Public transport from portland to scneic places?

March 3, 2008 7:36 PM

Is there public transport from Portland to scenic places along columbia gorge or to canon beach? I want to bring my wife to Portland with me on a business trip but she doesnt drive and doesnt want to do any guided tours. She wants to experience natural beauty and quietness. I remember my trip to canon beach and down the columbia gorge which I found to be wonderful but she would need to be able to get to all these places on her own using public transport of some kind. Does anyone know if this is possible? Any advice? Thanks!
posted by postergeist to Travel & Transportation around Portland, OR (6 answers total)

Well, on public transport, if it went from Portland to the beach or out to the Gorge would mean a couple hours either way just to get there. I'm not sure how enjoyable it would be to take public transport to these locations. I see lots of bus tours whenever I go out to the Gorge. In fact, I bet that would be pretty enjoyable, to have a nice high seat in order to see over the highway barriers out onto the Columbia. It looks like Tri-met has a pretty wide net (download their system map) and you could go out to Forest Grove to the west, Oregon City to the south which is kind of a quaint town with an interesting falls around the old paper mill but I don't think there's a lot to do there.

For quiet and serenity, and minimal sitting on an uncomfortable public transport bus, take light rail from downtown up to the zoo and the Hoyt arboretum. The arboretum has trails and is very pretty and free. Up there is also the Japanese Garden and the Rose Garden. The Rose Garden is free and there may even be roses starting to bloom up there.

You could do a search on the tri-met site for getting from downtown to Tryon Park which is in Tigard. That is a compact park with nice trails and creeks. I'd be surprised if you couldn't get there on public transport.

Around the Pittock Mansion in NW Portland is Macleay Park which is quite serene and lovely. However, this is all just on the edges of downtown. You'll find that the trails go in and out of neighborhoods which I think is kind of fun. Poke around on that site of parks and you might find something else you like.

There's also the visitors association -- give them a call and check out their site. You can also call Tri-met and they will help you if have an idea of destination. If you know roughly where you're starting from (downtown, Rose Quarter, etc.) then they'll put you on the right track.
posted by amanda at 8:00 PM on March 3, 2008 [2 favorites]

amanda pretty much covered it
posted by hulahulagirl at 8:38 PM on March 3, 2008

If she's up for it, she could rent a bike and ride the Columbia River Highway out to the gorge. Crown Point is my personal favorite stop on the way out to the waterfalls.

TriMet could probably take her pretty close to the scenic bits without ever turning a pedal.
posted by turbodog at 9:19 PM on March 3, 2008

Seconding the Japanese Garden. We got there by bus, so it's definitely possible. Beautiful views from up there too if I remember correctly.
posted by MrMustard at 4:38 AM on March 4, 2008

The Columbia River Highway is a fantastic bike ride. It's also pretty strenuously hilly, and Crown Point is 20-30 miles from Portland depending on where you start. Highly recommended, but only if she's up for a serious ride.

Other options: Mt. Hood, there has to be some way for skiers without cars to get there. Or Forest Park, right in the city and huge and beautiful.
posted by Nelson at 8:35 AM on March 4, 2008

there is plenty of quiet beauty within the city limits, as amanda already pointed out.

i would also recommend mt tabor park and laurelhurst park, both in the SE.

as for the coast, hood and the gorge, and quick google search showed this company, sea to summit, which might be just what you need.

http://www.seatosummit.net/index.htm
posted by sacho at 11:32 PM on March 5, 2008