Portland is a Mecca for craft beer lovers & A super fun city to explore!

PDX Tips:

There are so many breweries. Unless you live in the area or are staying for quite some time it is impossible to hit them all, so be sure to plan ahead so that you can visit the best of the best!
You don’t really need a car in Portland. Once you get to specific neighborhoods you can walk to many places and it’s not too big of a city. I personally preferred having a car so that I could do day trips, but would’ve otherwise been fine without one. Be prepared to do a lot of parallel parking if you decide to visit with a car
The weather in Portland can be very finicky—even with a 0% chance of rain it sprinkled and the sun really doesn’t like to come out until midday, so I would just recommend always having layers, one of which being a raincoat
You can’t pump your own (very expensive) gas in Oregon, just pull up to the pump and someone will come out to do it for you
Visiting Portland with your pup? Check out Pup Passport, a digital passport that lets dog owners have fun by exploring breweries and cideries with their dogs and get exclusive discounts at the same time!

Adventures & Ales Top Portland Recommendations:

Great Notion Brewing: Arguably one of the best breweries in the country, Great Notion is at the top of the list for places to visit in Portland! They have three taprooms in the area and each location has a slightly different tap list:
- Alberta Brewpub: Their original location and a must visit! They also have a nice outdoor space and a small sandwich menu
- NW Brewpub: Another great spot with somewhat more restaurant-vibes than the OG. They have fantastic murals and a large bar you can sit at
- Beaverton Taproom: Their suburb location a bit further out of town
Wayfinder Beer: Yummy beers, a massive patio, and a full food menu—highly recommend!
Cascade Brewing: The House of Sour! Cascade is an absolute must-visit in Portland. They specialize in Sour Ales and absolutely crush it. Their taproom has a small food menu, a great shaded patio space, and super nice staff members
Migration Brewing: A great brewery with four locations in town, but I would highly recommend the Rooftop at Canvas spot! It is right across from the soccer stadium and has amazing views of the city and surrounding volcanoes. The tap list at this location is small but the views make up for it.
Take a day trip to the Columbia River Gorge! Check out my full one day itinerary here with waterfall hiking and brewery hopping in Hood River!
Ruse Brewing: A fantastic brewery in South Portland making delicious beers in a chill environment

Bentley’s Bagels: Super delicious New York-style bagels!
Baerlic Brewing: A cute spot with good beers, patio seating, and Ranch Pizza onsite
Upright Brewing: Good beers made with lots of passion from their team. They have a shared space, so food is available from PBS Cafe. It is somewhat of an odd intersection, so Google Maps can be a little confused as you are trying to get there as a forewarning
Belmont Station: A great bottle shop and beer bar!
Crema Coffee & Bakery: A great coffeeshop with fantastic baked goods!
Ex Novo Brewing Co.: Detroit-style pizza + solid beers, what more do you need? Ex Novo is a cool spot that can be quite popular. They have two locations in the Portland area, one in north/central PDX on Flint Street and one in the suburb of Beaverton. Their menu was heavy on IPAs which I enjoyed!

Portland Tourist Spots Actually Worth Visiting:

Hike in Forest Park: The park itself is massive and can be quite popular. I followed this AllTrails out and back trail up to Pittock Mansion for an incredible view of Portland and Mount Hood. The trail was 6 miles, 70 flights up, and took about two hours and fifteen minutes.
Pine State Biscuits: Touristy but delicious biscuit spot! They have multiple locations throughout Portland and you can order online ahead of time if you’d like
Mount Hood National Forest: Mount Hood is only an hour from Portland and is a super easy drive. I recommend hiking Mirror Lake, it is conveniently right off the highway and has some incredible views of Mount Hood. I followed this AllTrails loop trail, which ended up being 4.3 miles, 40 flights up, and took about an hour and a half. It is not too strenuous of a trail and the reflections in the lake are awesome. You do need a $5 day pass to park which you can purchase in advance or on your phone day of.
Salt & Straw: Fantastic (but touristy) ice cream spot with multiple locations throughout Portland
Eat at a food cart! I have never seen so many food trucks/carts in my life as in Portland. There are so many options it is absolutely insane, so be sure to have that experience while you’re in the city.

