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A Perfect Portland Weekend with Teens

Keep Portland Weird Sign

It rains in Portland, Oregon.  A lot.  Portlanders say there is no bad weather, only bad gear.  My advice – pack some good rain gear, ignore the constant rain (and sometimes hail) and go! We have the perfect Portland weekend with teens for you right here.

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We arrived just in time for the cherry blossoms. A short respite from the rain pictured here.

One of the few benefits of having two kids with different spring break schedules, is that we can do short trips in the US we wouldn’t otherwise do.  Plus, I get one-on-one time on the road (where I am happiest), and my husband gets one-on-one time at home (where he is happiest).  Everybody wins.  This, being our last divided spring break (next year the kids are on the same school schedule), my younger teen was faced with a 2 week break. So we decided to spend a long weekend in Portland, Oregon.

P.S. I took the older daughter to Cartagena, Colombia for her spring break trip – check it out here. Anyway, here are our best bets for teens in Portland, Oregon:

Day 1:

Our favorite way to get to know a new city it to start the trip with a bike tour – see Munich with Teens and Copenhagen with Teens for other cities we toured with teens.  We get a great overview of the areas we want to explore further. We also get a few insider tips from the guide and a little exercise for you and the teen.  Pedal Bike Tours did a great Historic Downtown Tour. We learned a lot from our very informative guide, despite the cold and rain!  It was a great touch at the end when they gave us a map marked with all of their favorite places.

Pedal Bike Tours in downtown Portland

After the tour ended we went across the street to Pine Street Market to warm up. We couldn’t resist filling our bellies with some of the delicious eats in this building!  Try the bocadillo del lomo at Pollo Bravo, or the burger at Common Law.  But without a doubt, finish up with Portland’s famous Salt & Straw soft serve ice cream at Wiz Bang Bar.

Just a block away is the Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Therefore, depending on the weather, a stroll in the park and/or a boat tour on the Willamette is a good afternoon option.  In the summer months, Portland Boat Tours does a private 10 bridge tour that looks fun.  For a slightly more crowded (and more affordable) version, try Portland Spirit Cruises.  If it isn’t summertime, or the weather isn’t cooperating (both were true for us), consider walking across the Hawthorne Bridge. You will find the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, OMSI will provide and inventive few hours of interactive science for all ages.  We spent a good three hours there after our bike tour.  My teen especially loved the Chemistry and Physics Labs.

Food Trucks

A trip to Portland with teens isn’t complete without food trucks. Portland is well known for their food truck culture (food pods) and its what my teen loved the most! We tried lots of different foods and she wasn’t bored in a restaurant waiting for her meal. While in the Southeast part of the city near the museum, don’t miss a walk to the Cartopia Food Pod. This was one of the many great recommendations we got from Pedal Bike Tours.  Considered the best food pod in the city, it not only has great food options but a firepit to keep you warm and a tent with tables for rainy days (umm…all of them??). There are also a few nearby art murals for the Instagram obsessed teen to take some photo ops.

Day 2:

Teens love donuts and in Portland these can’t be missed. Fuel your morning with Voodoo Doughnut at 22 SW Third Ave. Believe the hype, it’s worth the trip (cash only).  Before we went, I kept reading that Blue Star Donuts had a shorter line and was just as good.  Well, we had both and while Blue Star was good (duh, we are talking about donuts here!), Voodoo Doughnut is not to be missed – especially with teens. The flavors are much more kid friendly than the sophisticated flavors of Blue Star. Think Oh Captain My Captain covered in Captain Crunch vs Blueberry Bourbon Basil. 

Pro tip:  at least one person in your group MUST get the signature Voodoo doll shaped donut. Chocolate covered, filled with jelly, and has a pretzel stake through its heart – yum! Don’t forget a snap of the pink box, of course.

Voodoo doughnuts signature donut.
Lan Su Chinese Garden

After posing in front of the Keep Portland Weird sign (across the street from Voodoo Doughnut), head for Chinatown. A short walk two blocks north is the Lan Su Chinese Garden  (239 NW Everett St.) in Chinatown.  Lan Su was built by Chinese artisans from Suzhou, China and is one the most authentic Chinese gardens outside of China.  While in the gardens, grab a rose hip or geranium tea at the two story Tao of Tea House.

