Portland With Kids

As with all of our itineraries, we recommend taking it at a pace that works for your family. If your kids are really little, maybe plan on sticking to the rule of three: One thing to see, one thing to do, and one exciting meal per day. We give a lot of information here but the last thing we want is to make a trip feel stressful or insurmountable.

Portland is one of our favorite cities in the world. It's small enough to feel like you can get a grasp on it, but big enough to have creative people trying their ideas around every corner. And the food scene is one of the best in the country. Portland punches well above its weight in restaurants, breweries, and the inspirational kind of cooking that comes from a city where chefs can actually afford to take risks. Oh, and did we mention it's at the base of Mt. Hood?

With children, the city is easy — transit is great, there is plenty to do and aside from a few sketchy blocks downtown, it feels as welcoming as ever.

FRIDAY | ARRIVE, EAT, SETTLE IN TO BURNSIDE

Check into the Kex Hotel (~$120–200/night) and drop the bags. The Kex is the right base for this trip, and not just because of its location — though East Burnside puts you equidistant from nearly everything on this itinerary in a way that's hard to beat. Originally an Icelandic hostel concept, the Portland outpost has been executed as a boutique hotel with family bunk rooms that kids love (who doesn’t love feeling like they have their special own space?) The downstairs restaurant, Pacific Standard, turns out a great happy hour and dinner, and the hotel has a sauna and — from late spring through early fall — a rooftop bar that becomes one of the better places to be in the city on a warm evening. The rooftop runs seasonally and isn't always advertised — ask at check-in whether it's open during your stay.

First meal of the trip is at Nong's Khao Man Gai (~$10–15/person, open from morning). Nong Poonsukwattana started selling khao man gai — poached chicken over rice in bone broth — from a food cart on SW Alder in 2009, and what she built became one of the city's most beloved and most written-about culinary institutions. The dish is deceptively simple: silky rice cooked in broth, sliced poached chicken on top, a cup of clear golden broth on the side, and a dark, pungent dipping sauce that ties the whole thing together. It is one of the most satisfying things you will eat in Portland, at any hour, but it is especially right as a first meal — warming, restorative, and the kind of food that kids love. Nong's also bottles her famous sauce, available at the counter and in grocery stores around the city.

From Nong's, walk 20 minutes across the Burnside bridge (iconic with the Portland, Oregon sign) to Powell's Books (free to browse, open daily 9am–9pm). Portland's most famous institution occupies an entire city block and contains roughly a million books across nine color-coded rooms on multiple floors — new books, used books, rare books, and a children's section that is large enough to constitute its own destination. The staff recommendations are fun to read ; the rare books room on the upper level is worth a look even if you're not buying, and it’s also great to browse the fun souvenirs near the check out, but most importantly, there is a cafe serving up good coffee.

Dinner is at Kachka (~$35–55/person) — Chef Bonnie Morales, a first-generation American daughter of Belarusian immigrants, cooks the food of the former Soviet republics with deep personal knowledge and Pacific Northwest ingredients, and the result is one of the most singular restaurants in the country. Eater named it one of America's Essential Restaurants for four consecutive years and inducted it into their Hall of Fame. The room is kitsch-Soviet warm: floral plastic tablecloths, Soviet Dolls hanging from the ceiling, and a vast selection of vodka behind the bar. We like to go for happy hour, kids are welcome in the dining room and for $14 you can order their “combo meal” which includes a cabbage roll, a cup of soup, house bread & butter and pickles with a glass of kompot (a traditional, non-alcoholic fruit drink). It’s warming and hearty and a nice change from the chicken nugget/grilled cheese menus you see almost everywhere. The zakuski are famous here and kids who eat adventurously will have a wonderful time. Families are welcomed but we recommend going earlier to avoid the perpetual dinner rush.

SATURDAY | THE EAST SIDE, ALBERTA STREET, AND REALLY GOOD BEER

Start Saturday at Dos Hermanos Bakery (~$5-$15/person, open for breakfast and lunch). The bread is exceptional. The hojaldra is the thing to seek out: a laminated pastry layered with ham, cheese, and jalapeños, then more flaky dough, then sugar, then the oven — sweet and savory and a little absurd in the best way. The kids will love the conchas, the giant cookies and the morning buns. We ourselves are huge fans of the chopped sandwiches they begin serving at 10:30. Built on their own bread, you wonder why more people aren’t serving up chopped sandwiches everywhere. Directly out the back door is a food truck area with coffee, cocktails and covered patio seating.

From there, depending on the weather (this is the Pacific Northwest after all) either walk in the rain to Hopscotch (~$15–24/). 23,000 square feet of light, sound, and art that the kids and you will love. There is a glowing ball pit and a Quantum Trampoline which transforms into a responsive light display based on the movements of whoever's bouncing on it, and a bar which offers cocktails and mocktails and small bites that you can carry with you through the exhibits. The kids will love the Celestial Unicorn, a non-alcoholic butterfly pea lemonade with lavender and edible glitter on the rim: ridiculous and delightful and so fun. The last children's ticket is available at 5 pm daily.

If the sun is shining, head to Mt. Tabor Park (free, open 5am–midnight daily). Mt. Tabor is one of only four volcanoes located inside city limits in the United States, which is a fact you can tell your kids at the trailhead and watch their eyes go wide. The paths are literally paved with volcanic cinders excavated during construction — ancient lava underfoot the whole way up. The park offers three official trails ranging from a 1-mile Red Trail to a 3-mile Blue Trail, all manageable for small legs, and paved roads closed to cars on weekdays make it stroller-friendly. At the top, views stretch across the Portland skyline, and on a clear day Mount Hood appears in the distance. The playground at the base is the natural reward for finishing a loop.

Now that you’ve worked up an appetite, head for lunch at Hat Yai (~$12–18/person, open for lunch and dinner). Earl Ninsom's Hat Yai is named after the Thai city near the Malaysian border known for its fried chicken, and the fried chicken here — crispy-skinned, turmeric-gold, served with sticky rice, a soft fried egg, and a pile of fresh herbs — is worth building a meal around. The roti, served alongside with a sweet and spicy dipping sauce, is the other reason you came: flaky, buttered, fried fresh, and the kind of thing children will eat until there is none left and then ask for more. The curry puffs are excellent. Hat Yai is counter service only and moves quickly, which is perfect when traveling with kids who are hungry and not inclined to wait.

(Hat Yai and Nong's Khao Man Gai are both part of the broader ecosystem of Thai cooking in Portland that orbits around Earl Ninsom — the same chef behind Yaowarat, your Saturday dinner option. If you end the day at Yaowarat having started it at Hat Yai, you will have had two of the best Thai meals available in the United States on the same day in the same city. Portland is like that.)

After lunch, swing by  Rejuvenation (SE Grand Ave). Portland's great home goods and lighting institution — a sprawling showroom of hardware, furniture, lighting, and décor that began as an architectural salvage company in 1977 and has evolved into one of the most beautiful home stores around. It is not a children's store but it has a cute play house they can pretend in while you look around. If you love design, old houses, or the specific pleasure of finding exactly the right cabinet pull, it functions as a minor pilgrimage site. HOT TIP: there’s a clearance section in the back that we have found incredible deals at.

From there, make your way to Cheese & Crack for a mid-afternoon stop. A wine bar with great cheese boards and soft serve ice cream. It’s like someone with kids came up with the idea. The wine and beer list is focused and well-chosen.

Spend the afternoon on Alberta Street (free to walk, NE Alberta between 10th and 30th). One of those Portland neighborhoods that still feels like what people came to Portland to find — locally-owned shops, murals on every other wall, coffee from roasters who mean it, and enough galleries and boutiques to fill an afternoon without trying. The Last Thursday art walk (the last Thursday of each month, May through September) turns the street into a full street fair with food carts, live music, and the kind of crowd that is reliably good for people-watching with children. On a regular Saturday, just walk it from east to west and see what calls. Beam & Anchor for homewares. The Meadow for salt and bitters and chocolate. Pistils Nursery for plants and the impulse purchase of something that will thrive or die dramatically on your windowsill at home.

Two excellent brewery options within easy reach of the Alberta neighborhood, both family-friendly: Breakside Brewery's Dekum location is the more casual of the two — solid IPA, good food, outdoor seating, kids welcome. Ruse Brewing (a short drive south on SE Powell) is the more serious craft destination, with a rotating tap list that beer-focused adults will appreciate deeply. Both work well as a late-afternoon stop before dinner or as a dinner spot themselves if everyone has hit a wall. If not, we’ve got something special planned next for you.

If you can handle another stop today, Grab dinner at Yaowarat (~$25–35/person) —It’s on the New York Times' 50 Best Restaurants list. Yaowarat — named for Bangkok's Chinatown neighborhood — is the latest project from Earl Ninsom, whose decade-long run through Portland's Thai dining scene lands here at its most ambitious and most personal. It’s a tight menu of snacks, noodles, stir-fries, and desserts where most dishes run $18 or under. The chive cakes, black olive pork, and pickled cabbage are all incredible. The room — paper lanterns from Bangkok's Chinatown, walls hand-collaged with images from found books, a 1970s Thai funk disco soundtrack — is unlike anything else in Portland. The food is not spicy per se (peppery, vinegary, fatty, funky, rich, but not fire-hot), the dining room is lively and loud in the best way, and families regularly eat here. Go early or make a reservation on a Saturday — it fills up — and order more than you think you need.

SUNDAY |WASHINGTON PARK, NW 23RD, AND HANDMADE PASTA

Hop on the Max, in an uber or grab your car and head to the Oregon Zoo (~$20–25/person, open daily). The zoo has been around since 1888 and sits on 64 forested acres just minutes from downtown Portland — the setting alone distinguishes it from most urban zoos. There is a baby elephant named Tula-Tu, born in early 2025 who now weighs close to 1,000 pounds and can be seen nursing and exploring alongside her herd. The polar bear exhibit, Polar Passage, features chilled saltwater plunge pools and elevated terrain that gives the bears panoramic views over visitors' heads — which means the bears occasionally appear to be surveying the crowd, which delights everyone. Go on a cool or lightly rainy day if you can: the animals are far more active, and the elephants in particular put on a show. Strollers and wagons can be rented just past the entrance, and the zoo is manageable even with very young kids. Buy tickets online in advance, especially if you want to see the elephants.

We like the zoo because it has all the great big animals but is small enough to take under two hours. Little kids might get tired of walking but there are plenty of places to take breaks and grab a treat along the way (or you can bring in your own).

If you’re starving after the zoo, Breakside Brewing a 12-minute drive into Beaverton, is great and has a myriad of food carts with everything from Burgers to Tacos to Pizza to Sushi in an outdoor space where kids can sit at a picnic table and chill for a minute. Parents can grab a really good beer and lunch and unwind too.

If you still have energy post zoo and don’t need a food break:

Head to the adjacent International Rose Test Garden (free, open daily 5am–10pm). Established in 1917, it is the oldest continuously operated public rose test garden in the United States —and it’s free! More than 10,000 rose bushes representing over 650 varieties cover the hillside in Washington Park, and on a clear day the views stretch from the Portland skyline all the way to Mount Hood. Peak bloom runs late May through June.

After the rose garden (or lunch), head to NW 23rd Avenue (free to browse, Nob Hill) — Portland's most concentrated stretch of independent retail runs through the Nob Hill neighborhood, a Victorian residential grid of beautiful old houses where the street level has been quietly converted, over decades, into one of the better shopping districts in the Pacific Northwest. There is a mix of clothing boutiques, kitchen shops, bookstores, chocolatiers, home goods stores, and coffee shops.

As you’re walking 23rd, stop for ice cream at Salt & Straw (open daily 11am–11pm) where Portland's most famous ice cream shop started in 2011 before expanding to cities across the country. The rotating seasonal menu is creative and samples are given freely, which helps with children trying to choose between eleven options. The line can be long on a Sunday afternoon but it moves faster than it looks.

End your day at Grassa (~$15–25/person) — about as close to a perfect casual dinner as Portland offers: handmade pasta, a short and serious menu that changes with the season, wine on tap served in juice glasses and a room that is loud and easy and completely unfussy. We love the cacio e pepe and the bucatini all'amatriciana. Grassa makes everything in-house, moves with good speed, and is priced generously for what it is. A simple kid’s menu of buttered noodles, kids marinara or kids marinara with meatballs is available and our kids leave extremely happy. A fun list of cocktails (including the surprisingly great Calimocho (50/50 mix of Coca-Cola and red wine) is available as well.

