Lesbian Travel Guide to Portland, Oregon

4.2K

Portland, Oregon is one of our favourite cities to visit in the United States! Nestled in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, the “rose city” is laid back, incredibly lesbian friendly, and the kind of quirky destination that we love to hang out in for a few days. The people in Portland are friendly and inclusive, and it’s a city where lost arts seem to thrive. You’ll find incredible vintage shops for everything from clothes to furniture, independent record stores with wall to wall classic albums, old historic movie theatres still going strong, and an independent book store that takes up an entire city block. There seems to be an appreciation for things of the past, and a slowed down way of life. It’s one of our top US road trip destinations, and every time we visit we fall more and more in love. Keep reading for our lesbian guide to Portland! 

Where to Stay

The Willamette River that runs through the city, divides Portland into the East side and West side. Depending on what your preferences are, both sides are great places to stay when you come for a visit.

East Side

East Portland is the perfect spot to stay if you like to live like a local when you travel. It’s home to charming neighbourhoods, as well as some of the best restaurants, bars, and cafes the city has to offer. As a whole, Portland is very inclusive and welcoming of the LGBTQ+ community, and the east side feels particularly so. You will see signs on front lawns saying that “diversity is celebrated here”, “love wins”, and “all people are equal”. And in the windows of businesses all over the city are posters stating that all sexual orientations and genders are welcome. East Portland also has some neighbourhoods that are especially popular among the lesbian community specifically, including the Hawthorne and Alberta areas. Our favourite east side spot is the Buckman neighbourhood, which is walking distance to the best parks, cafes, and breweries. If you choose to stay in East Portland, we recommend booking an Airbnb so you can have a local’s experience. 

West Side

West Portland is a really great choice if you want to be downtown and in the middle of all the action. It’s neighbourhoods are lively and eclectic, and the West side of the city is home to some of Portland’s most iconic spots. The downtown area is full of great places to stay at adorable boutique hotels, and is perfect if you love being in the centre of the city. Our favourite neighbourhood on the west side is the Pearl District, which is filled with artisan cafes, indie shops, galleries, museums, and great restaurants. It has undeniable charm and energy. West Portland is also home to some of Portland’s gay nightlife, as well as the best shopping, food trucks, and a Saturday market. If you choose to stay in West Portland, we recommend staying at Staypineapple. Staypineapple has locations throughout the US and is incredibly dog friendly! They also have free bike rentals, so you can explore Portland like a local!

What to Do

Portland is the city of amazing food, the best coffee, and incredible craft beer. So naturally we love it! It’s also full of beautiful green spaces, independent shops, and quirky businesses. Below is our list of “must dos” for your trip, and includes all of the things that are iconically Portland!

Powell’s City of Books

Powell’s is a landmark in Portland. Located in the Pearl District, this independent book shop sells both new and used books, including rare and out of print publications, and is the largest of it’s kind in the world. Covering an entire city block, a visit to Powell’s can easily eat up an afternoon, but it will be well worth it. 

Food Carts

Portland has hundreds of food carts scattered around the city, and many of them are organized into food cart pods, or lots with multiple carts. You can’t visit PDX without hitting up a food cart, and because there are so many, you’ll easily find one that you love.

City Parks

Portland has a number of beautiful parks to visit including Washington Park, Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Forest Park, Mt. Tabor Park, Rhododendron Garden, and the Portland Japanese Gardens. The city boasts itself on being full of green space, and you can pretty much find a beautiful park to admire in any Portland neighbourhood. 

Women’s Soccer

Portland is an awesome place to catch a women’s soccer game! The Portland Thorns are reigning NWSL champions and draw an incredible crowd. They boast a roster full of fan favourites such as Christine Sinclair, Tobin Heath, and Adrianna Franch. The team has an enthusiastic official supporters club, the Rose City Riveters, who help to create an incredible stadium atmosphere. Support for the women’s team cannot be compared, and they often draw crowds of more than 20,000 spectators. The story of this team has been heralded as one of the biggest success stories in women’s sports, and their partnership with the men’s team is just that; a partnership. The women have access to the same facilities, resources, and staff as the men’s team, and many of the players have said that, in rare fashion, the female players are treated equality to their male counterparts. For an amazing experience and to show your support to this amazing organization, be sure to catch a game while you’re in town!

Historic Cinemas

Put it on your list to catch a film while you’re visiting Portland! The city has so many amazing historic theatres that are independently run, scattered all over the East and West sides of the city. Laurelhurst Theater, Clinton Street Theater, McMenamins Theater, Cinema 21, Cinemagic, Academy Theater, Hollywood Theatre, Roseway Theater, Moreland Theater, Joy Cinema, and the list goes on.

Craft Breweries

If you’re into craft beer, then you’re visiting the right place. Portland is known for it’s incredible craft breweries, and amazing patios! Liquor laws in the city are strictly enforced though, so be prepared when you go out. If you’re non-American, you will need an international passport as a valid ID. See below for our favourite Portland breweries and pubs.

