Portland Oregon in Northern Oregon

Portland Oregon, or "The City of Roses" as it has come to be known, is the largest city in Oregon. Portland boasts several Culturally rich shopping and dining areas such as Hawthorne, NW 23rd, and Freemont. Downtown Portland with it's brick sidewalks, unique bridges, and many fountains create what many call the most beautiful city on the West Coast. The constantly growing "Metro Area" consists of many smaller cities and towns all buzzing with life under the constant watch of Mt. Hood.
Portland Rose Festival The Portland Rose Festival, Oregon’s premier civic celebration, has been a Northwest tradition for 98 years. This unique festival bursts into bloom each spring to celebrate the City of Roses with events, excitement and entertainment for all ages. More than two million spectators are in the know. Now here’s your chance to get in on the fun! We feature many Rose Festival highlighted events and activities for all ages, come join us for this spectacular event held each year in June. For all events, activities & info contact us below. Grand Floral Parade Join the crowds as Portland celebrates the signature event of the Rose Festival, the Southwest Airlines Grand Floral Parade. You'll cheer for the fantastic all-floral floats, stirring marching bands including the Portland Rose Festival One More Time Around Again Marching Band presented by Standard TV & Appliance and beautifully-decorated equestrian units as they pass by along the 4.3 mile parade route. The parade route winds its way from Memorial Coliseum to downtown Portland. The Grand Floral Parade is the second largest all-floral parade in North America and the largest, single-day spectator event in Oregon.

Waterfront Village
The Pepsi Waterfront Village welcomes more than 375,000 visitors each year for 11 nights and 10 days of entertainment, excitement and family fun. Presented in beautiful Tom McCall Waterfront Park, located between the scenic Willamette River and Portland’s modern downtown business district, the Pepsi Waterfront Village is Portland’s largest civic celebration. During the 11-day event, the Village offers more than 300 hours of family-oriented entertainment, concessions from the Northwest’s best restaurants, and thrill rides for the kid in everyone.

Arts Festival
The Portland Rose Festival Charitable Foundation is proud to produce the Portland Arts Festival presented by Bank of America. The Portland Arts Festival is an open-air celebration of the arts and free to the general public. The Portland Arts Festival is the region’s largest and most significant visual arts event. The 8th annual Portland Arts Festival is expected to expose guests to 150 local and national visual artists (chosen through a jury selection process) in a unique and personal setting. For all events, activities & info contact us at: Portland Rose Festival Association
5603 SW Hood Ave. Portland, OR, 97239
Phone: (503) 227-2681 Fax: (503) 227-6603
E-mail: info@rosefestival.org Office hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m

The Oregon Zoo

Founded in 1887, the award-winning Oregon Zoo is the oldest zoo west of the Mississippi. The zoo's 64 acres are home to animals from all corners of the world, including Asian elephants, Peruvian penguins and Arctic polar bears. From the mist-filled Africa Rain Forest to the majestic new Great Northwest exhibits, the zoo encourages visitors to understand and experience the natural world. Committed to conservation of endangered species and their habitats—both locally and around the globe—the zoo is a center for wildlife preservation and field research. The Oregon Zoo’s award-winning education programs serve more than a half-million people both at the zoo and at schools, senior and community centers around the region. A summer concert series, seasonal events and the zoo railway help this popular Oregon attraction draw more than one million visitors each year. The Oregon Zoo is all of this, but it is also a safe place for families to share moments of discovery and fun.

From its humble beginnings in the back of a pharmacy in downtown Portland to its prominence as the leading paid attraction in the state of Oregon, the zoo has seen a multitude of changes. Richard Knight, a former seaman, loved animals and collected them as a hobby from his seafaring friends. Having previously occupied two other Washington Park locations, the zoo moved to its present site in 1959.

In 1998 The zoo officially became the Oregon Zoo, to better reflect its location, and its emphasis on native wildlife. A new entrance and the first phase of the Great Northwest Exhibit, Cascade Crest, opened to the public.

Today the Zoo is home to about 1,029 specimens representing 200 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. Of these, 21 species are endangered and 33 are threatened. The zoo is currently active in 21 Species Survival Plans.

The zoo is committed to providing the best possible facility for its animals as well as the community. A comprehensive plan, "A Great Zoo: Framework for the Future," examines the entire zoo, and incorporates the vision, "Caring Now for the Future of Life," into each department's goals for the next 25 years and beyond. The building master plan balances animals, natural habitats, native culture, technology, plantings, and innovative architecture. As always, the zoo will continue to be a source of discovery and fun that allows visitors to understand and experience the natural world and our place in it. For more information, see what we have planned for the future.

Zoo Hours
The zoo is open everyday except December 25:
9 a.m. - 4 p.m. September 16 - April 14
9 a.m. - 6 p.m. April 15 - September 15.
*These Dates are subject to change So For more information: 503-226-1561 ext. O

Oregon Museum Of Science & Industry - OMSI

Founded in 1944 and one of the nation's top ten science museums, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is a world-class tourist attraction and educational resource that puts the "WOW!" in science for the kid in each of us. Five exhibit halls and eight science labs offer 219,000 square feet of brain-powered fun through hundreds of interactive exhibits and hands-on demonstrations. OMSI's multi-attraction complex features a big screen OMNIMAX® Theater, the Northwest's largest planetarium, and the USS Blueback, the last fast-attack, diesel-powered submarine built by the U.S. Navy and after serving for 31 years, the last of its kind to be decommissioned. In addition to enjoying one of the featured exhibits at temporary display at OMSI, you can touch a tornado, uncover a fossil, surf the internet, enter the world of virtual reality, experience an earthquake, or simply experiment on your own in one of our many hands-on labs.

