Fast & Easy Ways Visitors Can Explore Portland
With MAX Light Rail and Portland Streetcar, attendees can get from hotels to attractions in a breeze.
Portland is full of amazing places and experiences, and thanks to the city’s environmentally friendly public transportation, visitors can start exploring just minutes after arriving. Whether you walk, roll or catch a private ride, it’s easy to get to hotels, off-site activities and more.
It all starts with Portland’s light rail system, MAX. This key part of a sustainable public transit system takes riders all over the city, including frequent trips across the Willamette River. Connecting travelers from the airport to downtown Portland and beyond, MAX arrives at the Oregon Convention Center every 7-15 minutes to take attendees to many of Portland’s most popular neighborhoods and restaurants.
Credit: Justin Katigbak
Like all of Portland’s public transportation, MAX is affordable and accessible. Buses, light rail and streetcars are accessible to those who use wheeled mobility devices, and no matter how much you ride, you’ll never pay more than $5.60 per day. A single transit pass can be used on both bus and rail lines. For some visitors, getting around town can be even more convenient: If you book a qualifying citywide event at the Oregon Convention Center, your entire group will receive complimentary transit passes for the duration of your event — an outstanding alternative to busing attendees.
Hopping on MAX from the Oregon Convention Center, you’ll get to historic Old Town Chinatown in just five minutes, with stops near Lan Su Chinese Garden, Voodoo Doughnut, and the riverside greenspace, Waterfront Park. It only takes another minute or two to reach downtown and Pioneer Courthouse Square, known to locals as “Portland’s living room” for hosting frequent public events and several popular food carts.
MAX takes riders elsewhere, too, like the Moda Center, home to the Portland Trail Blazers, and Providence Park, the stomping grounds of Major League Soccer’s Portland Timbers and the National Women’s Soccer League champions Portland Thorns — along with their cheerfully raucous supporters, the Timbers Army and the Rose City Riveters. Also quickly accessible via MAX is attraction-packed Washington Park. The train stops right outside the Oregon Zoo. From there, a free shuttle ferries visitors to the Portland Japanese Garden and the vibrant International Rose Test Garden, one of the largest rose test gardens in the world, where new rose varieties are developed.
Visitors can also get around on the Portland Streetcar, which loops around the city center, taking riders to trendy shopping in Nob Hill, fine dining in the Pearl District, and team outings in the Central Eastside. Other stops include the South Park Blocks — nestled in the tree-shaded urban campus of Portland State University, with access to the Portland Art Museum and the Portland Farmers Market. Or take the streetcar to Powell’s City of Books, one of the world’s largest independent bookstores, which offers nearly a million titles to choose from, including a rare books collection. Between downtown Portland’s Walk Score of 96 out of 100 and city blocks half the length of most other cities, everything’s just a little bit closer than you’d expect.
Want to see more of Portland? You’ve got even more options, from e-scooters to ride-share services like Uber and Lyft. And if you really want to get around like a local, hop on an e-bike from the city-wide bike-sharing program, Biketown, and explore over 400 miles of bikeways.
No matter where you want to go — or what you want to do — Portland makes it easy.
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