Chinatown

While in Chinatown, you can give your teen a little space. Here they can explore a cool little triangle of activities all within a block of one another.   

  1.  Floating World Comics  at the corner of Couch and NW 4th) for not only comics, but YA graphic novels and vinyl.   
  1. One block over (on NW Couch and NW 5th) they will find Compound Gallery.  A great concept store that blends streetwear with pop culture and modern art.
  2. Right next door is Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade which is only open to minors until 5pm (and adults after 5pm) so check your watch before you tell the kids about it!

While they are busy getting their teen on, you can check out some of the cool coffee shops in the area like Deadstock Coffee or Floyds Coffee Shop.  

Powell Books is a must stop in Portland with teens.

When you have had your fill of Chinatown, make your way over toward the Pearl District by way of NW Davis Street.  While walking over, enjoy the art installation of Don Corson’s Nepenthes.   These giant solar structures of carnivorous plants were installed along this street in 2013 to draw tourists down the block towards Chinatown. 

Pro tip:  Come back at night when they are all lit up. 

Make a left on NW 10th street and spend some time in the mother of all book shops, Powell Books.  Powell Books is like a bigger, more roomy version of The Strand in NYC. No matter what their interests, every teen could spend at least an hour in this amazing spot. Countless book filled rooms organized by color hold every book imaginable.   I usually head straight for the travel department! 

You probably won’t see your teen again until they are hungry which can be easily resolved at Sizzle Pie. Just cross the street for one of their inventive pizzas and some breadsticks. If pizza isn’t your thing (or if the rain has stopped for a few minutes), try hitting one of the bigger food pods. Just a few blocks away on Alder between 9th and 10th is a food pod with dozens of options.  Our recs there include: The Grilled Cheese Grill, The Dump Truck, and Dinner Bell Barbecue.    Or for the teen who loves to eat, consider scheduling a Food Truck tour for the afternoon.  

In the afternoon, head over to South Park blocks, the heart of the city’s cultural life.    This lovely 12 block stroll runs along tree lined streets with an island in the center.  It has lots of public art, and century old churches, and ends at the greenery of PSU (Portland State University).  Since the kids hit their teens, we always check out the nearby universities when we travel.  Call it research…  Along  the way, you will pass a concert hall, the historical society, a performing arts center, and the Portland Art museum.  We’ve seen a few great exhibits at the Portland Art Museum.

Extras:

Work these other options into your visit as time allows:

  • If the weather is cooperating, a hike through one of the 30 miles of trails in Forest Park is a great way to spend a few hours in the fresh Pacific Northwest air.
  • Washington Park also has hiking trails but the highlight for us was the Oregon Zoo, where the elephants are the stars.
  • About 30 miles outside of the city are the Columbia River Gorge Waterfalls.  A wildfire last year (end of 2017) shut down a lot of the trails but the area is still beautiful and you can see Multnomah Falls practically from the side of the road.
Multnomah Falls
Multnomah Falls

Weird Portland

Want to explore some of the “weird” in Portland with your teen?

  • The Freakybuttrue Peculiarium on Thurman St in NW (not exactly catering to younger kids but teens might love it – make sure you have a strong stomach!)  Then finish the tour with The Bug Eaters Delight Sundae
  • Stark’s Vacuum Museum. A museum about vacuuming? Hey, maybe they will get inspired to clean their rooms!
  • Tour the Shanghai Tunnels. These underground tunnels of Portland were used to kidnap men and sell them to sea captains to work on their ships as slaves.
  • Glowing Green PDX – an indoor blacklight, 18-hole, 3D mini golf course
  • Any of the McMenamins establishments – especially the schoolhouse turned hotel on NE 33rd Ave

More Food

Want other food suggestions?

There is no shortage of good food in Portland.   In fact, many people plan their whole trip to this city around food.  So many of the great restaurants require advance planning and reservations which could be hard to do with teens sometimes.   Here are some other options for excellent meals the whole family will enjoy.

Need a place to stay?

Street art in Portland is great for teens.

Follow our teen guides for these other cities as well:

Munich, Copenhagen, Florence, Paris, Nashville.

0 thoughts on “A Perfect Portland Weekend with Teens”

  1. I’m so glad you had a chance to explore Portland! And you visited several of my favorite places. 😀 Looks like you had a wonderful time (despite the rain.)