Sawyer - Best outdoor adventures near Portland, Oregon: a guide to the citys greatest hiking, paddling, and cycling

Adam Sawyer is an outdoor and travel writer, photographer, guide, and published author based out of Portland, Oregon. He wrote as the Portland Hiking Examiner for Examiner.com and authored the biweekly column Portland Family Outdoors for Craigmore Creations. In addition to writing online for Travel Oregon, Red Tricycle, and Tillamook Coast, his work has appeared in Northwest Travel, Portland Monthly, Columbia River Gorge, Cascade Journal, and Backpacker magazines. He was the cohost of the KEEN HybridLife radio show for its duration and now serves as a sponsored athlete for the company. He is the author of a number of guidebooks, including Hiking Waterfalls in Oregon for FalconGuides. Adam is also a professional guide, leading tours that include the Epicurean Excursion for Portland Walking Tours and the Columbia Gorge Waterfalls & Wine tour for Evergreen Escapes.

A uthoring a guidebook is a ton of work. This is my third effort, and for some reason Im still surprised at how much time and energy guidebooks require. For me, an undertaking of this magnitude requires a team. I am lucky enough to be surrounded by a group of people who directly and indirectly supported me and this endeavor every step of the way. It may sound like a clich, but this thing quite literally could not have been pulled off without them. And they are:

Katie Benoit Cardoso and John Burbidge, my people with FalconGuides. Your faith and assistance have proven invaluable, and I am eternally indebted for the opportunity. I would also like to apologize for any heartburn/ulcers I may have caused by playing fast and loose with regards to deadlines. Thanks to Kassidy Anderson and her wonderful parents, Toni and Jesse, for their unwavering support. Thanks to Portland Walking Tours and Evergreen Escapes for providing me with another outlet for telling people about this amazing place we call home. And thanks to Heather Egizio for always being my on-call hiking buddy. Big thanks to KEEN Footwear for the inspiration, support, and gear that have been helping me find adventures around Oregon and beyond for the last several years.

Thanks to everyone in my familyJade Sawyer Chase, Janaira Quigley, Bill Sawyer, Cindy Sawyer, Thea Sawyer, and Ruby Hair. What you wonderful people have done for me over the course of my life, let alone this last year, essentially elevates you to sainthood.

Special thanks go to a group of friends who helped me through some difficult personal times: Dan Wakefield, Rebekah Voie, Anna Haller, Abigail Entrican, Leann Craft, Staci Humphrey, and Marc Alan Jordan. Your love and support saved my life. I love you all.

Straddling the line between the last paragraph and this one is my girlfriend, Kara Close. Your love, support, and company on some wonderful adventures have been invaluable. You help give me focus and perspective. You make me laugh until I cry, make me look up new words, and are the ultimate trivia wing woman. I love you, lady. Go team sunhat!

I would be remiss without thanking the people responsible for what I get to do for a living, and help keep my head above water: Lucy Gibson, Allen Cox, Dave Peterson, Nan Devlin, and Kim Cooper Findling.

Thanks to Jeff Statt and his family for all the support, including the use of the family van! Thank you, Blair Hoff, for your support, friendship, and VW! Thanks to Katherine Hoppe for ruling with an iron fist! Actually, I should be thanking you more in the next book, but Im doing it here too. Thanks to Oregonhikers.org, Tom Kloster, Zach Forsyth, Tim Burke, Melinda Muckenthaler, Aaron Young, Jeffery Abbott, Bryan Swan, and all the other boundary-less explorers I know, who are constantly providing inspiration.

Thanks to everyone who came out to see me talk about waterfalls at public libraries around the state. You confirmed that this is a thing I should be doing. I hope to see you all again when Im giving slideshow presentations for this book.

Thanks to everyone else who has helped along the way. Too many to list here, but you know who you are, and so do I!

Lastly, enormous thanks to Stephanie Paris. You have been my primary adventure buddy over the course of the last three years, and this book, let alone my career, would not exist without you. Your love, support, and adventurous spirit allowed me to soar. Thanks for being who you are, and thanks for being my friend. This book is dedicated to you.

The Council CrestWashington Park Loop combines the thrill of riding through the streets of Bike Town USA with the exercise and exhilaration of a thigh-burning climb to the highest point in Portland. Along the way youll take in arguably the best view in the city and ride through iconic Washington Park. If you had one bike ride to check out Portland proper, this should be it.

Start: Broadway, Pioneer Courthouse Square (PCS)

Distance: 15.7-mile loop

Riding time: 1.5 to 2 hours

Best bike: Road bike

Terrain and trail surface: Paved

Traffic and hazards: Significant traffic downtown; less traffic around Council Crest, but blind turns and narrower roads

Fees and permits: None

Restrooms: At visitor center inside PCS

Maps: Oregon Road & Recreation Atlas: Page 106 D4

Getting there: However you get downtown to Pioneer Courthouse Square. GPS: N45 31.144' / W122 40.785'

The Ride

Starting in Pioneer Courthouse Square (PCS) in downtown Portland, youll essentially be checking out the best of Portland by bicycle. As the ride begins, youll have the opportunity to pedal your way through a downtown area that caters to bicyclists. With clearly marked bike routes, wide bike lanes, and bike boxes, its a joy to explore a city laid out for folks on two wheels.

Once you hit Terwilliger Boulevard, the traffic lightens and the natural beauty becomes more pronounced. A steady but scenic climb eventually delivers you to the highest point in the city. On a clear day you can check out no fewer than four Cascade peaks and a sweeping view of the Rose City.

From Council Crest enjoy a well-earned mini-descent before leveling out and riding along very pleasant, tree-lined Hewett Boulevard.

Take one more big breath and take on a mild ascent up Skyline before hitting Fairview and enjoying the downhill fruits of your labor. Youll now be descending through Washington Park, and if youre so inclined, theres an awful lot to see and do here: the zoo, Childrens Museum, World Forestry Center, Japanese Garden, International Rose Test Garden. You get the idea. Once through the park the downhill segment continues through one of the stateliest neighborhoods in the city before arriving back downtown and concluding the loop.

Miles and Directions

0.0 Start at PCS and head south (uphill) on Broadway.

0.8 Keep left to stay on Broadway.

0.9 Slight right onto SW 6th Avenue.

1.0 Continue onto SW Terwilliger Boulevard.

1.3 Turn left to stay on Terwilliger.

3.4 Turn right onto SW Westwood Drive.

4.0 Turn right to stay on SW Westwood Drive.