Weekend Getaway to Portland

Portland is a quick plane trip away from San Francisco and the flights are relatively inexpensive. The flight takes under two hours, which is perfect for a weekend getaway. In March 2017, Michael and I took a Thursday night flight so we only had to take one day off of work and then we were able to wake up on Friday morning in Portland. We stayed at the Mark Spencer Hotel which is in a great location and is walking distance to a lot of breweries and restaurants.  I would definitely stay there again!

Day 1- Friday

Friday morning we started off by renting a car in downtown Portland and driving to Multnomah Falls on the Columbia River, which is about 35-40 minutes from downtown Portland.  Multnomah Falls in the states tallest waterfall at about 620 feet and was the highlight of our trip. The falls are absolutely stunning and since we went so early there were not many people around. There is a restaurant, Multnomah Falls Lodge at the bottom of the falls where you can have breakfast, lunch or dinner, but we didn’t eat there since we already had breakfast.

There is a bridge about ¼ mile up where you can get close to the falls and feel the mist. We hiked up the 2.2 miles to the top of Multnomah Falls where you can look down over the edge to the bottom. Along the hike you pass by little waterfalls and streams. The trail is covered with trees and there is not too much sun, there was even some snow on the trail. The waterfall was absolutely amazing since it was springtime and the snow was melting.

Since we had the rental car and the Portland Aerial Tram was on the way back to the city center we decided to stop there and take a ride. The round trip ticket costs $4 and gives you a nice birds eye view of Portland. If you don’t have a car and cannot get to the tram I would not go out of my way to get to it, but it was nice since we had a car.

After a busy morning we were ready for some lunch. We went to Mothers Bistro and Bar which is a very popular spot for brunch in Portland. I would recommend making a reservation. Both the food and the service was great. I ordered the fish sandwich and Michael got the crab cake sandwich. Both of our meals were amazing and the brunch food also looked great!

After lunch I thought it was be nice to go to the International Rose Test Garden which is very famous in Portland. Before the trip to Portland, I forgot to check if it was the season for roses. After an hour walk we were disappointed to see that there were no roses.  March is definitely not the month to visit the gardens. The best months to visit are June and July so if you are in Portland around this time you should definitely go.

We went back to our hotel in the late afternoon to take a well deserved break and then get ready for dinner. We went to dinner at Deschutes Brewery which was right down the street from our hotel. The food and the atmosphere was great! Michael and I both got a flight of samples and they have a great pub pretzel! After dinner we headed back to our hotel for the night.

Day 2- Saturday

We started our morning off at one of the many coffee shops in Portland, where they roasted their own coffee, but I cant remember the name of the coffee shop.

We then went to the Saturday Market located near the Waterfront Park. It is an open-air collection of vendors from around the region with food and souvenirs. It was a nice market but it was very cold and raining so we did not stay long.

From the market we walked through Powels Book Store which is the worlds largest independent bookstore and a Portland staple. Then we went to Fat Head’s Brewery to try some beer and we both got tasters. The beer was great and we also were able to get lunch there. After lunch we went back to our hotel to get dry since we had been out in the rain for some time.

After warming up we went to the Multnomah Whiskey Library which is a bar that has hundreds of different types of whiskeys. The experience alone is worth it. If you can make a reservation I would definitely suggest you do since we waited in line before it opened and then had to make a reservation that was 2 hours later. There is a bar before you go into the whiskey library and you can have a drink there while you wait. Once inside they have an extensive list of whiskey with some extremely expensive options. Michael ordered a whiskey on the rocks and I ordered a mixed drink with whiskey. It was very good and a great experience!

We went to dinner at The Departure, a pan Asian restaurant, which is on the top floor of a hotel building and has amazing views at night. The food was pretty good but the view is where it is at. This was our last meal in Portland since we were flying out early the next morning. Overall it was a very successful trip!