Where to Eat

Portland has a really great food scene, and it’s one of the reasons why it’s such an awesome city to visit. It’s also a city that caters to many different dietary needs, especially vegan. PDX has been a leader in the plant-based food scene for years (even before it was trendy), and continues to offer amazing vegan options at most cafes and restaurants, as well as fully plant-based establishments that are fantastic. There is a vegan mini mall on Stark Street on the East side that includes our favourite Portland cafe Sweetpea Baking Co., as well as a vegan grocery store, and vegan clothing shop with animal friendly fashion and house wares. There is the well known doughnut shop, Voodoo Doughnut, which offers delicious vegan doughnuts, and the most amazing plant-based pizza place called Virtuous Pie. Portland has tons of vegan dining options, including casual daytime spots like Prasad, and Rabbits Cafe on the West side, and Papa G’s Vegan Organic Deli on the East side. It also has some great vegan dinner spots including a modern Middle Eastern and Israeli restaurant called Aviv, and a South American eatery called Epif. Portland really has it all, from food carts, to upscale dining. Whatever you’re into, you’ll find it!

Where to Drink

Coffee

There are hundreds of cafes in Portland, and most of them serve really good coffee. You’ll be able to get a solid latte pretty much everywhere you go, but when it comes to the actual quality of the coffee the only thing that really matters is the beans. If you’re looking for a top quality single origin pour over coffee, be sure to look out for these local roasters while you’re in Portland. All of these roasters have direct relationships with the farmers they buy their beans from, and pay appropriately for the superior quality they ask for. So even though these coffees will cost you more than your regular cup, it’s worth it for the exquisite nuances in flavour, and for the fact that the extra dollar or two is contributing to a fair wage for the workers at the source.

Heart Roasters

I love Heart, and I often pick up their beans at home in Vancouver, BC. They carry a variety of beans from Central and South America as well as Africa, and their delicate roasts tend to be more on the fruity and floral side. If you’re looking for people who know their coffee, go to Heart! But you’re going to have to drink your coffee hot, since the idea of iced coffee is sacrilegious to their Finnish owner.

Coava Coffee Roasters

This unique roasting company was started by a guy roasting coffee out of his garage! All the roasters on this list have great relationships with their producers, but this guy takes it to the next level. The incredibly high level of quality in the beans they source not only gives us amazing coffee to drink, it also helps the producers of these top notch beans pay their workers well.

Ristretto Roasters

Ristretto is all about small batch roasting, and they roast their beans daily, so they’re always fresh. They tend to stick to medium roasts, and have a variety of single origins and blends that change seasonally. Again, I would stick to the single origins to get a full appreciation for their quality.

Stumptown Roasters

Chances are you’ve heard of Stumptown. They pretty much put Portland on the map when it comes to high quality coffee. Now you can find their beans and cafes all over the country, including several in NYC. They roast beans from the usual locations such as Africa and Central America, but also have a direct trade relationship with producers in Indonesia, which is less common for single origin roasters. Stumptown carries several blends, but I would suggest sticking to their single origin beans!

Beer

Portland definitely has no shortage of amazing craft breweries, and one of the hardest decisions to make when visiting is what spots to choose! The city also happens to have an exorbitant variety of our favourite styles of beer, which can be harder to find in other parts of the country – most specifically, sours and hazy IPAs. Here are a few of our favourite bars and breweries, and why we love them so much!

Cascade

Cascade is like the holy grail of sour beers. They have over a dozen sour beers on tap at any given time, and are definitely considered specialists in the genre. Their beers are skillfully barrel aged and can run on the expensive side, but if you enjoy sour beers, then Cascade is a must when you’re in Portland! Bonus: their patio is now dog friendly!

Ecliptic

Ecliptic is a relatively young Portland Brewery and was founded by the former Deschutes brewmaster responsible for many of their signature beers. Ecliptic is quirky and creative and I always enjoy seeing the interesting brews they come up with. They always have delicious hazy IPAs and creative sours, so they tend to keep us both happy!

Deschutes

The Deschutes brewery is located in Bend, Oregon, but they have a pub in a very central spot in downtown Portland. They have a well-rounded line up of year round beers, and an eclectic list of seasonals, special releases, and experimental beers. This pub will definitely have something for every type of beer drinker in your group. 

Loyal Legion

If you’re looking to sample a variety of Oregon beers, but you only want to go to one spot, then look no further! The Loyal Legion is a trendy beer hall with 99 Oregon craft beers on tap! If you’re indecisive… good luck! They have vegan food options, and beers to satisfy every taste.

*If you want to ensure your drinks are vegan, try using this handy tool: Barnivore is a site that allows you to search for your favourite beers, wines, and liquors, to make sure they’re vegan friendly!

