Your Portland Adventure Checklist

Gather round Amtrak blog fans, we’re about to take a deep dive into all things Portland. Never thought about visiting PDX? That will likely change after this. We have three routes that pass through this hipster home base every day – Amtrak Cascades, Coast Starlight and the Empire Builder – and after Ashley of Local Haven dishes about her top spots for food, family-fun, cocktails and local brews, you’ll want to book your ticket today.

Amtrak: How long have you lived in the Portland area and what do you love most about living there?
Ashley: This December it will be 10 years! It is pretty hard to beat the Pacific Northwest, but Portland specifically gives you everything you need, the mountains nearby, the ocean not too far away, great food, really good beer and lots of coffee.

For the Amtrak traveler looking to get a taste of local Portland, what are a few of your favorite local spots to grab a bite to eat?
Oh, that is a hard yet easy question. Hard because there are so many great places, but easy, because we are lucky on the amount of good food around every block. A few of my favorite places…Lovely Fifty Fifty, Kachka, Boke Bowl, Luce, and Broder Nord for breakfast.

Our riders also like an adult beverage here and there. Do you have any recommendations for great places to try a local beer or cocktail?
Clyde Common makes a great cocktail, as does Expatriat and Barwares, Oso Market + Bar is great too. And Nonna is currently one of my favorites. In the beer department, we are surrounded by great smaller breweries. Hopworks Urban Brewery and Breakside Brewery are two of my favorites in Portland. Outside of Portland, in the Hood River area, we have the incredible pFriem, Double Mountain, and Everybody’s Brewing. We are pretty lucky out here!

Can you tell us some of your favorite family-friendly places our riders should look into?
The Portland Zoo is pretty incredible, as is the Portland Children’s Museum right next door. There are several great children’s theaters in the area that put on fun performances. Oaks Amusement Park is in the area, as is Salt & Straw, the best ice cream around.

What are a few Portland sites every visitor should see before hopping back on the train.
Powell’s Books, Forest Park, a really good coffee shop like Heart Coffee, VooDoo Doughnuts, and our amazing selection of Food Carts. And for a good view, take a ride on the Portland Tram.

Ashley gave us a bunch of great recommendations for visiting her city. Now it’s your turn. Let us know your favorite Portland sites to visit in the comment section below.