Dog-Friendly Itinerary for Portland
For my birthday, my family, Willo and I took a trip to Oregon. I’ve been to the coast a few times, but have never gotten to spend time in Portland. After a weekend spent in Pacific City, we decided to spend a couple of days exploring Portland.
We stayed in a North Portland neighborhood called Boise. While Portland has a ton of nice hotels, my family and I decided to rent a house on HomeAway so we could have a little more space and a backyard for Willo to run around in.
I thought North Portland was the perfect area to stay in. We were located right off a street called Mississippi that had tons of bars and restaurants, a couple of minutes from Alberta Arts District and just a 5-10 minute drive from downtown Portland.
On our first day there, we decided to check out Alberta Arts District and stop for brunch at Tin Shed. It’s such a cute brunch space that allows you to bring your dogs inside, and also has a dog menu of brunch and dessert.
When we got there, even for a Monday it was busy. We decided to put our name in and walk around for a little while. There were so many cute boutiques and coffee shops up and down that street that I could have spent hours there.
We stopped in this super cool pet store called The Filling Station Pet Supplies where they had a ton of yummy treats and a lot of great pet brands. They are called the filling station because you can put together your own goodie bags for your dog, kind of like a candy store.
At Tin Shed we stuffed ourselves with brunch food and mimosas, I got the Scratch Biscuit Benedict and Willo got the Doggie Dessert: House-made peanut butter banana ice cream with yogurt and a dog biscuit, because she already had breakfast.
After brunch we walked down to an ice cream shop called Salt & Straw, which is a really popular and delicious place on the west coast. Their ice cream was so creamy and I still dream about it until this day. Willo also got a bite of some plain vanilla ice cream because she’s spoiled.
The second day we woke up to what the newscaster kept calling a “soaker,” but what else can you expect in the pacific northwest? We didn’t let the rain stop us from chasing waterfalls.
Being from Arizona, I don’t get to visit many waterfalls, so we had to take a drive out to the Colombia River Gorge to see a few of the many waterfalls that area has to offer, and do a few easy dog-friendly hikes. It was just around a 45-minute drive from Portland and so worth it.
The first fall we stopped at was Wahkeena Falls. The parking lots are clearly marked. Most of them also have trailheads that take you closer and are clearly marked as well. We wanted to stick to easier hikes since it was a bit rainy, and Wahkeena Falls was just a quick 0.4 mile hike. I really loved this one because it wasn’t as crowded and you could walk right up to the waterfall.
This is how Willo felt about the rain and crowds at Multnomah Falls
We then had to stop at the most popular and the tallest of waterfalls, Multnomah Falls, which is a good 620 feet tall. It’s your typical tourist attraction, with coffee carts, ice cream, a souvenir shop and a restaurant (and a bathroom!). We had the option to hike from Wahkeena Falls to Multnomah Falls, but again, it was rainy and wet.
Multnomah falls also has a really intense trail of switchbacks you can take up to the top of it. Multnomah falls was difficult to find parking at, even on a rainy Tuesday. I would recommend getting there early or be prepared to wait for a spot. There’s no parking along the side of the highway.
After our exciting waterfall trip, we headed downtown for a much-needed lunch. We went to Grasa, where they serve handcrafted pasta. It was so delicious... my mouth is watering typing this. 10/10 would recommend. They did have one table outside, so you can bring your dog as long as it’s not too busy!
We didn’t get as much time there as we needed. I still wanted to explore breweries and eat a ton more food, but we will have to save that for next time.
Here is a list of recommended eats from our friends in Portland:
Brunch:
Screen Door
Pine State Biscuits
Jam on Hawthorne
Mothers
Petite Provence
Lunch/Dinner:
Miruken Ramen
Por Que No
Tilt
Pdx sliders
Yama Sushi
Luc Lac (really good happy hour 4-7PM but it gets packed)
Le Chon
Grasa for pasta
We’re hoping to visit Portland again next spring for the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival!
Check out the map below for dog friendly eats, waterfalls and more.