We had a busy summer with lots of small trips in and around our area. We're lucky to live in such a beautiful and diverse place! Before we move further into fall, we wanted to capture a couple snippets from our favorite local adventures from this past summer.

 

First up: whether it's a bridge loop around the waterfront or the forested hills down into the city, downtown Portland is our favorite place for urban hiking - something we do here several times a month. Great trails, great scenery, great food, fun atmosphere with an artsy vibe. There's so much to love about this city!

 

Not sure if it is anymore, but this used to be the smallest urban park in the United States—consisting of one tree, located in the median strip of SW Naito Parkway in downtown. We pass by often - it's never very crowded.

 

One of our favorites things to do is take the MAX Light Rail to the Portland Zoo exit, then take the elevators up to the top of the mountain where we can hike the trails of the Hoyt Arboretum. From there we have two favorite paths: first is a hike over to Pittock Mansion for amazing views of the city and far mountains, down past the Witch House and ending in NW Portland for Thai food at Phuket Cafe. Our second is a shorter path through the Portland Rose Garden down into Goose Hollow for the best Rueben sandwich ever at the Goose Hollow inn. We've done these hikes so many times that we rarely take pictures anymore. At some point we'll put together a "best of" to share—but for now, here is one photo captured along a Forest Park trail. Just one tiny vignette in an amazing natural place.

 

Another favorite natural place—the South Waterfront Garden, just south of Tom McCall Waterfront park is a favorite of ours. It's small but packed with a beautiful assortment of plants. The benches are a wonderful place to sit in the shade after a long walk along the waterfront.

 

 

 

 

 

A few minutes north of downtown is Sauvie Island. This place has a lot to offer, especially in the summer and fall months when you can pick berries or shop the lovely farm stores. It's amazing how rural this island feels so close to the city. On this particular trip we took our kayaks so we could paddle Sturgeon lake. It was a bit muddy, but beautiful and calm.

 

 

Another must-do on Sauvie Island: hike the Oak Island Nature trail.

 

Venturing further out, west this time, but still only a couple hours from home...Oregon and Washington beaches.

One of the lighthouses at Cape Disappointment State Park.

 

Ember enjoying the beach at Lincoln City.

 

Part of a large Elk herd we encountered while out and about near Lincoln City.

 

Exploring the many trails by bike at Fort Stevens State Park (northern OR coast).

 

Foxgloves along the trails.

 

Elk at Fort Stevens State Park - you can see a lot of elk on the Oregon Coast!

 

Nearer to home again - we made a late summer kayak trip to Hagg Lake.

 

 

 

As summer begins to turn to fall, we like to visit local favorite spots: Tualatin Valley Nature Park (Beaverton) and Jackson Bottom Wetlands (Hillsboro).