Take a trip to the stars in OMSI's Harry C. Kendall Planetarium, the largest and most technologically advanced planetarium in the Pacific Northwest. The 52-foot domed theater features educational astronomy shows with state-of-the-art visuals and special effects. The Harry C. Kendall Planetarium offers a variety of educational and entertaining multimedia presentations on astronomy, space science and laser programs. The planetarium is not only a place to learn about the sky, but also a place to experience a unique environment which blends art, science, fantasy and fun.

OMSI also offers a variety of camps and classes as well as one of the largest outreach programs in the nation, taking innovative science and technology education "on the road" to students, teachers and the public in seven Western states.

Strap in and hang on! As OMSI's Motion Simulator twists, turns and surrounds you with sights and sound you can travel back in time, dive into a fiery volcano, speed around a Grand Prix race track and experience incredible adventures. The Motion Simulator ride is a multi-sensory experience that combines a movie-like audiovisual presentation using a high-definition, rear projection screen and Bose surround-sound with the motion of the ride compartment.

The fully enclosed simulator capsule, which accommodates as many as 15 passengers, can move in six directions, making horizontal pitches, longitudinal rolls and vertical lifts.

OMSI's motion simulator ride is located in the OMNIMAX Theater lobby. Purchase your tickets for the motion simulator at the ride in the museum (riders must be at least four years old).The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is the home of the U.S. Navy's last non-nuclear, fast attack submarine, the U.S.S. Blueback (SS 581). After 31 years of service in the U.S. Navy throughout the Pacific Ocean, and appearing in the movie The Hunt for Red October, the Blueback is now on permanent display at OMSI. The Blueback is a Barbel class submarine, the first battle-ready class of subs to use the tear drop hull design.

The Blueback Submarine's latest mission is to educate the public at OMSI by:

* Displaying how a submarine works
* Showing how a crew of 85 can live within the 581's hull for months at a time
* Serving as a memorial to submarine veterans on "eternal patrol"

The Blueback was repaired and preserved in the fall of 1998! All better now and cooler than ever. For more information about the dry-docking, see here!

If you'd like to learn more about the Blueback, take a look at our pages about how a submarine works, the history of the Blueback and its technical specifications. Then find out when you can come see the Blueback and how you can help the Blueback.

If you have other questions or if you served on the Blueback and just want to get in touch, then please email the Blueback staff. For All other info and Prices Call:

(503) 797- 6674	Museum hours, rates, and events
(800) 955-6674	Museum hours, rates, and events - toll free

The Japanese Gardens in Portland

The Japanese Gardens are perhaps one of the most tranquil in all of Portland. The Japanese Garden, proclaimed one of the most authentic outside of Japan, is situated just above the International Rose Test Garden. The Garden was founded as a nonprofit organization in 1962. Designed in 1963 by Professor Takuma Tono, an internationally renowned authority on Japanese garden landscaping, the Garden opened to the public in 1967 as a place of serene beauty. Also, in 1963, Yokohama City's mayor presented Portland and the Japanese Garden with a peace lantern to commemorate the first landing of a ship on the West Coast after World War II. In 2002, the Garden changed its logo to the Peace Lantern as part of its 40th anniversary celebration.

The Garden is composed of five separate garden styles: the Flat Garden (Hiraniwa), the Strolling Pond Garden (Chisen-kaiyui-shiki), the Tea Garden (Roji-niwa), the Natural Garden (Shukeiyen), and the Dry Landscape Garden (Karesansui). There is also a Pavilion which houses events and exhibits.

The Garden is a natural site that has uneven and somewhat hilly terrain. Access for the physically challenged is limited but there are numerous viewing points from which some of the Gardens can be seen. Domestic animals are not allowed in the Garden with the exception of animals assisting the physically and visually impaired.

After parking in the Garden's lot it is a short walk up a steep pathway through the Antique Gate. Please do not leave valuables in your vehicle. We do not take responsibility for thefts or vandalism as our lot is not monitored by security. A shuttle bus operates during the high season April through October and for all special occasions. There is no charge to ride the shuttle. Visitors with disabled parking passes may drive up the driveway and park near the ticket gate.

It takes approximately one hour to slowly walk the Garden. Low-heeled, comfortable shoes are recommended. The pathways are carefully marked. Walking on moss or grass is not allowed. The Garden is a smoke-free environment.

We discourage the use of cell phones and electronic games or toys. There is no eating or drinking in the Garden and no restaurant or cafe is on site. Personal, non-professional photography is allowed. Commercial photography requires a Reservation and Fee.

Private tours for ten or more can be arranged with at least two weeks advanced notice. Tour bus programs also need to make the same advanced arrangements. School groups are required to have a guided tour.

The Japanese Garden is open seven days a week all year, closing on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Daily guided tours are offered. Tour and school groups are required to contact the Tour Coordinator to schedule and to receive a group rate.

For more information:
503-223-1321

Add More Information!
If you would like to add more information about this area to this page, Contact Us and supply your text info and we will add it in!
If you would like a different Area of Northern Oregon added to our main Area & City Profile page, Contact Us and supply your text info and we will add it in as well!