even dinner. Finally, thanks to Portland for being such a fun place to write about, and to everyone whos been curious enough about the city to pick up this book as an admittedly biased but hopefully useful guide.

Authors Note

Portlands a great town for walking, especially if you arent the type who melts in rain. The city is mostly flat, the blocks are much shorter than the usual length (which is really only a help for the ego, but still), and there are gorgeous parks and green spaces blanketing every section of the city. (And its true what they say about April showersthe flowers here in spring are unbelievable.) If you really arent the Gene Kelly type, youll find warm and cozy brewpubs, dive bars, coffee shops, and tea houses to duck into on nearly every block; Ive recommended several personal favorites in most of these walks.

Some of the routes here are slightly hilly, and some include unpaved trails through the citys urban forest, so do be prepared and choose your footwear wisely. (Also, unless youre here in August, bring an umbrella or a rain jacket. Youll probably hear people saying that real Portlanders refuse to use umbrellas, but thats a myth.) But Portland has yet another advantage as a walkers paradise: its public transportation system is excellent, so if you wear yourself out, its usually easy to catch a bus back toward the center of town from most anywhere.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Walking is a great way to think. All the great thinkers have written about it, from Emerson and Thoreau to Nietzsche to Kierkegaardwho is often quoted as having said, If one just keeps on walking, everything will be alright. (Seems worth a try.) Walking and writing go well together, toolook at Wordsworth, or for something a little more contemporary, Rebecca Solnit, who wrote the wonderful Wanderlust: A History of Walking (2012). It sure beats sitting at your desk and struggling to think up something useful to say. Writing, even travel writing, involves an unpleasant amount of sitting at a desk. All morning I dream up excuses, little errands that surely need doing: groceries to pick up, packages to mail, something on hold (or more likely, overdue) at the library.

So if theres one thing I fervently hope for this book, its that it provides you with a couple dozen good excuses to go outside and take a walk.

In a way, I inherited Walking Portland. When I first signed on, the plan was for me to cowrite it with my friend and fellow travel writer Ryan Ver Berkmoes (author of Walking Chicago ), whom I knew from years of writing for Lonely Planet. He had recently moved to Portland, and we thought it would be fun to team up on a project. Sadly, Ryans travel schedule kept him on the road approximately 387 days a year, so he had to bow out of Walking Portland in the planning stages. But by then I was sold on the idea: here was a chance to explore my own backyard, to write about a place I knew and liked in a more relaxed format than I usually get to do. The book would give me plenty of room for going off on weird tangents, airing petty grievances, and talking up places like the Sandy Hut, a bar I love but that I admit would be a pretty tough sell to, say, a midrange international traveler.

(I guess this is as good a place as any to tell you that the book you are holding may contain tangents, grievances, and recommendations for places that some people might not love. Youve been warned.)