USA Guide
The Pacific Northwest
Washington Park
Beyond the mansion, the 130-acre Washington Park is home to a number of Portland's top attractions. These include the lovely International Rose Test Garden (daily 7.30am–9pm; free), planted in 1917 as a distant home for European rose blooms threatened by World War I, and still featuring a huge array of bright summertime blooms; the tranquil Japanese Garden (daily: April– Sept 10am–7pm; Oct– March 10am–4pm; $8; www.japanesegarden.com), actually a collection of five traditional gardens with ponds, bridges, foliage, and sand designs; and the Oregon Zoo (daily: April– Sept 9am–6pm; Oct– March 9am–4pm; $9.75; www.oregonzoo.org), with the requisite primates, penguins, and, this being the Northwest, beavers; however, the facility's real stars are its Asian elephants, now a herd of seven that in 1962 produced the first birth of an Asian elephant in the Western hemisphere.
Most park attractions have easy access to MAX light rail ($1.95 from downtown), whose station is buried deep underground and accessible only by elevator. Once you get here, you can hop on a summertime shuttle (every 15min daily: June– Sept 10am–7pm; $1.95) and access all the park's major sights on a day-pass ticket.
Opening time: Daily
Price: Free