Lesbian Scene

Portland doesn’t have a designated “gaybourhood” because there are multiple neighbourhoods that are popular with the LGBTQ+ community, and there are queer establishments all over the city. As we mentioned above, there are a couple of specifically lesbian friendly neighbourhoods on the East side, but overall, the entire city is very welcoming. Our favourite place for queer women in the city has to be a bar that opened up in 2022 called The Sports Bra. This amazing queer-owned space is a sports bar that shows only women’s sports, and queer women have flocked to it. We went to watch a WNBA playoff game and the place was packed! Another new queer spot, a lesbian bar called Doc Marie’s has recently opened up in Portland, but not without controversy. It you’re looking for some nightlife, and a place where you can go out with your partner, or maybe meet some other queer folx, we recommend Crush, a mixed bar on the East side in the Buckman neighbourhood. Crush has been voted the best queer bar in Portland every year since 2015, and they host meet-ups and social events for different members of the community, as well as newbies to the scene. We spent a night out at Crush and felt completely at ease with the crowd. It felt really inclusive, and there were plenty of other queer women and couples enjoying a night out, mixed in with other folx in the community. Other popular spots for lesbians and other LGBTQ+ people include Holocene, and Scandals, and there are also dance parties for women that happen monthly called Hot Flash Productions. The gay culture in Portland is vibrant, visible, and everywhere! It feels like one of the most gay friendly cities we’ve ever visited, and that’s another reason why we love it so much.

Dog Friendly

We love travelling with our small, 8lbs dog Theo, and find ourselves visiting dog friendly cities again and again. Portland is a very dog friendly destination, another reason why it’s such a wonderful place. Although the state of Oregon has strict regulations that don’t allow dogs inside cafes and restaurants (this is standard in the US), Portland has tons of dog friendly patios! Many of them make their patios super comfy with heaters and blankets so pet lovers can keep bringing their doggies out even in the chillier months. Some places even offer dog items on the menu! On top of having plenty of dog friendly patios, Portland also has a lot of dog parks (far more than most cities), so there are plenty of places to bring your furry friend. Our favourite Portland spot to bring our pup is Java Hound Cafe, a pet supply store with a coffee bar in the front entrance, where you can enjoy a latte with your dog. Theo was lucky enough to score a puppuccino on our last visit, and all of the staff were very friendly to him. Portlanders love their dogs, and they are allowed in many shops and businesses as long as they don’t serve food. It’s a great city to visit with your canine companion, with plenty of dog friendly activities, and it’s nice knowing that the locals are all dog lovers themselves. We choose to stay in pet friendly Airbnb’s when we road trip to Portland, because it’s comfy for Theo, and they’re often near parks where he can run around and play. 

How to Get Around

Whenever we visit Portland, we road trip down and visit with a car. We find it to be a fairly drivable city, however there are a lot of one way streets and cyclists, and like any major city, parking downtown is expensive. For this reason, and because there is so much great beer to drink, we tend to use other means of transportation to get around the city once we arrive, and Portlanders seem to do the same thing. The city as a whole is very environmentally conscious, so you will see a lot of locals riding bikes, using ride shares and car shares, walking, and taking public transit. Here are some of the best ways to get around Portland.

On Foot

Portland is a walkable city within the different neighbourhoods. For example, if you’re hanging out on the East side on Alberta Street, there are many places to walk to in that area, but getting to other spots in the city on foot would be tricky since some pockets are quite spread out. Once you find your way between the different Portland neighbourhoods, walk around and feel the vibes of the different communities!

Ride-Sharing

Uber and Lyft are both available in Portland, and trips from the East side to downtown and vice versa are only around $8. We used this option several times when we stayed in East Portland and wanted to get across the river, and it was hassle free and fairly inexpensive.

Public Transit

Portland has a well-serviced network of buses, light-rail, and streetcars to get you all over the city. They used to have a free transit zone in the downtown core, however they discontinued the complementary service in 2012. This means you now have to pay for your trip on public transit, but the fares are very reasonable ($2.50 for an adult single ride or $5 for a day pass).

Bike Share

The bike sharing network in Portland is called Biketown, the name paying homage to the Nike sportswear giant who got their humble, waffle iron start in Oregon. The bike share is easy to use through a simple app on your phone, and seems to be quite popular. There is a $5 sign up fee, and then all trips are billed at 8 cents per minute. Unlike other bike shares, bikes must be docked at designated docking stations, and cannot be left anywhere once you’re finished with them. 

Scooter Share

Our favourite growing trend is the introduction of shared electric scooters that are scattered around cities all around the world. Scooters are a great way to get around Portland, because there are so many bike lanes and paths to ride on safely. Be sure to download the apps Lime,  Bird and Spin to try zipping around the city!

 

Has anyone else fallen in love with Portland? Let us know your favourite things about the city in the comments below!