Other Portland Things To Do:

Breakside Brewing: Breakside has two locations in Portland: Dekum and NW Slabtown. They have a full food menu and large beer menu
Culmination Brewing: A small brewery with solid IPAs. Miami Nice is the food truck onsite
Ecliptic Brewing: An average brewery with a nice outdoor space and full food menu
Life of Pie Pizza: Yummy pizza spot with daily happy hour from 11-6 with $7 Margherita pizzas and $5 House Beer and Wine
StormBreaker Brewing: An average brewery with a great outdoor space and full food menu
Hammer and Stitch Brewing Company: Newer brewery near Forest Park with a full food menu and large patio with standard beers
Albina Press: A cute little coffee shop on Hawthorne
Level Beer: Located right near the airport making it the perfect stop on your way in or out of the city. They have food carts onsite, a cute greenhouse-style outdoor space, and average beers

Have more time in the Pacific Northwest?

Take a trip to the beautiful Oregon Coast! Check out my one day Oregon Coast itinerary and recommendations here!
Head down to Bend, Oregon for small town vibes with a fantastic outdoorsy & beer scene. Full beer & travel guide here.
Drive up to Seattle, Washington! Seattle is about 2.5 hours north of PDX and a fun city to explore. Full beer & travel guide here.
Drive a bit further north to Vancouver, BC! Vancouver is one of my favorite cities I’ve visited, check out my full beer and travel guide here!

Check out my full guide to Portland!

Hike on the coast!

There are several hikes along the coast in Oregon, so it really depends on where you want to launch from. I did the Cape Lookout Trail which ended up being about 5.3 miles, 52 flights up, and took about 2 hours. It is just outside of the town of Tillamook, right on the coast.

The trail itself was a bit muddy and overgrown in certain parts, but it provided great views! I recommend starting early, I was the only one there at 8am and when I left at 10am it was pretty busy.

Tillamook

From the hike head into Tillamook, a sleepy little town just inland from the coast. People flock to Tillamook to visit the creamery, but don’t miss de Garde Brewing.

Tillamook Creamery

The hub of creamy cheese and ice cream! This is a massive tourist attraction in Tillamook overflowing with visitors. There is a self-guided tour you can walk through to learn more about the creamery process and then they have ice cream, cheese, grilled cheese, and burgers available on their food menu.

Five Rivers Coffee Roasters

A tasty coffee shop right across the street from the creamery!

de Garde Brewing

de Garde specializes in Spontaneously Fermented beers. All of their beer is produced in a coolship, then barrel aged, and then finally bottle conditioned. They have won a plethora of awards are are arguably the best brewery in Oregon. They are located right downtown in a small little taproom with a nice patio. Their tap list is small but mighty.

Rockaway Beach

A sleepy little beach town just north of Tillamook.

Cannon Beach

Cannon Beach is one of the more popular beach towns along the Oregon Coast. As a result, anticipate pretty terrible traffic and parking. The beach itself is dog friendly which makes everything more fun. You can also see the surrounding mountains from the beach.

Pelican Brewing

Pelican is extremely popular and has 3 locations—Cannon Beach, Pacific City, and Tillamook. They have a full food menu that is a bit pricey but tasty. I was honestly surprised by the quality of their beer because it is essentially a tourist hub that is more of a restaurant, but the beer was great!

Haystack Rock

A massive rock in the ocean that is worth seeing!

Astoria

Astoria is pretty large city located at the top of Oregon. The Columbia River separates the city from Washington to the North and the Pacific Ocean borders the city to the West. It is a port city and it is the oldest city in Oregon!

Fort George Brewery

Fort George is housed in a large building in the heart of Astoria. They have both the upstairs and downstairs of the building providing ample seating. They also have an elevated patio with views of the water and the city. They have a full food menu that is focused on pizza. Fort George makes fantastic beers, particularly IPAs and Sours.

Buoy Beer Co.

Buoy is located right on the ocean and provides great views of the surrounding water and mountains. They also have a full food menu if you arrive hungry. The inside space has a glass floor to look at the ocean and creatures below. Buoy can definitely be touristy because of its location but the beers were good and the views were worth it!

Have you checked out the Oregon coast?! What is your favorite spot? Let me know in the comments! Cheers —Alexis

Portland, OR

Portland is a Mecca for craft beer lovers & A super fun city to explore!

Adventures & Ales Top Portland Recommendations: