Sauvie Island

We went to Sauvie Island today. I highly recommend it.

This is what I posted on the Insider Pages...........

A very pleasant Portland area destination is Sauvie%26#39;s Island, managed by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. This is a prime hiking and fishing and birdwatching location. Over 150,000 ,migratory birds and geese visit each fall and spring. Cranes and swans as well as beavers and red foxes live on the island. Picnicking and hiking are wonderful ways to explore the island. The beaches are open to the public. There are two markets on the island where you can buy foods, you can also get your produce from the farms and there are pick your own flower farms as well.

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It is very easy to get to from downtown Portland, as long as you don%26#39;t get lost as easily as we do.

But it is only 10 miles from downtown so even with getting lost, we got there quickly..and easily.

It is lovely. For as far as the eye can see, farms and fields full of flowers, trees, cattle, horses and wildlife areas ... We stopped at every farm stand that was open, we bought produce, a huge watermelon for 50 cents a pound, and I got a handmade Market Basket for my forays into the Farmers Mkts here in town..it cost about half what they do in town :)

I really recommend this as a day or half day trip..you can go fishing, you can go to the beach , you can bring your bikes, it is flat so biking is easy.

Just use a lot of sunblock :)

Sauvie Island

Scarlett,

I couldn%26#39;t agree with you more. Having just moved to Portland a couple of months ago, my wife and I were anxious to explore our new home. Having a 10 month old baby limits some of the options available. So on the advice of a neighbor we sent to Sauvie Island. We were really blown away. It was stunningly beautiful and very serene. We stopped at a number of farms and bought the most delicious rasberries we have ever eaten. We only saw one other couple on our hike in one of the parks. It was perfect.

One of the things we love most about Portland is that you can drive a few miles out of the city and be in the most peaceful farming/natural scenery around.

We can%26#39;t wait until August when the peaches will be in season. mmm....

Stephen

Sauvie Island

Ahh! I am glad to hear someone else likes it too :)

We are newbies also, having moved here last August. There was one large group of people on bicycles, I think ( if I were to ride a bike) that it would be a great place to ride bikes then picnic. Our neighbor takes his dogs there, goes to the beach, and picnics there..we will probably go back out in the fall..

Thanks for the report Scarlett. As nice as it is, one might be tempted to never set foot outside the Pearl, so it%26#39;s good to see you expanding your Portland horizons. Where to next?

And you must be an urbanite too, Lucero. I like the word ';serene'; as a descriptor of Sauvie Island. It fits. Except around Halloween, when I%26#39;d swear everyone in the entire city goes there in search of the perfect pumpkin. Too bad you have to travel so far though. ;-) For many of us suburbanites, scenery like that at Sauvie Island is practically literally out our back door. Yes, this is a nice place to live. Welcome to Portland.

Speaking of pumpkins...the kids in my daughter%26#39;s driver%26#39;s ed class are trying to tell her that pumpkins are not sold in grocery stores here, that you have to go to a pumpkin patch to get one...either they are pulling her leg or these kids need to go to the store more often. I really cannot believe Safeway is not making a buck on pumpkins in the fall!

They were in the stores that we have here in town.

I think you are right, the kids need to go shopping for groceries more lol..

Maybe it%26#39;s just a fun way for the local kids to mess with the new kid. She takes it all in stride.

I do appreciate all the info that you and Mtngrl have supplied - I feel almost like I have two new friends! Now, where should I get my hair cut? lol

LOL, Mtngrl will know that...

We have to meet one day for lunch, somewhere..you will be safe, we are really harmless lol...

Yes we should! I belong to another group crazies who left TA due to troll attacks and formed a private chat room and some of us have started meeting in person. There are quite a few from the PNW so I am due to meet a gal soon.

We may have bumped into each other at the store by now anyway!

Scarlett, pumpkins were in downtown stores because you don%26#39;t have a pumpkin patch nearby! ;-) But a lot of folks around here do make as big a deal about picking the perfect pumpkin as they do about finding the perfect Christma.... (ooohhh, can I say that?) tree, lol. If you head out Scholl%26#39;s Ferry or along Roy Rogers, Chicogirl, you%26#39;ll find corn mazes, hay rides, farmers markets, and other attractions trying to lure you to a particular pumpkin patch. Or, you can pick one from the pile in front of Safeway. ;-)

Well, this year I will be buying my pumpkins at the Farmers Market, just to be contrary :)