Portland, Oregon City Tour: Parks, Plazas and Views in Portland booking from $65.00

Portland, Oregon City Tour: Parks, Plazas and Views

Overview

Learn the story of the Portland, Oregon while enjoying its highest and most intimate viewpoints, smelling roses, wandering through gardens, peaking into a forested park and sampling donuts.

After we pick you up at Director Park downtown, we’ll drive up the city's north/south dividing line, head to the summit of King’s Heights, and walk the grounds of the mansion built by a newspaper baron to the view that was once available only to the city’s elite.

We'll visit Washington Park, and walk through our favorite secret garden, and into the Rose Test Garden. In season, we'll smell the roses -- literally and figuratively!

Next: the city center and cultural district. It wouldn't be Portland without a stop for doughnuts, so we'll discuss the history of the city's foundation and the design of these blocks after we duck into one of our favorite shops and grab a treat.

We'll visit the South Waterfront, an inner Eastside neighborhood, and give you lots of foodie ideas before we drop you off!

City: Portland

Sat 19 Oct

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Starting at $65.00

Make a reservation

Sat 19 Oct

Starting at $65.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

Doughnut or other morning treat

Bottled water

Additional Info

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Gear/equipment sanitised between use
Transportation vehicles regularly sanitised
Regular temperature checks for staff
Paid stay-at-home policy for staff with symptoms
Contactless payments for gratuities and add-ons
As mask mandates lift, face masks are no longer required for guides and travelers in vehicles

What To Expect

Director Park

We’ll pick you up in central downtown Portland at Director Park in one of our roomy vans. We’ll then drive up Portland’s north/south dividing line, pointing out important sites, including some of the city’s bike art, and historical buildings.

Powell's City of Books

We’ll pass Powell’s Books, and tell the story behind the biggest independent book store in the world

Pearl District

Learn about the history of this art and food rich neighborhood. (We do not stop to walk around in this neighborhood)

Pittock Mansion

Once we reach the summit of King’s Heights, we’ll walk around the grounds of the mansion built by a newspaper baron to the view that was once available only to the city’s elite. It's one of the best places to develop the context by which to experience this city. We'll take photos at the summit overlooking the city. We’ll walk through the mansion’s grounds and back to the van. (We will not visit the inside of the mansion.)

International Rose Test Garden

We'll learn about the story of the roses here and the rose city; we'll investigate our favorite varieties; we'll take photos and (in season) inhaling the scent of the roses, we'll get into the van for our next stop. (When roses aren't in season, we may make an alternative stop at the Hoyt Arboretum.)

Washington Park

we will drive into the SW Portland neighborhood of Arlington Heights, on the edge of Washington Park. Here we'll take a walk through our favorite secret garden, and into the International Rose Test Garden, introducing you to the story of the rose city. (When roses aren't in season, we may make an alternative stop at the Hoyt Arboretum.)

South Waterfront Park

TIME PERMITTING. After this, it's a drive along Portland's South Waterfront and the waterfront park, telling the story of the shining Swiss Alps-style engineering of the Aerial Tram and the development of this brand-new neighborhood and its beautiful, one-of-a-kind Tilikum Crossing bridge.

South Park Blocks

From here, we'll head back into the city center, driving through what Portland calls the cultural district -- once the literal heart of the city, the center line along which once the merchants and lumber barons lived, and now institutions like the Portland Art Museum, the Oregon Historical Society and Portland State University dominate. It wouldn't be Portland without a stop for doughnuts, so we'll discuss the history of the city's foundation and the design of these blocks after we duck into one of our favorite shops and grab a treat.

Show 5 more stops

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (21)

Julissa_G

Aug 2022

Pleasant tour guide and got see Portland’s treasures in a short amount of time. The view from Pittock Mansion was stunning. We literally stopped by and smelled the roses.

Mary_W

Jun 2022

Sara was a great tour guide. I enjoyed seeing the view of Portland and Mt Hood from the yard of the Piccot Mansion. I enjoyed Sara’s stories and Sesame Donuts. I recommend City Parks, Plazas and Views Tours.

Helen711

Jun 2022

We drove by various parks and plazas in a van. We did get to get out at the Rose Test Garden and spent 20 minutes walking around and looking at all the gorgeous roses. Right next door is the Japanese Garden, which our tour guide said when we all got back in the van, "Now you've seen the Rose Garden and the Japanese Garden." We drove by the entrance! We also drove to the Pittock Mansion and walked around the outside of it (we didn't go in). Our last stop was Sesame Donut, a competitor of Voodoo Donut. Sarah bought us all a donut, which I feel was a "bribe" to give her a good rating. Sarah is a "valley girl." Every sentence had several "and uh's" in it and every other sentence had "like." Very unprofessional. Not worth the money.

Response from Host

Jun 2022

Helen, generally when I see reviews like this, focusing on small details and verbal tics, it’s my guess that it was truly the exploration of the immigrant history and the description of radical activism of the tour, which can indeed be challenging. A doughnut is included in the cost; a visit to the Japanese garden, is not. While I know of no other city tour which does include admission to either that garden (a $19 ticket) or the Pittock Mansion, which we spent about 30 minutes visiting, I’d point out if you want a garden tour without history, probably doing it on your own is best.

Portland, Oregon City Tour: Parks, Plazas and Views

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