Free & Affordable Activities in Portland, Oregon

1. Portland Art Museum

The Portland Art Museum offers free admission to visitors ages seventeen and under, Veterans, and and Active-Duty Military. Free general admission is also offered to all guests from 5:00pm until 8:00pm on the first Thursday of every month. There are also free quarterly Museum Days, and occasionally other special days with free admission. The website usually lists these dates. The museum, which is closed on Mondays, showcases art history from back in the ancient times up to present day across its many galleries. It is the oldest museum in the Pacific Northwest and the country’s seventh oldest.

1219 SW Park Ave, Portland, OR 97205, Phone: 503-226-2811

2. Pittock Mansion Grounds

The original Pittock Mansion Grounds consisted of forty-six acres nestled high in the West Hills of Portland. The grounds include the Mansion, a three-car garage, the Gate Lodge, a tennis court, and greenhouses. The woods behind the Mansion today are a section of the city’s Forest Park and the Mansion itself a popular stop along the Wildwood Trail. The grounds are now a public park that is open until 9:00pm every day, offering visitors some of the city views. Guests can even see five of the Cascade Mountains on a clear day, including Mount St. Helens and Mount Hood.

3229 NW Pittock Dr, Portland, OR 97210, Phone: 503-823-3623

3. Hoyt Arboretum

The grounds of the Hoyt Arboretum are open daily from 5:00am until 10:00pm. Visitors can take advantage of the free shuttle between May and October around Washington Park. Founded in 1928, the Arboretum serves as a living tree museum where plants and trees from throughout the world are grown and exhibited in an effort to educate the community and conserve important plant biodiversity. The Visitor Center includes a nature center and staff can help with interpreting tree collections or helping guests plan their visit. The plants collection is comprised of six thousand specimens, including more than two thousand species.

4000 SW Fairview Blvd, Portland, OR 97221, Phone: 503-865-8733

4. The Oregon Historical Society

The museum at The Oregon Historical Society is open every day of the week and is situated on the South Park Blocks within the heart of the city’s Cultural District. While admission to the Research Library is free, the museum charges a small fee. There are specific Free Museum Days throughout the year, with dates listed on the society’s website. Admission to the Oregon Historical Society Museum is free year-round for youth eighteen years of age and younger. The museum is open from 10:00am until 5:00pm Monday to Saturday and from 12:00pm until 5:00pm on Sundays.

1200 SW Park Ave, Portland, OR 97205, Phone: 503-222-1741

5. International Rose Test Garden

The city of Portland is known by several nicknames, including “Rose City” and “City of Roses.” The climate of the area is ideal for growing roses outdoors. While roses can be seen throughout Portland, one of the city’s best spots for visitors to see roses is in Washington Park at the International Rose Test Garden. This free garden boasts more than eight thousand rose plants and around 550 varieties. The rose garden is America’s oldest continuously operated public rose test garden. Free tours are available from Memorial Day through Labor Day at 1:00pm, starting at the store at the Rose Garden.

400 SW Kingston Ave, Portland, OR, Phone: 503-823-3636

6. Ground Kontrol

Ground Kontrol in Portland, Oregon is considered by many to be the premier classic arcade on the West Coast. The arcade is focused on preserving and celebrating the “golden age” of video gaming by offering over twenty-five pinball machines and more than sixty classic games. Ground Kontrol also hosts DJs, trivia nights, comedy shows, Rock Band karaoke, game tournaments, and a full-service bar. Visitors of any age are welcome from 12:00pm until 5:00pm, but only twenty-one and older after 5:00pm. The blue side bar opens at 12:00pm and the red side at 5:00pm.

115 NW 5th Ave, Portland OR, Phone: 503-796-9364

7. Portland Fire & Rescue's Historic Belmont Firehouse

The Portland Fire & Rescue's Historic Belmont Firehouse is situated at the corner of Belmont and Southeast 35th Avenue and is open for visitors to come and explore on specific days or on a private tour by appointment. The Historic Belmont Firehouse offers free admission during its weekly Open House that occurs from 9:00am until 3:00pm every Wednesday. Visitors can view the different exhibits on display, slide down the fire pole, sit in a fire truck, and learn about fire safety. Safety Saturday takes place from 9:00am until 3:00pm on the second Saturday of each month.

900 SE 35th Ave, Portland, OR 97214, Phone: 503-823-3615

8. Ira Keller Fountain

The Ira Keller Fountain is a unique landscape fountain in the heart of Portland. Named in honor of Ira Keller, the first chairman of Portland’s Development Commission and a civic leader, the fountain was created by Angela Danadjieva. The waterfalls of the Columbia River Gorge served as the inspiration behind the Ira Keller Fountain. Approximately 13,000 gallons of water cascade through the fountain’s platforms and terraces every minute. This concrete fountain landscape has become a landmark of the city, as well as an internationally-acclaimed open space. The Ira park area is open to the public from 5:00am until 9:00pm.

SW Clay St & SW 3rd Ave, Portland, OR 97201

9. Springwater Corridor

The Springwater Corridor includes riverfront views, picnic areas, paved paths, nature area, restrooms, vistas, and trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding. The trail is well separated for the most part from the public road, and the scenic route encompasses industrial neighborhoods, residential neighborhoods, pastures, agricultural fields, buttes, and wetlands. The hard surface part of multi-use trail is designed for accommodating walkers, hikers, joggers, strollers, bicycles, and wheelchairs, while the equestrian use part is a soft surface path east of I-205. Several open spaces and parks are connected by the Springwater Corridor, such as the the Powell Butte Nature Park.