When I want to spend a day outside in Portland, I head to the west side and start with Forest Park. It has picnic shelters and restrooms, so it is easy to stay a while. When I feel like walking, I follow the Wildwood Trail through it. Hoyt Arboretum is another stop I enjoy, and it has its own picnic shelters and restrooms.
Downtown sits on the west bank of the Willamette River. There, the Portland Farmers Market at PSU is a good place to spend a morning browsing.
Jen Nunnerley
- County
- Multnomah
- Population
- 635,109 (Census estimate, 2025)
- Downtown Portland
- it is Portland
- City website
- portland.gov
Coming up
Events in the next few weeks, from the town’s own calendars: its library, its park district and its city. Times and places can change, so check with the organizer before you go.
- SatOct 24No Ivy Day 2026 - Multiple Locationsfrom Portland Parks & Recreation
- SatOct 249:00 amHoyt Arboretum No Ivy Day Volunteer Eventfrom Portland Parks & Recreation
- TueOct 279:00 amPittock Garden Tuesday Volunteer Dayfrom Portland Parks & Recreation
- TueOct 279:00 amSpring Garden Park volunteer eventfrom Portland Parks & Recreation
- WedOct 289:00 amForest Park Restoration Stewardship Eventfrom Portland Parks & Recreation
- WedOct 289:00 amHazeltine Park Tending Timefrom Portland Parks & Recreation
- ThuOct 294:00 pmFind Your Flare! Preparing Young Trees for Plantingfrom Portland Parks & Recreation
- SatOct 319:00 amWhitaker Ponds - Stewardship and Birdingfrom Portland Parks & Recreation
Parks and nature
284 parks and nature areas, the largest first.
Restrooms, a pond
A dog park, restrooms, a pond
Restrooms
Picnic shelters
A playground, a dog park, basketball courts, tennis courts, pickleball courts, fitness stations, picnic shelters, restrooms
Also: Buttes Natural Area, Kelley Point Park, Vanport Wetlands, Delta Park, Southwest Terwilliger Boulevard Parkway, Gabriel Park, Collins Sanctuary, Lower Powell Butte Floodplain, Pier Park, Foster Floodplain Natural Area, Pittock Acres Park, Catkin Marsh Natural Area, Waud Bluff, Westmoreland Park, Woods Memorial Natural Area, Clatsop Butte Park, Council Crest Park, Gateway Green, Lents Park, Wahoo Creek Natural Area, Columbia Park, George Himes Park, Uhtoff Sanctuary, Laurelhurst Park, Ross Island Natural Area, Columbia Slough Natural Area, Whitaker Ponds Nature Park, Willamette Cove, Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Columbia Children's Arboretum, Willamette Park, Loll Wildwood Natural Area, Fernhill Park, Beggars-Tick Wildlife Refuge, Parklane Park, Marshall Park, Cully Park, Flyway Wetlands Natural Area, Brookside Wetlands Natural Area, Pittock Bird Sanctuary, Kelly Butte Natural Area, Kehoe Sanctuary, Cathedral Park, Grant Park, Wilkes Creek Headwaters Natural Area, Springwater Corridor, Tideman Johnson Natural Area, Dickinson Park, Maricara Natural Area, Rocky Butte Natural Area, Errol Heights Park, Johnson Lake Natural Area, Chimney Park, Sellwood Park, Alberta Park, Peninsula Park, Irving Park, Luuwit View Park, Powers Marine Park, Creston Park, and 212 more.
Just past the town line
- Government Island State Recreation Area 2,246 acres · Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
- North Abbey Creek Forest 211 acres · Metro
- Jordan Woods Natural Area 22 acres · Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District
Trails
The town’s named trails and greenways. Where the map shows it, each trail’s length inside the town is given.
- Wildwood Trail 28.5 miles
- Marine Drive Trail 12.8 miles · a bike route
- Columbia Slough Trail 6.4 miles · a bike route
- Terwilliger Trail 4.8 miles · a bike route
- Marquam Trail 3.7 miles
- Peninsula Crossing Trail 2.8 miles · a bike route
- Willamette Greenway Trail 2.8 miles · a bike route
- Moody Avenue Trail 1.0 miles · a bike route
- Hillsdale to Lake Oswego Trail 0.9 miles
- Springwater Trail 0.5 miles · a bike route
- Nature Loop Trail 0.3 miles
- 40 Mile Loop a bike route
- 4T Trail
- Blue Trail
- Goose Hollow to Tryon Creek Trail
- Green Trail
- I-205 Multi-Use Path
- I-84 Trail a bike route
- Lewis & Clark College to Metzger Park Trail
- Main Marshall Park Trail
- North Portland Greenway Trail a bike route
- Red Trail
- Stephens Creek Trail
- Trolley Trail a bike route
And 96 more.
Libraries
1525 Southwest Sunset Boulevard, Portland
Closed for construction; reopens December 2026
1038 Southeast César E. Chávez Boulevard, Portland
Also: Kenton Library, Northwest Library, Albina Library.
Pools and recreation
1630 Northeast 38th Avenue, Portland
3756 Southeast Oak Street, Portland
7951 Southeast 7th Avenue, Portland
Also: Peninsula Pool, Sellwood Community Center, Montavilla Community Center, Montavilla Pool, East Portland Community Center, Mount Scott Pool, Woodstock Community Center, Portland Tennis Center, Charles Jordan Community Center, Overlook House Community Center, Matt Dishman Community Center, Matt Dishman Pool, Saint Johns Community Center, Saint Johns Racquet Center, Community Music Center, Colonel Summers Splash Pad, Luuwit View Splash Pad, Ida B. Wells-Barnett Outdoor Pool.
