It’s easy to see why Portland has been called the city “where young people go to retire.” It’s full of fun, cheap things to do, and weed is legal. If you’re not looking to live out your days as a part-time unicyclist, however, try a stoney weekend getaway instead.
The PDX Hempfest Expo on June 10 is a great way to get to get acquainted with Portland’s pot scene. Why not build a trip around it? Whether you’re interested in partaking in the Rose City’s cultural or cannabis-related delights, we’ve got three days’ worth of recommendations to keep you high, happy, and well-fed.
Friday
Start your day at Farma, a dispensary as dedicated to cannabis science as it is to mid-century modern design. (Leafly named it one of the top 10 most beautiful dispensaries in the country.) While you’re there, pick up the Quill, a sleek, recyclable, stainless-steel vape pen and a must-have for the discrete cannabis traveler.
Just six blocks away is the Cascade Brewing Barrel House, where you can sample Portland’s most mind-boggling selection of sour beer, as well as the type of light, beer-friendly food that won’t put an end to your day.
Afterward, make your way toward the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry’s Kendall Planetarium for an 8:15 p.m. showing of Laser Beyoncé, which is a real thing put on by an actual science museum. If all that trippy Bey worship has left you peckish, pop over to nearby Slow Bar for its excellent Slowburger — a half-pound Allen Brother Angus beef patty with Gruyere, onion rings, butter lettuce, pickle relish, and aioli — which is served till 1:30 a.m. every day.
Saturday
Make your first stop Oregon’s Finest, a Pearl district dispensary that’s packed with quality product, like flower from Clean-Green-certified Green Bodhi farms and fruit gummies from Wyld. Take a scenic detour to stroll along the North Park Blocks to Powell’s City of Books, one of the country’s largest bookstores and an absolute Portland must-see. They’ve also got a great cafe, where you can pore over your purchases with coffee and a pastry.
Catch a ride or walk to SW 5th and Pine St. to hop on the #8 bus to Pok Pok Noi, an outpost of Portland’s popular Thai- and Vietnamese-influenced eatery Pok Pok. The menu is smaller than the original, but still includes the all-important Ike’s Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings. Then, amble over to McMenamin’s Kennedy School Hotel, where you can have one of Portland’s most relaxing experiences: drinking craft beer in a beautifully tiled, heated, saltwater soaking pool, which is open to the public for just $5 an hour, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
If you’ve got any room left, Portlanders go justifiably crazy for Salt & Straw’s unusual ice cream formulations, and their Alberta Street location is just a short walk away. Try the flavor made with chocolatier-turned-artisanal-edibles-maker Woodblock Chocolates. (Vegan options are also available.)
Sunday
Serra, an ultra-modern palace of design masquerading as a dispensary, invites you to “come in and let us help you feel all the feelings.” Try Hifi Farms’ Gorilla Glue #4, which we’re told boasts feelings of relaxation, happiness and euphoria, and then walk over to the Screen Door for brunch. There’s always a wait, but the fried oyster benedict is so very worth it. Afterward, pop over to Voodoo Doughnut, Too to grab some of Portland’s iconic weird doughnuts: a maple bar topped with bacon strips, a bubblegum doughnut, a blunt-shaped doughnut, et cetera.
Grab a ride west across the Willamette to the Wildwood Trail and make your way up into Forest Park to experience some of Portland’s natural beauty. If exercise isn’t your thing, the Oregon Zoo isn’t a bad place to spend an afternoon stoned, especially if you brought a stash of Fruit-Loop-bedecked doughnuts.
Where to Stay
The Jupiter Hotel is an old motor inn that’s been turned into a hip, mid-century modern boutique hotel, but, perhaps more importantly, it offers a cannabis-friendly package that includes an “everything but the weed kit”: vape pen, coupons to local dispensaries, and other paraphernalia. (You can also sign up for a BridgeTown Weed Tour.) If you’ve got the munchies, try the chicken-fried steak at the Doug Fir, the hotel’s in-house restaurant and music venue.
If you’re looking to stay somewhere more unusual, there are plenty of interesting, whimsical backyard cottages available on Airbnb. If it’s available, check out the Saul Zaik treehouse, which Condé Nast Traveler deemed “ the coolest treehouse in the world.” It’s upwards of $200 per night, but when else will you get to say you spent a weekend in an architectural marvel?
How to Get Around
Portland has great public transit, but renting a bike is a cheap and effective way to get around, as the city is pretty much flat. The city has a bike-share system called Biketownand there’s also Everybody’s Bike Rentals & Tours, which got its start in the basement of an urban goat farm and is about as Portland as you can possibly get.
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