Families of Ida B. Wells and all around the world have at least gone outside and now is a perfect time to stop and smell the flowers! There are some very local parks here in our community where you can take a little stroll down memory lane while also being able to enjoy the spring weather and hang out with friends or family. But where are these parks?
Council Crest is a nice park with a bunch of trails in our neighborhood. It is situated at the highest point of Portland, and it has some panoramic views of the city where you can also get some steps in. There is a trail nearby called the 4T trail where you can walk into a beautiful forest and you get to take four different versions of free transportation to get to the Oregon Zoo as well as a lot of the city.
Another park is Mill Ends Park, known to be the smallest park in the world! It’s not much of a park but it’s a super cute patch of grass on 56th SW Taylor Street.
If you want to go to a park that has a playground and basketball court, there is Gabriel Park. They have just renovated the playground a while ago and it’s near a bunch of shops and activities perfect for the summer-time like the Southwest Community Center with a pool and Sunny’s Froyo shop as well as other coffee shops and restaurants.
Portland has a ton of great options for outdoor recreation, and the parks here are a great way to get out and enjoy the spring and approaching summer. But how about the flowers that are in those local parks? Portland is historically known as the city of roses, and its famous rose garden near Washington Park houses 610 varieties of roses; but why did Portland garner this obsession with flowers? In 1888 when Madame Caroline Testout bred a large pink variety of hybrid tea roses in France and brought them to Portland. Now, we celebrate the beautiful every year in June with the Portland Rose Festival.
Another celebration of flowers is the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival, which happens on a farm in Clackamas County. During May, this farm contains rows of tulips that range in color. Hot air balloons are also there, which can give you a breathtaking aerial view of the fields.
Portland has so many things to do that are fun outside, and summer is rapidly approaching, so get out and enjoy the sun or flowers in some of these parks!
