Portland Oregon with kids July fun things to do

[englishteacheralex]

Hi everyone! We're super stoked because in July we are doing a house/car swap with good friends of ours who live in Beaverton, OR. We're going to be in town for about 2.5 weeks. I've been to Portland once, about ten years ago, and I LOVED it. It's my fantasy place to live. So what should we make sure we do with our kids (ages 5 and 7) while in Portland?

Some specific questions based on the research I've done so far:
1. Do you have to have reservations to hike in the Columbia River Gorge? Somebody mentioned this to us.
2. Is tubing in the rivers near Portland a thing? Any tips on how to make this happen?
3. Any fun side trips in Oregon ideas?--we're open to possibly spending the night at a hotel somewhere neat, since our main lodging is free.
4. Know anything about fishing in the Portland area? My 7 year old really loves fishing.
5. Have you heard of the Big Float? We're going to be in Portland for this and I'm wondering if it's worthwhile and fun for kids or kind of nuts and too crowded.
6. Is the Aerial Tram going to be running for the public in July, or should I just figure that's not going to happen?
7. Kid-friendly restaurant ideas? We make most of our meals ourselves, but we like to take the kids out for a treat.
8. Any quirky/low-cost fun activities to do with kids? Maybe an unusual bowling alley?
9. Skate parks--my son LOVES skateboarding and we're going to bring his board.

Our kids are hardy, love hiking, and really love a nice nature or science museum. We're not big amusement park people. I'm trying to plan the trip well in advance so we don't miss out on things that book up fast.

Thanks for tolerating my tourist questions! Any tips would be much appreciated!

[PDXTabs]

1. I think that you need a site-specific pass but this is brand new this year and I've never had to deal with it before. recreation.gov: Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. Of note: Angel's Rest doesn't look like it needs a permit (and it happens to be one of my favorite)? Don't trust me on any of this.

2. Yes! My favorite float is from Dabney State Recreation Area to Lewis and Clark State Recreation Site. You'll need some way to get back to your car, obviously. I've had strangers hitch a ride with me before, so I guess that happens. If not I think that it is in the Lyft service area.

3. If you want to see the Oregon coast I strongly recommend Oceanside, OR. It happens to be close to Tillamook and the Tillamook Creamery.

5. I've done it before, it's alright. I prefer the float I outlined above.

7. When my kids were younger they loved Laughing Planet.

It's not cheap but I would take your kids to OMSI. I would recommend the playground at Washington Park (but I haven't been in years). There is hiking in Forest Park too and it is adjacent to Washington Park.

If you make it to the Evergreen Aviation and Space museum you can see, among other things, The Spruce Goose. If you like wine country you could also do your night away out there, possibly at the vintage trailer resort. I haven't stayed there but I want to.

I personally would walk around the Portland waterfront. You can do a loop from Tom McCall Waterfront Park over the steel bridge, down the east-bank esplanade, and back over the Hawthorne bridge. If you do it on a weekend the Saturday Market will be there. Maybe checkout downtown Vancouver, WA too and the new waterfront development that they have nearby.

[englishteacheralex]

PDXTabs, I was hoping you'd chime in. THANKS!! So much good stuff there. And links, too! Right on!

[Dicey]

Katy from "The Non-Consumer Advocate" lives in Portland. She currently only posts erratic Five Frugal Things (FFTs). However, she's a mom-of-two, so there is a lot of frugal/local stuff to do discussion in the blog archives. If you have time, skimming through them might be a goldmine. They celebrate birthdays with a day of activities/experiences, so those posts in particular could yield some real gems. She posts more frequently on IG and FB, so there might be ideas there.

[sonofsven]

Tubing is also popular in the Clackamas river. There's a sporting goods store called Next Adventure that might be a good resource for tubing.

A popular side trip to the coast from the Beaverton/PDX area is to go out highway 26 to Seaside/Cannon Beach, then North on 101 to Astoria, then back to the city along highway 30 (which runs along the Columbia River. Or just go out and back on 26. Cannon Beach is the fancy beach town, Seaside is the family friendly "touristy" beach town, Astoria is the old river/hipster town. In Astoria you can climb to the top of the Astoria column and fly cheap balsa wood airplanes off the top that you purchase in the gift shop, kids love this. (If you notice the wind patterns, you can find all the used airplanes in the woods nearby!) The Maritime Museum is fabulous but might be a little boring to young kids? There are usually sea lions lounging at Pier 39 that are popular with visitors (most locals hate the sea lions!)

A really great state park is south of CB-Oswald West, the beach there is known as Short Sands. It's a short hike from the parking area to the beach. The water is too cold for swimming without a wetsuit, but it's a gorgeous spot. Or you can stop at the Hug Point wayside south of CB but north of Oswald (parking lot next to the beach) for a similar experience with less hike to the beach. Fun at the coast can be really weather dependent. It can be 85* in pdx and a drizzly 65* at the coast. Seaside gets a bad rap for being too touristy, but there's lots of fun stuff to do there, even just walking along the prom (the boardwalk, essentially), to the candy shops and arcade. Lots of restaurants, too. Doogers is good for seafood (fried razor clams!) Cannon Beach has fun tidepools to explore at low tide near Haystack Rock.

OMSI is great, as was mentioned above. The zoo is popular, maybe too popular. I always joke a summer weekend trip to the zoo is really powerful birth control.

I don't know the skate scene much, but I know there are lots of parks there. All the towns mentioned above have them, too.

[englishteacheralex]

Hey thanks! Some awesome ideas for me to reference here. Yeah, it looks like there's tons of skate parks. Great tips on the coast trips, too.

[calimom]

One of my sisters and her family live east of Portland and I've visited with my kids on different ocassions. We can take the train from where we live which has added to the fun! @PDXTabs and @sonofsven have great suggestions. OMSI is fun and worth the $$. The zoo, while a nice one, is skippable. Washington Park, the Japanese Garden are great to visit. Taking the light rail is really fun for kids. My eldest child loved the Portland Art Museum, the younger ones less so, but they found value with the Historical Society. If the coast is in your wheelhouse, Astoria, Cannon Beach and Gearhart are great. Plan to spend some time. It's of course very different from Hawaii, the tidepools and just walking the sands are a wonderful experience for the whole family. No visit is complete without a stop at Multnomah Falls - it's spectacular.