If your favorite way to experience a city is taking a stroll, downtown Portland’s South Waterfront is a delightful excursion, complete with natural beauty, boutique shopping (tax-free!) and scrumptious, high-quality dining. There is plenty of outdoor seating and an esplanade to saunter through.
You can cross Naito Parkway at SW Market Street (the 1600 block of downtown), then head to the South Waterfront past the Riverplace Hotel, where guests are enjoying Happy Hour on the patio of Three Degrees, a fabulous farm-to-table restaurant. As you round the corner, you will be met with a wonderful view of the marina, where a fun variety of boats are docked. You can – literally – watch them pass by as you enjoy a glass of wine and share a Baked Brie covered with puff pastry at Thirst Wine Bar and Bistro (0315 SW Montgomery Street), Umpqua Ice Cream at Little River Café (0315 Southwest Montgomery Street #310) or a complete seafood dinner at McCormick and Schmick’s Harborside at the Marina (0309 SW Montgomery Street). If you want a special treat, enjoy a Pork Belly Taco and a margarita at Three Degrees’ “TD’s” pop-up bar outside the hotel – just pull up a stool and dig in! There is a really happy vibe to this seasonal joint and the tacos (and the salsa!) are unbelievably flavorful (Huffington Post called it one of the Top 10 pop-up dining experiences – in the WORLD!).
You can also take a refreshing pause at South Waterfront Park Garden, and contemplate enjoying a tour or kayak rental with Portland Kayak Company (6600 SW Macadam – call 503-459-4050 for reservations). You might also see crews training for the Portland Dragon Boat Races, which are an intrinsic part of the Portland Rose Festival each June (this is a fun team sport that adventurous and team-spirited Portlanders participate in). The colorful boats are just lovely!
When you are exploring the South Waterfront, you are a short walk to the North from the Portland Spirit docking station, Salmon Springs Fountain and Kerr Bicycle Rentals (get a two or four-person “surrey with a fringe on top”!) at SW Naito Parkway and Salmon Street, or the Portland Streetcar, even more shops and restaurants and the Aerial Tram further South.
This is a cherished section of downtown Portland that you are sure to enjoy!
Rick
8 years agoA wonderful area to enjoy our beautiful Willamette River! So great that it is clean for swimming now in downtown Portland, too.