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Summer is here, and it's about to get sweaty.
Weather forecasts predict temperatures in nearing 100 degrees Fahrenheit this weekend—meaning escape plans will be a necessity.
Maybe you're the kind of person who seeks out air-conditioned hideouts from the swelter of summer, or maybe you'd rather sun and dunk in a secluded swimming hole. Whatever your proclivities, here is an non-comprehensive, Portland heat wave survival guide.
Stay chill, friends.
WHERE TO DUNK
It takes a little work to get to this swimming hole—the Gorge hike is an hour drive from Portland and the trailhead to the falls is unmarked—but it's well worth it. Nestled between the upper and lower Mosier Creek Falls lives a crystal clear dive-in spot where daring adventurers can cliff jump if they so choose.
Directions: From I-84 east, take exit 69 for US 30 toward Mosier and turn right. Drive half a mile and you'll see the Totem Poll Plaza. Park there. Walk across the white bridge and the trail is on the right.
WHERE TO EAT
This is not your average food cart. From the corner of MLK And Ainsworth, Portlander Alan Bell serves up authentic, New Orleans-style snowballs. The melt-in-your mouth flakes are showered with creams and syrups and are nothing like the sad pebbly balls of ice that are snow cones. Bonus Hana's must-try: Kool-Aid pickles.
Go: 3625 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 971-409-7097, instagram.com/hanas_pdx
WHERE TO ROAD TRIP
It's basically Oregon's budget Disneyland. There's even a bargain brand Splash Mountain.
Drive: 8462 Enchanted Way SE, Turner, OR. 10 am – 7 pm. $12.95 for a day pass.
WHERE TO HIKE
Sure, hiking might seem like the last thing you want to do on a hot day. But this 4.5-mile trail offers some sun relief in that it goes under old, carved-out-of-the-hill highway tunnels. The paved path is also bike-able.
Directions: From Portland, take I-84 east to exit 64 in Hood River. Turn right at the light and then left at a stop sign onto Old Columbia River Drive. Continue 1.2 miles to the trailhead parking area.
WHERE TO DRINK
It's the perfect hot day hideout: a subterranean wine bar named after caves, where the pours are cheap, the walls are all cool, cool concrete and the atmosphere is candle-lit and cozy. If you don't have AC, don't sweat in solitude. Come belly up here.
Go: 1719 NE Alberta St., lescavespdx.com. 5 pm-midnight Monday and Thursday-Saturday, 5 pm-10 pm Sunday.
WHERE TO FLOAT
For the golden retriever-type humans, The Big Float is a chance to be super-social and semi-active by floating the Willamette with over 3,000 other curious river-goers. (Maybe leave your actual dog at home though. Nails plus inner tubes probably equals sadness.)
Attend: Tom McCall Bowl, Waterfront Park, Southwest Columbia Street and Naito Parkway, thebigfloat.com. $5. All ages.