Solo Female Travel to Portland, Oregon – My Personal Adventure
It goes without saying that, when you are exploring the world on your own, you make safe decisions. Be mindful of your surroundings and look both ways before crossing the street.
If you’re a woman in the world and you’re considering solo travel, I hope I can encourage you to try it! There are of course pro’s and con’s to solo travel, and I’ll give you my personal take on it. I’m making it a point to travel to all the walkable cities. I’m from Los Angeles, and as you may or may not know, L.A. is HUGE and definitely NOT walkable. Portland, however, is a great walkable city! I swear it only took me maybe 10 minutes to walk to any interesting area I wanted to see.
My Solo Female Travel Experience in Portland, Oregon
I stayed in the downtown area at the Courtyard Portland City Center. The hotel was nice enough and centrally located to many activities I was interested in. My only complaint about the hotel is that the walls are kind of thin, so if people are being loud in the hallways or in the room next to you, you’re likely to hear them. Aside from that, there is a restaurant in the hotel, free coffee in the lobby, drinks and snacks for purchase at the front desk. I’m not too picky when it comes to where I stay, I do however, always hope that my room will include a tub, which sadly, my room did not. For flight and hotel I spent about $265, but I also used my Chase travel points to cover most of the cost of my hotel.
I planned for a 4-day trip, arriving in Portland around 9:30 AM on Friday, I took a Lyft to my hotel which cost me around $40. I was able to check in early, put my bags in my room and set off to explore. I prefer arriving to my destination early and leaving in the evening just so I can maximize my travel time. I gave myself a fairly loose itinerary, leaving room for exploration. Friday, I only planned where I wanted to have dinner and left the day open for wandering about the city. On Saturday I planned to attend the Saturday Art Market and the Japanese Gardens. Sunday, I booked one of those half-day waterfall tours, and Monday I left open for more exploring before having to head back home.
Why I Chose Portland
I have a list of American cities I plan to visit, the criteria for me right now, is that it be a walkable city. The first walkable city I visited was Boston, and I fell in love! The next was New Orleans and because I am actively getting into Blues and Swing dancing, I like to scope out cities that have a thriving dance community, hence Portland. Aside from that, I also wanted to take the opportunity to practice photography. It’s been several years since I’ve really picked up my camera and Portland offers a variety of sightseeing activities. The time of the year also called for nice weather, mostly warm, but not too hot. I just so happened to pick a weekend to visit where some major events were happening such as the Rose Festival and Fleet Week.
What Is There To Do In Portland?
There’s a lot to get into in Portland. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to do everything I had planned, but that was mostly because I forgot to save my Google Map Trip Plans on my phone before venturing off (whoops). There’s plenty of places to eat around town, restaurants, food carts, coffee shops, you name it. Some of the sightseeing activities include the Japanese Garden, rose gardens, waterfall tours, and museums. You can find lots of shops around downtown and over the bridge including the famous Powell’s bookstore. Portland also has a bustling nightlife, there are clubs, live music, and karaoke to be found.
The Gardens
Visiting the Japanese Garden was a very pleasant experience. I’m big on ambiance, so just being able to leisurely take in the aesthetics, the trickling sounds of water, and the plant life, was a real joy. There’s a bit of hiking and steps to climb, but there are plenty of benches placed around. Plan to either drive or take a Lyft/Uber to the gardens since its up in the hills and too steep of a walk.
The Rose Garden is beneath the Japanese Garden and is free to explore. There are hundreds of varieties of roses to see and smell. There is a gift shop nearby filled with rose scented items. I thoroughly enjoyed just wandering around taking photos of the prettiest bunches of roses I’d see.
The Waterfalls
I signed up for the Multnomah Falls half-day waterfall tour and was picked up at my hotel. The tour guide was very nice and gave lots of information about the city and things we saw on the way to the falls. We were given varying amounts of time, up to maybe 30 minutes at certain spots, to take in the sights and capture photos. At the end of the trip, our tour guide took us to a local farm stand where we could purchase cherries, strawberries, cookies and muffins. 10/10 would recommend.
The Food
I’m big on breakfast! So lucky me, my favorite spot to eat was right near my hotel, Grits n’ Gravy. I had been craving pancakes for several weeks and this place really hit the spot. The pancakes have a really great sweet cream flavor. I posted up at the bar and ordered a cup of coffee which was just as terrible as diner coffee should be.
