Hey all! I'm going to be visiting Portland from San Diego in early Feb. The only sure things I know I'm going to do are to hit Cascade and HotD. I need some help in finding some other things to do while up in the area. Not looking for completely beer-centric things either, just fun things to do up there. Note: I did check Beerfly, but couldn't really find anything that stood out. Note 2: Depending on space I may be able to bring some goodies with me (Alpine, White Chocolate, TREAT, BORIS and BA BORIS, Dark Lord among others...) if anyone would like to trade.
all the answers according to me http://goo.gl/maps/XwuEN fyi: we get lots of TREAT here, Alpine would be most welcome though. cheers
Assuming that eating and drinking aren't the only activities you plan to engage in (not that you couldn't fill your entire dance card just doing that), there are a lot of pretty cool things to do in the area. The Columbia Gorge is nearby, and makes for an enjoyable (scenic) drive. There are numerous waterfalls and hiking trails along the way as well. You can also drive over the Bridge of the Gods (just off of I-84, on the way to Hood River), and do the Beacon Rock hike (short, easy and scenic), and then stop off at the Bonneville damn viewing center. Staying over on the Washington side of the river, you can head back through Stevenson (visiting the Walking Man brewery/brewpub) over to White Salmon, where you can stop by EveryBody's Brewing. From there drive across the bridge back over to Hood River, where you can visit the original Full Sail brewery, Double Mountain and Big Horse brewpub. On the way back to Portland, stop off at the McM's Edgefield manor in Troutdale and wander around the grounds (enjoying either some McMeniman ales or some Edgefield wine). If you're into wine at all, the Williamette Valley wine growing area is no more than an hour south of town. If you're out that way anyway, and if you're into art at all, there are some enjoyable art galleries just outside of McMinnville on hiway 99. Beer-wise, there's Golden Valley brewpub in McMinnville, Heater Allen brewing (also in McMinnville - the website indicates it's cool to stop by the brewery on brew days, or you can call them during the week), and of course the Hotel Oregon (McMeniman's again; but the upstairs UFO bar is a great place to hang with a beer or some other libation). Depending how ambitious you are, you can also do a drive to the coast (checking out Pelican Brewpub, Rogue brewery in Newport and various places in Astoria - I recommend Ft. George myself), or you can drive up to the Mt. St. Helens visitor center. Have fun!
Go President's Day weekend for Zwicklemania if you can. Free beer & shuttles to breweries around town. It is a blast!
There are a ton of great beer bars here. If you have limited time, hit the usual suspects: Apex (the 800 pound gorilla of beer bars here, but cash only) Green Dragon Horse Brass Pub (the classic with lots of cask beer, as well) Baileys downtown has quality taps And then there are myriad other places to quench your thirst! The old school places to buy beer are Johns Market and Belmont Station.
