Free Places to Visit Near Portland, Oregon

When you take a vacation the best thing that can happen is finding free things to do along the way. Near Portland, Oregon is The Colombia River Gorge. The Colombia River Gorge is a national scenic area and offers a variety of outdoor activities year round.

Recently, we went to visit my husband's family in the Portland area, and while we were there we found several places to visit which were free. Considering we have five children, this saved us a ton of money.

The Bonneville Lock and Dam

I know when you think of visiting a Dam that it may sound boring, but this Dam has a viewing room and museum down below the water level. It is completely free to visit. The little museum shows you what kind of fish you're looking at and historical information about the lock and dam, as well as information about the area. The kids loved looking through all the viewing windows. It is very similar to an aquarium.

The Bonneville Lock and Dam can be visited on both the Washington and Oregon side of the Colombia River. The Oregon side has more to see and also has a gift shop.

The Bonneville Hatchery

The Bonneville Hatchery is right next to the Bonneville Dam. Kids love the fish ponds where they can feed the fish some of the special fish pellets from the little machines. There are picnic tables and a gift shop. There is a little building that takes you below the water level of one of the ponds and you can see a ten foot sturgeon named Herman, who is over 60 years old!

Visiting the Fish Hatchery is no cost, leaving you more money to buy souvenirs in the gift shop, or treating yourself to a latte at the little coffee shop.

Multnomah Falls

If you are in the Portland area, going to see Multnomah Falls is a must do. There is no cost to go and see this beautiful waterfall which happens to be fourth highest waterfall in the United States.

When you visit Multnomah Falls you can stand near the bottom of the waterfall and view it from there or you can hike up to the top, which is about a little over a mile. If you want to continue your hike, the Wahkeena Loop Trail goes on an additional six miles. The trails are very child and pet friendly.

The Multnomah Falls lodge is right there in you are interested in having a meal or checking out the gift shop. They also had a little coffee shack set up outside when we were there.

The Multnomah Falls is easily accessible because of its location right off the highway.

These are just a few of the free things to do along the Colombia River Gorge.

Sources:

http://www.multnomahfallslodge.com/

http://www.multnomahfallslodge.com/

http://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/locations/bonneville.asp

http://www.oregon.com/Hike_Multnomah_Falls