http://mazamas.org/activities-events/street-rambles/
Go here. Set aside time on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday night, and go on a street ramble. Especially if your new to Portland. For one of many reasons: 1) If you’re new to Portland and like myself odds are you are a novice hiker at best, and this is a good introduction to longer, hilly walks. 2) They take you to areas of Portland you might not have thought to visit otherwise 3) You meet really great people.
Mazamas sponsers a lot of hikes and climbing classes in the Portland and surrounding areas, but they also offer beginning to moderate level hikes to the public for a small ($2) fee each week. Tonight I went on a 3.25 mile hike from the Pearl District, up through the alphabet district, and up to the Portland Rose Gardens and the Hoyt Arbortorium. I had heard of these two places but had yet to figure out how to get to them. The hike went at a fairly mild pace, but it was an excellent work out, as by the time I finished my ass and thighs hurt like I had just run about 6 miles.
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to snap a pic of the scenery as I was turned off from technology (aka My battery was dying and I needed to find my bus stop)
Fun Portland Fact: The Alphabet District got its name because each of the streets, starting at Burnisde are in alphabetical order (Burnside, Couch, Davis, Everett, Flanders….and so on and so forth). This makes it a hell of a lot easier to find your way around. Also Ned Flanders from the Simpson was named for Flanders street, and Couch St. is indeed pronounced as Cooch so….there’s that.
EWR>PDX: Briana vs. Rose City 