This is our first year in Portland and was wondering if someone could give me advice on where to go watch fireworks for the 4th of July. I don't really feel like paying to watch. We live in St. John's. Is Pier Park way too far away to see anything? How is it taking the train downtown to watch? When should we leave to go downtown if that's where we need to go?
I would take the train (or ride your bike) down to the Tom McCall waterfront and saddle up to watch the fireworks at the blues festival where the admission is canned food and a few dollars-- all of which goes to the Oregon Food Bank. Since its your first year in PDX, you should go and see what its all about. It is a lot of fun but DO NOT drive! You will regret it... ;-)
Angela is right on about this but as an alternate - and I've done this - if you DO drive you can park in OMSI's parking lot and walk along the Eastbank Esplanade to find a spot (it gets crowded fairly early). The key is to get the hell out of there before the big finale and try to beat the crowd. The fireworks don't start until around 10:30 thanks to our long days during the summer but downtown along the river is the place to be, for sure. Sometimes fighting the crowd in your car isn't as bad as fighting the crowds for the bus or you can always find a nice spot for a late bite until the traffic thins out!
This is still all doable even with a 11 month old, 5 and 7 year old? I heard that the Vancouver fireworks aren't happening this year so it's going to be even more crazier than usually.
Hi Samantha,
A great close in spot for large yards is Garden Home. It is really close to Multnomah Village, not far from downtown and has jr. acre parcels with decent homes for about $500K. A great school program near there is http://www.odysseyprog…
Well, My husband is probably getting a job in the "city" somewhere near the river? We are moving from Ca. We will rent for the first year to see what areas we like. As far as schools. We want our children to get the best education possible. Maybe a…