12 Fun, Fall Portland Activities

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In Portland, fall brings much more than pumpkin spice everything, a chill in the air and changing leaves. Just outside the doors of our boutique hotel in Portland, you’ll find a lineup of compelling Portland, Oregon attractions this season! From feasts for the palate to those for the eyes and ears, don’t miss the best time to visit with these ideas:

  1. Eat your way through PDX at Feast Portland: September 12-15. Hotel Eastlund is a proud sponsor of Feast Portland — an annual four-day Mecca of local restaurant dinners, an East v. West chef battle, a night market, features from Northwest breweries, wineries and cideries, local chef tastes and more.
  2. Say “Prost” at Oktoberfest at Portland Zoo: September 28. Just $12 gets you zoo admission after 4 p.m., music from the Live Alpine band, samples of fall German beverages from local breweries and cider houses, lawn games, and an ambassador animal meet-n-greet.
  3. Kick leaves under the Forest Park fall canopy. This public municipal park west of downtown Portland is one of the country’s largest urban forest reserves with miles of parks and trails, and fall colors ablaze across both new and old growth trees.
  4. Get in the game with the Timbers! Our location makes us one of the few hotels near Providence Park, home of the Portland Timbers, and the soccer season has just begun! Check out the fanfare and snag some great seats.
  5. Draw inspiration from the Fall Home and Garden Show: October 3-6. Held at Portland Expo Center, wander through how-to demonstrations, an artisan and holiday marketplace, kid zone, plant and nursery marketplace, container garden competition, and Oregon tree display.
  6. Celebrate AppleFest: October 12. Oregon Heritage Farms celebrates all things apple. Enjoy hayrides, apple variety tastings, an apple rope maze, live music from a Johnny Cash cover band, face painting and juggling make this a family affair.
  7. Take the family to The Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island. So close to the city yet a world apart, this 52-year-old farm offers produce, an animal barn, u-cut flowers, a produce market, a gift shop and café, and “The Bigfoot Maize!”
  8. Get spooked at The Fear PDX Funhouse Screampark: Sept. 20-Nov. 9. Not recommended for little ones, The Fear offers four unique scream-inducing funhouses in one: Dead City, Dark Carnival, The Doll Factory, and The Mansion. Open Friday and Saturday evenings with select weekday hours, too.
  9. Swoon over Westside Story: October 10-27. The Winningstad Theatre’s stage production of this classic love story brings themes of gang rivalry and forbidden love backed by energetic songs and impassioned choreography.
  10. Gaze at the Grotto’s Gardens. Known as a place of “peace, prayer and natural beauty,” see stunning fall blooms on two levels of The Grotto’s gardens, with its ever-changing, lovingly landscaped show of flora and fauna, water features and plenty of meditative resting spots.
  11. Squishing of the Squash at Portland Zoo: October 18. There’s something oddly satisfying in this “you’ll-only-see-it-here” fall event! Witness some of the world’s largest land animals demolish the Portland area’s largest pumpkins, part of Portland Zoo’s run-up to its “Howloween” events.
  12. Celebrate Portland Taiko’s 25th Anniversary: November 2-3. Thundering drums, intense dance performance, and culture! Portland Taiko blends the tradition of Japanese taiko drumming with a sense of Asian-American identity, creativity, and empowerment. Special featured guests appear alongside the Kalabharathi School of Dance (Oregon). PSU Lincoln Performance Hall.

Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, a stay at our downtown Portland hotel means you’ll be close to the best destinations, restaurants, and things to do in Portland. The team at Hotel Eastlund looks forward to helping you discover our beautiful city.