You can never go wrong with a visit to Portland, Oregon, a city that is brimming with natural beauty, incredible eats, and lively cultural offerings. While there is no shortage of excellent attractions for both tourists and locals to swing by, we think there is one that stands out: Washington Park. Call us biased, but the rich diversity of the park’s family-friendly offerings, all enveloped by a serene forest makes Washington Park a must-visit at just about any time of year.

Because there is so much to do in Washington Park to complement your visit to Portland Japanese Garden, it can be a little overwhelming trying to plan out a visit. To help out, we’ve put together an itinerary for you.

Begin Your Washington Park Adventure at Portland Japanese Garden

Whether you woke up on the right side of the bed or not, Portland Japanese Garden is a great place to begin your day. Members can enter beginning at 8am every day the Garden is open (we’re closed Tuesdays), and we are otherwise open to the public at 10am. Because Japanese gardens have historically been designed to deepen your connections to nature in safe and tranquil confines, the Garden is an ideal place to reset your mind and prepare for a fun day of park adventures. Of course, there are plenty of fun things to see here during your visit! If you need a caffeine fix and light bites, make sure you make reservations for the Umami Café, which pairs worldclass green tea with handcrafted wagashi (Japanese sweets). We also have an incredible gift shop filled with curated wares, many directly from Japan, rotating exhibitions of traditional and modern art and demonstrations and performances of Japanese cultural pursuits including koto (Japanese zither) and bonsai care. Our quick tip: purchase your tickets before you arrive so you can skip the line to get in!

Pair Your Portland Japanese Garden Visit with Roses

Right across from Portland Japanese Garden is the excellent International Rose Test Garden. Featuring the fragrant and beautiful flowers that help make the City of Roses the City of Roses, this attraction is free and is one of Oregon’s favorite spaces. Here there are more than 10,000 individual roses bushes that represent more than 600 different varieties. While the bloom usually lasts from late May through October (every year being slightly different), the more than six acres of this urban oasis offers a fantastic view year-round and has plenty of grassy stretches for the kids to run around get out a little bit of that pent up energy. If you’re visiting in summer, make sure you pop into the Rose Garden Store, where “everything in the store looks like a rose, smells like a rose, tastes like a rose, has a rose on it, holds a rose in it, or is for or about growing roses.”

After you’re done at the Rose Garden, hop onto the Washington Park Free Shuttle! This fantastic and free service provides daily, year-round trips throughout the Park. The Explore Washington Park website has a nifty tracker on it so you can know when the next bus is on its way.

Moving From Flora to Fauna at the Zoo

After the stop for the archery range, you’ll be able to get off right next to the Oregon Zoo! The Oregon Zoo is just like Portland Japanese Garden in that it is a must-visit for anyone visiting our town. Spread over 64 acres, they have an astonishing 165 different species and subspecies to see. Make sure you check out their schedule of animal activities and keeper talks and if you’re in town during the summer, keep an eye out for their very popular Zoo Nights, which feature music, food carts, and family-friendly activities. They also have a bunch of different options for food, including multiple cafes, sweet treats galore, and quick bites.

Get to Know one of Oregon’s Most Important Landscapes Better: Forests!

Adjacent to the Oregon Zoo is another highlight of Washington Park: the World Forestry Center. Their campus, which sits on five acres, includes a beautiful and dramatic wooden building that houses their museum. Here there are interactive and art exhibits that help visitors gain greater insight into what might be Oregon’s most famous and important natural resource: forests. They look at the connection people have to wooded landscapes, and all of the challenges and opportunities that come with forestry conservation. Make sure you check out their exhibits and events page, which can help inform you on what’s happening inside and outside the museum!

You can either stroll to our next stop or hop on the shuttle again—it just depends on what you’re in the mood for!

Now That You Learned About Trees, Go See Them a Little Closer

Our final stop on the itinerary is another natural jewel: Hoyt Arboretum! The Arboretum, free to enter, covers an incredible 189 acres throughout the park, and is home to more than 6,000 trees and 2,300 different species! You can’t go wrong with any of their 12 miles of trails, but some of their most popular ones are those that take you by the Redwood Deck and Overlook Viewpoint. You also want to keep an eye on their jampacked events calendar, which includes opportunities to go on tours or even practice activities like tai chi or qigong outdoors!

But Wait: There’s Even More

We just went through many of the fantastic attractions that Washington Park has to offer, but it just scratches the surface. In addition to the very popular Wildwood Trail, the longest forested urban trail in the United States, there are several other spots worth checking out. Check out the slide show below:

Getting To and Through Washington Park

Washington Park is two miles west of downtown Portland. Getting here on foot is certainly an option and there is no shortage of amazing restaurants and cafes you can pop into to get a bite on the way. Because parking can sometimes be a challenge in Washington Park, it’s typically recommended that you take public transportation if you’re unable to take the stroll.

Happily, there are a number of options you can take, including TriMet’s MAX Light Rail, which has a stop on both the Blue and Red lines within Washington Park. Another option is getting here by bus. TriMet’s 63-Washington Park/SW 6^th bus line goes back and forth between Pioneer Courthouse Square and Portland Japanese Garden every hour on the hour from 10am to 6pm! And finally, there is TriMet’s 20-Burnside/Stark bus line, which brings passengers just outside Washington Park on Burnside Street.

However, sometimes taking a car is the only option for some folks. Our quick tip: Download the Parking Kitty App to make paying for parking easy. Whether you pay at a pay station or using the app, you will need to know your license plate number. Payment for parking is required in Washington Park until 8pm, daily.

Another tip we’d like to emphasize just one more time is that it’s really worth checking out the Washington Park Free Shuttle, which makes visiting all of the park’s incredible attractions easy and will cut down on the time walking through the park or trying to find a new parking spot. Below are some helpful links to help further plan your visit:

• Travel Portland has a wonderful guide to using public transportation to get around the city, available here.
• TriMet has a helpful website that includes a live tracker, planner, and information on different routes.

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