Fall in Portland: Fun (and Distanced) Activities Around the City
Updated: January 2022
Who says you can’t have a blast and keep your community safe? While COVID-19 restrictions linger, Portland has found intuitive ways to get “back to normal” in a safe, healthy, and conscientious way. Restaurants, shops, and community events have all adapted their service models to keep the community safe. Let us tell you, we feel so fortunate to continue enjoying the city and each other while remaining safe.
If you live in Portland, you know that as long as the weather is good, Portlanders will be making the very most of it. Now that we are in the fresher days of fall, with chill nights and warm mid-days, there are still a lot of options for distanced activities. So while the weather is still good—make the most of it! Here are a few activities and events to throw on your calendar to make the most of a beautiful Portland fall.
1. Urban Hiking:
Featuring Forest Park. Photo Sourced from Mike Rohrig (CC).
We love road trips, don’t get us wrong. But there is no need for travel when Portland is packed with epic hiking trails. If you haven't gotten a chance to, stretch those legs! When we're in the amorphous grey blob of a PNW mid-January, you'll get to think back fondly on sunnier days in the forest!
Here are our top hikes, by difficulty:
Easy
Moderate
Hard
- Wildwood Traverse Hike – Not for the faint of heart! This is a toughy!
2. Neighborhood Biking:
Portland is the 5th “most bikable” cities in the country for a reason! Gather friends, loved ones, or head out solo to bike along the river or through some of our beautiful residential neighborhoods. Laurelhurst and Ladds Addition both make for a lovely bike ride, as do the trails around Smith and Bybee, or the Springwater Corridor! As the leaves start to change, anywhere you go will be met with the colors and crisp air of fall.
If you need to give your bike a little tune-up before the wetter days of winter, there's a bike shop in nearly every neighborhood. For North Portlanders, try Kenton Bicycle Repair (our personal favorite).
3. Pack a Picnic:
Photo sourced from Unsplash artist Adam Blank (CC)
For all of our favorite parks, check out our Get to Know blogs, overviewing Portland neighborhoods. We feature parks in every blog under the “Popo & Archer” sections.
4. Farmer’s Market Hopping: