Portland with Kids

We will be in Portland later this month and need to find kid-friendly restaurants and activities in and around Portland. We aren%26#39;t renting a car, so it would need to be in the downtown area. The children are a boy, age 8, and a girl, age 3. They are my niece/nephew. We want to their parents to be able to relax and enjoy themselves. We have kicked around ideas like the Portland underground walking tour, and the boat ride up the river (we may rent a car just for these daytrips if necessary). Are these ideas kid-friendly? Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks in advance to the entire community!

Portland with Kids

I would suggest going to OMSI(Oregon Museum of Science %26amp; industry) on the east bank of the river. From here you have several options: Jetboat ride down the Willamette, submarine tour, OMSI exhibits. If you were going to rent a car I would suggest visiting the Columbia River Gorge or Mt. Hood as a day trip.

Portland with Kids

We had talked about the jet boat ride doen the river, sounds like fun. Are there several companies offering this or could I just google it?

Thanks!

Picnic at Jamieson Park (Fenouil provides you with the lunch basket and food), then a visit to Green Frog Toys on 11th and Marshall. They have a train table for the 3-year-old and an extensive marble track set-up for the 8-year-old. Just go by streetcar around the city for a while after that. That%26#39;s AT LEAST a day%26#39;s worth right there.

Not sure what an 8-year-old likes yet, but maybe the Children%26#39;s Museum might be too little for him, so OMSI would be better--especially that science wing.

By ';underground walking tour'; do you mean the shanghai tunnels tour? Because that isn%26#39;t for kids OR adults in my opinion.

In addition to OMSI, the Oregon Zoo is very enjoyable, and you can take the train over to the Rose %26amp; Japanese Gardens. OMSI is one of the best science museums I have experienced. You can easily spend 5 hours here, especially if you include the IMAX theatre. Enjoy your trip!

Thanks %26#39;Oregone%26#39;, the Shanghi tour is the one, and I was thinking the same thing, but wanted to throw it out there. So many people have recommended the OMSI I don%26#39;t see how they won%26#39;t want to do that. They are having a film festival while we plan to be there, at the IMAX theatre, so that should be a highlight.

Any ideas on restaurants? With good food AND child friendly? Why are these two items so often mutually exclusive?

Thanks again.

Oaks Park may be an option if you like an old time roller rink and a mini-carnival like atmosphere.

http://www.oakspark.com/skating.html

For restaurants:

The Laurelwood up in NW (21st or 23rd? I forget.) is quite the kids%26#39; spot.

I%26#39;ve heard that Old Spaghetti Factory under the Marquam bridge near SoWa is kid friendly, but I%26#39;ve never been. That would be just a short walk from the end of the streetcar line so bonus.

People also say that Mother%26#39;s is kid-friendly, but I really don%26#39;t see what makes them better or worse than anything else downtown.

Thanks to everyone for the valuable input! As always the Trip Advisor forum is a great community!

Hi, I would definitely try to schedule some time for the Oregon Zoo, Washington Park is a lovely area to spend time in. I hope you enjoy your trip! :)

I definitely think it would be worth renting a car and getting out of the city for a day. Both of my kids are in the same age range as your niece and nephew (2 girls however) and they really love spending time in the gorge, especially feeding the fish at the hatchery at Bonneville Dam, exploring the waterfalls in the gorge, etc.

The other suggestions are all very good. Unfortunately, I don%26#39;t take them to dine downtown often. However, I have been to other Old Spaghetti Factory locations, and they both love it, and the adults do to. So, that is a really good suggestion.