I was provided with tickets to some attractions and a 50th Anniversary Toyota Corolla to facilitate this post. All opinions are my own.

Over the past year, I’ve probably visited the Portland area more than the previous 5 years combined. Some of these trips have been for work, others for blog work, and a couple times just for fun. Over time, I’ve discovered some pretty awesome (and unique) activities that are available in Oregon, especially the greater Portland area.

I’ve compiled a few of these activities below; most of them are ones that Brad and I have done recently, and a couple that are on my Portland Bucket List

Unique Activities In Portland, Oregon

1. Oregon Zoo Behind the Scenes Tours – Brad and I did the Penguin Encounter with Tyler and Sarah over Memorial Day weekend. It was such a fun experience, and how many people can say that they have pet and fed Humboldt Penguins? When we returned to Oregon for the Total Solar Eclipse, Brad and I spent a few hours at the zoo while waiting for Tyler and Sarah to arrive. Of course we had to check out the penguins (I was hoping to find our BFF penguin Mo), and *might* have spent some time taking Selfies with Gouda (he was totally into it and even tried to join in on the fun). You can see in the top right photo below what Brad was doing while I took 18 selfies with Gouda. 
2. Wings & Waves Water Park – On our way to the path of totality, we took some side roads both to avoid traffic, and also so we could check out this water park. There is an actual 747 on the roof of the building, and 4 water slides come out of the fuselage! FYI, it is 111 stairs to the top of the slides (I counted) so you definitely get a bit of a work out before heading down the slide, especially on the slides where you also carry the tube up the stairs. In addition to the slides, there is also a wave pool, kids play area, and other water features to enjoy. The same area also features a great museum which is the home to the Spruce Goose. It is located about an hour outside Portland, so it could easily be a day trip if you are staying in the city.
3. Oregon Museum of Science & Industry (OMSI) – In addition to a great science museum, OMSI also offers a Planetarium and Submarine tours! When we visited, we checked out a special Lego exhibit which was outstanding. When we visited, we did a Planetarium show, but we will definitely be back for a submarine tour another time. 
4. Washington Park – In addition to the Oregon Zoo, there are a bunch of other attractions which are part of Washington Park. Some of these include the Children’s Museum, Japanese Gardens, and Forestry Center.
5. Top Golf – We have visited TopGolf twice and both times we spent more time than planned. We had a group of 4-5 people playing each round and easily filled 3 hours of game play. This game makes it easy for even non-golfers to have a great time, plus they have some delicious food & drinks available. I have a couple tips if this is your first visit. First, if you’re going to rely on the ball rolling, ask for a bay on the first floor. Second, have each person do 3-5 balls per turn instead of just 1 if you want to maximize the number of games per hour. The longest aspect of the game is switching players so doing more balls per turn helps get the game done faster.
6. Punch Bowl Social – This was located just a block or two from our hotel in downtown Portland. We checked it out a couple times for some air hockey, giant Jenga, cocktails, and other fun. They also have some bowling lanes, but we didn’t play those while there.
7. Portland Brewery Bike Tour – I haven’t done this yet, but I’ve seen them while I was out and about. It looks like a lot of fun to do on a warm spring day.
8. Tillamook Cheese Factory Tour – Who wouldn’t want to see how the best cheese ever is made (and get some delicious samples at the end). I remember visiting a few times as a kid and think that it would be so much fun to return. This is only an hour and a half drive from Portland so it could be a great day trip if you are in the area.
9. DIY Bar – This place is on my bucket list of Portland activities. I saw it advertised recently and think that it would be so much fun!
10. Purrington Cat Lounge – I always was intrigued with the idea of a Cat Cafe; who doesn’t want to play with some friendly cats while enjoying a coffee or cocktail? Fortunately, I was able to get a last minute reservation and headed there for an hour on Sunday since it was right by the conference location. I definitely loved getting some good kitty snuggles in, and all the cats at the cafe are adoptable (6 of the 8 were already reserved when I was there). 

For this most recent trip to the Portland area, I had a 50th Anniversary Toyota Corolla to check out the city. I wonder how many of the very first Toyota Corollas are still on the road today (I bet there are actually a good number out there).

I absolutely loved the Dark Cherry Pearl color of this 50th Anniversary Toyota Corolla. It was such a fun color, and it might have matched my Old Navy Jeans pretty well one of the days of the conference (I forgot to take a picture until it was super dark out and it didn’t turn out). It was fun to turn on Sport Mode while winding through the twisty roads of Washington Park heading down to the Rose Garden, plus it gives a bit of extra power when accelerating onto the freeway.

The Toyota Corolla would make a great commuter car, even with all of my driving around the city, I barely used a 1/4 tank of gas! I also really like that it has a split home screen so multiple things can be accessed with a single touch of a button. Plus, with the Toyota Entune App, even more features can be utilized.

I look forward to exploring Portland more and adding to this list! Which activity do you want to add to your trip itinerary?