Golf
3500 North Victory Boulevard, Portland
Two 18-hole courses, Great Blue and Greenback
Farmers markets
1803 Southwest Park Avenue, Portland
Saturdays 8:30-2 through Oct 30, then 9-2 (2026)
7700 Southeast Stark Street, Portland
Sundays 10-2, May to Dec 20; every other Sunday January to April
New construction
These come from New Homes, Jen’s guide to new-home communities around Portland. It shows each community’s builder and homes, and what is for sale now, with current prices and incentives.
- Gooseberry Trails Habitat for Humanity Portland Region · 52 income-restricted for-sale townhomes, 2-5 bed (60% and 80% AMI) · Coming soon
- True North Habitat for Humanity Portland Region · About 50 income-restricted for-sale homes planned · Coming soon
- Raleigh Crest Holt Homes · Not yet published; marketed as larger, higher-end homes · Coming soon
- Sunset Village LGI Homes · 2-story homes · Now selling
Nearby, in the Portland area
- Copper Heights Milwaukie · Terrata Homes · Single-family, 1-2 story, 3-5 bed, four plans · Now selling
Schools
School districts: Centennial SD 28J, David Douglas SD 40, Multnomah ESD, Oregon Department of Education, Parkrose SD 3, Portland SD 1J, Reynolds SD 7, Riverdale SD 51J. The schools and their official figures come from Explore Schools.
- Abernethy Elementary School Public · K-5
- Ainsworth Elementary School Public · K-5
- Alameda Elementary School Public · K-5
- Alder Elementary School Public · K-5
- Arleta Elementary School Public · K-5
- Atkinson Elementary School Public · K-5
- Beach Elementary School Public · K-5
- Boise-Eliot Elementary School Public · K-5
- Bridlemile Elementary School Public · K-5
- Buckman Elementary School Public · K-5
- Capitol Hill Elementary School Public · K-5
- Chapman Elementary School Public · K-5
- Cherry Park Elementary School Public · K-5
- Chief Joseph Elementary School Public · K-5
- Clark Elementary School Public · K-5
- Creston Elementary School Public · K-5
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School Public · K-5
- Duniway Elementary School Public · K-5
- Earl Boyles Elementary Public · K-5
- Forest Park Elementary School Public · K-5
- Gilbert Heights Elementary School Public · K-5
- Gilbert Park Elementary School Public · K-5
- Glencoe Elementary School Public · K-5
- Glenfair Elementary School Public · K-5
And 92 more in Explore Schools.
45 private schools too, in Explore Schools.
Places to live for 55+
From 55+ & Retirement.
- 1200 Building affordable apartments (HUD)
- 333 Oak Apartments affordable apartments (HUD)
- Admiral Apartments affordable apartments (HUD)
- Alberta Simmons Plaza affordable apartments (HUD)
- Assumption Village independent living
- Beacon Manor affordable apartments (HUD)
- Bronaugh Apartments affordable apartments (HUD)
- Caritas Plaza affordable apartments (HUD)
- Chaucer Court affordable apartments (HUD)
- Columbia Terrace Retirement Community affordable apartments (HUD)
- Emilie House affordable apartments (HUD)
- Fir Grove Apartments affordable apartments (HUD)
- Grace Peck Terrace affordable apartments (HUD)
- Hawthorne East affordable apartments (HUD)
- Kenilworth Park Plaza affordable apartments (HUD)
- Kirkland Annex affordable apartments (HUD)
- Kirkland Union Manor affordable apartments (HUD)
- Kirkland Union Manor I affordable apartments (HUD)
- Lexington Apartments affordable apartments (HUD)
- Marshall Union Manor affordable apartments (HUD)
- Mirabella Portland
- Portland Silvercrest Residence affordable apartments (HUD)
- Powell Plaza I affordable apartments (HUD)
- Powell Plaza II affordable apartments (HUD)
- Providence House affordable apartments (HUD)
- Rose Schnitzer Tower affordable apartments (HUD)
- Roselyn Apartments affordable apartments (HUD)
- Rosenbaum Plaza affordable apartments (HUD)
- St Anthony Village independent living
- Terwilliger Plaza independent living
And 7 more in 55+ & Retirement.
Property taxes
From Property Tax Compare, worked out from the counties’ own records for tax year 2025-26.
It depends on the neighborhood: a typical $600,000 home pays about $3,600 a year in King and about $11,400 in Portland Downtown. Homes are taxed on their assessed value, which in Oregon can be far below market value in neighborhoods whose prices rose fastest.
Estimates, not a tax bill or tax advice. A listing shows a particular home’s current bill, and in Oregon that bill stays with the house when it is sold.
Sources: the parks, trails, libraries, pools and recreation centers, golf courses and farmers markets come from OpenStreetMap, the map its contributors keep (as of 2026-10-12; sizes are worked out from its outlines). Population figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s city estimates. Schools, new homes and places for 55+ come from Jen’s compare sites. Checked 2026-10-12.
Jen Nunnerley
I’m a Realtor® and a licensed Oregon real estate broker, with a passion for discovering more and more about the different neighborhoods on the Portland Westside. I can help you buy or sell your next home, and I’ll support you with experience and integrity.