A girl seated next to me at the bar ordered the trout and it smelled amazing! I loved how she enthusiastically ate her meal, her nods of approval after every bite told me that her entire meal was excellent. At one point, she even clapped her hands together in delight. I also tried the french toast, chicken fried steak with sausage gravy, grits with butter and the bread pudding french toast. Everything was really delicious, however, I wasn’t a big fan of the bread pudding french toast, it was a little too dense and dry for my liking, but definitely worth trying.
The Midtown Beer Garden was also close to my hotel. There was a good variety of food and you can likely find anything you’re in the mood for here. I didn’t partake in the beer, I don’t usually like to drink by myself, but the atmosphere here is nice, they have a stage where musicians might be playing and plenty of covered seating.
Around Town
There’s lots to discover around town, Powell’s Books is a popular bookstore with 3-locations in Portland, the downtown location is huge! So, if you’re really into buying books, make sure to leave room in your luggage! I personally make it a point to buy myself a new tarot and/or oracle deck every time I visit a new city, and the decks have to FEEL like the city, so the two I bought were definitely fun and unique, just like Portland.
There’s plenty of places to find gifts around town, local handmade goods, thrift shops, candy stores, you name it. I meant to attend the Saturday Market where they sell art and handmade goods but I mistakenly ended up at the PSU Farmers Market. It really mostly was a farmers market, not too many food stands or other goods outside of fruits, vegetables, flowers and honey.
Portland has plenty of community areas where activities take place. Parks with water features that parents bring their children to play in, playgrounds and outdoor chess. I was also impressed with the number of water fountains around town and the fact that city seems to be built around the the concept of giving people plenty of areas to sit and rest, very different from L.A.
What It’s Like Traveling Alone As A Woman In Portland
Portland is a pretty heavy tourist town, so there’s plenty of people around most of the time. The way the city is laid out, you’re mostly always on a busy street. Buses and rail lines are constantly going to and fro, there are lots of security guards who also walk the streets and stand outside of businesses. This is likely because of the amount of homeless individuals and addicts. Yes, Portland has a very heavy addiction problem it seems, that was even surprising to me being from L.A. and all. But as I wandered the streets, not one person ever concerned me or made me feel unsafe. It seems as though the unhoused and housed don’t really pay each other too much mind. The dynamics in this regard, I found very interesting. It may trouble you to see so many on the streets in this way, but as long as you’re mindful of your surroundings and avoid approaching anything or anyone that unsettles you, you should be OK.
Personally, I found the entire experience of exploring Portland as a solo woman in the world to be very relaxing. All the people I met and spoke to were very nice. The most interesting conversation I had was with a Lyft driver from Kenya. He told me how he drives for Lyft 8-months out of the year and spends 3-months back home with his family enjoying the food and culture. Tell me that isn’t what America is all about! How fortunate to have that opportunity, I think it’s a beautiful thing.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Lots to see and do, more than you can fit in a short weekend
- Very walkable city, especially if you’re staying in the downtown area
- Safe to travel solo for women (in my opinion)
Cons
- Plenty of food options, but not many unique or interesting restaurants
- Drugs are bad mmmkaaayyy
- Could use more diversity
Reflections: What I Gained From Solo Travel In Portland
Solo travel for me is an opportunity to just feel free and unrestricted. I go where I want, when I want, for however long I want. I’m not waiting on anyone else to get ready or decide if they want to do xyz with me, I just get up and go. The only drawback personally is not being able to try all the foods! If I traveled with someone, we could split meals and try everything! Traveling solo as a woman to Portland, Oregon really brought out my carefree nature. I felt safe enough to just be able to be present. I wasn’t worrying about if someone was following me, or nervous about walking down different streets alone. Everything and everyone was pleasant and friendly. It definitely goes to show how a city that is big on community can create spaces that are meant to bring people together. This city is more often than not, kind to its unhoused residents, something that I wish we could be here back home in Los Angeles.
Great pictures! What was the energy you felt in the city, regarding the current political climate? Was it as polarizing as it’s perceived to be in the media? Did you see or feel like activism is a huge part of the city’s identity?
Great questions! I didn’t see anything TOO politically relevant, so in terms of things like immigration, I didn’t notice a heavy Hispanic presence in the city. My cons that I listed mention “needs more diversity”. There is definitely a strong outpouring of support for LGBTQ+ displayed throughout the city. Many of the people there are unique to themselves, girls dressed like boys, boys dressed like girls, anything goes, everyone seems free in that way, I thought that was beautiful. Portland of course is also very community oriented and that’s obvious in the infrastructure.