Oaks Park - Portland, OR
From SE Portland, cross a bridge. Drive south along the scenic Willamette River south, you'll soon find the Sellwood bridge. Go back across to the east side of that bridge. From these cross-ways and back again directions, you're likely to pass along an out of sorts amusement park. In any other town, this park would be an oddity. Upon first glance, you're likely to assume this to be a traveling affair. Midways sprawled up and down a riverside with only a week or two at the most to entertain and amuse those that call the City of Roses home. Not so.. this park is a permanent fixture among the town. With almost two-dozen seasonal rides, a host of midway games, a dance hall and roller-skate rink, Oaks Amusement park has been in business since 1905 as a host for the Lewis & Clark Exposition.
Entrance to the park is free, but if you have a taste for exploiting gravity there are more than enough rides to keep you interested. That being said, if you are AT ALL susceptible to motion sickness, I recommend waiting til the last moment to test your mettle on the Spider or Octopus.. whichever they chose to call it, you'll know it when you see it. An early ride there is likely to find you resting up on the park benches that line the picnic area by the riverside, awaiting your head to retire from spinning. The carousel is an original from 1912, which must be meticulously maintained to stay in such incredible condition. Bumper cars, roller-coasters and a go-kart track are all within the grounds as well to keep any visitor on their heels for another rush of adrenaline, should the sugar buzz from the snack bar not suffice.
With the crowd of a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Portland, it seems as though this rare gem of an amusement park, that is an out of place permanent fixture anywhere but Rose City, will be around for another 105 years. Enjoy.
