Oregon's largest city is a great place to be broke. There's plenty of activity for the cash strapped in Portland. The city is steeped in natural beauty with two rivers running through it and thousands of acres of forested park land. Public transit is free in the "fare-less square" area of downtown, and there's always somewhere worth biking. Hearty riders here bike rain or shine. Summers are packed with free events.
Biking
Welcome to the United States' most bike-friendly city. Portland's neighborhoods are connected by an ever-expanding network of bike boulevards, bike parking is plentiful and the city Office of Transportation hosts multiple free rides every summer. Check out the monthly summer Sunday Parkway rides, when miles of city streets are closed to car traffic and parks along the way host mini-festivals. Ride the 21-mile paved Springwater Corridor along the Willamette River, past wetlands, fields and buttes. Off-road riding through lush northwest forests is also equally accessible. Powell Butte and Pier Park have some of the area's best cyclo-cross terrain.
Hiking
Stay in the city or head to the spectacular Columbia River Gorge just east of Portland. You can't go wrong with a walk in the woods here. Forest Park, in northwest Portland, has more that 50 miles of trails winding through dense trees and ferns. Angels rest, about 20 miles east of Portland, is a showcase of western gorge wonders. The grueling five-mile hike passes a 150-foot waterfall and ends atop a windswept bluff overlooking the Columbia.
Gardens
The Rose City is blooming with places to stop and smell the flowers. Check out the world-renowned International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park northwest of downtown. The garden, operating continually since 1917 as a testing ground for new varieties, has beautiful views of the downtown skyline and Mt. Hood to the east.
Music & Movies
Summer nights in Portland parks are packed with free fun. Parks throughout the city host free weekly concerts on the lawn in July. The parks department also runs a "movies in the park" series with live music from June to September. Schedules are available online.
Markets & Art Walks
Portland's Saturday Market in Riverfront Park is a showcase of local handmade goods, foods and music. The market is open Saturdays and Sundays from March to Christmas Eve day and is a fantastic starting place for a walk along the river, across the Hawthorne Bridge to the Vera Katz Esplanade along the Willamette River's east bank. If you can't make the market, check out the monthly Thursday night art walk. First Thursdays in the Pearl District and Last Thursday in the Alberta Arts district are two of best.
Parks
There's always someplace to play in Portland. The city houses the largest metro park in the continental United States (Forest Park, 5,000 acres), the smallest park in the country (Mill Ends) and the only extinct volcano within city city limits in the continental United States (Mt. Tabor). You can't go wrong with kids on the ginormous play structure at Washington Park.
Birding
Portland's rivers,the Willamette and the Columbia, are home to hundreds of species of birds. Visit Oaks Bottom along the Willamette or Smith and Bybee lakes near the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette for a look at blue heron, hawks, bald eagles and many of their flying friends.
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