| Outdoor Living: To know Portland is to know our citizens are on the move! Portlanders are walking, talking, biking, hiking, riding buses and taking MAX and cable cars. Outside Magazine ranked Portland as one of the “Top 10 Greatest Places To Live.” Portland is unrivaled in the number of parks and dedicated open spaces with 37,000 acres devoted to families, visitors and children. Forest Park America’s largest urban wilderness with 5,000 acres of unrivaled trails and forest wonders. Portland is bike friendly, dog friendly and well, just plain friendly. Bicycling Magazine marked Portland as America’s top cycling city two years running! Note the green bike safety zones at the key intersections. |
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Mt. Hood: Rising 11,235’ and towering over the eastern skyline of Portland rises this Cascadian jewel. Mt. Hood boasts North America’s longest ski season with an average of 345 days of skiing, including 90 days of summer. And only a short one-hour drive from downtown Portland, you can enjoy downhill and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, inner tubing, camping or hiking. |
Portland Saturday Market: Located in downtown Portland and next to the seawall is the nation’s largest weekly open-air arts and crafts market, Portland Saturday Market. Row upon row of unique crafts sold by the very artisans who created these masterpieces. Live music prevails and the international food pavilion is a weekly visit for locals. Open Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. March through December 24th.
Microbreweries: Portland is known as the “motherland of microbreweries” boasting two-dozen breweries. Henry Weinhard launched his empire and Portland’s beer craze by the notorious hops grown locally throughout Marion County. |
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Excellence in Cuisine: James Beard recognized as the “father of American gastronomy” grew up in Portland and authored many cookbooks referring to the many local bounties found here…cherries, berries, pears, hazelnuts (known locally as Filberts), wild game and fish galore. NW cuisine often boasts an Asian flavor with the freshest of ingredients and subtle flavoring accompanied by an Oregon grown wine. |
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Wine Country: The cool climate of the Willamette Valley grows exquisite grapes with the prize outcome the award-winning Pinots. Now the area claims over 200 wineries across the 12,000-acre valley and becoming a huge economic boost by exports and tourism. The cool valleys are premier wine producing areas launched to fame in 1979 by David Lett. Mr. Lett entered this Oregon Pinot Noir in a European challenge and trumped France with honors going to Oregon. Now Oregon wine country boasts Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Blanc. |
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Columbia River Gorge: Eighty miles of the most geologic wonders of the world, the Columbia River divides Oregon and Washington. The Columbia Gorge funnels the Columbia River, the 4th largest river in the U.S., down to the Pacific Ocean. With cliffs soaring 4000’ above, the Gorge is the only sea-level passage to cross the Cascade Mountains. World-class windsurfers and sailboats tack across the white-capped river while sturgeon and salmon fishermen dot the shoreline. |
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Portland Trailblazers: Noted as one of the finest, and youngest, teams in the NBA. The team is led by Brandon Roy, a two-time NBA All-Star Game player. At center for the Blazers is the #1 Pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, Greg Oden. The Rose Quarter is the home of the Blazers and holds records for the most sold-out home games. Portland fans are noted to be the most loyal and also the noisiest. Blazermania began during the 1996-97 season when the team won the NBA Championships and grew in intensity in 2008-09.
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Fun Facts:
- Portland is known as "The City of Roses"
- Portlandia, a statue on the west side of the Portland Building, is the second-largest hammered-copper statue in the U.S. (after the Statue of Liberty)
- The Portland Rose Festival takes place annually in June. The Festival includes the flotilla of Navy and Coast Guard ships, two parades, dragon boat races, carnival rides at Tom McCall Waterfront park, and dozens of other events
- Beginning in 2011, the city will host a Major League Soccer franchise, which will be a continuation of the Portland Timbers
- An unusual feature of Portland entertainment is the large number of movie theaters serving beer, often with second-run or revival films. A notable example of these "brew and view" theaters is The Bagdad Theater and Pub.
- Portland is one of only three cities in the contiguous U.S. with extinct volcanoes within its boundaries (besides Jackson, Mississippi and Bend, Oregon). Mount Tabor Park is known for its scenic views and historic reservoirs
- Powell's City of Books claims to be the largest independent bookstore in the United States and the largest bookstore west of the Mississippi River
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