It sure was an angsty spring, huh?
Maybe it's the specter of a Trump regime, or the upward creep of Portland housing prices, or the city's struggles to help our homeless—but Portland has seemed especially peevish in the past six months.
Well, summer is finally here. Let it go.
It's time to get out of your sweaty living room and spend a lazy day on some shady riverbank with a sixer of Blue Moon. It's time to skip another commute through rush-hour traffic and hike a piece of a grand trail you've only seen onscreen. It's time to forget the gray skies of February and lose your mind at a music festival or drive way out to deep Southeast for the best tacos in town.
And so, here's our guide to getting the most out of Portland in summertime.
Because the Columbia River Highway celebrates its centennial this year, we drove it in search of the Gorge's best swimming spots. And because we're a little sick of driving in this city's traffic, we decided to try biking to auto-centric spots, like the nation's top drive-in theater and a historic drive-in burger spot. We also decided to recalibrate our idea of what "hot" even means by participating in a traditional Native American sweat lodge ceremony.
And since Trump does make us nervous, we decided to celebrate Mexican culture where we found it. That took us on an epic quest to eat every taco in East Portland to find the best and through bottles of every Mexican lager available in town.
We also started plotting our escape from the country—you could walk to Mexico or Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail, but it's best to start with some of the area's top PCT day hikes.
Given that nobody knows how things will shake out—we could be at war with Indonesia by this time next year—it's a good idea to get the most out of every sunny day this summer. So we've assembled a Super Calendar featuring one awesome event every single day between now and autumn.
Before you know it, the clouds will return and you'll have long, chilly nights to argue with your Facebook friends and leave little notes correcting your neighbor's parking habits.
But not now. It's summer—shut up, grab a beer and a book, and drive out to the river.
The Six Best Swimming Spots in the Columbia River Gorge
Something To Do Every Single Day This Summer
A Brief History of Mexican Cocktails
Hike These Six Bite-Sized Chunks of the Pacific Crest Trail
Bike Boldly Through Summer Smog
Experience a Lakota Sweat Lodge Ceremony
We Ate at 27 Taquerias in East Portland and Gresham. These are the Best.
Willamette Week