Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland

January 19, 2025

Frosty Morn

Woke up to 27 degrees and a heavy frost. It has turned out to be a pretty sunny day with a high of 45. Except for stepping out briefly to get some photos, I've not been motivated to go out. Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland, Oregon

The Tom McCall Waterfront Park (named for a former Oregon governor), stretches along the western side of the Willamette River. At the southern tip is a harbor, restaurants (we ate at a good seafood restaurant here) and an amazing garden filled with ornamental grasses and other plants. This is where these photographs were taken.

If you head north, you approach a walking area (you can see it in the bottom photograph, next to the seafood restaurant), that extends all the way up to Naito Parkway and the downtown area where our condo was located. This area is popular with joggers, bikers, people walking their pets, etc. The space was once a freeway. It was torn down in 1975 and this park was created. It opened to the public in 1978.