Not an official publication of Infinite Monkeys, Inc.

The Weber Guide to the Portland Area

We haven't necessarily been to all these places and I'm guessing on the travel times. Some of the directions are relative to Stevenson, which is about an hour east of Portland in the Gorge.

Gorge

Bridal Falls
One mile hike in the Gorge.

Rooster Rock
Local river beach off the highway between Portland and Cascade Locks. Requires $5 entry fee. Features regular and "Clothing Optional" areas.

At our first visit in early season, we were very disappointed to find a narrow strip of rocky dirt facing a shallow swamp. On a second visit the waters had receded quite a bit and a rather unappealing shortcut through foot-deep mud led us to a very large beach that was only very sparsely populated. There are islands you can wade to and a wonderful view of the Columbia gorge. The water is very shallow for quite a distance, which is good for wading, but bad for swimming.

Sauvie Island is more convenient, but I can no longer claim that it is better. Sauvie is presumably much more polluted and certainly less picturesque.

Carson Hot Springs
Haven't been here.

Beacon Rock
West of Stevenson on the Washington side. Moderate climb on a big rock next to the Columbia.

Vista House on Crown Point

Columbia Gorge Economic Development Association

Columbia River Gorge Enterprises

Columbia River Gorge

Multnomah Falls
Practically on the highway between Portland and Cascade Locks. You can't miss it.

Larch Mountain
Between Portland and Cascade Locks, less than 30 minutes off the highway. Starting from the right place, a very short hike with an astounding view. Generally quite easy, but with some steep steps near the end.

General Oregon/Washington

Sauvie Island
Local river beach on an island outside Portland. Requires $3 permit from local store. Features regular and "Clothing Optional" areas. Great place to go on a really hot day.

Mt. Hood
About an hour away. Snow skiing in the winter. Hiking and lake use in the summer.

Mt. St. Helens
(more)
About 2 hours north into Washington.
The Ape Cave is really cool. So bring a jacket.

Mt. St. Helens plane ride
Haven't tried these guys, but Jason flew this himself twice.

Silver Falls
Seven falls along a reasonably mild trail. About 2 hours south.

Bagby Hot Springs
No fees, but said to be really crowded on summer weekends. Best visited on weekdays or off-season. A bit over an 1 hour from Portland.

Warning! The road to Bagby from the west is closed through the end of 1998. You can't sneak through anymore because they put boulders in the road. You have to come from the east by Timothy Lake. Expect a longer drive and rougher roads.
Addendum: we have not confirmed that the route has been cleared, but the repairs should be complete by now.

Portland

Portland Oregon Visitors Association

Metro Washington Park Zoo

Rose Garden
Portland "test" gardens with many, many varieties of roses. Lots of adjoining park area.

Japanese Garden
Never been there, costs money. Supposed to be good.

Crystal Ballroom
Amazing dance floor, but ballroom dancing is usually only on scattered Sundays. The rest of the time, they just host rock bands and such.

McMenamins Theatre Pubs
Beer at the movies. Over 21 for most showings.

Powell's Bookstore
Main store occupies an entire city block in Portland. Powell's Technical Bookstore is down the street.

Oregonian
Local newspaper. Might have upcoming local events.

Yahoo's guide.
Yahoo's Portland guide. Search for yourself.

Portland Restaurants

Marrakesh - (downtown) Morrocan. Sit on pillows on the floor. (about $16)
Bush Gardens - (downtown) Japanese. Private little rooms with the paper walls, if you ask. ($12-20)
Jakes Seafood - (downtown) One of five McCormick's in Portland. Fish flown in daily. ($13-20)
Harborside - (waterfront) Another McCormick's. Try the ostrich. ($15-20)
Rheinlander - (SE) German with atmosphere
China Delight - (Beaverton) excellent Chinese, ($6-10) (remember Seinfeld's soup nazi)
Mandarin Cove - (downtown) good Chinese
McMenamin's - (many locations) Great beer, greasy food, slow service. ($6 burgers)
Western Culinary Institute (chef school)- (downtown) Menu and quality varies greatly. Low cost seven course meal. Lots of fun. ($15-20)
Charthouse - (SW, on the hill) Steak. Average food, great view, somewhat inflated prices. (about $20)

Other Restaurants

Sternwheeler - (Columbia River) lunch or dinner cruise
Big River Grill - (Stevenson) General. The only real choice in Stevenson.
El Rio - (Stevenson) Cheap Mexican. The other choice. Closed off-season.

If you're stopping by the house, I have some free stuff I'm trying to get rid of.

AJ's Input

Multnomah Falls

There are basicly several hikes from Multonomah Falls. The shortest is to simply hike to a bridge that crosses just in front of the falls. Another is to continue on to the top of the falls. This is a short but steep hike. However, the path is paved almost the whole way so tennis shoes are adequate. A more ambitious option is to follow a trail that goes all the way to Larch Mountain.

Larch Mountain

Between Portland and Cascade Locks, less than 30 minutes off the highway. Starting from the right place, a very short hike with an astounding view. Generally quite easy, but with some steep steps near the end. On a clear day St. Helens, Ranier, Hood, and Jefferson are all visible. On a very clear day supposedly Shasta (in N. CA) is visible.

Mt. St. Helens

Very ambitious. The hike to the top is only about 5 miles, but goes through about 5000 feet of boulders, rubble, ash, and snow. Realisticly this is a 7-10 hour hike. If interested I need to know as soon as possible since permits are required. Also, this hike requires hiking boots and a day pack for clothing layers, water, and food.

Ape Cave

This is a great cave for those who are not caving (spelunking) experts. It is easy, but be prepared for cuts and scrapes. Rocks in the dark can so damage. This hike requires a flashlight per person.

Silver Falls

This is a good park for a diverse group. It has single falls hiking options, the full seven falls loop, and a park area (fields, tables, bathrooms, grills, etc.)

Bagby Hot Springs

As a day hike all you need is a bathing suit. However, this is a possibility for a mild backpacking incursion for one night. Day packs should be adequate since it is only about 1 mile in. There is a camping area with a waterfall about 1/4 mile beyond the springs.

[Editor's note: Actually, you aren't required to bring a bathing suit, so don't be surprised when the other visitors don't exercise the option]

Elk Mt. & King's Mt.

This is the most difficult hike I have done in Oregon per mile. Very steep most of the way and treacherous in places (especially when there is ice). Although both the Cascades and the Ocean can be seen from the top, there are easier peaks that have the same. The 'draw' of this hike is the difficulty itself.

Saddle Mountain

This is one of the easier peaks with both Cascade and Ocean views. However, it is also one of the more popular coastal range hikes.

Badger Lake

We did this one before we should have in the season. We never did get to the lake. It is not supposed to be a difficult hike but 6 ft deep snow made it hard. We were backpacking for this trip and did find some nice areas including a large meadow area (although it was a swamp due to snowmelt while when were there.

Detroit Lake

A large lake with camping and boat access. There are boat and jet-ski rentals.

[Editor's note: 2 hours from Portland, great jet-skiing/boating on a HUGE lake.]

Timothy Lake

A smaller lake than Detroit Lake with camping. This lake has no boat access and is therefore more serene.

Trillium Lake

This lake is right next to Mt. Hood and tends to be crowded. Camping here is usually full.