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Portland Tips and Trivia

courtesy of PortlandNeighborhood.com

Population
545,140; ~2 million in the Portland metropolitan area

Miles from Portland to a glacier
65 miles to the Palmer Glacier on Mount Hood. At 11,239 feet Mount Hood is the tallest peak in Oregon. Mount Hood, like Mount St. Helens, is a dormant volcano.

Portland Weather
Average Portland Temperatures Winter, ~40 °F, Summer, 80 °F. And we do get our fair share of summer scorchers (90-100+ °F). 40 to 45 inches of rain per year (way less than our Seattle sisters!). Our winter rain is usually a constant sprinkle or drizzle that keeps everything nice and damp. And Portlanders don't use umbrellas or wear ponchos. But we love to rock colorful galoshes and other funky rain gear.

TRAVEL TIP: Bring a thick hoodie (or other rain-resistant jacket) and a scarf to stay comfortable in Oregon’s fall weather. It may not be very cold while you're here,, but the dampness might make it seem colder than it is. Throw in some gloves or a hat if you are one of those "I'm always cold" types. Dress in layers. Bring rain-friendly shoes or boots.

Airport
A taxi from the airport to downtown is around $30.00. Hop on the light rail (the MAX) for less than $3.00. Travel Tip: Get to the airport early for your flight home. Three of Portland's brew pubs have locations at the airport (Rogue, Laurelwood, and Bridgeport), so stop by for a pint before catching your plane.

Area Codes
503 and 971-- you must use all ten digits when dialing a phone number in our city

Gas
Oregon and New Jersey are the only states without self-serve gas stations. Yep, you are not allowed to pump it yourself! Don't even try!!

TRAVEL TIP: Save yourself some money and don't rent a car, unless you really want the freedom of having a car. The MAX Line is a very reliable and easy way to travel between the airport, downtown, the Expo Center, and after-party locations. Please double-check with your hotel where the closest MAX Line station is, and if they offer a free airport shuttle.

Shopping
No sales tax in Oregon! No kidding!

Free wireless
There are over 100 spots where one can hookup to the Internet for free. Surf in Pioneer Square, PGE Park and many local parks and neighborhoods. A big thanks to the The Personal Telco Project.

Birth of Pan-Asian food?
Our number of bento carts (Japanese box lunch) will give New York hot dog stands a run for their money! Sold on street corners all over downtown.

Biggest book store EVER
Powell's City of Books. The largest used and new bookstore in the world, Powell's City of Books has been wowing locals and visitors alike since 1971. The store spans an entire city block. It will take you hours to traverse the nooks and crannies and color coded sections but you will love every minute of it.

Beer!
Last count finds 28 breweries within the city-- the largest concentration of breweries of any city in the US. We bet that number changes (+) every week. BridgePort Brewing Co., was Oregon's first craft brewery.

Travel Tip: Check out our review of the Top Ten Breweries in Portland in the Visit Portland section of the NWK website. Portland beer is the best!

Roses
The International Rose Test Garden (located in Washington Park) features more than 500 varieties of roses cultivated since 1917.

Strip Clubs!
Portland reportedly has more strip clubs per capita than both Las Vegas and San Francisco.

Random trivia

• The Columbia River separates Oregon from Washington (Vancouver, WA is located just over the bridge-- about 6 miles from downtown Portland).
• Pioneer Courthouse Square has been dubbed "Portland's living room"
• The famous Nike "swoosh" logo was designed by University of Oregon student, Carolyn Davidson in 1964. This was just four years after business undergrad Phil Knight and track coach Bill Bowerman founded the company they originally called Blue Ribbon Sports. Rumor has it Ms. Davidson was paid $35 dollars for her design
• Portlanders supposedly eat more ice cream than any other city per capita. Weird.

Portland nicknames and their origin

• City of Roses, or The Rose City - Our climate is favorable to roses. We are home to the amazing International Rose Test Garden, and the Peninsula Park Rose Garden, among others.
• Bridgetown - we have lots of bridges spanning the Willamette river downtown. From the North, they are the St. John's, Fremont, Broadway, Steel, Burnside, Morrison, Hawthorne, Marquam, Ross Island, and Sellwood bridges.
• Puddletown - well...this is fairly obvious. 36+ inches of rain a year makes a whole lot o'puddles.
• PDX - our airline code, and commonly used nickname. Stumptown - Back in the day, we used to be a big logging town, and there were many fir stumps left as a result.
• P-Town - just another shortened nickname for Portland.

Portland Geography Slang

• No' Po' - refers to North Portland.
• The Sunset - Refers to Highway 26, which runs East-West and explains the blinding angle of the sun's rays shining into your eyes as you attempt your commute West back home to Beaverton or Hillsboro.
• The Coov - refers to Vancouver, a city north of Portland in Washington. Vancouver is another popular residence for people who commute into the city to work each day.
• "The Mountain is Out" - this means it is a clear day and you can see Mount Hood in the distance, a favorite Portland postcard image. Or maybe you'll see Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens all at once, if you are lucky enough to have that vantage point!
• The Gorge - refers to the Columbia River Gorge, a stunning and very popular natural area and favorite weekend getaway for Portland locals.
• Willamette - The Willamette River runs through downtown and separates east and west Portland. It's pronounced with the accent in the middle, wil-LAM-ette, and not WILL-am-ette.
• Other Common Portland Terms The MAX - refers to Tri Met's light rail train (Metropolitan Area Express).
• Fareless Square - Ride the MAX for free in this geographical area. All MAX trips that begin and end within Fareless Square are free-all day, every day. Fareless Square includes most of downtown Portland, as well as MAX stations from the Rose Quarter to Lloyd Center Mall.
• OMSI (pronounced AHM'zee), is the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
• Pill Hill - Oregon Health Sciences University is located on "the hill" South of Downtown Portland. The entire area is often referred to as "Pill Hill".