If you have an extra night or want to plan around a specific dinner: Tusk (~$30–45/person) sits directly on East Burnside, ten minutes from the Kex, and has been one of Portland's most praised restaurants since it opened in 2016. The room has an airy California-dream quality: pink neon, white furniture, bleached wood, a heated plant-filled patio. The food is Middle Eastern and has at certain points, made us claim it’s our favorite restaurant in Portland. It’s not terribly kid friendly if you don’t have adventurous eaters but if your kids like hummus and pita and expertly cooked veggies, you could have a wonderful dinner.

WHERE TO STAY

We think the Burnside neighborhood is the right home base for this trip — central, walkable, and the most interesting part of the city to be in.

Kex Hotel (~$120–200/night) is the best family hotel in Portland for a trip like this: bunk rooms that kids love, free self serve coffee and tea in the morning, a sauna, and a great, locals-filled restaurant bar called The Pacific Standard on the main floor. The location on East Burnside puts you within easy striking distance of everything on the list. The aesthetic is Icelandic-meets-Pacific-Northwest — clean, warm, and not trying too hard. Book the bunk rooms early; they fill up.

Hotel Lucia (~$150–280/night) is a well-run boutique hotel in a 1909 building on SW Broadway — the best-located downtown option for this itinerary, within a short walk of Powell's and the Pearl District. The rooms are clean and comfortable and the lobby photography collection (curated by David Kennerly, who was Gerald Ford's White House photographer) is excellent and worth a slow look. Rooms accommodate families in double-queen configuration; the location is quieter at night than you'd expect for downtown Portland.

Jupiter NEXT (~$150–250/night). Jupiter NEXT is the more elevated sibling of the Jupiter Original, with 67 rooms, sweeping views of the Portland skyline and West Hills, and the tropical-inspired Hey Love restaurant in the lobby. Rooms come with oversized windows, a bar area, and extra seating — The double queen rooms work comfortably for four without any creative furniture arrangement. Their website doesn’t list connecting rooms, but it's worth calling ahead to request them if needed as they do offer them. Hey Love serves tropically-inspired comfort food and bright cocktails. The location on E Burnside puts you close to most of the things on this itinerary.

A FEW THINGS TO KNOW

Nong's Khao Man Gai: the SW Alder food cart pod is the original and most atmospheric location. Also has a brick-and-mortar on SW 10th. Cash or card, both accepted.

Hat Yai is counter service and closes when it sells out — arrive early on weekends, especially for the fried chicken. No reservations.

Kachka takes reservations (recommended on weekends) and walk-ins at the bar. Under-21 guests are seated upstairs at Kachka Fabrika until 9pm. Lunch service is counter-service walk-in only.

Yaowarat is at 7937 SE Stark — further east than it sounds. Take a Lyft or drive; it's not walkable from the Kex. Book reservations in advance; it fills up fast every night.

Grassa does not take reservations at most locations. Arrive at opening to walk in, or expect a wait on weekend evenings.

Tusk is open Wednesday–Sunday from 5pm. Happy hour at the bar runs 5–6pm daily and is one of the better deals on the Burnside strip. Reservations recommended.

Salt & Straw on NW 23rd opens at 11am daily. Lines on sunny afternoons can look intimidating — they move in 15 minutes.

Ruse Brewing and Breakside Brewery are both family-friendly, with outdoor seating at both. Ruse is the more serious beer destination; Breakside is larger and easier with young children.

Powell's is open daily 9am–9pm. The rare books room on the upper level has its own entrance and separate hours — call ahead if that's your destination.

Rejuvenation is open Monday–Saturday 10am–6pm, Sunday 11am–5pm. Allow 45 minutes minimum; allow two hours if you're shopping seriously.

Portland parking is free on Sundays in most neighborhoods. Weekday and Saturday meters are $2–3/hour; most apps (ParkMobile, PayByPhone) work citywide.

The MAX Yellow and Green lines run through the Central Eastside and connect to the Pearl and downtown. Day passes are $5 and cover all MAX, bus, and streetcar within the city.

Getting around: Portland's MAX light rail covers the east-west spine cheaply and efficiently. Lyft and Uber are abundant. The city is flat enough that many of these neighborhoods are bikeable from the Kex.

Hotel pricing is dynamic and subject to change.

Tipping: 18–20% at sit-down restaurants is standard in Portland.

Cleaning up after your children is always appreciated everywhere.